An unprecedented transfer window closed with a record spending of £815m in January and Chelsea’s record £107m signing of Enzo Fernandez.
At the other end of the scale, struggling Everton spent nothing despite being entrenched in the relegation zone – only increasing the sense of uncertainty around Goodison Park.
It was the traditional transfer deadline full of intrigue and late-night offers – so what were the big questions to remember?
Will Chelsea’s big bet pay off?
Chelsea fans were left with mixed feelings of euphoria and disbelief as new owner Todd Boehly continued his astonishing assault on the markets throughout January.
Boehly made his mark after taking over from Roman Abramovich with a spend of £270m in the summer, a record for a British club, then eclipsed it in January by spending £288m to take the total for new income to 17 new players.
Lengthy contracts have been handed out as Chelsea work around financial fair play, so there is no doubt there is an element of gamble in the process and added pressure on these deals to succeed in this high risk strategy .
The expense will also put additional pressure on manager Graham Potter, who is sure to see almost instant results from such cash support, even with assurances from above that he is part of a long term plan.
The number of arrivals is certainly at odds with the careful way Potter has built in Brighton, but he lives in a different world at Stamford Bridge. If he didn’t know before, he knows now.
Chelsea have certainly brought some exciting attacking talent to west London with 22-year-old Argentina World Cup winner Fernandez, as well as £88m Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk and Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid .
They are currently 10th in the Premier League, 10 points behind the top four, but a place in the Champions League next season must be essential after a stunning January.
It won’t be boring but there will now be enormous pressure from Potter, the players and owner Boehly to succeed.
Have Arsenal done enough?
Arsenal are in their strongest Premier League title position in years, five points clear of Manchester City with one game less. There was no lack of ambition to try to strengthen themselves, but the big problem eluded them.
Mudryk seemed destined for Arsenal to join Ukrainian teammate Oleksandr Zinchenko until Chelsea beat them. Brighton then simply refused to lift the ‘Not For Sale’ sign on midfielder Moises Caicedo despite an offer of £70m and the player’s clear conception of joining the Gunners.
Manager Mikel Arteta still looked like he was doing a bargain paying Brighton £21m for Leandro Trossard while experience and trophy-winning pedigree came with Jorginho at £12m from Chelsea. He can be a starter as well as a safety against any injury to Thomas Partey’s vital presence.
Arsenal may not have exactly who they wanted, but there is plenty of room for optimism.
Bournemouth and Southampton spend on security
Bournemouth’s new owner Bill Foley and current Southampton officials have acknowledged their perils at the foot of the Premier League and backed the managers with hard cash.
Whether that works remains to be seen, but neither club could be accused of holding back on transfer deadline day to give respective bosses Gary O’Neil and Nathan Jones a fighting chance.
The Saints, currently at the bottom, beat Everton to sign exciting 20-year-old Ghanaian striker from Rennes Kamaldeen Sulemana in a club-record £22m deal and added giant Nigerian striker Paul Onuachu from Genk.
Jones has seen signs of improvement recently but wants Southampton to play more positively and aggressively and hopes the pair achieve their goal.
The Cherries were busy in many areas, eventually signing Ukrainian defender Illia Zabarnyi from Dynamo Kyiv for a reported £24m while Ivory Coast midfielder Hamed Traore, 22, joined Sassuolo on loan on the day of the deadline. A five-year agreement will be concluded this summer.
He was their sixth signing in January, joining £10m Antoine Semenyo, winger Dango Ouattarra – a £20m arrival from Lorient – as well as goalkeeper Darren Randolph and Uruguay full-back Matias Vina, who was loaned by Roma.
If the strategy of Bournemouth and Southampton fails, it will not be for lack of ambition.
Liverpool waiting for Bellingham?
Liverpool struck first in the January transfer window with the £45m signing of Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven, but the rest of the window was quiet, especially given the obvious need for reinforcements amid pitch and their struggles in the Premier League. They are currently ninth in the league and have suffered an FA Cup fourth round exit at Brighton.
Manager Jurgen Klopp has struggled with loss of form and injury in this key midfield area, but his and Liverpool’s past history – and perhaps the fact that the summer loan move for Artur Melo has been wrecked by injury – suggest their unwillingness to move means they have their sights firmly set. on a primary target.
The main takeaway is that Liverpool are determined to pull out all the stops to try and sign brilliant English teenager Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund this summer.
The risk in this approach is that Liverpool will be much less attractive if they are not in the Champions League. They are also likely to fight for his services against Real Madrid and Manchester City – and presumably Chelsea.
Can Newcastle United continue?
Newcastle United’s big January buy Anthony Gordon got a taste of the current euphoria on Tyneside as the £45m signing from Everton saw Eddie Howe’s side reach their first Wembley centerpiece since the 1999 FA Cup final beating Southampton in the EFL Cup.
Gordon was Newcastle’s only flagship acquisition this month. The big indicator of their progress was that Howe and the club’s Saudi owners didn’t feel the need to go too far in the markets. There’s also no guarantee the 21-year-old will step into a thriving team.
Howe will now hope he has enough at his disposal to continue an unlikely push for a Champions League spot next season, with Newcastle currently third after just one defeat in 20 games. They also have that EFL Cup final against Manchester United or Nottingham Forest on February 26.
Man City calm after Cancelo exit
There has been some surprise that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is willing to let defender Joao Cancelo go on loan to Bayern Munich ahead of a £61.5million summer transfer, given his importance in their recent successes.
Guardiola, however, feels confident in his defensive resources given Nathan Ake’s form and the emergence of exceptional teenager Rico Lewis. Cancelo had already started to fall somewhat out of favor with the 28-year-old having started just three games since the World Cup.
