LaLiga transfer market ranking
Now that the transfer market is done and dusted it's time to look into which LaLiga clubs did a better job at bolstering their squads for what’s left of the season.
Yet it’s relevant to point out that Spanish clubs have spent very little in comparison to most top European leagues, highlighting the economic difficulties many are facing given the strict rules implemented by LaLiga.
I’ll start with a simple ranking created using Tiermaker, to then go on and sum up my thoughts on each club.
Almería - (Decent)
Not much happened for the Andalusian side, yet the few moves they made seem more than reasonable. Luis Suarez is a much needed upgrade for Rubi’s attack and selling your backup keeper for €2.2M when he arrived on a free is also a good deal. Fernando Pacheco is replaced by Diego Mariño who barely cost €80.000 and has plenty of LaLiga experience.
Athletic Club - (Nonexistent)
It’s always tough for them to cut deals given their strict policy when it comes to signing new talent. Nothing happened aside from Asier Villalibre’s loan to Alavés, an irrelevant player in Ernesto Valverde’s plans.
Atlético de Madrid - (Decent)
After a poor first half of the season with the Champions League far from guaranteed, Atleti was expected to make an impact this window. Instead they got rid of João Félix, one of their best players, because of his poor relationship with Diego Pablo Simeone. But given they’re apparently tight on money, snatching Memphis Depay seems like a very reasonable operation to replace the Portuguese attacker. Although Atleti has excelled selling players. Getting €2.3M for Felipe who’s been a liability when playing and with his contract expiring in June, is outstanding. Same goes for the Matheus Cunha deal, who will likely bring back around €40M to swell Atleti’s coffers once the loan is over.
Barcelona - (Average)
Keeping in mind Barça are by far the club with the most delicate economy in LaLiga, making money off two players that came on a free and haven’t convinced the manager, isn’t too bad. The problem is Xavi was told he’d get a replacement for each player that departed and that never happened. Now there’s an even bigger hole in the right-back position and the team depends on Robert Lewandowski in attack more than ever.
Betis - (Decent)
They’ve got a pretty deep squad so not many improvements were required, aside from finding a replacement for Alex Moreno… which isn’t an easy task. They lost a fantastic left-back and got Abner instead who will have some big boots to fill. The other signing, Ayoze Pérez, is definitely an upgrade from Loren Morón who left on loan to Las Palmas.
Cádiz - (Good)
You can tell they’re fighting for their lives once again, that’s why they’ve completed some big moves. Despite their economic limitations they made a big effort to improve their attacking line by bringing in experienced LaLiga players such as Roger Martí and Sergi Guardiola, as well as a motivated Chris Ramos who finally returns home. Other positions have also been tweaked, signing Gonzalo Escalante and Youba Diarra for the midfield, as well as defender Jorge Meré. Overall it looks like they’ve done a very good job.
Celta - (Poor)
With Celta struggling to keep their heads above the relegation zone, a move was expected to at least find someone capable of giving Iago Aspas a hand with the goal scoring tasks. It happened, but it feels like Haris Seferović won’t help too much given his past experience in LaLiga with Real Sociedad was mostly underwhelming. At least Denis Suárez was finally set free!
Elche - (Average)
Nowhere near enough has been done to try and crawl back out of the relegation zone. It feels like they’ve accepted their fate with just a few signings and giving away one of their strikers (Roger Martí) on loan to a direct rival such as Cádiz.
Espanyol - (Good)
Diego Martínez was promised more signings in summer which never came. At least now he’s been compensated with some interesting names, including the most expensive transfer of this LaLiga window: César Montes for €8M. The quality of Denis Suárez and a much needed reliable goalkeeper such as Fernando Pacheco, among others, improve the squad notably for what’s left of the season.
Getafe - (Poor)
It’s true that they already shuffled things a lot in summer, probably expecting to be in a better situation at this stage of the competition, but so far they’ve come short. Gonzalo Villar’s arrival is the only move, but I’m not sure he’ll be a game changer for Quique Sánchez Flores.
Girona - (Decent)
They’ve got a compensated squad and are doing things quite well at the moment, so little movement was expected. Yet they got their hands on Viktor Tsygankov, one of the top Ucranian prospects, to bolster their attack, as well as Peruvian defender Alexander Callens. Two positive additions to the squad.
Mallorca - (Decent)
Against all odds, Mallorca are keeping relegation at bay and proving to be way more solid than last year. Given their comfortable situation, any further reinforcement they were to bring was a treat, so well done providing Javier Aguirre with a few extra pieces.
Osasuna - (Poor)
Jagoba Arrasate’s men have impressed so far this season: they’re in the fight for European positions and they qualified for the Copa del Rey semifinals. You’d think they’ve got plenty, but fighting in two competitions can be exhausting and a few reinforcements could’ve made a difference. Especially because they let go of two midfielders: Roberto Torres and Javi Martínez. They weren’t important for Arrasate but now he’s got an even shorter squad to work with.
Rayo Vallecano - (Decent)
If we include RDT, who officially signed this window, then it has to be a decent market for Rayo at the very least. We’re talking about a top Spanish striker that will make them a lot more competitive, even though his injuries have only allowed him to play a few minutes so far. Furthermore, they got rid of Bebé and Randy Nteka who weren’t providing much to the team.
Real Madrid - (Nonexistent)
Florentino Pérez must be happy with his squad given no movement whatsoever has taken place this past month of January. A back-up striker might’ve been an interesting option but nothing materialised in the end.
Real Sociedad - (Nonexistent)
So far they’re killing it this season and little by little they’re recovering injured players. Knowing how good Imanol Alguacil is at getting the most out of the club’s youngsters, no wonder they haven’t made a move this window.
Sevilla - (Good)
No more mistakes allowed for Monchi and Sevilla, so this window has to prove successful. So far on paper it looks promising, with new additions in every line. But particularly exciting is the return of Lucas Ocampos and Bryan Gil who already proved their worth in Spain.
Valencia - (Nonexistent)
It’s rumoured that one of the reasons Gennaro Gattuso is no longer at the club is because he wasn’t getting the reinforcements he wanted. For that reason it could be considered a “poor” transfer window but we’ll leave it at nonexistent, a word which also reflects Valencia’s leadership.
Valladolid - (Good)
Magnificent job by Valladolid who have incorporated some very exciting players. Proof of that is the fabulous connection between newcomers Darwin Machís and Cyle Larin, who gave Valladolid 3 much needed points against Valencia in their debut. Another standout name is Sellim Amallah, who played an important role in Morocco’s amazing run in the recent World Cup.
Villarreal - (Poor)
They lost Gero Rulli and Arnaut Danjuma, two very important players, and bought no replacement. Taking into account they already strived for another striker last summer, that Nico Jackson would be in the Premier League had he not failed his medical and that now there’s no Danjuma, it’s clear things haven’t gone as planned for Villarreal.