If there's a good deal to be had, why wait until the summer? There's been plenty of wheeling and dealing during Europe's 2023 winter transfer window with top clubs splurging on some of the most promising talents in the world.
We saw World Cup players move like Netherlands forward Cody Gakpo and Poland defender Jakub Kiwior, and a Champions League standout like Mykhailo Mudryk.
Young promising players were also snapped up midseason before they were bid up during the offseason. Everton's Anthony Gordon, Monaco centre-back Benoit Badiashile and PSV winger Noni Madueke are all 21 or younger and both drew big transfers.
More than any one player, there is one team that proved the biggest story of the 2023 winter window: Chelsea and its new ownership group were not afraid to push the financial fair play rules to their limit and take advantage of loopholes to stockpile some of the most coveted talents.
Below are the most expensive moves and it's no surprise that several of them feature the Blues.
MORE: When does the winter transfer window close across Europe?
Most expensive 2023 January window transfers
There should be no surprise as to which clubs were responsible for the most expensive moves during the 2023 window. The top 10 transfers were all triggered by teams from the English Premier League, and 18 of the top 20 transfers by the size of transfer fee.
Liverpool's transfer for Dutch youngster Cody Gakpo was the first big move, but that has since been blown out of the water by Chelsea's mid-season splurge, including a £61.5m move for Ukrainian star Mykhailo Mudryk, and Newcastle's acquisition of Everton winger Anthony Gordon.
Find the 10 most expensive transfers as of January 31, 2023 below with all fees sourced via Transfermarkt (loan deals with future purchase options do not figure on the list).
| Rank | Player | From | To | Transfer fee (€ / £) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mykhailo Mudryk | Shakhtar Dontesk (UKR) | Chelsea (ENG) | €70m / £61.5m |
| 2. | Anthony Gordon | Everton (ENG) | Newcastle (ENG) | €45.6m / £40.2m |
| 3. | Cody Gakpo | PSV (NED) | Liverpool (ENG) | €42.1m / £37.2m |
| 4. | Benoit Badiashile | AS Monaco (FRA) | Chelsea (ENG) | €38m / £33.4m |
| 5. | Noni Madueke | PSV Eindhoven (NED) | Chelsea (ENG) | €35m / £30.8m |
| 6. | Malo Gusto | Lyon (FRA) | Chelsea (ENG) | €30m / £26.4m |
| 7. | Georginio Rutter | TS Hoffenheim (GER) | Leeds United (ENG) | €28m / £24.6m |
| 8. | Jakub Kiwior | Spezia (ITA) | Arsenal (ENG) | €25m / £22.03m |
| 9. | Leandro Trossard | Brighton (ENG) | Arsenal (ENG) | €24m / £21.2m |
| 10. | Dango Ouattara | Lorient (FRA) | Bournemouth (ENG) | €22.5m / £19.8m |
Which clubs have spent the most in 2023 January transfer window?
After a disappointing start to the 2022/23 season, Chelsea have been bold in the January window, despite the pressure on new head coach Graham Potter.
No one comes close to the Blues when it comes to player transfers with eight new players brought to the club. Mudruyk and Badiashile have been the stand out names so far with Enzo Fernandez also in the crosshairs.
Below is the Top 10 spending clubs across Europe's major leagues as of January 31, 2023 as tracked by Transfermarkt.
MORE: Premier League transfer spending rankings
| Rank | Club | Country | Transfer spend* (€ / £) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Chelsea | England | €208.5m / £183.7m |
| 2. | Newcastle United | England | €49.4m / £43.5m |
| 3. | Arsenal | England | €49m / £43.2m |
| 4. | Liverpool | England | €42m / £37m |
| 5. | Leeds United | England | €41.2m / £36.3m |
| 6. | Wolves | England | €38.5m / £33.9m |
| 7. | Bournemouth | England | €33.5m / £29.5m |
| 8. | Aston Villa | England | €30.1m / £26.5m |
| 9. | Tigres UANL | Mexico | €22.3m / £19.7m |
| 10. | Flamengo | Brazil | €22m / £19.4m |
