Who were the big winners during the Irish League January transfer window?
A thrilling Irish League transfer window slammed shut this week as clubs set themselves up for the rest of this season, but who conducted the best business and which teams were potentially caught short?
Linfield secured arguably the two biggest signings of the month with both Kieran Offord and Callumn Morrison arriving at Windsor Park for undisclosed fees while Tiarnan O’Connor, who was one of the most in-demand players throughout January, opted to sign for reigning champions Larne and has since settled superbly into life at Inver Park.
Coleraine are another team that will be satisfied after capturing Levi Ives, Ronan Doherty, Declan McManus and Charles Dunne, while Glentoran moved to sign striker Nathaniel Ferris and Joe Thomson has made an instant impact after arriving at The Oval from Larne.
Alongside key signings, January was also an important time to secure the futures of crucial players with Daniel Gyollai and David Fisher set to remain with the Glens for the foreseeable future.
Although impressed by the business conducted at a range of Premiership clubs, analyst Sam Hutchinson feels David Healy adding both Offord and Morrison, alongside keeping Matthew Orr, stands just above the rest.
"I'd probably say Linfield have (had the best window), but there are a lot of teams in the running as contenders,” he said. “Linfield have done excellent business in signing Offord and Morrison, who are two quality players and will become two of the best in the league.
"Morrison will light up the league - he has came from a comparative level playing in Scottish League One last season and being the best player there. Even in the Scottish Championship he has been playing really well.
"There's another three or four teams who will be really happy with their business. Glentoran fans will probably think they've done the best business with bringing in Joe Thomson, Nathaniel Ferris, Christie Pattisson, Ciaran Coll and Shane McEleney.
"They made sure they kept players too with Cammy Palmer signing a new contract, the two goalkeepers signed new deals and so did David Fisher. He's an excellent player to have.
"Coleraine did plenty of good business and they need the pieces to come into place now. They added real experience which was something they lacked.
"Portadown have signed up Ben Wylie for next season and brought in a couple of players. Dungannon didn't lose any of their star players like John McGovern who have done really well and they brought in Brandon Bermingham who has scored twice.
"They are going to have the momentum to push on because they haven't lost players and have added a bit more quality up front which could help them push on to maybe even get Europe."
Over 50 deals were completed in January by Irish League clubs, leaving most with different looks to their squads as they approach the business end of the campaign, and Hutchinson feels some have lost key pieces.
"When you look at who some teams have lost, it's a reason to say why some would potentially deem their transfer window a failure,” he added. “Larne lost Ives, Thomson, Sam Todd and their squad is big but they were three key players.
"Loughgall lost Ferris and (Jay) Boyd who were responsible for 36% of their goals so they look like they are going to struggle to stay up and put the wins together. Those are big losses for those teams.
"Crusaders lost Offord and although he's only one player, he was involved in over a third of their goals."