Nobody will forget January 31, 2011 when Fernando Torres, Andy Carroll, Luis Suarez and David Luiz were signed for a whopping £130million combined by Chelsea and Liverpool.
Here we have a look at the most expensive signings on deadline day every year in the January transfer window. And be warned, not all of them ended up a success!
£50million man: Fernando Torres was the most expensive signing on a wild January 31 in 2011
Jan 31, 2003: Jonathan Woodgate, Leeds to Newcastle, £9m
After five years in the Leeds first team where Woodgate showed that he had the potential to be an England defender, Bobby Robson's Newcastle splashed out £10million for the centre-back.
He only played a season and a half at St James' Park but caught the eye, leading Real Madrid to pile in with an offer in excess of £13million. Not a bad profit for 18 months work.
First of many: Jonathan Woodgate moved from Leeds to Newcastle in 2003 for £9million
He may now have secured a deal away from White Hart Lane, but back in 2004 Defoe was one of the hottest properties in England.
After refusing to sign a contract extension at West Ham, the striker left in January when Spurs offered money plus the (then) spiritely Bobby Zamora. Defoe went on to score well over 100 goals for Tottenham in two spells and could be considered one of the greatest winter signings of the Premier League era.
Worked out well: Jermain Defoe crossed the London divide by leaving West Ham and signing for Spurs
Jan 31, 2005: Nicolas Anelka, Manchester City to Fenerbahce, £7m
It
is surprising, perhaps, that the man who has played for six different
Premier League clubs (Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Bolton
Chelsea and West Brom) is on the list for leaving the Premier League.
The lucrative move took him away from England for just 18 months before Bolton paid £8million to bring him back.
Turkey: Nicolas Anelka left the Premier League for a season when he went to Fenerbahce for £7million
Jan 31, 2006: Robert Earnshaw, West Brom to Norwich, £3.5m
An
anomaly if ever there was one with Championship side Norwich paying the
most for a player on deadline day. Earnshaw scored 27 goals for Norwich
before joining Derby, where he notched just twice.
David
Bentley's switch from Arsenal to Blackburn was thought to be worth
around £3million during the same transfer window. He's back there again
now, albeit on loan from Spurs (yes, they're still his parent club!).
£3.5million: Earnshaw chose to leave West Brom and move to Norwich in January 2006
Jan 31, 2007: Matthew Upson, Birmingham to West Ham, £6m
Upson
always had potential to be a towering presence in any team and West Ham
were quick to snap him up six months after Birmingham had been
relegated to the Championship.
Despite
having a £4million offer turned down, the Hammers eventually go their
man. We should remember Upson ended up as half of England's centre-back
pairing when they lost 4-1 to Germany in the 2010 World Cup. He scored
England's only goal of the game, too.
Four-year spell: West Ham's manager at the time
Alan Curbishley (left) and owner Eggert Magnusson (right) signed Matthew
Upson in the January transfer window of 2007 for £6million
Jan 31, 2008: Afonso Alves, Heerenveen to Middlesbrough,
£11m
Middlesbrough's
interest in Alfonso Alves was very left field and his record after
signing goes to prove their faith may have been misplaced.
The
striker scored just 10 goals in 42 games and was shipped off to Qatar
18 months later. His eight caps for Brazil are just as astonishing as
the £11million Middlesbrough forked out for him.
Underwhelming: Brazilian Alfonso Alves made the headlines with his deadline day move to Middlesbrough
Feb 2, 2009: Andrey Arshavin, Zenit to Arsenal, £13m
The
Russian's foray into the Premier League began with a bang when he
scored four goals in one game against Liverpool just months after
joining.
Despite
things not working out in the end (he spent several seasons warming the
bench) he had that match-winning quality all big clubs look for.
It's
worth remembering that in the same transfer window Robbie Keane moved
back to Spurs after a horribly unsuccessful six months at Liverpool
where he scored just the five times.
Gamble: Andre Arshavin came from Zenit St Petersburg to London for a fee of £13million
Feb 1, 2010: Adam Johnson, Middlesbrough to Man City, £7m
Blessed
with as much talent as any English winger around today, it is
surprising Adam Johnson's career has at times waned. Swamped by foreign
players at City, Johnson played most of his 73 matches from the bench,
and lost his place in the England set-up.
City did, however, make a profit when they sold him to Sunderland for £10million in the summer of 2012.
Winger: Adam Johnson didn't quite make the cut at City despite his £7million move
Jan 31, 2011: Fernando Torres, Liverpool to Chelsea, £50m
Chelsea's
unthinkable late bid for Torres has almost single-handedly made the
January transfer window what it is now. There was always hype, always
suggestions that huge money would be splashed, but it wasn't until Roman
Abramovich dug deep into his pockets that it went crazy.
It's
worth mentioning the madness that ensued afterwards. Liverpool felt
they needed a striker and raided Newcastle. They had already signed Luis
Suarez for £23million and then spent £35million on Andy Carroll. The
England forward may not have been worth the money, but Suarez has more
than made up for it.
Not
content on just paying £50million for Torres, Chelsea also bought David
Luiz from Benfica for £21.3million. Lucky there was no UEFA Financial
Fair Play back then.
Over-priced? Fernando Torres has never managed to transfer his Liverpool goals to the blue shirt of Chelsea
Double swoop: Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll both signed for Liverpool on deadline day
Jan 31, 2012: Kevin de Bruyne, Genk to Chelsea, £6.7m
After
the madness of the year before, 2012 was a much quieter affair. De
Bruyne signed for Chelsea but stayed in Belgium on a loan deal. He may
have wished he stayed longer seeing as a falling out with Jose Mourinho
this season has seen him sold to Wolfsburg.
Off again: Kevin de Bruyne only lasted two years on the books of Chelsea
Jan 31, 2013: Christopher Samba, Anzhi to QPR, £12.5m
What
a year 2013 was for Chris Samba. He started at Anzhi Makhachkala, moved
to QPR during January, was sold back to Anzhi for almost same price in
the summer, and then moved on to Dynamo Moscow when Anzhi's owner
changed his plans for the club.
His job was to keep QPR up, but not even a record fee for a defender already proven in the division could do that.
Big money: Chris Samba presented with a QPR shirt after his £12.5million move from Anzhi
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