So, a new month begins and, after Premier League transfer deadline day, quite where do you begin?
Which arrivals and/or departures, if any, will prove pivotal during the second half of the campaign? Who will create Premier League highlights? Who may help dramatically change the Sbotop Premier League betting odds at both ends of the table?
Well, certainly leaders Arsenal can be pleased with their work as they have got stronger, while champions and nearest rivals Manchester City have arguably become a bit weaker.
Certainly, the decision to allow Joao Cancelo to head on loan to Bayern Munich was a major surprise.
Sure, the emergence of promising youngster Rico Lewis has clearly affected Cancelo’s game time but no one genuinely thought the Portuguese full-back, arguably the best in the top flight last season, would be allowed to leave.
An unused substitute for three of the past five league games – and taken off at half-time in one of the others – Bayern have snapped him up on loan with an option to buy this summer.
My initial thought was this cannot be down to solely football reasons and, soon after the deal was announced, media were reporting that City boss Pep Guardiola felt the 28-year-old should be allowed to go because of an unwillingness to accept a reduced role.
Either way, it makes City weaker at a time when Arsenal have strengthened to boost their title bid and make more people believe this could be their year.
A knee injury to Mohamed Elneny meant the Gunners needed to add depth in midfield and paying £12 million for an Italian international in Jorginho, scooped from Chelsea, seems sensible if unspectacular business following the arrival a few weeks ago of Leandro Trossard from Brighton.
Ah yes, Chelsea.
Even before deadline day, the January transfer window had produced several surprises with Premier League clubs surpassing record spending since the winter window was introduced.
And a good proportion of that was down to the west Londoners who even outdid themselves in the closing moments of deadline day when they agreed a deal to sign Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez for a British record £105 million.
As the Argentine had a medical, I was amused when the Guardian took a few minutes out to commend the Portuguese giants for signing a player for €10m last summer and selling him for €120m six months later!
Chelsea have signed Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk, David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos, Benoit Badiashile and Malo Gusto on permanent deals in January, while they have also brought in Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid.
What else caught my eye?
Well, Spurs may well have made an impressive acquisition after Pedro Porro completed his long-touted move from Sporting Lisbon, with the right-back joining on loan before the £39.7m transfer is made permanent in the summer.
That wasn’t the main surprise though.
At the same time, Porro’s arrival cleared the decks for Matt Doherty to move onto Atlético Madrid – surely a move no one would have predicted at the start of the day.
Then there’s Bournemouth who have flexed their muscles in a bid to boost their survival bid.
Dynamo Kyiv defender Illia Zabarnyi has moved to the South Coast, while one of the budding young starlets in Serie A became their second signing of the day as Sassuolo and Ivory Coast midfielder Hamed Traore joined on loan in a deal which will become permanent in the summer.
A French youth international will be arriving at Crystal Palace after the Eagles signed Stuttgart midfielder Naouirou Ahamada on a three-and-a-half-year deal.
Fresh from reaching the last 16 of the FA Cup for the first time in seven years, Leeds appear to have done some good business with an initial loan move for Weston McKennie – the USA midfielder arriving from Juventus – hot on the heels of signing France Under-21 striker Georginio Rutter from Hoffenheim in a club-record deal.
Nottingham Forest have made Jonjo Shelvey their 26th signing of the season after offering the former England midfielder a two-and-a-half-year deal to join from Newcastle with a top-notch veteran goalkeeper in Keylor Navas quickly following.
And staying with Newcastle, they parted with £40 million to bring in young Anthony Gordon following months of speculation.
In the words of The Athletic, clubs, agents and supporters will have been asking themselves have they got him at a notable discount considering Chelsea were prepared to commit £60m to sign the young English forward last summer.
Time will tell.
He was crowned Everton’s Players’ Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year at the end of last season.
While this serves to highlight Gordon’s undoubted potential, his large fee is further evidence of an unofficial transfer tax being added to the value of young English players.
The final word to Manchester United who, after learning of Christina Eriksen’s injury misfortune, acted swiftly and smartly to bring in Austria midfielder Marcel Sabitzer on loan from Bayern Munich.
It could prove very astute given the congested fixture schedule which lies ahead.
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