10 Most Influential January Signings

With the January transfer window winding up in a matter of hours, we take a look of the most influential January signings. Players who came in in the middle of the season and went on to make their mark with their new club.


10. Louis Saha - Fulham to Manchester United 2004



Sir Alex Ferguson splashed £12.4m to get Frenchman Saha from fulham, the then 26 year old scored on his debut and helped Manchester United to two league titles and one league cup.

9. Ashley Young - Watford to Aston Villa 2007



Martin O'Neill spent £8m on English midfielder Ashley Young to bring him from Watford, he went on to help Villa to a sixth place finish.

8. Daniel Sturridge - Chelsea To Liverpool 2013 

English striker Daniel Sturridge moved to Anfield from Chelsea in January 2013 for £21m and despite his injury problems has gone on to be one of the players with the highest goal ratios for the club, and forming the formidable SAS combination with Luis Suarez in the 2013/14 season.

7.Javier Mascherano - West Ham to Liverpool 2007



Rafa Benitez signed Mascherano to Liverpool in 2007 for £18m as West Ham struggled for their Premier League survival. The Argentine went on to form a formidable combination with Xabi Alonso.

6. Mikel Arteta - Real Sociedad to Everton 2005

The Spaniard helped Everton to a top four finish in his first season and was a fan favourite at Goodison park.

5. Nemanja Matic - Benfica to Chelsea 2014



The Serb was brought back to Stamford Bridge in 2014 for £21m and helped Chelsea to win the title the following year and despite a dip in form last term he remains a reliable figure in Chelsea's midfield.

4. Gary Cahill - Bolton to Chelsea 2012

In January 2012 Roberto Di Matteo signed Cahill from Bolton for £7m and four months later he helped them win the UEFA Champions league and is still a regular in Chelsea's squad till date. 

3. Nemanja Vidic - Spartak Moscow to Manchester United 2006




Nemanja Vidic forged a strong partnership with Rio Ferdinand and became one of the toughest defenders in Premier League history.

2. Patrice Evra - Monaco to Manchester United 2006



When Sir Alex signed the diminutive French fullback from Monaco in the 2nd half of the 2005/06 season not much was expected , but he went on to help United to 5 EPL titles and became deputy captain.

1. Luis Suarez - Ajax to Liverpool 2011



Suarez was signed to Liverpool by Kenny Dalglish and he wasted no time in endearing himself to the fans and becoming a cult hero, in 2014 Suarez almost single-handedly carried Liverpool to the title before a late slip. Suarez won the then Carling Cup in 2012 and named his daughter Delfina, an anagram of Anfield.

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Chelsea Want Celtic Star Dembele, All The Day's Transfer Gossip

Moussa Dembele left Fulham to Celtic for £500,000 after his contract expired last summer. the 20 year old has scored 20 goals for Celtic since joining.

Chelsea have been linked with a lot of strikers Moussa Dembele being the latest and Celtic want  £40m for the Frenchman. Dembele flew to London today but Celtic insists he only went to see a knee specialist.


West Brom want Jay Rodriguez for  £10m

Southampton has made a bid for Napoli's Manolo Gabiadini and West Brom would leverage on the prospect of English striker Jay Rodriguez falling out of favour to make a  £10m bid for the striker.

Chinese Club Changchun Yatai want Odion Ighalo



The 27 year old Nigerian has scored 40 times in 100 games for Watford, only 1 of those goals have come this season. Ighalo had an impressive 2015/16 campaign but has been disappointing since the beginning of the new season. Watford are prepared to cash in on a  £20m move to China.


Crystal Palace Want Liverpool Outcast Mamadou Sakho



French defender Mamadou Sakho who is valued at £20m by Liverpool is wanted by Crystal Palace as they battle relegation.

Leicester City's Argentine Striker has vowed never to play for the club again



Leonardo Ulloa who scored six goals on Leicester's way to winning the league says he feels 'let down' by manager Claudio Ranieri. Leicester City rejected a bid form Sunderland for the Argentine who has one start and one goal this season, Ulloa took to social media to reveal his frustrations.

Everton Are Willing To Sell Arouna Kone Before The Window Ends



Everton boss Ronald Koeman is willing to let out of favour striker Arouna Kone leave the club before the transfer window ends with Queens Park Rangers interested in the Ivory Coast forward.


Hull City Want Guediora For £3m



Out of favour Algerian midfielder Adlene Guediora may be on his way to Hull City as a deal of £3m has been agreed. Guediora has struggled to impress Walter Mazzari and now the Italian is ready to cut his losses.

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Non league Sutton Host Arsenal, The FA Cup Fifth Round Draws In Full

Sutton's reward for eliminating Championship side Leeds United is Arsenal's visit to the Gander Green, Manchester United travel to Ewood Park and Giant killers Wolves host Chelsea.

The draws in full.


Millwall v Derby/Leicester City

Huddersfield v Manchester City

Wolves v Chelsea

Middlesbrough v Oxford

Blackburn v Manchester United

Fulham v Tottenham

Burnley v Lincoln City

Leicester City will host Derby County in a replay on the 8th of February after their 2-2 draw on Friday.

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Payet Rejoins Marseille But West Ham Have Harsh Words For Him

Dimitri Payet Has Rejoined Marseille, But West Ham's club joint- chairman David Sullivan has expressed that he expected the midfielder to stay on and make a difference.

West Ham Accused the Frenchman of lack of 'commitment and respect' as he rejoined Marseille for £25m. Payet who last played for the hammers when he came on as a substitute in the 5-0 loss to Manchester City has joined Marseille on a four-and-a-half year deal.

A statement from West Ham by David Sullivan the  joint-chairman expressed that Payet did not show the same respect and commitment shown to him by the club and fans despite rewarding him with a lucrative new five-and-a-half year deal  last year.

The statement made it clear that West Ham had no financial need to sell the 29 year old but manager Slaven Bilic sanctioned the sale in the interests of 'club unity'.

West Ham had rejected two bids for Payet but decided to sell him on Friday, they have since signed Robert Snodgrass from Hull and Jose Fonte from Southampton.

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Barca Robbed Against Real Betis ... That's A Rare Occurrence

In today's lunchtime kick of in Spain's top division The la liga was made to look very ordinary amateur when a clear goal by the Catalans was disallowed.

After a goalless first half Real Betis took the lead in the 75th minute through Alex Alegria but from then on Barcelona went at their hosts with everything and the major talking point of the game came in the 79th minute.



The ball was crossed into the area and directed toward goal but Betis defender Aissa Mandi managed a clearance only after the ball had clearly crossed the line, the clear goal was disallowed simply because the Spanish league doesn't have goal line technology and this is 2017.

In the Bundesliga or EPL it would have counted as a goal but the la liga deems the goal line technology an expensive investment, but since this has happened to one of the 'big boys' they may want to have a rethink.

Luis Suarez managed to steal a leveller in the 90th minute making it 1-1, Barcelona remain 1 point behind Real Madrid who have 2 games in hand including today's game against Real Sociedad.

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Sunday Football Prediction

Sunday Football Predictions From Ziccifoot

Fixture	Competiton	prediction
Nice - Guingamp	French Ligue 1	12
Toulouse - Saint Etienne	French Ligue 1	12
Manchester United - Wigan	English FA Cup	1
Mainz - Dortmund	German Bundesliga	12
Freiburg - Hertha Berlin	German Bundesliga	Over 1.5 goals
SC Heerenveen - Groningen	Eredivisie	12
Zwolle - FC Twente	Eredivisie	Over 1.5 goals
Udinese - AC Milan	Italian Serie A	12
Sampdoria - Roma	Italian Serie A	12
Crotone - Empoli	Italian Serie A	12
Almeria – Real Oviedo	Spanish Segunda Liga	Under 3.5 goals
Espanyol - Sevilla	Spanish Primera Liga	X2
Athletic Bilbao - Sporting Gijon	Spanish Primera Liga	12

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Top 5 Penalty HeartBreaks Of AFCON History

Senegal's AFCON Outing Came To A Painful End With Sadio Mane's Penalty Miss On Saturday Night, We Now Take A Look At Agonising Penalty Shootouts In The Past.


5. Sadio Mane Gabon 2017 Quarter Final
Senegal dominated the game and should have won in regulation time but it wasn't to be, with the penalty scores level at 4-4 Senegal's best player stepped up last night to take his turn in the shootout but saw his kick saved by the Camerounian keeper.

4. Samuel Eto'o Egypt 2006 Quarter Final


This penalty shootout in Cairo is the longest in AFCON history, Cameroun's Samuel Eto'o missed his side's 12th penalty as they lost 12-11 to Ivory Coast.

3. El Hadji Diouf Mali 2002 Final



Senegal had arguably their best team ever in 2002, and in this final in Mali against Cameroun led by star boy El Hadji Diouf , after a stalemate after 90 minutes  and extra-time, Diouf shot wide agonisingly in the shootouts as they lost 3-2 to Cameroun.

2. Kanu Nwankwo Ghana-Nigeria 2000 Final



Co-hosts Nigeria had come from two goals down to level 2-2 with Cameroun in Lagos, but in the penalty shootouts the then Arsenal striker hit a weak penalty straight at the goalkeeper as Nigeria lost painfully, 4-3 on penalties.

1. Didier Drogba Egypt 2006 Final



This was the beginning of Ivory Coast's 'golden generation' led by the enigmatic Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, the Elephants had overcome Cameroun and Nigeria on their way to the final, all squared at fulltime Drogba blazed the ball mysteriously very wide during the penalty shootouts, a painful end to their competition. Egypt won 4-2 on penalties. 

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Lacklustre And Disorganised, What Has Happened To Liverpool?

With The Loss To Championship Side Wolverhampton Wanderers Liverpool Have Now Lost Three Consecutive Games At Anfield for the first time since 2012.

It was just in October that Liverpool looked like title favourites and treble hopefuls with their free scoring players they were scoring for fun and winning with ease but fast forward thirteen weeks the reds have become a shadow of themselves, their results are raising a lot of questions but it is their performance that will be the real worry for Jurgen Klopp.

Liverpool beat Manchester City on  New Year's eve and had deserved celebrations for beating a 'title rival', since then their fortunes have gone south and reached a critical low and the reds would be seeking desperate answers, Sadio Mane and Senegal are out of the Africa Cup Of Nations and he will be headed back to Anfield soon, but will it be enough for The Reds? Since their 2-2 draw against Sunderland on 2nd January It has hardly happened for Klopp and Liverpool.

Liverpool managed to leave Old Trafford with a point earlier this month but they face champions-elect Chelsea on Tuesday in the last game of a very miserable month, their last chance to breathe in hope into their collapsing title charge.


The Mane Effect

The absence of Sadio Mane has no doubt had an effect on Liverpool for they average 2.6 goals a game with mane and 1 goal per game without the Senegalese. and without Mane they have a winning percentage of 30% and 71.4% with him.

Mane is famed for pushing defenders back and also getting the goals and he hasn't looked back since his first premier league game for Liverpool at Arsenal.

Jurgen Klopp yesterday accepted '100% responsibility' for the humiliation at the hands of Wolves and at this point we could all accept this is the lowest point of his Liverpool career. Klopp who has faced criticism with some of his selections in recent weeks should be eager for Tuesday to come soon enough so the redemption might begin, poor form and injuries have played their part no doubt but in the face of poor displays like these, the fans tend to get impatient easily.

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Rooney Ready To Accept Chinese Offers

English striker Wayne Rooney Is ready to listen to offers from China and accept a move in the twilight of his career, Rooney initially stated that he would only leave United for boyhood club Everton, but all that seems to have changed as the 31 year old has his mind made up.

Earlier this season it was reported that the England captain rejected a move to the far east, however an unnamed Chinese club plans to make the Scouser the highest paid player with a salary of £1million per week, should Rooney grab the offer he would be the highest paid player toppling Carlos Tevez who earns £650,000 per week.

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Saturday Football Prediction

Fixture	Competiton	prediction
Lyon - Lille	French Ligue 1	Over 1.5 goals
Nancy - Bordeaux	French Ligue 1	1X
Lorient - Dijon	French Ligue 1	1X
RB Leipzig - Hoffenheim	German Bundesliga	X2
Ingolstadt - Hamburger	German Bundesliga	12
Heracles - PSV Eindhoven	Eredivisie	2
G.A Eagles - FC Utrecht	Eredivisie	Over 1.5 goals
Vitoria de Guimares - Maritimo	Portuguese Primera Liga	12
Tondela - Chaves	Portuguese Primera Liga	12
Rotherham - Barnsley	English Championship	12
Reading – Cardiff City	English Championship	12
Leganes - Celta Vigo	Spanish Primera Liga	X2
Alaves – Athletico Madrid	Spanish Primera Liga	Under 3.5 goals

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Sunderland's Papy Djilobodji Gets Four Game Ban

The Football Association Has Found Djilobodji Guilty Of Violent Conduct.The Sunderland Defender Will Miss Four games As A Result.

The Senegalese clashed with Darren Fletcher after their 2-0 loss to West Brom at The Hawthorns, the incident where the 28 year old struck Fletcher in the face was not seen by the match officials but was caught on video.

The ban was extended by one game due to the sending of Djibolodji two months ago.

Djibolodji had denied any wrongdoing but was found guilty by the Independent Regulatory Commission today. The ban begins with the game against Tottenham on January 31.

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Holders Barcelona Reach Spanish Cup Semis

Barcelona Thrashed Real Sociedad 5-2 (6-2 on aggregate) to reach the Copa Del Rey Semi Finals , Dennis Suarez scored a rare brace either side of half time to help the Catalans ease into the last four.

Goals from Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Arda Turan helped Barcelona complete the rout, with the scoreline 2-0 , Juanmi pulled one back for the visitors but Luis Suarez swiftly scored to maintain the 2 goal lead.

Da Silva scored for Real Sociedad in the 73rd minute but it wasn't enough as Barca reached the semis of the competition for the seventh consecutive season.

Barcelona, Athletico Madrid, Celta Vigo and Alaves are the teams remaining in the competition and they await the draws for the semifinals today (Friday).

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It's Friday Football Prediction

Friday football predictions from ziccifoot

Fixture	Competiton	prediction
Newcastle Jets - Melbourne City FC	Australia A league	G/G
Marseille – Montpellier	French Ligue 1	1X
Schalke 04 – E.Frankfurt	German Bundesliga	1X
Union Berlin - Bochum	German 2.Bundesliga	1X
Osasuna – Malaga	Spanish Primera Liga	12
Boavista - Belenenses	Portuguese Primera Liga	12
Elche – Girona	Spanish Segunda Liga	Under 3.5 goals
Willem II – Sparta Rotterdam	Eredivisie	1X
FC Eindhoven - Waalwijk	Eerste Divisie	12
FC Oss – VVV-Venlo	Eerste Divisie	Over 1.5 goals
Den Bosch – Jong Ajax	Eerste Divisie	X2

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