sport news Premier League: Liverpool ace Luis Diaz joins long list of January signings who ... trends now
Luis Diaz continued the superb start to his Liverpool career by coming off the bench and scoring in their Champions League semi-final win over Villarreal on Tuesday night.
The Colombian, who arrived at Anfield in January after completing a £50million switch from Porto, changed the game for Jurgen Klopp's side after they had initially fallen two goals behind in Spain.
Diaz was a constant threat when he was introduced at the half-time break and completed the comeback by turning home their second on the night, meaning Klopp's substitution worked wonders.
Luis Diaz continued the superb start to his Liverpool career against Villarreal on Tuesday
But where does the Colombian rank amongst the Premier League's 10 best January signings
His winter recruit has produced a sting of impressive displays since rocking up on Merseyside, so could he go down as the Premier League's best ever January purchase?
Sportsmail has drawn up a list of the 10 top January transfers, based on instant impact made in their first half-seasons...
10. Robert Huth (Leicester)
When Huth arrived at the King Power in February 2015, Leicester were rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table after losing 13 of their last 17 matches.
Nigel Pearson's men looked certain for the drop, and even signing the German defender on loan from Stoke did not look to have made a difference early on.
However, after failing to win in his first five appearances, Huth then played a key part in the Foxes' incredible run of seven wins in nine matches to steer them away from relegation in remarkable fashion.
Robert Huth's 2015 arrival helped Leicester enjoy a run which kept them in the Premier League
The German then followed it up by playing a part in their historic title success the next year
They conceded just seven goals during that period having shipped 13 in the nine games that preceded it, while also keeping five clean sheets.
Huth's experience and resolve at the back inspired them to a 14th-place finish in the end, and after securing a permanent transfer that summer, the next season he and Leicester went on to write one of the greatest sporting stories of all time by winning the Premier League. Not a bad January loan move.
9. Nikica Jelavic (Everton)
The Croatia striker sealed a £5million move to Everton in January 2012 and brought an impressive reputation with him having scored 17 goals in 28 appearances for Rangers that season.
And Jelavic backed up the hype by hitting the ground running at Goodison Park, netting nine goals in 13 Premier League matches, helping David Moyes' side take 27 points from their last 15 games and seal a seventh-place finish.
Unfortunately for the Toffees, that proved the highlight of an otherwise underwhelming two-year spell for him on Merseyside.
After only bagging seven league goals in his next 45 games, Jelavic was offloaded to Hull in January 2014 and never reached the same heights again.
Nikica Jelavic looked a superb buy when he scored nine goals in 13 games for Everton in 2012
8. Papiss Cisse (Newcastle)
Jelavic wasn't the only striker to take the Premier League by storm after rocking up in January 2012, as the Magpies stumbled upon a revelation of their own when they forked out £9.3million to sign Cisse that month.
The Senegal forward had scored 39 goals in 67 games for Bundesliga club Freiburg, but no one anticipated him having the seismic impact he ended up having at St James' Park.
In his first 14 league outings Cisse developed a formidable strike partnership with fellow January arrival Demba Ba, producing a return of 13 goals as Newcastle finished as high as fifth in the table.
His staggering form in front of goal, which included a wonderstrike away at Chelsea, played a crucial role in the club securing Europa League qualification, though like Jelavic his fortunes soon plummeted.
Cisse was never able to replicate the heroics of his debut half-season, netting a mere 24 goals in his next 103 league appearances before heading to China in 2016.
Papiss Cisse was a revelation after joining Newcastle from Freiburg back in January 2012
His breathtaking start to life at St James' Park included a wonderstrike away at Chelsea
7. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
The Borussia Dortmund star was considered one of Europe's top forwards when Arsenal came calling in January 2018, having registered 141 goals in 213 matches for the German club.
And following his club-record £56million switch to the Emirates, it didn't take Aubameyang long to live up to the billing in north London.
In his first 14 outings he fired home 10 goals and played a key part in their run to the 2018 League Cup final, where they were beaten by Manchester City.
Aubameyang proved an instant success for Arsenal, but over the next two seasons he reached even dizzier heights, bagging 60 goals in 95 games and winning the FA Cup in 2020.
The final year-and-a-half of his Gunners career were a disappointment, however, and after falling out with boss Mikel Arteta he was sold to Barcelona in January of this year.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang lived up to the billing after signing for Arsenal in January 2018
6. Jesse Lingard (West Ham)
In last season's January window Lingard headed to West Ham on loan after falling rapidly out of favour at Manchester United, where Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had afforded him three appearances in the first half of the season and none in the Premier League.
David Moyes took a gamble on the forgotten England star, bringing him to east London until the end of the campaign, and his roll of the dice eventually proved a masterstroke.
Over the course of his four-month spell at the London Stadium, he registered nine goals and five assists in 16 outings, a return which propelled Moyes' side into sixth place and next season's Europa League.
Jesse Lingard briefly revived his career at West Ham after joining them on loan in 2021
Lingard well and truly resurrected his career with the Hammers, yet instead of joining them permanently
