It’s one of the most popular days in the sporting calendar. Deadline Day transfers have produced some of football’s most dramatic, influential and era‑defining moments. From shock moves to title‑shaping arrivals, For Foot Sake has built the ultimate 16‑man squad of Deadline Day signings who genuinely changed clubs, careers and the wider game.
All transfer information is sourced from transfermarkt.com.
Goalkeeper
Hugo Lloris – Lyon to Tottenham, €12.6m, August 2012
Hugo Lloris arrived from Lyon on Deadline Day in 2012 for a fee that now looks like one of the great bargains of the Premier League era. Signed for around £11m, Tottenham secured a future World Cup‑winning captain at a price that barely reflected his ceiling. Across more than a decade in North London, Lloris became one of the best goalkeepers in the world, redefining Spurs’ defensive standards and delivering consistency, leadership and elite shot‑stopping. For value, longevity and influence, few Deadline Day transfers can touch it.
Defenders
Ashley Cole – Arsenal to Chelsea, €7.4m + William Gallas, August 2006
Ashley Cole’s Deadline Day switch from Arsenal to Chelsea in 2006 looked like a fair deal at the time, William Gallas going the other way and a fee that felt balanced for two elite defenders who wanted out. In hindsight, Chelsea won it by a mile. Cole was already the Premier League’s best left‑back, and continued to be for eight glittering seasons. A relentless, world‑class performer who helped the club win just about everything available: Premier League titles, domestic cups, and the Champions League. As Deadline Day transfers go, few delivered more value or more silverware.
Sergio Ramos – Sevilla to Real Madrid, €27m, August 2005
Sergio Ramos’ Deadline Day move from Sevilla to Real Madrid in 2005 became one of the most important transfers in modern football. Signed for around €27m as a 19‑year‑old, he looked expensive at the time, but in hindsight, Madrid secured one of the greatest defenders of his generation at a price that now feels absurdly low. Ramos went on to win everything: multiple Champions Leagues, La Liga titles, and a World Cup and Euros with Spain, all while redefining the role of the modern centre‑back. As Deadline Day deals go, it’s close to unmatched.
David Luiz – Benfica to Chelsea, €25m, January 2011
David Luiz’s Deadline Day arrival from Benfica in 2011 remains one of the most iconic late‑window deals of the Premier League era. Chelsea paid big money for a defender who looked raw, chaotic and brilliant all at once, and he delivered exactly that, along with a medal haul that justifies every penny. Like Ashley Cole before him, Luiz went on to win everything at the club: Premier League titles, domestic cups, the Europa League and, most famously, the Champions League. For influence, personality and silverware, he’s one of Deadline Day’s defining signings.
John Stones – Barnsley to Everton, €3.5m, January 2013
John Stones’ Deadline Day move from Barnsley to Everton in 2013 was a masterclass in value. Signed for just €3.5m, he developed into one of the most influential English defenders of his generation and was eventually sold for nearly fifteen times that fee. At Everton he helped usher in a new era of ball‑playing centre‑backs, redefining what an English defender could look like. His rise was so pronounced that Pep Guardiola moved quickly to bring him to Manchester City, where he became a cornerstone of a treble‑winning defensive line and a symbol of modern tactical evolution.
Midfielders
Claude Makelele – Real Madrid to Chelsea, €20m, August 2004
Claude Makélélé’s Deadline Day move from Real Madrid to Chelsea in 2003 became one of the most transformative signings in Premier League history. Madrid thought they were cashing in on a defensive midfielder they considered replaceable; Chelsea ended up with the player who defined an entire position. Makélélé anchored José Mourinho’s early title‑winning sides, set the rhythm for a new era of tactical control, and helped the club lift multiple Premier League titles and domestic cups. In hindsight, it was extraordinary value, a Deadline Day deal that reshaped English football’s understanding of midfield balance.
Mesut Ozil – Real Madrid to Arsenal, €47m, September 2013
Mesut Özil’s Deadline Day arrival from Real Madrid in 2013 was one of the most seismic transfers in Premier League history. Arsenal had gone years without landing a true global superstar, and suddenly they were unveiling the World Cup‑winning No.10 who had been the creative heartbeat of Madrid’s attack. The £42.5m fee looked huge at the time, but Özil delivered immediate lift: elegance, vision, assists on tap, and a level of technical class the club had been missing. It was a statement signing that reshaped Arsenal’s identity and remains one of Deadline Day’s defining moments.
Rafael van der Vaart – Real Madrid to Tottenham, €10.5m, August 2010
Rafael van der Vaart’s Deadline Day arrival from Real Madrid in 2010 was one of those scratch‑your‑eyes Tottenham moments, the kind that sits alongside Ricky Villa, Jürgen Klinsmann and the club’s most romantic, improbable coups. Signed for around £8m, it was outrageous value for a player of his pedigree and personality. Van der Vaart brought instant flair, goals, swagger and a sense of theatre that lit up White Hart Lane. For pure excitement and impact, it remains one of the most memorable Deadline Day transfers of the modern era.
Forwards
Wayne Rooney – Everton to Manchester United, €37m, August 2004
Wayne Rooney’s Deadline Day move from Everton to Manchester United in 2004 delivered the most influential English footballer since David Beckham. Signed at just 18, he exploded onto the scene with that unforgettable debut hat‑trick in the Champions League, then spent the next decade producing moments that defined an era: the volley against Newcastle, the bicycle kick against Manchester City, the relentless big‑game performances. Rooney became United’s all‑time leading scorer, a Premier League icon and a cornerstone for England. Few Deadline Day signings have ever shaped club and country with such force.
Ronaldo – Inter to Real Madrid, €45m, August 2002
Ronaldo’s Deadline Day move from Inter to Real Madrid in 2002 was the purest definition of a galáctico signing. Fresh from dragging Brazil to World Cup glory, he arrived as the sport’s ultimate superstar, a phenomenon whose reputation somehow still exceeded the hype. Madrid paid big, but they got one of the greatest strikers of all time at the peak of his powers. Ronaldo scored 83 goals in 127 games, a staggering return given the injuries he’d overcome, and became the face of the early galáctico era. A true icon, signed in true Deadline Day style.
Gareth Bale – Tottenham to Real Madrid, €101m, September 2013
Gareth Bale’s Deadline Day move from Tottenham to Real Madrid in 2013 was the ultimate blockbuster transfer, a world‑record fee for a player whose trajectory was already pointing towards superstardom. Bale arrived as the Premier League’s most explosive talent and became a defining figure of the modern Real Madrid era. A Champions League specialist, a big‑moment machine, and the scorer of some of the competition’s most iconic goals, he justified every headline. For Wales he became a national talisman; for Madrid he was a serial winner. A true era‑shaping Deadline Day signing.
Bench
Gianluigi Donnarumma – PSG to Manchester City, €30m, August 2025
Gianluigi Donnarumma’s Deadline Day move from PSG to Manchester City felt like one of those transfers that shouldn’t even be possible. Still only in his mid‑twenties, already a European Championship and Champions League winner, he arrived with a pedigree that most goalkeepers spend a lifetime chasing. The disbelief wasn’t about City signing him, it was that PSG were willing to let him go at all. For City, it was a chance to secure a potentially era‑defining No.1 at the perfect age, a goalkeeper whose best years still stretch out in front of him.
Per Mertesacker – Werder Bremen to Arsenal, €11.3m, August 2011
Per Mertesacker’s Deadline Day move to Arsenal in 2011 was one of the quiet bargains of the Premier League era. Signed for a modest fee, he became a defensive cornerstone and later a World Cup‑winning centre‑back with Germany. His calm authority helped end Arsenal’s nine‑year trophy drought in 2014, and his legendary FA Cup final performance in 2017 only deepened his status. Mertesacker’s influence didn’t stop on the pitch: he now shapes the club’s future as head of the academy, nurturing talents like Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis‑Skelly and Max Dowman. A truly transformative signing.
Cole Palmer – Manchester City to Chelsea, €47m, August 2022
Cole Palmer’s Deadline Day move from Manchester City to Chelsea in 2023 already looks like one of the most inspired late‑window deals of the modern era. Signed for around £40m, he arrived as a talented but unproven academy product — and instantly became the creative heartbeat of a rebuilding Chelsea side. Palmer brought goals, swagger, composure and a level of end‑product that belied his age, quickly emerging as one of the Premier League’s standout young stars. For value, impact and sheer audacity, Chelsea’s decision to prise him from City feels like a masterstroke.
Luis Suarez – Ajax to Liverpool, €26.5m, January 2011
Luis Suárez’s Deadline Day move from Ajax to Liverpool in 2011 delivered one of the most electrifying forwards the Premier League has ever seen. He scored relentlessly, dragged Liverpool up the table almost by force of will, and in 2013/14 came within a whisker of firing them to the title. At his peak he formed a devastating front line with Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling, pace, movement, chaos and goals in every direction. Suárez was also capable of baffling, combustible moments, but his brilliance was undeniable. A Deadline Day signing who changed Liverpool’s trajectory.
Carlos Tevez – Corinthians to West Ham, €14.6m, August 2006
Carlos Tevez’s Deadline Day move to West Ham in 2006 remains one of the murkiest, most bizarre and yet most iconic transfers the Premier League has ever seen. The third‑party ownership saga overshadowed everything at first, until Tevez started dragging West Ham to safety almost single‑handedly. His goals down the stretch kept the club in the Premier League and turned him into an unlikely cult hero. Sir Alex Ferguson moved quickly, securing one of the most inspired loan signings of the era. From controversy to clutch moments, Tevez’s arrival was Deadline Day at its wildest.
Let us know what you think and check out our list of all-time January transfers here.