Image Credit: @ManCity Twitter
With the 2025/2026 Winter Transfer Window now closed for most leagues in Europe, we will now look at the most expensive transfers that took place in a very short yet surprisingly busy transfer window.
Taty Castellanos to West Ham United for £25m (€29m)
For a few years now West Ham United have had serious issues with finding a striker that can solve their goal scoring issues. Niclas Füllkrug was the latest failed striker signing that has already found a way out of West Ham United with his loan move to AC Milan even before the Winter Transfer window even opened. West Ham on their side already completed their new replacement striker signing the same day reports came out of negotiations taking place with Italian side Lazio. Taty Castellanos joined West Ham United for a reported fee of €29m and is contracted to be at the club for the next 4 and a half years with an option to extend further by 1 year. The 27-year-old Argentine arrives at West Ham United with a solid resumé of 101 goals and 33 assists in 299 appearances across Uruguay, the United States, Spain and Italy. The Argentine International is already off to good start to life playing for The Hammers as Taty Castellanos already has a goal in his 5 appearances for the club.
Kader Meïté to Al Hilal for £26m (€30m)
One of the more surprising deals to happen in the winter transfer window was the transfer of 18-year-old striker Mohamed Kader Meïté to Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal. The French striker had built a reputation of being one of the top young talents in Ligue 1 playing for Stade Rennais F.C. with 5 Goals and 2 Assists in his first 32 senior appearances. This was enough for Al Hilal to see the young striker’s talent as something to capitalise on before his reputations rises any further, along with his price tag, however the club still spent quite a large fee for a teenager with Rennes receiving €30m for Meïté. Mohamed Kader Meïté signed a 3-and-a-half-year deal with the league leaders of the Saudi Pro League and will be seen as a future successor to the club’s more experienced strikers in Darwin Nunez and fellow new arrival Karim Benzma.
Oscar Bobb to Fulham for £27m (€31m)
Oscar Bobb was Manchester City’s most exciting academy graduate who made a name for himself during the 2023/2024 season where the young Norwegian winger scored the winner in Man City’s 3-2 victory over Newcastle United. This season Oscar Bobb has become somewhat of a regular starter for Man City on the Right Wing making 15 appearances in all competitions however despite the young winger’s growing confidence and development, Man City Manager Pep Guardiola was still in a market for a new winger in the lead up to the 2026 January Transfer Window. Reports claimed that Bobb would access his options at other clubs should Man City sign a new winger and following the arrival Antoine Semenyo, those reports were proven to be true. Oscar Bobb made a £27m permanent move from Manchester City to Fulham with City including a 20% Sell-On clause in the deal.
Rayan to AFC Bournemouth for £30.3m (€35m)
The 19-year-old Brazilian winger Rayan Vitor or Rayan for short, signed for The Cherries in late January from Brazilian club Vasco da Gama as a replacement to the now departed Antoine Semenyo. During his time at Vasco da Gama, Rayan made 99 appearances for the club and contributed 25 goals with 2 assists which is quite the return for a teenage winger. His impressive talent at such a young age prompted AFC Bournemouth to make a hefty offer for the Brazilian which put him the Top 10 most expensive signings of the 2026 Winter Transfer Window. Bournemouth paid a fee of around £30.3m (£24.7m + £5.6m Add-ons) with a contract that is valid until 2031 and just to emphasise the high expectations the club have for Rayan, the contract includes a €100m release clause which means Bournemouth expect many top clubs will be after their new signing sometime in future and Bournemouth want a guaranteed big fee for him.
Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace for £33.5m (€38m)
The 24-year-old winger has had a mixed time at Tottenham Hotspur following his move to the club from Nottingham Forest back in 2024. Limited game opportunities while also scoring the winning goal in the Tottenham’s UEFA Europe League success over Manchester United kind of sums up the Englishman’s time at the club. After 27 Goals and 14 Assists in 107 appearances for the club, Brennan Johnson was offered an opportunity of guaranteed game time minus UEFA Champions League football in the form of the 2025 FA Cup champions Crystal Palace. Crystal Palace offered £33.5m to Tottenham for the English winger and the club accepted despite their growing list of injuries especially to their attackers. Brennan Johnson went from sitting on the Tottenham bench to now being tasked with helping Crystal Palace avoid relegation along with potentially winning the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Ademola Lookman to Atlético Madrid for £34.8m (€40m)
The 2024 African Footballer of the Year has been looking for a move away from Atalanta BC since February 2025 after the Nigerian forward had taken serious issue with then manager at the time Gian Piero Gasperini’s comments regarding his penalty miss in a Champions League game against Club Brugge. Ademola Lookman was looking to find a move away from Atlanta and had agreed personal terms with Inter Milan during the Summer Transfer Window in 2025 and even handed in a transfer request. Unfortunately for the then 27-year-old, Atalanta blocked the move and Lookman was forced to remain at Atlanta for the 2025/2026 season which indirectly led to the tensions between Lookman and Gasperini reaching a boiling point. Lookman was substituted during Atalanta’s Champions League game against Marseille and Gian Piero Gasperini was seen angrily saying something to Lookman’s face before throwing his water bottle on the ground which led to Lookman and Gasperini needing to be separated at the end of the game following the confrontation.
On deadline day Ademola Lookman finally got his move away from the Italian club and is now set to be playing in Spain with Atlético Madrid. Atalanta agreed to a deal of €40m (€35m + €5m Add-ons) for the 28-year-old Nigerian International to finally get his move away the club.
Conor Gallagher to Tottenham Hotspur for £34.8m (€40m)
The 25-year-old English midfielder was very unsettled during his time at Atlético Madrid as Conor Gallagher was never seen a regular starter as the club and Atlético Madrid was completely open to his eventual exit this year. Aston Villa were originally seen as the front runners to signing Gallagher on a loan move with an Obligation to Buy clause added to the deal and the player himself had even agreed personal terms with the club. However, Tottenham Hotspurs had interjected themselves into the deal following their midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur joining the club’s ever growing injury list. Tottenham offered Atlético Madrid a more immediate solution with an offer of €40m to sign Conor Gallagher on a permanent deal and after quickly agreeing personal terms with the player, Atlético Madrid agreed and Gallagher officially became a Tottenham player. Conor Gallagher signed a contract that is valid until June 2031 and The English International is already off to a good start as Gallagher has already registered his first assist for the club in Tottenham’s 2-2 draw against Manchester City.
Lucas Paquetá to Flamengo for £36.5m (€42m)
The unpredictable Lucas Paquetá has officially left West Ham United this season in a surprising deal to return home to his country of Brazil this year. This deal comes as a surprise considering the fact that in the 2025 Summer Transfer Window, Aston Villa were making bids for the Brazilian to join the Villains this season however Lucas Paquetá seemingly rejected the offer and confirmed the rejection by kissing the West Ham badge in front of the West Ham fans in celebration after scoring a goal in a Premier League game against Nottingham Forest back in August. Fast forward to January 2026 and Lucas Paquetá had reportedly already agreed personal terms with Brazilian club Clube de Regatas do Flamengo on a 5-year deal before the club even started negotiations with The Hammers. Flamengo made a record deal offer for West Ham of €42m for the 28-year-old midfielder and the rest as they say is history.
Jørgen Strand Larsen to Crystal Palace for £50m (€57m)
In probably the most surprising transfer this Winter Transfer Window, Norwegian striker Jørgen Strand Larsen made a £50m (£45m + £5m Add-ons) move from bottom of the Premier League table Wolverhampton Wanderers to Crystal Palace. What makes the move surprising is not only the huge fee but also the fact that Larsen had joined Wolves on a permanent deal in the summer of 2025 following the completion of the €30m Obligation to Buy clause from his 2024/2025 loan move deal. In the 2025 Summer Transfer Window, Newcastle United did try to approach Wolves to sign the 25-year-old striker however the club rejected every offer and later in September offered Jørgen Strand Larsen a new deal that would see him stay at the club until 2030 with the option to extend further by 1 year. All of that amounted to nothing it seems as the Norwegian International made a big money move to Crystal Palace and has become the 2nd most expensive transfer to take place in the 2026 Winter Transfer Window.
Antoine Semenyo to Manchester City for £65m (€74.6m)
The move that led to the exit of Oscar Bobb from Manchester City, Antoine Semenyo signing for the Cityzens is officially the most expensive deal to take place during the 2026 Winter Transfer Window. The Ghanaian International signed a new 5-year deal with AFC Bournemouth in the summer of 2025 which came with a release clause that was a big talking point in November 2025 following Semenyo’s good start to the season. The release clause details were that the amount would be £65m (£60m + £5m Add-ons) and that the set amount would only be valid within the first 10 days of the January Transfer Window. This information prompted interest from clubs like Liverpool and Manchester United however as we know now Manchester City were favourites to land the deal as they started negotiations for the 26-year-old in December and the blue side of Manchester was Antoine Semenyo’s preferred destination. Semenyo has been off to a flying start to his life at Man City as the Ghanaian winger as contributed 4 Goals and 1 Assist in his first 6 games for the club already this season.
