Newcastle would be third in the Premier League based on points gained since end of transfer window

Paul Okey
22 March 2022

Newcastle celebrate second goals vs Brighton Mar22

Magpies are showing Champions League form after some astute buys in January, while inactivity has proved costly for Brighton, Leeds and Norwich.

The conclusion of January's deadline day always heralds a flood of articles on who won the transfer window.

A quick glance at transfermarkt, a few snatches of Youtube highlights topped off with a sprinkling of speculative hunches and Everton were crowned transfer champions just ahead of Aston Villa.

Luckily, the close of the window coincided with an international break, so as we head into another one, it is the perfect time to assess just what has happened in the Premier League since January 31.

Planet Sport has compiled a league table of top-flight results since the final round of fixtures on January 22 and 23 to find out who really won the window.

No surprises as to who are top

Liverpool may have played two games less than some of their top-flight rivals but seven wins from seven have resulted in 21 points, three clear of Arsenal.

Luis Diaz was their only January signing and while he has slipped into the side seamlessly, it would be overstating his impact to claim the Reds won the transfer window.

Similarly, Arsenal didn't bring in anyone of note but have picked up six wins and a draw from their seven matches since January, their only defeat coming at the hands of Jurgen Klopp's men.

Newcastle, meanwhile, began February in 18th with just two wins and 15 points to their name.

Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Bruno Guimaraes, Matt Targett and Dan Burn were added and, in the eight games since, the Magpies have doubled their points tally.

Five wins and a draw have lifted Eddie Howe's side to 14th and almost banished their relegation fears.

Based on results since the close of the window, the Tyneside club would be third in the table, marking them out as the clear winners of the transfer window.

Premier League table since January 31

Pos		P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Liverpool	7	7	0	0	17	1	21
2	Arsenal	7	6	0	1	11	6	18
3	Newcastle	8	5	1	2	11	6	16
4	Tottenham	9	5	0	4	21	12	15
5	Manchester City	6	4	1	1	13	4	13
6	Chelsea	4	4	0	0	9	1	12
7	Manchester United	7	3	3	1	12	10	12
8	Wolves	9	4	0	5	12	10	12
9	West Ham	7	3	2	2	8	8	11
10	Aston Villa	8	3	1	4	13	8	10
11	Crystal Palace	7	2	4	1	8	4	10
12	Southampton	7	3	1	3	10	11	10
13	Leicester	7	3	1	3	8	9	10
14	Burnley	9	2	3	4	6	11	9
15	Watford	9	2	2	5	6	15	8
16	Leeds	9	2	1	6	10	27	7
17	Brentford	7	2	1	4	7	9	7
18	Everton	7	2	0	5	5	12	6
19	Brighton	7	1	0	6	3	13	3
20	Norwich	7	0	1	6	5	18	1

Consistently inconsistent

Leicester, Aston Villa, Southampton and Crystal Palace were 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively, at the start of February.

And their form since has been similarly mid-table, with all four picking up ten points.

Villa have fared slightly the worse of the quartet having played a game more, with the addition of Philippe Coutinho not quite having the effect many people thought it would.

Despite the inconsistent form, all four have moved up a position, however, and that is thanks to a major fall-off from the team who ended the window in ninth. More on them later.

Tottenham are another team who have been up and down.

Manager Antonio Conte, who has made much of the club's transfer failings, brought in Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski in the window. And while the duo have both impressed, five wins and four draws from nine is remarkably similar to Nuno Espirito Santo's record before his was given the old heave-ho (five wins, five defeats).

The big losers

When Brighton signed Deniz Undav from Belgian side Union in January and immediately loaned him back, it seemed a sensible move. The Seagulls were ninth in the table and the prolific striker represented an exciting option for the 2022/23 campaign.

However, one win and six defeats later, the south-coast side find themselves sliding down the Premier League at an alarming rate and have mustered just three goals in seven games - the lowest of the 20 teams.

The struggles of the bottom three mean they may already have enough points to survive but it appears an opportunity lost after the euphoria of the first half of the campaign.

Norwich chose not to strengthen in January and have taken just one point from the subsequent 21 to all but seal their top-flight fate, while Leeds were similarly reluctant to dip their toes into the market.

They did, however, opt to replace their manager in February and it is that which looks to have given them a Premier League lifeline, with Jesse Marsch having guided them to successive wins, both thanks to injury-time strikes. The six points have bolstered their output for the period to seven from 27 which, based on points per game, is still only 18th-best.

Everton also have reason to be thankful for a last-gasp winner, with Alex Iwobi clinching all three points against Newcastle in the 99th minute last time out.

The victory doubled the Toffees' points output for the period. However, despite having brought in Vitalii Mykolenko, Nathan Patterson, Anwar El Ghazi, Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli, a paltry haul of six points from seven games shows they were a long way from beating Newcastle in the window.