Arsenal The squad has long been filled out by mediocrity, so on one level the departures of six players who were not regular starters is welcome. But the fact nobody has come in, despite an obvious need up front and an attempt to sign the Juventus-bound Dusan Vlahovic, rings alarm bells and their push for a top-four spot looks a couple of injuries away from derailment. The sanctioning of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s move to Barcelona without his being replaced speaks to Mikel Arteta’s uncompromising principles but also leaves their attacking ranks perilously thin. Nick Ames Key ins None. Key outs Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Barcelona), Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Roma, loan), Folarin Balogun (Middlesbrough, loan), Sead Kolasinac (Marseille), Pablo Marí (Udinese, loan), Calum Chambers (Aston Villa) Aston Villa Financial might and Steven Gerrard’s pulling power could help turn Villa into a potent force. The clearest evidence of that so far is the signing of Philippe Coutinho, whose return to the Premier League was one of January’s most exciting deals. Lucas Digne’s arrival, followed by Matt Targett’s departure, showed that Gerrard has a clear view of how he wants to improve Villa. The overhaul is far from complete – notably they did not upgrade the base of their midfield, although they did fend off interest in Douglas Luiz – but Villa should finish this season strongly. Paul Doyle Key ins Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona, loan), Lucas Digne (Everton), Robin Olsen (Roma, loan), Calum Chambers (Arsenal). Key outs Anwar El Ghazi (Everton, loan), Matt Targett (Newcastle, loan) Brentford The arrival of Christian Eriksen on a deal until the end of the season made headlines around the world and the playmaker should feel at home as one of nine Danish players on the books after the signing of goalkeeper Jonas Lössl this month. Thomas Frank and his assistant Brian Riemer agreed contract extensions to leave Brentford feeling even more unified before the final push for survival. Ed Aarons Key ins Jonas Lössl (Midtjylland), Christian Eriksen (unattached) Key outs Marcus Forss (Hull, loan), Charlie Goode (Sheffield United, loan) Brighton A busier window than might have been expected ended with Yves Bissouma still at the club despite strong interest from Aston Villa and others and the departure of Dan Burn to Newcastle. A deal for a much-coveted striker was agreed, although Deniz Undav will stay on loan with the Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise until the end of the season after agreeing a four-year deal. Meanwhile, the defender Odel Offiah – nephew of the former rugby league star Martin – extended his contract until 2024. EA Key ins Kacper Kozlowski (Pogon Szczecin), Deniz Undav (Royale Union Saint-Gilloise). Key outs Aaron Connolly (Middlesbrough, loan), Kacper Kozlowski (Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, loan), Dan Burn (Newcastle) Burnley The club are pretty much back where they started on 1 January. Chris Wood was sold after Newcastle triggered his release clause, leaving Burnley with a gaping hole in their forward line. Deadline day brought the arrival of the Netherlands striker Wout Weghorst as a like-for-like replacement. At Wolfsburg the 29-year-old had a record of one goal in every two games, which will give Sean Dyche hope Weghorst can fire the club to safety. They missed out on Dinamo Zagreb’s Mislav Orsic and on Aaron Ramsey, to make it an uninspiring window for a club in trouble. Will Unwin Key ins Wout Weghorst (Wolfsburg). Key outs Chris Wood (Newcastle) Chelsea The club refused to panic after attempts to cut short Emerson Palmieri’s loan at Lyon proved unsuccessful. They are short of cover at left wing-back after losing Ben Chilwell to injury for the rest of the season, but Thomas Tuchel has shown he can be flexible with the players at his disposal. It would not have made sense to buy a left-sided player and Tuchel saw no reason to act once it was clear that suitable loan targets were thin on the ground. Jacob Steinberg Key ins None. Key outs None Crystal Palace Early hopes of signing Manchester United’s Donny van de Beek on loan faded quickly once Everton entered the frame, with similar interest in Dele Alli also failing to ignite. A permanent deal for the striker Jean-Philippe Mateta before the Frenchman’s initial 18-month loan expired could prove a smart piece of business and further recruitment is expected in the summer. EA Key ins Jean-Philippe Mateta (Mainz). Key outs None Everton The deadline-day arrivals of Frank Lampard, Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli injected much-needed optimism into Everton’s season, yet the window as a whole shone an unforgiving light on how the club is run. Rafael Benítez, his authority increased after the departure as the director of football of Marcel Brands, bought in two full-backs for an initial outlay of £29m and sold Lucas Digne after a falling-out. The Spaniard was sacked a few days later. The unplanned signing of Anwar El Ghazi limited his successor’s options for domestic loans. Andy Hunter Key ins Vitalii Mykolenko (Dynamo Kyiv), Nathan Patterson (Rangers), Anwar El Ghazi (Aston Villa, loan), Donny van de Beek (Man Utd, loan), Dele Alli (Spurs). Key outs Lucas Digne (Aston Villa) Leeds Ostensibly a risk-averse window but will Marcelo Bielsa’s decision not to sign one senior player prove a high-stakes gamble? Admittedly the manager wanted Brenden Aaronson, Red Bull Salzburg’s £20m-rated United States forward, but Salzburg would not sell. Although Leeds never contemplated accepting West Ham’s ambitious offers for Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha, Phillips ranks among a raft of injured senior players also including Patrick Bamford. Much hinges on their return. Louise Taylor Key ins None. Key outs None Leicester Brendan Rodgers knew budgetary constraints meant there was no prospect of spending big but he hoped the club would make at least one acquisition: a centre-back. Leicester could not find one available at the right price so they will go into the second part of the season hoping Wesley Fofana, who has resumed light training after the broken leg suffered in pre-season, regains full fitness and top form soon. PD Key ins None. Key outs Filip Benkovic (released) Liverpool It was looking like another quiet window at Anfield until Porto agreed a fee with Tottenham for Luis Díaz and then a well-oiled transfer machine kicked into gear again. Liverpool’s outgoing sporting director, Michael Edwards, and his assistant and successor, Julian Ward, swooped in to capture the gifted winger whom Jürgen Klopp had intended to sign this summer. Mohamed Salah will have taken note. There was late frustration when a proposed deal for Fulham’s exciting teenager Fabio Carvalho fell through owing to time constraints, although a pre-contract agreement is possible. AH Key ins Luis Díaz (Porto). Key outs Nat Phillips (Bournemouth, loan), Neco Williams (Fulham, loan) Manchester City Julián Álvarez, a 22-year-old River Plate and Argentina forward, was Pep Guardiola’s only major piece of business, though he will not join until the summer. Despite the manager’s high-flying defending champions apparently being so far past the need for a centre-forward it is no longer a talking point, expect a move for a dedicated marksman in the next window: Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund remains a prime target. Jamie Jackson Key ins Julián Álvarez (River Plate). Key outs Ferran Torres (Barcelona), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Stoke City) Manchester United The quest for a midfielder who can run games à la N’Golo Kanté, Declan Rice or Kevin De Bruyne continues. Ralf Rangnick’s contact books, built up during a 39-year career as a manager and director of football, have failed to land an addition that would instantly enhance chances of a top-four finish, FA Cup glory and moving beyond Atlético Madrid into the Champions League quarter-finals, at least. January is the harder window for acquisitions, yet not to strengthen with the campaign so delicately poised will disappoint fans. JJ Key ins None. Key outs Axel Tuanzebe (Napoli, loan), Anthony Martial (Sevilla, loan), Amad Diallo (Rangers, loan), Donny van de Beek (Everton, loan) Newcastle Newcastle were left with an amalgam of quiet satisfaction and mild disappointment. While Eddie Howe’s team have been strengthened in central defence, at full-back, centre-forward and, perhaps most significantly, in central midfield – where Brazil’s Bruno Guimarães could exert a significant impact on the relegation battle – they failed to secure some much-coveted targets. Although the centre-halves Sven Botman and Diego Carlos are still at Lille and Sevilla respectively and Jesse Lingard’s creativity remains at Old Trafford, it has been a decent window. LT Key ins Kieran Trippier (Atlético Madrid), Chris Wood (Burnley), Bruno Guimarães (Lyon), Matt Targett (Aston Villa, loan), Dan Burn (Brighton). Key outs Freddie Woodman (Bournemouth, loan), Jeff Hendrick (QPR, loan) Norwich The club said that any transfer incomings would be highly unlikely from the moment the summer window closed last September. That turned out to be accurate, with the relegation-threatened club not even linked to players in the gossip columns. There were no sales either, but the loan move of local boy and former great hope Todd Cantwell to Bournemouth, with a permanent option in the summer, did at least raise a few eyebrows. Paul MacInnes Key ins None. Key outs Todd Cantwell (Bournemouth, loan) Southampton Ralph Hasenhüttl was always relaxed about the window given the depth added to the squad last summer. Armando Broja has been a big hit on loan from Chelsea but the Saints will have to wait – and no doubt fend off others – to pull off any permanent deal. Dynel Simeu, who joined Southampton’s B team from Chelsea last summer, will gain first-team experience on loan at Carlisle for the rest of the season, and the 16-year-old defender Will Armitage has arrived from Cheltenham for about £200,000. Ben Fisher Key ins None. Key outs None Tottenham Antonio Conte would have liked the purge to run deeper – to include a couple of defenders – but it still reverberated loudly. Two in, four out in midfield and wide areas. But it was two he will trust (Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski) versus four he did not (Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso, Dele Alli and Bryan Gil). So an upgrade? For Conte, it was something, a step in the right direction, but there was no new right wing-back (a big miss) and no back-up striker. David Hytner Key ins Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus), Dejan Kulusevski (Juventus, loan). Key outs Tanguy Ndombele (Lyon, loan), Bryan Gil (Valencia, loan), Giovani Lo Celso (Villarreal, loan), Dele Alli (Everton) Watford Trying to navigate the choppy waters of the January window is difficult enough in normal circumstances but becomes almost impossible if you change manager during it. By the time Roy Hodgson came in on 25 January Watford’s business was pretty much done, the club strengthening where they needed to with Samir at centre-back, Edo Kayembe in defensive midfield and Hassane Kamara at left-back. Six players were signed for about £20m but will it be enough to stay up? Marcus Christenson Key ins Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam), Hassane Kamara (Nice), Samir (Udinese), Edo Kayembe (Eupen), Samuel Kalu (Bordeaux). Key outs Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, loan) West Ham Have West Ham let a wonderful opportunity slip from their grasp? They will argue that January is a difficult time to do business, but their need for more depth was clear long before Christmas. The squad is light and the failure to bring in cover in defence and attack could cost them in the race to finish fourth. Ultimately, there was not enough vision. Several targets felt unrealistic and David Moyes was reluctant to gamble on certain players. JS Key ins None. Key outs None Wolves Bruno Lage is going to have to continue excelling on modest resources. The manager identified three areas where he hoped to strengthen his small squad: centre-back, winger and striker. He got a promising winger – the 21-year-old Chiquinho – but also lost a unique one in Adama Traoré. For central defence, the club recalled Toti Gomes from a loan at Grasshoppers in Zurich. And they signed a striker who was already at Molineux, with Hwang Hee-chan’s loan move made permanent. PD Key ins Toti Gomes (Grasshoppers, loan ended), Chiquinho (Estoril), Hwang Hee-chan (RB Leipzig). Key outs Adama Traoré (Barcelona, loan)