Some smart buys but a dull January transfer window overall

It's been a rather dull January transfer window for the European elite as clubs have become more adept at the loan game in an increasingly inflated market.

Most of the deals done by the top clubs were players that were loaned in with an option to buy at the end of the window while there were clubs like Manchester United that brought players that Bruno Fernandes.

So lets a look at the January transfer window and the big winners and losers of it.

Inter, Sheffield and Dortmund win big

It's hard to not notice the excellent business Inter Milan have done in January by buying Cristian Eriksen from Tottenham Hotspurs for just 20 million Euros.

Eriksen was just a few seasons worth well over 100 million but with him reluctant to sign a new deal at Spurs, and with just six months left, the talismanic midfielder was sold for an absolute bargain.

Inter also got the experienced full-back, Ashley Young, for just 1.5 million Euros from Manchester United while they sold out-of-favour forward Gabriel Barbosa back to Flamengo for 17.45 million to balance the books.

For Sheffield United, they were looking to bolster their squad with a fight for top six and European competition up for grabs and they managed to do exactly that.

Their biggest buy in January – literally – being Sander Berge for a record fee of 21.5 million Euros from Genk as the towering midfielder will add more steel to the Blades' ranks.

Then there is Borussia Dortmund, who bought one of the most sought after young strikers in Europe Erling Braut Haaland for just 20 million Euros.

Manchester United were also interested in the striker that has already scored five goals for his new side in two appearances, but Haaland chose Dortmund instead.

And just before the window closed, Dortmund took Emre Can on loan from Juventus with an obligation to buy at the end of the season.

Dortmund also managed to balance the books by selling their striker Paco Alcacer for 23 million Euros while they also sold midfielder Julian Weigl for 20 million and winger Jacob Bruun Larsen for 9 million Euros to end up with a net profit, and still have a better team.

Arsenal, United and Spurs do the repair job

For Arsenal, the task was simple yet complicated – shore up a barren and broken defense, but do it on the cheap - and the north Londoners managed to do exactly that with the loan signings of centre-back Pablo Mari and right-back Cedric Soares.

Both signings were done with an option to buy at the end of the season so head coach Mikel Arteta would know what to do after seeing how they perform in the remainder of the season.

For Manchester United, it was about getting a transfer that should have happened earlier in the summer – the capture of Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon for 55 million Euros - making him the most expensive signing of this year's January transfer window.

They also managed to get striker Odion Ighalo from Shanghai Shenua on loan at the last minutes of the transfer window to give their attacking ranks a boost with Marcus Rashford out injured till April.

For Tottenham, it was about refreshing a jaded squad and they managed to do that to a certain extent by signing winger Steven Bergwijn from PSV for 30 million Euros and loan in central midfielder Gedson Fernandes from Benfica for a 4.5 million Euro fee.

Spurs also loaned out full-backs Danny Rose (Newcastle) and Kyle Walker-Peters (Southampton) but they wanted to get a backup striker for the injured Harry Kane and failed to do so, with talks of Chelsea's Olivier Giroud and PSG's Edinson Cavani being taken.

All three clubs are fighting for top four places and made some improvements to their side but they all are far from the finished article and will have to do more business in the summer to get back to where they want to be.

Barca and Real invest for the future

Real Madrid brought in attacking midfielder Reinier from Flamengo for 30 million Euros and he has been touted to be a world-class player in the future.

The Los Blancos also loaned out right-back Alvaro Odriozola to Bayern Munich but overall it was a quiet transfer window for Zinedine Zidane's team, who had a quiet transfer window, as they fight on all fronts and are top of the La Liga table.

For Barcelona, the injury to Luis Suarez meant they had to dip into the transfer market for a replacement, and they got right-winger Trincao from Braga for 31 million Euros and midfielder Matheus Fernandes from Palmeiras for 7 million.

Both players are however set to join the Blaugrana in the summer and the loaning of Jean-Clair Todibo to Schalke hasn't made sense as Barca have only three fit centre-backs at the moment.

Once again, the activity by the Barca management in the transfer market has come under scrutiny as they needed defensive re-enforcements, especially under new coach Quique Setien, who prefers to play three at the back.

The biggest losers – Chelsea and PSG

Chelsea fans would have expected some big signings in the January window, especially a top striker, or a marquee signing, once their transfer ban had been lifted.

But that didn't materialize and even their manager Frank Lampard cut a frustrated figure at the end of the window with no signings made in a young squad that needed a bit more to ensure a top-four spot and compete in the Champions League.

Giroud was on the market to be sold and even that didn't happen, despite interest from Tottenham as Chelsea couldn't find a replacement.

Paris-Saint Germain's Edinson Cavani was talked up as a potential striker that Chelsea could also have but Cavani wanted to go to Atletico Madrid, and that move simply didn't materialize at the end.

Both strikers remained stranded at their clubs and will be struggling for game time.    

So overall it was a rather uneventful transfer window for the European elite as clubs have become savvier in an inflated market and are keeping their main business intact for the summer.