The 2012 January transfer window was a rather more sedate affair than it's 2011 predecessor. Money was spent much more sensibly this time around as opposed to being thrown around like a compulsive gambler who had hacked into a free bets website.
Last season's £35 million man, Liverpool striker Andy Carroll, was not on the move again despite reports of an audacious swap deal involving Manchester City's wantaway Carlos Tevez. The Argentinian striker could not engineer a move away from the Etihad and his Manchester misery is set to continue.
Here is a round-up of 10 transfers that took place in January:
Papiss Demba Cisse
Freiburg to Newcastle United for £10 million
Cisse joins up with his international strike partner Demba Ba following a big-money move from Germany.
Cisse scored 22 league goals in his first full season at Freiburg and finished second in the Bundesliga goal scoring charts. He set a single-season goal record by a SC Freiburg player and also for the most goals scored by an African player in a single Bundesliga season.
Magpies fans will hope the “two Dembas” perform better at club level than they did for Senegal at last month's Africa Cup of Nations. Despite being ranked one of the highest nations competing in the tournament, they lost all three group matches with neither Demba scoring a goal.
Gary Cahill
Bolton Wanderers to Chelsea for £7 million
Cahill was linked heavily with a move away from the Reebok Stadium for the past 18 months or so but his valuation of £20 million had seemingly put off potential suitors. But, with his contract due to expire at the end of this season, Manchester United and Chelsea were linked with a transfer window move for the 26-year old.
A £7 million transfer fee was arranged shortly after the New Year with Chelsea but the personal terms appeared to be a sticking point. There was even speculation that Manchester United were going to snatch Cahill from under Chelsea's noses.
But, more than a fortnight after the clubs agreed a fee for him, Cahill became a Chelsea player on 16 January. He is yet to make his debut for the Blues, having been an unused substitute in Chelsea's FA Cup victory at Queens Park Rangers.
Kevin de Bruyne
Genk to Chelsea for £6.7 million
One for the future at Stamford Bridge, 20-year-old de Bruyne joined Chelsea on deadline day but was immediately loaned back to former employers Genk for the remainder of the 2011-12 season.
The attacking midfielder scored five goals and set up 16 more as Genk were crowned Belgian champions last season and the player netted his first senior hat-trick against Club Brugge in October. He is undoubtedly an exciting player in the making and signed for the Blues on a five-and-a-half year contract.
Despite his tender years he has already been capped for the Belgian senior side, making his debut in a friendly loss to Finland in August 2010.
Nikica Jelavic
Rangers to Everton for £5.5 million
With 30 goals in 45 league appearances for Rangers, striker Jelavic was always going to catch the attention of football clubs south of the border. The Croatian was the subject of a £6.5 million bid from Leicester City and a reported £9 million bid from an unnamed club before the August transfer deadline.
Jelavic's future was heavily speculated on throughout January and he was linked with Liverpool, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion. At one stage it looked as though Championship side West Ham United were in for him but the former Rapid Vienna striker confirmed a switch to Everton on deadline day.
Djibril Cisse
Lazio to QPR for £4 million
France international striker Cisse returned to England for a third spell in the Premier League after QPR ended his unproductive stint at Lazio. Mark Hughes's side are short on goals and Cisse began his Liverpool career on fire, scoring 11 goals in his first 23 games and then went on to score 10 goals in 35 appearances during a loan spell at Sunderland.
Cisse was prolific during his time at Panathinaikos, scoring 47 goals in 61 league appearances which prompted a £5.8 million move to Serie A in August 2011. However, just one league goal in 17 appearances – on his debut in a 2-2 draw at Milan, meant he was allowed to switch to Loftus Road.
Bobby Zamora
Fulham to QPR for £4 million
Rumours of a rift between Zamora and his manager Martin Jol saw the tabloid press go into overdrive in January. The 31-year-old striker was linked with Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland but secured a £4 million move to QPR on deadline day.
Zamora became the second striker to arrive at Loftus Road following Djibril Cisse, but like his new strike partner, he has not been the most prolific in front of goal recently. Zamora scored the winning goal against Arsenal on 2 January, his first for three months and only his fifth of the season.
Nedum Onuoha
Manchester City to QPR for £3 million
It was a busy transfer window for QPR who bolstered their defence with the signing of Manchester City defender Onuoha. Since signing a new five-year contract at the Etihad in the summer of 2009, the Nigeria-born defender hardly got a look in under manager Roberto Mancini. He was a big success during a loan spell at Sunderland last season but played just nine minutes of Premier League football for City this term.
Unsurprisingly, Onuoha was linked with a number of clubs in January, including Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion but he was reunited with his Mark Hughes, his former manager at City, at Loftus Road.
Tim Ream
New York Red Bulls to Bolton Wanderers for £2.5 million
USA international defender Ream fills the Gary Cahill shaped hole following his £7 million move to Chelsea. The former New York Red Bulls player trained with both Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion during the MLS winter break in December and Owen Coyle saw enough to sign the 24-year-old for £2.5 million.
The defender, a virtual ever present during his two seasons at New York and nominated for MLS Rookie of the Year at the end of the 2010 campaign, cancelled his honeymoon so he could join Bolton.
Marvin Sordell
Watford to Bolton Wanderers for undisclosed fee
Bolton were linked heavily with a move for Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace on transfer deadline day but saw an improved offer of £7 million rejected. Manager Owen Coyle then swooped for Watford striker Sordell to bolster his shot-shy front line.
Sordell is only in his second full season of senior football and scored eight goals in 26 league appearances this term. At just 20-years-old he definitely falls into the “potential” category but that is what excites Coyle about him signing at the Reebok Stadium.
Louis Saha
Everton to Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer
Perhaps the strangest transfer of the day was striker Saha joining Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer. One goal in 18 appearances for a mid-table side is hardly going to excite Spurs fans whose team still have ambitions of winning the Premier League this season.
The former Fulham and Manchester United striker has not scored a Premier League goal for 942 minutes but there is plenty of time to put that right having signed an 18-month contract at White Hart Lane. His arrival saw midfielder Steven Pienaar rejoin Everton in a loan move, just 12 months after switching to Spurs in a £3 million deal.
