The winter transfer window has always been a great opportunity for clubs in urgent need of a stronger squad. But it is important not to miscalculate and sign a contract with a newcomer who will pay off as quickly as possible. Here are three transfers that were worth it.

Dani Alves, Barcelona

During his time in Sao Paulo, Alves managed to win the America’s Cup, the Paulista League, and the Olympic Games. After collecting an impressive collection of trophies (46 of them in total), he left the club and returned to the Catalan camp as a free agent.

Moreover, the Brazilian loves Barcelona so much he agreed to play for one Euro, but the leadership of La Liga did not allow it. So Alves’ salary until the end of the 21/22 season is 155,000 euros.

Both sides benefited from the Brazilian’s move. He broke into the starting lineup, surpassing Dest, Roberto, and Mingesa. Alves is regularly noted for his performance and brings tangible benefits to the team. They say that the Blaugrana are going to extend the contract with the veteran for another season. This would make sense because the 38-year-old continues to shine on the field.

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Philippe Coutinho, Aston Villa

Everyone knows the story of the Brazilian’s failure. This season it became clear that there is absolutely no place for Coutinho in Xavi’s scheme, because the Catalans have plenty of players in the center and flanks, and Philippe was noticeably out of shape and did not show his best.

It seemed that the 29-year-old Brazilian would have to stay on the bench with Dembele until the end of the contract, but Aston Villa, which is coached by former Coutinho teammate Steven Gerrard, loaned the player until the end of the season.

Motivated Coutinho played quite differently. In the course of 10 games, he scored four goals and gave three assists. Both the coach and the bosses of the club are delighted with the performances of the Brazilian and dream of keeping him, but the player’s buyout is 40 million euros. Aston Villa is unlikely to afford such an amount, the final decision will be made in May. In the meantime, Coutinho is getting back in shape and delighting the Lions fans with successful play.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Barcelona

The arrival of the Gabonese footballer was met very cautiously by Barcelona fans, largely due to his terrible playing in Arsenal. For a year and a half in the English Championship, Aubameyang scored only 14 goals, which, of course, is very few for a football player of his level.

Pierre-Emerick seemed to be slow and lazy and to have no motivation at all. However, everything has changed in the Catalan club. Xavi successfully integrated the player into his team, which surprised football experts. Aubameyang did not feel uncomfortable that he started the match on the sidelines.

The Gabonese resumed running at lightning speed across the field, pressing, and scoring. He participated in the victory over Napoli (4:2), distinguished himself in matches against Galatasaray (2:1), Atletico (4:0), and Osasuna (4:0).

However, the Gabonese made a real scoring extravaganza in fights with Valencia (4:1) and Real Madrid (4:0). In the first of these meetings, Aubameyang scored a hat-trick, and in the match against the “Creamy” he made a double and gave an assist.

Gabonese began playing in a liberated and bright way. As a result, in 11 games, he scored nine goals for Barcelona and made one effective pass.