Who has been the best January transfer this season?

We’ve picked out four players who made an instant impact

It can often be tough for teams to find value in the January window, with inflated prices due to the disruption caused and the difficulty in finding replacements.

And we’ve seen some infamous January flops over the years too, with Alexis Sanchez’ move to Manchester United one of the highest profile.

We’ve picked out four January transfers from this season that look like excellent deals, from the starlet who can’t stop scoring, to a Championship winger who has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water.

Bruno Fernandes

Signed by Man Utd from Sporting CP for an initial £47m, potentially rising to £67.6m, the Portuguese midfielder has looked like the missing piece of the puzzle since arriving.

The drastic upturn in United’s form since his arrival is no coincidence. With six goals and five assists in nine Premier League games, he’s immediately become their key creative force, best illustrated by this eye-catching stat: He’s the joint the joint-quickest to 10 goals and assists combined of any player for United in the Premier League, alongside Eric Cantona and Robin van Persie.

He’s also improved those around him – including Paul Pogba who is freed from the unenviable task of being expected to do everything in the centre of the park.

Erling Haaland

Signed by Borussia Dortmund for a reported €22.5m from RB Salzburg, the 19-year-old sensation has been in devastating form all season, lighting up the earlier stages of the Champions League, before replicating his almost goal-per-game form for Dortmund.

Since making the switch, he’s featured in 15 games and scored 13 goals in the Bundesliga, along with two goals in two in the Champions League.

At 19, there’s a sense that Haaland is just getting started, though a couple of poor late season performances against Mainz and Hoffeinheim showed he is human after all, as he failed to get a shot on goal in either game.

Christian Eriksen

Signed by Inter for €20m from Tottenham, the attacking midfielder was available for a bargain sum, due to his soon-to-expire contract.

While there’s understandably been a stop-start nature to his introduction to Italian football, Eriksen’s already demonstrated the dead-ball excellence Tottenham fan’s will remember him fondly for, by scoring directly from a corner (and nutmegging goalkeeper David Ospina in the process).

Eriksen’s statistics are nothing to shout about so far, with two assists and one goal in nine Serie A appearances, along with a goal and an assist in the Europa League.

But after having seen him thrive in England’s top-flight, scoring 51 goals and assisting 62 in over two-hundred appearances, there’s no doubt that Inter will be happy with their purchase.

Jarrod Bowen

Signed by West Ham for an initial fee of £18m from Hull City, Bowen has made an instant impact for the Hammers, providing three crucial assists in his last two games against Chelsea and Newcastle, that have helped bring the side a much-needed four points.

There’s no beating about the bush here, €20m for a proven talent like Eriksen is always going to be better on paper, but if Bowen’s contribution ends up being the difference between survival and relegation for West Ham, then he’s earned a place on this list.

It’s almost impossible to state Bowen’s importance to former club Hull either, since his departure they’ve been on a rotten run of form, losing 13 of their last 17 games in all competitions.

Which of this year’s January signings do you think is the best? Let us know in our Twitter poll.

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