The 10 most expensive Premier League signings from the 2024 January transfer window
- Premier League clubs spent just £96.2m in 2024, down from £780m in the previous year
- Several elite sides declined to make any new signings for fear of breaching financial rules
- Crystal Palace topped the division with £30.5m spent
By Tom Gott
Premier League fans are used to watching their teams throw money around with reckless abandon, and that may have just caught up with them this winter as January spending dropped from £780m in 2023 to just £96.2m in 2024.
While a number of the richest clubs declined to splash any cash during the latest window, there were still plenty of expensive moves to the Premier League which you ought to take note of.
Here are the ten most expensive signings from Premier League teams in the 2024 January transfer window.
10. Hakon Rafn Valdimarsson (Elfsborg to Brentford)
Transfer fee: £2.6m
Kicking things off are Brentford, who parted with a cool £2.6m to sign Icelandic goalkeeper Hakon Rafn Valdimarsson.
Named the top goalkeeper in Sweden in 2023, 22-year-old Valdimarsson comes highly rated and Bees manager Thomas Frank did not hide his excitement at getting this deal done, describing him as "an exciting goalkeeper with big potential".
With fans divided on summer signing Mark Flekken and Thomas Strakosha unsettled with a reserve role, Valdimarsson may have a big part to play over the remainder of the season.
9. Yunus Emre Konak (Sivasspor to Brentford)
Transfer fee: Undisclosed, reported £4m
Brentford grab number nine on the list as well with their acquisition of 18-year-old midfielder Yunus Emre Konak for a reported £4m.
Konak was a regular in the Turkish top flight during the first half of the season, starting 17 games for Sivasspor before taking his talents to the Brentford Community Stadium.
Konak is definitely one for the future, but sadly faces a prolonged period on the sidelines after tearing his Achilles tendon.
8. Matz Sels (Strasbourg to Nottingham Forest)
Transfer fee: £5m
Despite being accused of breaching the dreaded Profit & Sustainability Rules, Nottingham Forest weren't scared to keep spending this January and parted with £5m to land goalkeeper Matz Sels on Deadline Day.
Sels, 31, does have experience in England, picking up 14 appearances for a second-tier Newcastle United during the 2016/17 season, and was most recently the starter and captain of Chelsea's sister side Strasbourg.
He joins Matt Turner, Odysseas Vlachodimos and Wayne Hennessey in a big goalkeeper group at Forest.
7. Kosta Nedeljkovic (Red Star to Aston Villa)
Transfer fee: Undisclosed, reported £6.5m plus add-ons
Aston Villa started planning for the future with the £6.5m signing of teenage right-back Kosta Nedeljkovic from Red Star.
As part of the deal, the 18-year-old will end the season back with his old club, for whom he already has 18 senior appearances.
Right-back is a mystery area for Villa this season, with Matty Cash losing his place to natural centre-back Ezri Konsa at times. Is Nedeljkovic the answer?
6. Valentin Barco (Boca Juniors to Brighton)
Transfer fee: £7.9m
Brighton ended the hopes of all Football Manager players when they struck a £7.9m deal to sign Valentin Barco from Boca Juniors.
The centre-mid/left-back hybrid had plenty of huge suitors, including Chelsea and Manchester City, but will instead grow his talents down at the AMEX Stadium before Chelsea inevitably return with a £300m bid in six months or so.
There are incredibly high hopes for Barco, but Roberto De Zerbi's unique tactical setup may take a little while for the 19-year-old to settle into.
5. Daniel Munoz (Genk to Crystal Palace)
Transfer fee: £8.5m
For the first time since September 2013, Crystal Palace have paid a fee for a right-back. In comes 27-year-old Daniel Munoz, who joins from Genk for £8.5m.
A Colombian international, Munoz impressed over three years in Belgium and now joins a Palace side in a real battle to assert themselves after some mixed form this season.
The primary job for Munoz will be working out how to dovetail with winger Michael Olise. If he figures that out, Palace fans will soon grow to love him.
4. Morgan Rogers (Middlesbrough to Aston Villa)
Transfer fee: £8.5m
The next step on Morgan Rogers' journey to restart his career will come with Aston Villa, who parted with an initial £8.5m, potentially rising to £15m, to lure him away from Middlesbrough.
Rogers was one of the top talents in England when he came through the academy of midlands rivals West Brom, but an ill-fated move to Manchester City in 2019 saw him lost in the shuffle.
He joined Middlesbrough permanently in 2023 and, after bagging seven goals and nine assists, is now taking his talents to Villa Park.
3. Claudio Echeverri (River Plate to Man City)
Transfer fee: £12.5m plus add-ons
After seeing the success of their last signing from River Plate, Julian Alvarez, Manchester City wasted little time in returning to the club with £12.5m to sign Claudio Echeverri.
One of the top prospects in South America, 18-year-old Echeverri will finish the season with River before linking up with City in January 2025, so excited fans will have to be patient.
Those familiar with Echeverri insist he will be worth the wait. They don't call him 'the next Lionel Messi' for no reason.
2. Adam Wharton (Blackburn to Crystal Palace)
Transfer fee: £22m
Shopping in the Championship has been kind to Crystal Palace, who are built around Ebere Eze, Michael Olise and former Swansea loanee Marc Guehi.
The next second-tier gem to add to the collection is 19-year-old midfielder Adam Wharton, who joins for a whopping £22m.
Seemingly keen to take advantage of the limited spending powers of the Premier League's elite, Palace have once again swooped in and secured another youngster with star potential.
1. Radu Dragusin (Genoa to Tottenham)
Transfer fee: £26.2m
The most expensive January signing actually came in the first half of the month as Tottenham parted with £26.2m to win the race for centre-back Radu Dragusin from Genoa.
They had to fend off interest from Bayern Munich, who ended up relieving them of Eric Dier after missing out on the 21-year-old Romania international.
Dragusin managed two brief appearances off the bench for Spurs before the window closes, with fans still eager to see what he can bring to his new side.