As happened last year, most of the deals in the January transfer window involved loan moves.

The only two clubs in England that got really involved in the mid-winter sales were Chelsea and Liverpool, mainly due to Fernando Torres’s transfer to the Blues.

Three records were set as Chelsea paid £50 million to sign Torres from Liverpool, the most expensive transfer in British football history.

Liverpool then broke the club record twice in quick succession with the signings of £22.7m Luis Suarez, from Ajax, and fellow striker Andy Carroll, £35m from Newcastle.

Chelsea went on to splash a further £22.7m for Benfica defender David Luiz while fellow big-spenders Manchester City succeeded in luring striker Edin Dzeko from Bundesliga side Wolfsburg for £32m.

The following is a compilation of the top news in the UK game during January:

• Crystal Palace sack manager George Burley.

• Preston appoint Phil Brown as manager while Ipswich Town dismiss Roy Keane.

• Roy Hodgson leaves Liverpool and Ken Dalglish takes over until the end of the season.

• Ipswich name Paul Jewell as new boss.

• In a third round FA Cup tie, non-League Crawley topple Derby 2-1 at home.

Fourth round shocks: Burton Albion-Middlesbrough 2-1, Reading-West Brom 1-0, Southampton-Blackpool 2-0, Stevenage-Newcastle 3-1, Sunderland-Notts County 1-2.

• In the League Cup semi-finals, first legs, West Ham edge Birmingham 2-1 at home while Ipswich beat Arsenal 1-0 at Portman Road.

• Dougie Freedman is appointed manager of Crystal Palace.

• Celtic boss Neil Lennon is handed a six-match touchline ban by the Scottish FA for an excessive misconduct charge.

• Bolton’s Nat Lofthouse, ‘The Lion of Vienna’ dies aged 85.

• Striker Darren Bent leaves Sunderland to sign for Aston Villa for a club record fee of £24m.

• Arsenal and Birmingham reach the League Cup final with aggregate semi-final wins over Ipswich (3-1) and West Ham (4-3), respectively.

• Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, 40, announces that he will hang up his gloves at the end of the season.

• Roberto Mancini, of Manchester City, and midfielder Samir Nasri, of Arsenal, are selected manager and player of the month for January.

• At Hampden Park, Celtic thrash Aberdeen 4-1 and Rangers beat Motherwell 2-1 to claim a place in the final of the League Cup.

• In a fourth round FA Cup replay, Crawley beat Torquay 1-0.

Top January moves in England and Scotland

Fernando Torres: Liverpool to Chelsea - £50m
Andy Carroll: Newcastle to Liverpool - £35m
Edin Dzeko: Manchester City from Wolfsburg - £32m
Darren Bent: Sunderland to Aston Villa - £24m
Luis Suarez: Liverpool from Ajax - £22.7m
David Luiz: Chelsea from Benfica - £21.3m
Ben Arfa: Newcastle from Marseille - £9.8m
Jean Makoun: Aston Villa from Lyon - £6m
Valon Behrami: West Ham to Fiorentina - £6m
Ryan Babel: Liverpool to Hoffenheim - £6m
Stephane Sessagnon: Sunderland from Paris St Germain - £6m
Sanli Tuncay: Stoke to Wolfsburg - £4.5m
Demba Ba: West Ham from Hoffenheim - £4.5m
David Wheater: Bolton from Middlesrbough - £3.5m
Curtis Davis: Birmingham from Aston Villa - £3.5m
Steve Sidwell: Aston Villa to Fulham - £3m
Steven Pienaar: Everton to Tottenham - £3m
Jermaine Pennant: Stoke from Real Zaragoza - £2.8m
Bongani Khumalo: Tottenham from SuperSport Utd - £1.5m
Gary O’Neil: West Ham from Middlesbrough - £1.5m
Ruben Rochina: Blackburn from Barcelona - £800,000
Alex Marrow: Blackburn to Crystal Palace - £550,000
Yusuf Mersin: Liverpool from Millwall - £500,000
Apostolos Vellios: Everton from Iraklis Thessaloniki - £500,000
David Elm: Fulham to Elfsborg - £500,000
Cameron Stewart: Manchester United to Hull - £500,000
Andy Reid: Blackpool from Sunderland - £500,000
Adam Hammill: Wolves from Barnsley - £500,000
Sol Bamba: Hibernian to Leicester - £450,000
Abdisalam Ibahim: Manchester City to Scunthorpe - £450,000
David Ball: Manchester City to Peterborough - £400,000
Kenny Miller: Rangers to Bursaspor - £400,000
Matt Thornhill: Nottingham Forest to Hibernian - £400,000
Paulo da Silva: Sunderland to R. Zaragoza - £300,000
Mauro Formica: Blackburn from Newell’s Old Boys - £300,000
Carlos Vela: Arsenal to West Brom - Loan
Chris Hogg: Hibernian to Inverness - Free
Craig Hill: Dundee United to Airdrie - Free
Freddie Ljungberg: Celtic from Chicago Fire - Free
Gai Assulin: Manchester City from Barcelona - Free
Martin Scott: Hibernian from Ross County - Free
Pascal Chimbonda: Blackburn to QPR - Free
Willy Aubameyang: Kilmarnock from Milan - Free
Zac Thompson: Everton to Leeds - Free
Andy Keogh: Wolves to Bristol City - Loan
Andy O’Brien: Bolton to Leeds - Loan
Ben Mee: Manchester City to Leicester - Loan
Ben Amos: Manchester United to Oldham - Loan
Ben Gordon: Chelsea to Scunthorpe - Loan
Corry Evans: Manchester United to Hull - Loan
Daniel Sturridge: Bolton from Chelsea - Loan
Danny Drinkwater: Manchester United to Watford - Loan
Danny Philliskirk: Chelsea to Sheffield United - Loan
David Amoo: Liverpool to MK Dons - Loan
Robbie Keane: Tottenham to West Ham - Loan
David Bentley: Tottenham to Birmingham - Loan
David Gonzalez: Manchester City to Leeds - Loan
David Healy: Sunderland to Rangers - Loan
Demba Ba: Hoffenheim to West Ham - Loan
Eidur Gudjohnsen: Stoke to Fulham - Loan
El-Hadji Diouf: Blackburn to Rangers - Loan
Emmanuel Adebayor: Manchester City to Real Madrid - Loan
Eric Dier: Everton from Sporting Lisbon - Loan
Gael Kakuta: Chelsea to Fulham - Loan
George McCartney: Sunderland to Leeds - Loan
Giovanni dos Santos: Tottenham to Rac. Santander - Loan
Greg Halford: Wolves to Portsmouth - Loan
Isaiah Osbourne: Aston Villa to Sheffield Wed. - Loan
James Beattie: Rangers to Blackpool - Loan
James Collins: Aston Villa to Shrewsbury - Loan
James Vaughan: Everton to Crystal Palace - Loan
Jamie O’Hara: Tottenham to Wolves - Loan
Jay Emanuel-Thomas: Arsenal to Cardiff - Loan
Jermaine Jones: Blackburn from Schalke 04 - Loan
Joao Silva: Everton to Uniao de Leiria - Loan
Joe Mattock: West Brom to Sheffield United - Loan
John Carew: Aston Villa to Stoke - Loan
Jonathan Obika: Tottenham to Peterborough - Loan
Jon Dungeon: Manchester United to Carlisle - Loan
Kieran Agard: Everton to Peterborough - Loan
Kyle Walker: Tottenham to Aston Villa - Loan
Liam Lawrence: Stoke to Portsmouth - Loan
Marcus Bent: Birmingham to Sheffield United - Loan
Matthew Kilgallon: Sunderland to Doncaster - Loan
Mauro Boselli: Wigan to Genoa - Loan
Michael Bradley: Bor. Moenchengladbach to Aston Villa - Loan
Michael Kay: Sunderland to Tranmere - Loan
Michel: Birmingham to AEK Athens - Loan
Nathan Eccleston: Liverpool to Charlton - Loan
Nick Blackman: Blackburn to Aberdeen - Loan
Obafemi Martins: Rubin Kazan to Birmingham - Loan
Patrick van Aanholt: Chelsea to Leicester - Loan
Paul Konchesky: Liverpool to Nottingham Forest - Loan
Ritchie de Laet: Manchester United to Portsmouth - Loan
Richie Towell: Hibernian from Celtic - Loan
Robert Milsom: Fulham to Aberdeen - Loan
Roque Santa Cruz: Manchester City to Blackburn - Loan
Ryan Mason: Tottenham to Doncaster - Loan
Sulley Muntari: Sunderland from Inter - Loan
Stephen Darby: Liverpool to Notts County - Loan
Stephen Ireland: Aston Villa to Newcastle - Loan
Trevor Carson: Sunderland to Lincoln - Loan
Vito Manone: Arsenal to Hull - Loan
Wayne Bridge: Manchester City to West Ham - Loan
Wayne Routledge: Newcastle to QPR - Loan
Yakubu: Everton to Leicester City - Loan