It used to be that the winter transfer window was almost as active as the summer one, shifting the sands of club soccer like the summer one did. Those days are gone, possibly because the stakes have become so high a great many clubs are disinclined to part with major players midway through the season, for fear that a replacement won’t be forthcoming – which is all a self-perpetuating cycle.

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This winter window, which closed in almost every country on Tuesday – save, most notably, for Major League Soccer, the Chinese Super League and the Russian Premier League – felt fairly busy yet just as inconsequential compared to others, with few true stars actually switching teams. The impact on the rest of the season will probably be modest, but then there were still some clear winners and losers.

WINNERS

China: The SPL made yet more waves this winter, adding a slew of big names to a league that has already stocked itself with more of them than anybody could have imagined in such a short timespan. First, former Premier League and Juventus star Carlos Tevez was coaxed from his beloved Boca Juniors, quite possibly making him the best-paid player in the world. Oscar followed from Chelsea, for the 10th-highest transfer fee ever, giving the league a young attacking midfielder who could become a genuine star for the glamorous Brazilian national team. Axel Witsel snubbed several big clubs, including Juve, to leave Zenit St. Petersburg. And Alexandre Pato was tempted east from Villareal.

Paris Saint-Germain: PSG, which already counted Angel Di Maria, Lucas Moura, Javier Pastore and Hatem Ben Arfa among its corps of attacking midfielders, felt that it needed to stock up further. Perhaps because its vise-like grip on Ligue 1 has softened this year, after four straight championships. And it sure did shore up the front lines. Julian Draxler was signed from Wolfsburg, and then followed 20-year-old mega prospects Goncalo Guedes and Giovani Lo Celso, from Portugal and Argentina, respectively. To make a little room, Jese, bought from Real Madrid for 25 million euros just last summer, was loaned to Las Palmas.

Ligue 1: In addition to PSG’s haul, the resurgent French league made two other splashes. Olympique Lyon rescued Memphis Depay from his bleak outlook at Manchester United, where manager Jose Mourinho plainly has no use for the winger, who was one of the most promising young players in Europe following the 2014 World Cup. Olympique Marseille, meanwhile, managed to pry Dimitri Payet back from West Ham United after a season and a half, the first real statement purchase by new American owner Frank McCourt.

Everton: There are some inevitabilities in the transfer market. One is manager David Moyes signing a player he’s managed before – so far at Sunderland this season, he has brought in eight of his former Everton and Manchester United players. The other is Everton finding a good player at the end of the United bench. A habit, it should be noted, begun under Moyes. This time around, the Toffees scooped up Morgan Schneiderlin, who was for several years one of the best two-way midfielders in the Premier League, until Mourinho saw no use for him. At 23 million euros, the price tag is steep, but then Everton badly needed a player exactly like him.

Philadelphia Union: The thinking behind the Union’s appointment of Dutch-American Sporting Director Earnie Stewart early last year was obvious. He has a strong track record of unearthing bargains and the connections to mine the European player market. Stewart had already landed U.S. regular Alejandro Bedoya and acquired budding national teamers Chris Pontius and Keegan Rosenberry in 2016. So far this off-season, he has also landed former AZ players – where he worked most recently – Giliano Wijnaldum, a left back, and Haris Medunjanin, an attacking midfielder. But that isn’t all. He also bagged experienced English striker Jay Simpson, promising American forward Fafa Picault, and oft-injured, long-time national team center back Oguchi Onyewu. And he seems to have made all of those moves at little or no expense, quickly turning the Union into one of the stronger squads in Major League Soccer — or at least one of the most exciting ones.

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