5 best signings of the January transfer window

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JANUARY 05: Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool celebrates as he scores their second goal during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Liverpool and Everton at Anfield on January 5, 2018 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /

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BARCELONA, SPAIN – JANUARY 28: (L-R) Philippe Coutinho of FC Barcelona, Paco Alcacer of FC Barcelona during the La Liga Santander match between FC Barcelona v Deportivo Alaves at the Camp Nou on January 28, 2018 in Barcelona Spain (Photo by Laurens Lindhout/Soccrates/Getty Images) /

Philippe Coutinho, Barcelona

By far the biggest signing of the transfer window was Philippe Coutinho’s move from Liverpool to Barcelona for £108 million. It wasn’t the transfer fee alone that led to Coutinho stealing headlines; it was also the Nike employee who made the error of leaking the transfer on the company’s website on New Year’s Eve by advertising custom Barcelona kits with a picture of Coutinho in a Barcelona kit.

It’d be hard to light up the Camp Nou while playing in England.

Barring the Nike incident and status of the transfer in general, the signing was a great acquisition by the Catalan club. Coutinho is a world class player who showed in his time in Liverpool that he’s capable of playing at the top of his game in many roles. From a left winger, to a number 10 and even a deeper midfield role, Coutinho showed a rare level of talent and ability.

His versatility, technical ability, work rate and many other talents set him up to be the ideal long-term replacement for Andres Iniesta. One of the mistakes Barcelona made was never finding a player who could fill the void left by Xavi. The club clearly learned from their error and will not make the mistake for a second time.

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