Which Premier League club enjoyed the best January transfer window?

One of the busiest January transfer windows of recent years has now ended, with clubs left to deal with the incomings and outgoings throughout the second half of the season.

While some clubs endured underwhelming windows with plenty of players leaving and not many coming the other way, others will be very satisfied with the business they did over the course of the month.

Here, the Sports Mole team discuss which Premier League club they think did the best deals during January.

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Barney Corkhill, Editor

Any manager or director of football will tell you how difficult it is to do good business in January, but this winter quite a few clubs managed it and the likes of Aston Villa and Everton in particular will come out of it feeling as though they have a much better squad than they did at the beginning of the month.

All eyes were on Newcastle United this month, though, and for me the Magpies have done some very good business - not necessarily as eye-catching as some of the more ambitious fans may have hoped, but very good signings for where they are right now.

Becoming the world's richest club inevitably saw them immediately linked with 'Galacticos' like Kylian Mbappe and Erling Braut Haaland - players they were never going to get so early in their development, even if they weren't embroiled in a relegation battle.

Instead, they have made smart signings, all of which improve their starting XI as well as the squad and should result in Eddie Howe's side climbing away from relegation trouble during the second half of the campaign, which is by far the priority for them right now, rather than getting too far ahead of themselves.

The Magpies' main weak point was the defence, which has been bolstered by Kieran Trippier, Matt Targett and Dan Burn - all upgrades on their current options. Up front, Chris Wood provides some much-needed competition for the injury-prone Callum Wilson. All of those players also have crucial experience of being in a relegation battle, yet have proven their Premier League quality.

Then, in midfield, they have added a sprinkling of stardust in Bruno Guimaraes, whose potential partnership with Allan Saint-Maximin will rightly have Newcastle fans very excited. The Magpies have strengthened every area of the pitch, and in doing so appear to have laid very solid and sensible foundations for many more busy transfer windows to come.

Matt Law, Football Editor

Aston Villa will be pleased with their business this month, while Everton had a strong deadline day, but Newcastle United, for me, had the best window.

Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Bruno Guimaraes, Matt Targett and Dan Burn are all strong signings and will undoubtedly boost their hopes of surviving relegation.

Liverpool's acquisition of Luis Diaz, and Tottenham Hotspur's moves for Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski were certainly eye-catching, but overall, Newcastle have had the best window considering their position in the table, and it will be fascinating to see what happens if Eddie Howe can put his best side on the field on a consistent basis.

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Darren Plant, Senior Reporter

Although the likes of Newcastle United and Everton will be pleased with their club's transfer business, Aston Villa have stood out for me.

The headline addition has been Philippe Coutinho, who Steven Gerrard hopes will enjoy a new lease of life in the West Midlands after his frustrations at Barcelona. While that signing showed ambition, there is a shrewdness with how Villa have gone about signing Calum Chambers and Lucas Digne.

The latter is viewed as an upgrade on the solid Matt Targett, while bringing in Chambers at minimal cost is an outstanding bit of business, even if there are question marks over the Englishman's fitness.

Villa and Gerrard may have missed out on Rodrigo Bentancur to Tottenham Hotspur, but that would have been the cherry on top of the cake, and the club's supporters can only be excited about their second half of the campaign.

Oliver Thomas, Reporter

Despite deals for the likes of Sven Botman, Diego Carlos and Hugo Ekitike failing to materialise, Newcastle United are one of the real winners of the January window and their fans can be pleased with their transfer business.

The Magpies' new owners immediately splashed the cash at their first attempt, spending over £90m on five new recruits. All five are seemingly upgrades on their current group of players, particularly the additions of Bruno Guimaraes and Kieran Trippier, but only time will tell as to whether they are enough to steer Eddie Howe's side to safety.

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Marvelous Adepoju, Reporter

Newcastle. Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Bruno Guimaraes, Matt Targett and Dan Burn. Not bad for a first transfer window since a major takeover as all five signings improve the team immediately.

The Magpies might not have landed all their targets but in my opinion, they have done enough to retain their Premier League status come May.

Olly Allen, Reporter

It's hard not to say Aston Villa for this one. Steven Gerrard has added real quality and upgraded his squad with some smart additions.

Villa fans wouldn't have even dreamt of a player like Philippe Coutinho wearing the claret and blue a couple of years ago and the Brazilian has already contributed with a goal and an assist on his debut.

Lucas Digne has proved he is one of the best left-backs in the Premier League and Villa capitalised on poor mismanagement at Everton for that deal.

Finally, Calum Chambers, who is likely to prove a bargain on a free transfer. He gives them more depth at centre-back and will raring to go after being left out of the team at Arsenal.