Clubs act tough but unsettled players always get their way

Coutinho, Van Dijk, Barkley and Costa all won their transfer battles in the end – and it is a fair bet Sanchez will make it five out of five for the men with the power

And then there was one. Or, maybe, given Manchester City are likely to make their move, none. Diego Costa, Virgil van Dijk, Ross Barkley and Philippe Coutinho have gone after transfer deadline day frustration last August. And no one would bet against Alexis Sanchez leaving before the month is out.

Last summer it was portrayed as a show of strength by cash-rich Premier League clubs, who refused to cave in to demands to leave that had gone right up until the final day. It felt like a transfer window when the clubs regained control; a window when the players could not force their way out in the way they wanted to and the clubs had enough money to resist; when they could hold them to their contracts and not cave in.

The clubs, it was argued, could even afford to let them go for free eventually, debunking the longheld notion that they had to sell in the final year of a deal – just as transfer requests were ignored and minor injuries, coinciding with bids, glossed over and accepted.

Now we have seen Costa make his debut and score his first goals – and get sent off – for Atletico Madrid. We have seen Van Dijk make a match-winning first appearance for Liverpool. We have seen Barkley, who had refused to be bounced into going to Stamford Bridge, train for the first time with Chelsea. And we have seen Coutinho seal his record-breaking move from Liverpool to Barcelona, where he was presented at the Nou Camp yesterday.

Each case is different, of course. Costa was not wanted by Antonio Conte, although he also refused orders to return to the club; Barkley felt disenfranchised and would not sign a new deal at Everton (and was injured); Van Dijk was Southampton’s most important player but had also had a long-term injury and a replacement had been signed in Wesley Hoedt; Coutinho continued to play well for Liverpool. But they have all gone, and gone where they wanted to.

The clubs will argue that the players departed on their terms – Chelsea collected the £57million they demanded for Costa, Southampton the £75million they insisted on for Van Dijk and Liverpool the £142million, with payments structured the way they preferred, from Barcelona for Coutinho. Incredible fees.

Only with Barkley will Everton feel short-changed, given that they are getting £20million less than the £35million agreed with Chelsea last summer, with Joe Anderson, the Evertonian mayor of Liverpool, even demanding some sort of investigation.

But the midfielder has not played for Everton this season, and he had just six months left on his contract.

As does Sanchez. The decision to turn down £60million last August has always looked unwise with the largely underwhelming performances he has delivered this season for Arsenal and – maybe more crucially – the uncertainty in the dressing room and the continued sense that his teammates wanted him out.

Arsenal are sixth in the Premier League and fighting a losing battle for fourth place. Failure to qualify for the Champions League will not justify keeping Sanchez. And the club will not get £60million now.

No two cases are the same, but it is telling that with four of those five – and even the most ardent Arsenal fan would not bet against it being a full house of five by Jan 31 – the players have got out. And got out quickly in the end.

Liverpool and Southampton will claim – with justification – that they were not forced to sell, and showed their strength by delaying a deal until now. But it will not feel like that if Liverpool miss out on the top four this season, or Southampton are relegated. No one would argue at present that either team are in a better place. Apart from in their bank balance.

For Liverpool in particular it is a calculated gamble, while Southampton can justify selling Van Dijk if – and it is a big if – they buy in other areas of the team that desperately need strengthening. The fact that has not happened already in this window – and whether they will be able to agree a financial package for Theo Walcott or Daniel Sturridge, for example – is already a concern.

No team should want to keep a player against his wishes, even if he has years to run on his contract. It is never a healthy situation.

There is the compassionate, human side, as articulated so clearly by Jurgen Klopp in his thoughtful statement about Coutinho, how the Brazilian had set his heart on Barcelona and – here is the crux for supporters – how the Liverpool manager