English Premier League clubs spent close to £130 million during the January transfer window, with title contenders Chelsea splashing out about £48 million to bring in the likes of Bertrand Traore, Kurt Zouma, Mohamed Salah and Nemanja Matic.
Zouma, 19, joined Chelsea from St Etienne in a deal reportedly worth £12 million on transfer deadline day but will remain on loan at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard for the rest of the season.
The highly-rated France youth international has put pen to paper on a five-and-a-half deal at Stamford Bridge.
In other news, Chelsea — priced at 7/2 to win the Premier League — managed to beat Liverpool to the £11 million signing of FC Basel winger Mohamed Salah, who scored in both UEFA Champions League group matches against the Blues this season.
Salah, 21, is hoping to win the Premier League-Champions League double with his new club in 2013/14.
“[To the Chelsea fans] I say, I hope we can win the Premier League and the Champions League,” the Egypt international told the club’s official website.
“It is not easy, but this is a very good team and I hope we can win the league 100%.
“To play in this league is fantastic and it is my dream. As well as [playing in England’s top division], I am also playing for one of the biggest teams.”
The return of Nemanja Matic, who was sent to S.L. in the deal that brought David Luiz to West London, for a fee of £21 million caps off the Blues’ January spending spree.
Matic, who made three first-team appearances for Chelsea in 2009-10, has already played in three matches, including one start, under manager Jose Mourinho.
The Blues effectively balanced their books by selling Spanish ace Juan Mata to Manchester United for £37.1 million, while Kevin De Bruyne and Michael Essien were sold to VfL Wolfsburg and AC Milan respectively.
All in all, nine Premier League clubs did business in January.
Top-flight newcomers Hull City broke their transfer record twice, having signed Nikica Jelavic from Everton and Shane Long from West Bromwich Albion for fees in excess of £6 million.
Relegation-threatened Crystal Palace (7-2-14) boosted their hopes of top-flight survival by completing the signings of Jason Puncheon, Joe Ledley, Scott Dann, Thomas Ince and Wayne Hennessey on deadline day.
Arsenal brought in Kim Kallstrom on loan from Spartak Moscow, while Emmanuel Frimpong was allowed to leave the Emirates Stadium on a permanent deal.
Liverpool and Manchester City did not complete any moves, with the Reds eventually missing out on 24-year-old Ukrainian winger Yevhen Konoplyanka.
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