mwplay888 Transfer Deadline Day: Review, Net Spend By Clubs, Top Signings - All You Need To Know

After a flurry of activities on the 'Deadline Day,' the January transfer window for the 2024-25 season (read: top-tier football leagues in Europe) was closed early Tuesday morning, India time. (More Football News)

The focus was on English football as the Premier League teams jostled to find that 'missing piece or two' and strengthen their squads for the remainder of the season. But as usual, the window was a busy period for clubs in the other European leagues too.

January transfer window closes in February, why?

The January transfer window opens on the first day/second day of the new year. Interestingly though, despite it being a 'January window,' this window runs into the second month. In England, it traditionally closes on January 31. That, however, has not been the case of late.

"To ensure harmonisation with the major leagues in Europe," in the words of Premier League, the closing dates have been revised or rather extended. So for this season, "the winter window will open on Wednesday 1 January 2025 and will close at 23:00 GMT on Monday 3 February 2025."

But clubs can still register players after the deadline of 23:00 by using the 'deal sheet'. Basically a two-hour extension, this process helps clubs complete last-minute deals as long as they submit the full paperwork before 01:00. The deal sheet is, in fact, a legally binding contract.

Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey expressed his enthusiasm and stated: "This bilateral series against Germany will be a remarkable showcase of world-class hockey. Both India and Germany have a rich history in the sport, and this series will give fans an opportunity to witness an intense competition between two of the most formidable teams in the world.

In the case of international transfers, say from Spanish La Liga to Italian Serie A, all the deals have to be registered on FIFA's Transfer Matching System (TMS) by the buying and selling clubs.

Also, clubs can still sign players as free agents, ones who are not under active contract, after the deadline.

In India, the window was officially closed on January 31.

Focus on Premier League

Premier League clubs spent more than GBP 370m in this transfer window, which is nearly a four-fold increase on last winter (GBP 100m), but considerably below the 2023 record of GBP 815m.

Defending champions Manchester City continued to spend big with a desperate Pep Guardiola looking to halt the slump. In their latest league outing, they were humbled 5-1 by Arsenal.

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The arrival of Nico Gonzalez from Portuguese giants Porto on the deadline day for GBP 50m took their total outlay this window past GBP 176.1m, which is almost as much as the other 19 teams have coughed up.

But Gonzalez is not the most expensive signing this window. The 23-year-old Spanish midfielder was beaten by his new team-mate Omar Marmoush. The 25-year-old Egypt forward joined Man City from German Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt in a deal worth GBP 63.2m last month.

City have roped in six players on permanent deals, another league high,megapanalo and four of those are in the top five of the most expensive list this window -- Abdukodir Khusanov (GBP 33.5m) and Vitor Reis (GBP 29.4m) in third and fifth, respectively, with Manchester United's Patrick Dorgu (GBP 29.6m) fourth.

Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brighton & Hove Albion spent GBP 42.6m and BGP 40m, respectively, as compared to Man United's GBP 29.6m. Aston Villa (26m), Ipswich Town (24m), Tottenham Hotspur (12.5m), Crystal Palace (12m), Bournemouth (8.1m), and Leicester City (1.9m) made up the top 10.

Bournemouth completed four permanent deals, while Brighton, Ipswich, Southampton, and Wolves roped in three each. Villa, United and Nottingham Forest got two each. Crystal Palace, Leicester, and Spurs got one each.

League leaders Liverpool and title challengers Arsenal have opted against signing any deals, permanent or loan. And there were no permanent deals at Chelsea, Newcastle United, Fulham, Brentford, West Ham United, and Everton.

Surprisingly, Saudi Arabia's Pro League (SPL) outspent the other four big European leagues -- Italian Serie Amwplay888, German Bundesliga, Spanish La Liga and French Ligue 1 -- by dolling out GBP 139.6m, which of course was eschewed by Al-Nassr's GBP 64m deal to sign Jhon Duran from Aston Villa.