January’s winners: Newcastle flex financial muscles, Gerrard appeal boosts Villa

The January transfer window has closed, with some Premier League clubs enjoying a more fruitful month than others.

Newcastle showed their recently-acquired wealth, Aston Villa and Everton backed new managers and Brentford welcomed a familiar face back to football.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the transfer window winners.

Newcastle

Newcastle were expected to spend big following the club’s Saudi-backed takeover amid the threat of relegation. Eddie Howe did not get the forward he wanted on deadline day as moves for Reims striker Hugo Ekitike and Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard failed. But there was a £90million outlay as Howe seriously bolstered his backline with the additions of Dan Burn, Kieran Trippier and Matt Targett. Midfielder Bruno Guimares came in from Lyon for £35m and Chris Wood provides physical presence up front following his arrival from Burnley.

Aston Villa

Steven Gerrard did his January work early to enjoy a quiet deadline day. Gerrard’s first window as a Premier League manager was successful as he arguably pulled off the biggest coup by signing his old Liverpool team-mate Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian joined on loan from Barcelona and instantly repaid Gerrard’s faith with a debut equaliser against Manchester United. Villa, who have an option to buy Coutinho in the summer, also added France full-back Lucas Digne from Everton for £25m, as well as Roma goalkeeper Robin Olsen and Arsenal defender Calum Chambers.

Everton

Everton had the strangest of transfer windows, with five players signed by two different managers. Rafael Benitez added full-backs Nathan Patterson and Vitalii Mykolenko and striker Anwar El Ghazi, on loan from Aston Villa, before his mid-January departure. Frank Lampard then snapped up Tottenham’s Dele Alli and Donny Van De Beek from Manchester United, the latter on loan, within hours of his deadline day arrival at Goodison Park. While Lampard has much to prove after his time as Chelsea boss, as do Alli and Van De Beek after their recent struggles, Everton fans have reason to be more far optimistic than they were at the start of the month.

Brentford

Not a lot of business at Brentford, but the signing of Christian Eriksen was undoubtedly the window’s good news story. The Denmark playmaker has not played since collapsing on the pitch at Euro 2020 last summer. The 29-year-old was unable to continue his Inter Milan career due to Serie A rules concerning the implantable cardioverter defibrillator he had fitted following his cardiac arrest. It looks a good fit with Bees boss Thomas Frank having worked with Eriksen while in charge of Denmark’s under-17s squad and several Danish players at Brentford. If Eriksen comes close to anywhere near the form he enjoyed during his six-and-a-half years at Tottenham, Brentford should comfortably secure their top-flight status.