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| *Mata |
But which teams made the best - and worst - use of the
31-day opportunity to fill holes and fix problems in their squad?
WINNERS
Chelsea
It was a very busy January transfer window for Jose Mourinho
and Chelsea.
The club said goodbye to fans favourite Juan Mata but with
the arrival of Nemanja Matic, Mohamed Salah, Bertrand Traore and Kurt Zouma, we
got a glimpse of what the future may hold at Stamford Bridge under the Portuguese.
Mourinho would love to win the Champions League with Chelsea and by signing some of Europe's
most exciting young players it looks like he thinks that is the best way of
doing it.
The London
club may not pip City to the title this season, despite their 1-0 win at the
Etihad Stadium, but by signing such players in January it's clear Mourinho
plans on building a side that will be successful at home and abroad for many
years.
The former Inter Milan manager returned to the club in the
summer and you wouldn't bet against some of his latest additions helping him
achieve greater success in the near future.
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| *Toure |
LOSERS
Arsenal
Arsenal's impressive start to the season could be about to
hit a brick wall. The north London
club currently sit top of the Premier League but Arsene Wenger's failure to
secure a striker instead of an unfit midfielder in the January transfer window
could cost the club points and more importantly a trophy.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has returned to action injury free
and in good goal scoring form but with a further five games left in February
alone, French striker Olivier Giroud is going to have to be at his goal scoring
best on a pretty regular basis if Arsenal's pursuit of domestic and European
honours is to continue.
With that in mind, Friday's loan chase of Spartak Moscow's
Kim Kallstrom appears all the more bizarre, especially as since his Arsenal
medical, Kallstrom has been ruled out for at least a month with a back issue.
Don't worry though Arsenal fans, because Wenger wasn't
completely convinced about his new arrival anyway. The Arsenal boss has since
admitted that he would not have sanctioned the loan signing if there was more
time to find an alternative player.
Arsenal to miss out on a trophy for another season? You
wouldn't bet against it.
Manchester United
United's 2-1 defeat at Stoke highlighted exactly why January
was such a poor month for David Moyes in the transfer market.
The exceptionally talented Juan Mata was purchased from one
time rivals Chelsea and will provide a further threat going forward next to the
likes of Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney.
But, Moyes' men have real trouble in the centre of the park
and when Michael Carrick was asked to play in defence after Phil Jones and
Jonny Evans picked up injuries, Tom Cleverley once again failed to impress.
Sir Alex Ferguson had the ability to take an average squad
and somehow get it to challenge for silverware. Moyes isn't blessed with the
same magic touch and because he failed to address United's real issue, the
centre of the park, Cleverley et al look certain to miss out on fourth spot
this season.
No Champions League football at Old Trafford next season?
Newcastle
Will he go? Will he stay? In the end, and some might say
inevitably, Yohan Cabaye joined a club that could offer him Champions League
football.
And as the French international made his way to Paris
Saint-Germain, the Newcastle faithful let owner Mike
Ashley know their feelings on his departure during the 3-0 defeat to great
rivals Sunderland.
If the club needed a warning of what was about to happen
then they only needed to look back to August when Cabaye refused to play for
Pardew's side following the reported interest from Arsenal.
If and probably when Newcastle
fail to reach their targets for the season they only have themselves to blame.
Cabaye is hard to replace but Newcastle
have a better chance of playing European football next season with him than
without him.
The French playmaker wanted out for several months but that
means the club had several months to find a suitable replacement.
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