Player Focus: The Premier League's Top January Signings

Now well into the month of March, the Premier League is hotting up and, in turn, WhoScored has deemed enough time to have passed to judge the starts made by some of the January transfer signings.

Here we will look at the top 5 newcomers according to WhoScored ratings of players to have featured from the start in at least 3 matches since joining their respective new clubs. The following is a rundown from 5 to 1.

5. Steven Pienaar (Everton) - WhoScored Rating - 7.21

This January saw a number of welcome returns in the Premier League and one shouldn't underestimate Everton's delight having re-signed Steven Pienaar on loan from Tottenham. The South African had only left Goodison Park in the previous January window, though a move to North London would prove to be fruitless for the midfielder, who failed to make an impact at White Hart Lane.

It would be Pienaar's second home debut for the club that would ensure he won back the hearts of Toffees fans. A goal against Chelsea in the opening 5 minutes and an eye-catching display against the admittedly lacklustre London outfit was backed up by an assist in his last display at QPR. His dribbling has been superb, completing 8 out of 9 attempts and his arrival, along with the brief comeback of Landon Donovan, has seen some joy restored at the club alongside an upturn in results ahead of David Moyes' 10th anniversary in charge.

4. Paul Scholes (Manchester United) - WhoScored Rating - 7.22

Whether one deems Paul Scholes as a January signing or not, his reappearance at Old Trafford has coincided with a fantastic couple of months for United, in the league at least. The Red Devils are back on top and ahead of rivals City following the weekend's win over West Brom, in which Scholes played puppet master as per usual. Since coming out of retirement at the beginning of January the 37-year-old has already featured 12 times, including 6 league starts for the reigning champions.

A tally of 2 goals in 8 league appearances has already bettered his figure from last season, having played 22 times in the 2010/11 campaign. His 90% pass accuracy is a match for the figures he managed last season, while his long ball accuracy of 80% is also all but identical, proving that he is still more than capable of cutting it at the very top level. Scholes' tackling has been much maligned throughout his superb career but an average of 2.1 per game since his return has certainly proven to be effective alongside Carrick thus far, and there is no doubt that he will be key to United's title push in the coming weeks.

3. Pavel Pogrebnyak (Fulham) - WhoScored Rating - 7.28

The big Russian was primarily signed to accommodate for the loss of Bobby Zamora to QPR but Pogrebnyak has done more than that so far. Having netted just once in the Bundesliga for Stuttgart this season, coming from the penalty spot, few would have guessed at the immediate impact he would make at Craven Cottage. However, 5 goals in 3 games had helped Fulham to an impressive recent record prior to defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday.

The front man was very subdued at Villa Park, mustering just 1 shot in the game, though his record of scoring with every shot on target that he has had in the Premier League remains intact, having worked the keeper with 63% of his efforts to date. Undoubtedly his game of the season so far came the week before, netting a perfect hat-trick against a woeful Wolves side to cap off an equally perfect start to his career under Martin Jol. The Fulham boss has already expressed a desire to keep Pogrebnyak beyond his loan spell, but with his contract up with Stuttgart in the summer there may well be plenty of competition for his signature.

2. Louis Saha (Tottenham) - WhoScored Rating - 7.33

As far as bizarre signings go, Harry Redknapp seemed to have picked the most peculiar when bringing misfiring Louis Saha to White Hart Lane in January. However, the wheeler-dealer seems to have pulled off a masterstroke having restored the Frenchman to his former glory in his short spell at the club thus far. Having netted just once for Everton all season, Saha has already registered 3 times for Tottenham and built a successful partnership with Emmanuel Adebayor.

Saha had only managed to hit the target with 22% of his efforts at Everton before his shock switch to Spurs but has already managed to double his accuracy having tested the keeper with 45% of his 11 shots at Tottenham. The 33-year-old's shots per game average is actually down on his figure at Everton, from 2.8 to 2.2, further indicating the increase in his ruthlessness in front of goal for the Londoners, which was almost added to after hitting the post late on upon his swift return to Goodison Park on Saturday. He has also upped his dribble success rate from 46% to 71% and completed 3 out of 3 through balls, all attributing to a surprise recall to Laurent Blanc's France squad.

1. Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea) - WhoScored Rating - 7.51

When Swansea completed the loan signing of Gylfi Sigurdsson from Hoffenheim few followers of the Championship will have doubted the Iceland international’s credentials at Premier League level. Before his 21st birthday he had already established himself as the best player and a constant goal threat in an only recently relegated Reading side and his move to Germany surprised many who felt he would make the move up to England's top tier soon enough. The 22-year-old midfielder is there now though, and flourishing in Brendan Rodger's increasingly impressive Swansea side.

Having netted 17 times in his first full season for Reading, Sigurdsson made the step up to the Bundesliga extremely well, netting 9 last term for Hoffeneheim. A lack of goals and opportunities at the start of this campaign led to his availability on loan and Swansea were quick to act. He has netted 3 times and picked up 2 assist in 7 league starts already, and put in another assured display in the potentially season defining win over City on Sunday. Having taken over Mark Gower's set piece duties, the youngster has created 21 chances for teammates already, with a pass accuracy of 80%, cross accuracy of 28% and an exemplary long ball accuracy of 92%.

Looking back over our top 5 you will notice that none of the stand out signings from the January window cost their clubs a penny in transfer fees in what was an eerily quiet window - proof if ever it were needed that you can still do decent business on a shoe string transfer budget.