As we prepare for the business end of the 2010/11 English Premier League season, tribalfootball.com thought it would be a good time to look at some of the best transfers that have taken place since last summer.
With the summer transfer window opening in June last year, plenty of clubs went about strengthening their squads for the upcoming season and always there have been hits and misses in the transfer department.
The best transfer we can think of is that of Rafael van der Vaart from Real Madrid to Tottenham Hotspur. The Holland international has been a revelation in North London and his influence has been a major factor to Spurs showing such great form in Europe and the Premiership.
His 10 Premier League goals in 19 appearances shows that he has adapted quickly to the game in England and his total of 12 goals for his new club is a great return for an attacking midfielder with plenty of the season still to go - not bad for a bargain £8million purchase.
Another notable transfer is Raul Meireles from FC Porto to Liverpool for £11.5million. The Portuguese midfielder has taken time to settle but his performances in the past two months have been inspiring and his five goals in the last six matches have lifted the Reds out of their form slump.
Peter Odemwingie's move from Lokomotiv Moscow to West Bromwich Albion did not attract much attention but the Nigerian has hardly put a foot wrong for the struggling Baggies with nine goals in 21 matches. Expect him to land at a bigger club if West Brom happen to go down.
Manchester United did some shrewd business when they brought in promising Mexican striker Javier Hernandez from Chivas Guadalajara. 'Chicharito' has been an instant hit at Old Trafford, scoring 11 times in 27 outings, mainly as a substitute but has plenty of scope and will almost certainly be a United player for a long, long time.
And to round out the top five, Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has been a great purchase by Arsene Wenger. The centre-half came with not much fanfare but has been a rock in the heart of the Gunners' defence which at times has been makeshift with injuries to Thomas Vermaelen and Sebastien Squillaci.
Top 10 transfers for 2010/11
1. Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham Hotspur from Real Madrid for £8M - 24 matches, 12 goals*all competitions)
2. Raul Meireles (Liverpool from FC Porto for £11.5M - 27 matches, 5 goals)
3. Peter Odemwingie (West Bromwich Albion from Lokomotiv Moscow for £1M - 21 matches, 9 goals)
4. Javier Hernandez (Manchester United from Chivas Guadalajara for undisclosed - 27 matches, 11 goals)
5. Laurent Koscielny(Arsenal from Lorient for £8.45M - 31 matches, 2 goals)
6. Asamoah Gyan (Sunderland from Rennes for £13M - 25 matches, 10 goals)
7. Marouane Chamakh (Arsenal from Bordeaux for free - 31 matches, 10 goals)
8. Yaya Toure (Manchester City from Barcelona for £24M - 31 matches, 4 goals)
9. David Silva (Manchester City from Valencia for £24M - 35 matches, 5 goals)
10. Frederic Piquionne (West Ham United from Lyon for undisclosed - 31 matches, 8 goals)
