Premier League clubs increased their spending in this winter window to £370m -- up on the £100m paid out last year -- though Manchester City are chiefly responsible after splashing out £180m of that on their own.
We were nowhere near the 2023 record of £815m, but there were still some interesting deals around Europe.
Here are grades for all the major confirmed transfers in the men's game, with each listed by date and then by highest fee.
All fees are reported unless confirmed with an asterisk.
Feb. 3
NICO GONZÁLEZ
€60m (£49.88, $62m)
FC Porto: A+
Manchester City: B-
As usual, Porto showed why they are one of the kings of the transfer market. An €8.5m signing from Barcelona back in 2023, González has been moved on to City for a huge profit -- although Barcelona are due a large portion of the fee. No matter though; Porto will just do this all again with his replacement.
Man City needed a midfielder but only valued González's transfer at €40m before they eventually relented on deadline day to pay his €60m release clause. The 23-year-old is a good addition, who knows how to play in the style of a Pep Guardiola team, but it does feel like a bit of a panic move from City.
SANTIAGO GIMÉNEZ
€35m ($35.8m)
Feyenoord: B
AC Milan: B
Giménez notched goals for fun at Feyenoord, his strike rate better than one-in-two games over the course of 2 1/2 seasons at De Kuip. He's scored reliably in the Eredivisie, Europa League and Champions League and, at age 23, the time feels right for a big move.
