Football News: Transfer Window Round Up
Transfer Window Round Up
Arsenal
Ins:
Declan Rice from West Ham United
Kai Havertz from Chelsea
Jurrien Timber from Ajax
David Raya from Brentford on loan
Outs:
Folarin Balogun to AS Monaco
Granit Xhaka to Bayer Leverkusen
Matt Turner to Nottingham Forest
Auston Trusty to Sheffield United
Pablo Mari to Monza
Kieran Tierney to Real Sociedad (loan)
Rob Holding to Crystal Palace
Nuno Tavares to Nottingham Forest (loan)
Marquinhos to Nantes (loan)
Ainsley Maitland-Niles to Olympique Lyonnais
Albert Sambi Lokonga to Luton Town (loan)
Arthur Okonkwo to Wrexham (loan)
Runar Alex Runarsson to Cardiff City (loan)
Arsenal started off splashing the cash and looking like they were going to be the big spenders in the window, only for it to go quiet in north London, leaving them still short of a complete squad and still with questions to be answered about their ability to challenge for the league title. Despite spending nearly a quarter of a billion in this window, they were completely overshadowed even in their own city, and are left with some clear gaps. It was a very odd window from Arsenal as well, with a gap on the left-side of defence they chose to add Timber, who is very right-sided, though he did start off the season on the left. Unfortunately he picked up a long term injury, which has meant any impact he could have this season is negated. Rice looks to be a good signing, especially as Partey faded last season and left them very open in midfield. The only question marks that can surround him are due to the high price, but there is always a premium on home-grown talent and he has been one of the top midfielders in the league for a while now. The bizarre signings of Raya and Havertz are the ones which leave me scratching my head.
If the keeper brought in was a clear upgrade on Ramsdale, then it would have made sense. If it was a definite back up, again it would make sense. But a keeper brought in to compete for the number 1 spot is very odd. It just makes little sense when there are gaps that do need to be filled, in particular a top class striker as neither Nketiah nor Jesus are good enough or score enough goals. That was what cost them last season and yet Arteta sold the one player, in the shape of Balogun, that looks to have the goals in him. If he thought the addition of Havertz would add the goals missing, either through creating or scoring, then I think he will find he is making a big mistake. Havertz came in low on confidence and he will not gain confidence at a team where the fans are so bemused by his signing. He needed to go somewhere where the fans would have been delighted by his signing and given him the boost to rebuild his career. Instead he has gone somewhere that puts pressure on him to perform from the off, without any kind of morale boost that he must need after his time at Chelsea was such a flop.
The outs, on the other hand, make perfect sense, apart from the aforementioned Balogun. None of them leaving significantly weakened the squad, in most cases they were nowhere near it anyway. Tierney was unable to stay fit or play the way Arteta wanted him to play, otherwise he could well have been considered a loss. The backing Arteta has been given is significant and puts him under a lot of pressure to add trophies and push Man City for the title once more. Anything less has to be seen as failure now with the funding that has been provided to him in the last few years.
Aston Villa
Ins:
Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen
Pau Torres from Villareal
Nicolo Zaniolo from Galatasaray (loan)
Youri Tielemans from Leicester City
Clement Lenglet from Barcelona (loan)
Outs:
Cameron Archer to Sheffield United
Jaden Philogene to Hull City
Marvelous Nakamba to Luton Town
Keinan Davies to Udinese
Ashley Young to Everton
Wesley Moraes to Stoke City
Morgan Sanson to OGC Nice (loan)
Viljami Sinisalo to Exeter City (loan)
Jed Steer released
How crazy is the world of the English Premier League when a club spending nearly £100m is not even considered among the big spenders? Their recruitment does have huge question marks over it, because of their choice of centre-backs. Emery likes to play a high line and press but both defenders brought in are on the slow side, particularly on the turn. Diaby looks an excellent signing for them, though not used to his best so far, as he was a top class right winger when they signed him and is now playing mostly central. That could well work better, but they do lack width, which is what he could have provided for them. Tielemans is just a punt on a free signing, little risk with the potential for good reward, though I think he is a mistake and lacks the work rate to take Villa further. Have they brought in enough to move them forwards is the big question, and I am not convinced they have been able to. They still look short of taking that next step and lack strength in depth, but they have come a long way since promotion and it takes time to build foundations.
What does worry me is the way they have denuded their youth programme of some of its more promising players, in the shape of Philogene and Archer. The rest of the outs made sense, none of them were quite good enough to move the club forward and they needed replacing, but stripping the academy of its best prospects never makes sense to me. They were at a high enough level to be decent squad players in the Premier League, as Archer is already showing, so it makes little sense to me to let them go when the squad is nowhere near strong enough overall. I suppose that is the reality of needing to recoup funds in order to stay within FFP restraints, but it is not ideal.
Bournemouth
Ins:
Tyler Adams from Leeds United
Hamed Junior Traore from Sassuolo
Alex Scott from Bristol City
Milos Kerkez from AZ Alkmaar
Romain Faivre from Olympique Lyonnais
Justin Kluivert from AS Roma
Max Aarons from Norwich City
Luis Sinisterra from Leeds United (loan)
Ionut Radu from Inter Milan (loan)
Outs:
Ben Pearson to Stoke City
Jefferson Lerma to Crystal Palace
Jordan Zemura to Udinese
Jack Stacey to Norwich City
Siriki Dembele to Birmingham City
Christian Saydee to Portsmouth
Romain Faivre to FC Lorient (loan)
Jaidon Anthony to Leeds United (loan)
Mark Travers to Stoke City (loan)
Jamal Lowe to Swansea City (loan)
James Hill to Blackburn Rovers (loan)
Will Dennis to Kilmarnock (loan)
Junior Stanislas released
Another team to spend over £100m this summer, in fact they outspent Villa in the summer despite only having a tiny stadium and a fraction of the Birmingham club's income. They have had to take chances on a large number of players to build their squad quickly, which will come down to how well their scouting network has done. They look to have brought in a good player in the shape of Kerkez, which augurs well, but the rest seem to be very hopeful punts which could or could not work out. Only time will tell if they have got it right, but they need to ensure they start looking to bring in income from player sales in the future to enable them to continue spending. Losing Lerma on a free was a big blow and they have not properly been able to replace him. That has significantly weakened the first team and took away from the fight in the side.
Brentford
Ins:
Nathan Collins from Wolverhampton Wanderers
Kevin Schade from SC Freiburg
Mark Flekken from SC Freiburg
Neal Maupay from Everton (loan)
Outs:
Mads Bistrup to RB Salzburg
David Raya to Arsenal (loan)
Halil Dervisoglu to Galatasaray
Sergi Canos to Valencia
Pontus Jansson to Malmo FF
Joel Valencia to Zaglebie Sosnowiec
Mads Bech Sorensen to Midtjylland
Matthew Cox to Bristol Rovers (loan)
Paris Maghoma to Bolton Wanderers (loan)
Fin Stevens to Oxford United (loan)
Ryan Trevitt to Exeter City (loan)
Tariqe Fosu released
Even Brentford were able to splash £60m+ in the summer, despite barely recouping anything through sales, a sign of how much money is flowing through the Premier League at the moment. I am not so sure about their signings though, particularly the abysmal Maupay. It does seem like they have spent a lot for little in the way of return, certainly in terms of improvement. At least their outs have not weakened them. But it feels like they have splashed out tens of millions just to stand still, with no one arriving to replace the banned Toney they will have to hope to get goals from somewhere else.
Brighton & Hove Albion
Ins:
Joao Pedro from Watford
Carlos Baleba from LOSC Lille
Bart Verbruggen from RSC Anderlecht
Igor from Fiorentina
Adrian Mazilu from FCV Farul
Mahmoud Dahoud from Borussia Dortmund
James Milner from Liverpool
Ansu Fati from Barcelona (loan)
Outs:
Moises Caicedo to Chelsea
Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool
Robert Sanchez to Chelsea
Andi Zeqiri to KRC Genk
Michal Karbownik to Hertha Berlin SC
Reda Khadra to Stade Reims
Aaron Connolly to Hull City
Deniz Undav to VfB Stuttgart (loan)
Haydon Roberts to Bristol City
Taylor Richards to QPR
Kacper Kozlowski to Vitesse Arnhem (loan)
Abdallah Sima to Rangers (loan)
Yasin Ayari to Coventry City (loan)
Jeremy Sarmiento to West Bromwich Albion (loan)
Steven Alzate to Standard Liege (loan)
Kjell Scherpen to Sturm Graz (loan)
Carl Rushworth to Swansea City (loan)
Jensen Weir to Blackpool (loan)
Ed Turns to Leyton Orient (loan)
Marc Leonard to Northampton Town (loan)
Andy Moran to Blackburn Rovers (loan)
Even Brighton are now spending £100m in a window, though they did recoup almost double that, mainly thanks to Chelsea. It is difficult to judge their signings but they seem to be moving away from the model that has brought them this far and are moving for a different type of player now. No longer just looking for unpolished gems on the cheap, they are now paying more in wages and fees for players that are still really (they hope) unpolished gems. I am not convinced that it makes sense to do that, they simply are not going to get the same value for money and future returns. However, you have to think the club's owner knows what he is doing, as he certainly has done so far. I just do not see the quality in Joao Pedro that they do. Their scouting system has shown its ability to find players to bring on though, so he will probably prove me completely wrong!
The big problem is the outs, losing key players is never a good thing for any team, no matter how much money you receive for them, and they lost two of them. However this being Brighton they no doubt already have replacements on the books ready to step in. Having said that, it does feel like they brought in Dahoud and Milner as the replacements, which does not feel like an efficient way to replace two younger players. It certainly does not suggest long term thinking and looks to be a part of their changes under David Weir and Roberto de Zerbi. Whether it pays off for them or not, only time will tell, but it feels like they are going backwards right now in terms of recruitment.
Burnley
Ins:
Zeki Amdouni from FC Basel
James Trafford from Manchester City
Aaron Ramsey from Aston Villa
Jordan Beyer from Borussia Moenchengladbach
Sander Berge from Sheffield United
Wilson Odobert from Troyes
Dara O'Shea from West Bromwich Albion
Michael Obafemi from Swansea City
Hannes Delcroix from RSC Anderlecht
Luca Koleosho from RCD Espanyol
Nathan Redmond from Besiktas
Han-Noah Messengo from Bristol City
Lawrence Vigourous from Leyton Orient
Mike Tresor from KRC Genk (loan)
Jacob Bruun Larsen from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
Outs:
Bobby Thomas to Coventry City
Wout Weghorst to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (loan)
Ashley Barnes to Norwich City
Will Norris to Portsmouth
Scott Twine to Hull City (loan)
Luke McNally to Stoke City (loan)
Bailey Peacock-Farrell to Aarhus GF (loan)
Dara Costelloe to St Johnstone (loan)
Matthew Lowton released
You know the world has truly gone mad when even Burnley are spending £100m in one window! Though you do have to worry that they seem to have gone with a policy of quantity over quality, which rarely works out well. Kompany seems to be trying to pick the best players he faced last season and putting them together with a few select other players and hoping they will be able to step up a level. It is a big ask, especially when he is determined to try and play football against teams that have much better players than them. This is likely to be a long, difficult season, but at least most of them are young enough to learn from the experience. In terms of outs, they have really lost nothing that they will miss, just cleared a few wages off the books.
Chelsea
Ins:
Moises Caicedo from Brighton & Hove Albion
Romeo Lavia from Southampton
Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig
Cole Palmer from Manchester City
Axel Disasi from AS Monaco
Nicolas Jackson from Villareal
Lesley Ugochukwu from Stade Rennais
Robert Sanchez from Brighton & Hove Albion
Djordje Petrovic from New England Revolution
Deivid Washington from Santos
Angelo from Santos
Diego Moreira from Benfica
Outs:
Kai Havertz to Arsenal
Mason Mount to Manchester United
Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City
Kalidou Koulibaly to Al-Hilal
Christian Pulisic to AC Milan
Edouard Mendy to Al-Ahli
Ruben Loftus-Cheek to AC Milan
Ethan Ampadu to Leeds United
Romelu Lukaku to AS Roma (loan)
Callum Hudson-Odoi to Nottingham Forest
Diego Moreira to Olympique Lyonnais (loan)
Kepa Arrizabalaga to Real Madrid (loan)
N'Golo Kante to Al-Ittihad
Cesar Azpilicueta to Atletico Madrid
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Olympique Marseille
Tiemoue Bakayoko to FC Lorient
Abdul Rahman Baba to PAOK Salonika
Hakim Ziyech to Galatasaray (loan)
Andrey Santos to Nottingham Forest (loan)
Angelo to Racing Strasbourg (loan)
David Datro Fofana to Union Berlin (loan)
Lewis Hall to Newcastle United (loan)
Gabriel Slonina to KAS Eupen (loan)
What can you say about Chelsea's summer spending spree? It was almost as insane as the previous 2 windows, with just as little of the problem areas in the squad being addressed. Nearly half a billion pounds spent and yet there is still no top class goalkeeper and the only ready striker is one with knee issues. I would not have termed it a scattergun approach, as many have. It seems to have been very targeted, just not on the right targets. A top class goalkeeper had to be prioritised, in my opinion, as the last few years at Chelsea have shown how difficult it is to maintain consistency with dodgy keepers between the sticks. It is consistency that wins the league and that surely has to be the first aim after spending all that money over the last couple of years? All that Boehly's billions seems to have achieved is to flood the midfield with players, most of which seem unnecessary. Palmer is the obvious standout, costing so much for a player who has barely even got a look in at Man City and showed little to suggest he is worth that kind of money in the time he did get. It is hard to understand the thinking there to be honest. Was Lavia needed as well as Caicedo? Could that money and the Palmer money not have been better spent on a striker or goalkeeper? It just seems that little was learnt from last summer, when it started off looking like Vivell was making a difference. How much longer can they continue to invest obscene amounts before the FFP regulations start to bite?
Admittedly they did manage to recoup half their outlay and offloaded a fair few players who had not worked out to make savings on their wages, but I doubt the savings are going to cancel out the incoming salaries. At least they did not really lose any players that were likely to play much, if any football, other than Mount, but they did get a decent fee for him and he was wanting far too much money to stay anyway. The outs actually make sense, with Kante suffering so badly with injuries there is nothing there to negatively affect the team. If anything, keeping a few problem players away from the club, even if only on loan for now, is a positive and will make the job much easier for Pochettino. It is clear that Chelsea have taken a step forward with their signings, it is just that a better organised signing policy could have spent that money so much better and made it a giant leap forward instead of a step.
Crystal Palace
Ins:
Matheus Franca from Flamengo
Dean Henderson from Manchester United
Rob Holding from Arsenal
Jefferson Lerma from Bournemouth
Outs:
Wilfried Zaha to Galatasaray
Luke Milivojevic to Shabab Al-Ahli
Jack Butland to Rangers
Vicente Guaita to Celta de Vigo
Luke Plange to Carlisle United (loan)
James McArthur retired
Finally a team that has not spent £100m in the summer, despite being one of the longer term Premier League sides they do not have the big spending potential of some others. They have other issues to solve anyway, like what happens when Hodgson finally does go, can they get the succession plan right this time or will it be another Vieira-type mistake. In terms of their actual transfer business, they seem to have signed well, bringing in improvements for those they lost and making the team and squad better. The problem is that they are stuck in a place where their potential is likely only to be moving down the league, rather than up. They look to have strengthened but the players are of an age where there is little chance of improvement or any chance of selling on later at a profit. They are basically treading water and at some point the legs can no longer keep you afloat.
Everton
Ins:
Beto from Udinese
Chermiti from Sporting Clube de Portugal
Arnaut Danjuma from Villareal
Ashley Young from Aston Villa
Jack Harrison from Leeds United (loan)
Outs:
Moise Kean to Juventus
Alex Iwobi to Fulham
Demarai Gray to Al-Ettifaq
Thomas Cannon to Leicester City
Ellis Simms to Coventry City
Niels Nkounkou to Saint-Etienne
Yerry Mina to Fiorentina
Tom Davies to Sheffield United
Asmir Begovic to QPR
Neal Maupay to Brentford (loan)
Mason Holgate to Southampton (loan)
Jean-Philippe Gbamin released
Andros Townsend released
Not only did the Toffees not spend £100m in the window, but they are the first team so far to have made a transfer profit. Even hamstrung by FFP/P&S regulations as they are, due to their profligate wasting of money early in the Moshiri regime, they look to have done some excellent business this summer. Beto looks like the cutting edge they have been missing, Young provides good cover and Harrison and Danjuma improve on their threat in wide areas. Though the signing of Chermiti does seem a bit odd, but he is young and it may pay off in the long term. It does look like Everton are in a much stronger position than last season, with a team capable of avoiding relegation with a bit to spare. The outs, as a whole, are probably even better than the ins. They have shed so much of the salary off the wage bill and lost little in the way of quality from the squad. This looks to have been a good summer for Everton, though we so often find in football that the team that seems to have won the transfer window often turns out to be a big loser in the end! I just do not see it being the case for this team. Their big issue will now be keeping the core of the team fit and healthy throughout the season.
Fulham
Ins:
Alex Iwobi from Everton
Calvin Bassey from Ajax
Timothy Castagne from Leicester City
Raul Jimenez from Wolverhampton Wanderers
Steven Benda from Swansea City
Adama Traore from Wolverhampton Wanderers
Fode Ballo-Toure from AC Milan (loan)
Outs:
Aleksandar Mitrovic to Al-Hilal
Paulo Gazzaniga to Girona
Ivan Cavaleiro to LOSC Lille
Joe Bryan to Millwall
Neeskens Kebano to Al-Jazira
Shane Duffy to Norwich City
Anthony Knockaert to Valenciennes
Steven Sessegnon to Wigan Athletic (loan)
Kevin Mbabu to FC Augsburg (loan)
Jay Stansfield to Birmingham City (loan)
Terence Kongolo to Rapid Vienna (loan)
I have to be honest I really do not understand Fulham's transfer policy. It might just be me, but it seems to make no sense at all. They have sold an in-form firing forward (admittedly the sale meant that they made a profit in the window) and replaced him with one who has never truly recovered from a serious head injury. Added to that with a couple of headless chickens in the shape of Iwobi and Traore, plus a defender who is not the best technically (Bassey) and will no doubt expect him to play out from the back. It just seems to be odd. Last season it worked and they stayed up, but you cannot keep getting away with it forever. At some point their bizarre transfers will start to bite them. On the plus side, they did offload Shane Duffy, which will be a big help as he has never been good enough for the Premier League.
Liverpool
Ins:
Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig
Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton & Hove Albion
Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich
Wataru Endo from VFB Stuttgart
Outs:
Fabinho to Al-Ittihad
Jordan Henderson to Al-Ettifaq
Roberto Firmino to Al-Ahli
Naby Keita to Werder Bremen
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Besiktas
James Milner to Brighton & Hove Albion
Fabio Carvalho to RB Leipzig (loan)
Sepp van den Berg to 1.FSV Mainz 05 (loan)
Calvin Ramsay to Preston North End (loan)
Nathaniel Phillips to Celtic (loan)
Rhys Williams to Aberdeen (loan)
Despite missing out on two of the main midfield targets, Liverpool have still completely rebuilt the midfield and spent well in excess of £150m, though the Saudi Pro League did ensure that a fair bit was recouped. Though I am not the biggest fan of Gravenberch, the revamped midfield looks to be a giant leap forward over the ageing legs that were in there last season. Already Szoboszlai looks to be a bargain, arguably (though it is very early I know) the signing of the summer. Though I would argue that getting rid of Keita was probably the biggest improvement made. Normally I would be pointing out the loss of a few of the leaders in the team, in the shape of Henderson, Milner and Firmino but they have been replaced with leaders, two of whom are national captains, so that should not be an issue at all. To me the only real failing in the window was not buying a centre-back, with at least two of the current central defenders rarely able to stay fit for a run of games over the course of a season. However that does give opportunities for a youngster, such as Quansah, to step up and nail down a place.
Luton Town
Ins:
Ryan Giles from Wolverhampton Wanderers
Tahith Chong from Birmingham City
Mads Andersen from Barnsley
Jacob Brown from Stoke City
Marvelous Nakamba from Aston Villa
Thomas Kaminski from Blackburn Rovers
Ross Barkley from OGC Nice
Chiedozie Ogbene from Rotherham United
Teden Mengi from Manchester United
Tim Krul from Norwich City
Albert Sambi Lokonga from Arsenal
Issa Kabore from Manchester City
Outs:
Sonny Bradley to Derby County
Harry Isted to Charlton Athletic
Carlos Mendes to Bolton Wanderers
Allan Campbell to Millwall (loan)
Fred Onyedinma to Rotherham United (loan)
Jack Walton to Dundee United (loan)
Admiral Muskwe to Exeter City (loan)
Elliot Thorpe to Shrewsbury Town (loan)
Louie Watson to Charlton Athletic (loan)
Joe Taylor to Colchester United (loan)
John McAtee to Barnsley (loan)
Dion Pereira to Sutton United (loan)
Aribim Pepple to Bromley (loan)
Luke Freeman released
Matt Macey released
Henri Lansbury retired
Glen Rea released
The Hatters have certainly not gone on a spending spree following their surprise promotion, they have been careful not to get carried away and gamble it all on survival. Which is probably for the best as they failed to bring in a goalscorer to give them any genuine chance of avoiding an immediate return to the Championship. If they are relying on Barkley to be their trump card I think they are going to be very disappointed as he is simply not that good. In fact what they have done is bought a very good Championship-level team, which is an improvement on what they had but not enough to be expected to do any more than put up a bit of a fight against relegation.
Manchester City
Ins:
Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig
Matheus Nunes from Wolverhampton Wanderers
Jeremy Doku from Stade Rennais
Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea
Outs:
Cole Palmer to Chelsea
Riyad Mahrez to Al-Ahli
Aymeric Laporte to Al-Nassr
Yangel Herrera to Girona
Ilkay Gundogan to Barcelona
Nahuel Bustos to CA Talleres
Benjamin Mendy to Lorient
Joao Cancelo to Barcelona (loan)
Taylor Harwood-Bellis to Southampton (loan)
James McAtee to Sheffield United (loan)
Maximo Perrone to UD Las Palmas (loan)
Issa Kabore to Luton Town (loan)
Tommy Doyle to Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan)
Josh Wilson-Esbrand to Stade Reims (loan)
Slobodan Tedic to Charlton Athletic (loan)
There is not really a lot Citeh can do to improve on their previous season but bringing in the best young left-sided defender in Europe is as good a place as any to start. The rest of their signings do not seem quite as clever though. Kovacic looks a poor decision for a very average player who always plays well within himself and Nunes has the kind of attitude issues that have led to Cancelo and Mahrez being binned off by Guardiola. Doku just does not really seem a Guardiola-type player, but at least he is young and can learn to play the way Pep demands. The outs make sense, though how they managed to get so much money for Palmer is yet to make any sense to me! They have just got rid of players that Guardiola could not rely on to recoup some of the nearly quarter of a billion pounds they spent.
Manchester United
Ins:
Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta
Mason Mount from Chelsea
Andre Onana from Inter Milan
Sofyan Amrabat from Fiorentina (loan)
Altay Bayindir from Fenerbahce
Jonny Evans from Leicester City
Sergio Reguilon from Tottenham Hotspur
Outs:
Dean Henderson to Crystal Palace
Anthony Elanga to Nottingham Forest
Fred to Fenerbahce
Matej Kovar to Bayer Leverkusen
Alex Telles to Al-Nassr
Zidane Iqbal to Utrecht
Eric Bailly to Besiktas
Teden Mengi to Luton Town
Brandon Williams to Ipswich Town (loan)
Alvaro Fernandez to Granada (loan)
Mason Greenwood to Getafe (loan)
David de Gea released
Axel Tuanzebe released
Phil Jones released
United certainly cannot be accused of not spending to try and close the gap on the blue side of the Manchester but it does feel a bit like they got their pants pulled down this summer, in terms of prices paid, which left them scrabbling around for free transfers and loans at the end of the window. When you have spent nearly £200m, you should not need to do that. Hojlund looks an excellent signing, exactly the type of forward Ten Hag was looking for and very well suited to the Prem. Mount would make sense if it was to play as a utility player to fill gaps in the forward line and midfield, but he seems to have been signed as a central midfielder only. His best football at Chelsea came when he was further forward, so I am not sure he was the right player and he certainly is not the right price or salary. Onana I can see the sense in, he is the exact right type of goalkeeper for playing out from the back, he is just not actually that good in my opinion. Sweeping up he is excellent at, but as an actual goalkeeper I am not convinced by him at all, he is far too erratic even for a goalkeeper. Evans makes sense, to bring in a bit of experience and he is a quality defender, but he does spend far too much time injured, which is a worry. However that is nothing compared to paying a large fee of €10m for Amrabat on loan, despite the medical flagging up a back problem. That feels like an Arthur Melo-type mistake from United. Then there is Reguilon. That just feels like desperation to fill a hole with any player that could be found in the last knockings of the transfer window.
I think the biggest sign of their fall from grace in recent years is the money they get from sales. It used to be that they could command (relatively speaking) high fees for fringe players and youngsters, because they were at United and everyone assumed they must be good to be there. Now even the Saudi League is not willing to pay big money for their players! Though de Gea's situation as a free agent is the biggest indicator of just how bad things had got. One of the best keepers in Europe at his peak, now he looks almost finished at the age of just 32, unable to find a team to sign him. Then, on top of that, they have the Greenwood situation to deal with. Clearly the plan was to bring him back into the side but the media backlash made them bottle the decision and they kicked the can down the road for next season by sending him out on loan. It is just a sign of the indecision and weak leadership that has plagued them since Alex Ferguson retired.
Newcastle United
Ins:
Sandro Tonali from AC Milan
Harvey Barnes from Leicester City
Tino Livramento from Southampton
Yankuba Minteh from Odense BK
Lewis Hall from Chelsea (loan)
Outs:
Allan Saint-Maximin to Al-Ahli
Chris Wood to Nottingham Forest
Karl Darlow to Leeds United
Ryan Fraser to Southampton (loan)
Jamal Lewis to Watford (loan)
Isaac Hayden to Standard Liege (loan)
Yankuba Minteh to Feyenoord (loan)
Jeff Hendrick to Sheffield Wednesday (loan)
Harrison Ashby to Swansea City (loan)
Garang Kuol to Volendam (loan)
Kell Watts to Wigan Athletic (loan)
Matty Longstaff released
Ciaran Clark released
Another of the £100m+ spenders, Newcastle invested significantly in building their midfield, with the arrival of Tonali and Barnes making up £100m on their own. Tonali looks an excellent addition, though I am not so sure Barnes really has the quality to move the Toon up a step in the league table. Worse was the strange signing of Livramento, though I understand they do need a long term replacement for Trippier, is an injury prone Livramento the correct answer? I am not sure he is. I am not so sure their recruitment has been as clever this season as it has been previously under the new regime. They are still struggling to offload the unwanted players from the previous regime as well. Have they strengthened enough to be able to compete in both Europe and the Premier League? It feels they are a little light in quality to really make a push for both Europe and to make the top 4 again.
Nottingham Forest
Ins:
Ibrahim Sangare from PSV Eindhoven
Anthony Elanga from Manchester United
Chris Wood from Newcastle United
Andrew Omobamidele from Norwich City
Murillo from Corinthians
Nicolas Dominguez from Bologna
Matt Turner from Arsenal
Odysseas Vlachodimos from Benfica
Callum Hudson-Odoi from Chelsea
Nuno Tavares from Arsenal (loan)
Ola Aina from Torino
Andrey Santos from Chelsea (loan)
Gonzalo Montiel from Sevilla (loan)
Divock Origi from AC Milan (loan)
Outs:
Brennan Johnson to Tottenham Hotspur
Sam Surridge to Nashville
Braian Ojeda to Real Salt Lake City
Mohamed Drager to Basel
Jack Colback to QPR
Cafu to Rotherham United
Jordan Smith to Stockport County
Steve Cook to QPR
Gustavo Scarpa to Olympiacos (loan)
Remo Freuler to Bologna (loan)
Lewis O'Brien to Middlesbrough (loan)
Omar Richards to Olympiacos (loan)
Ui-jo Hwang to Norwich City (loan)
Jonathan Panzo to Cardiff City (loan)
Richie Laryea to Vancouver Whitecaps (loan)
Loic Mbe Soh to Almere City (loan)
Josh Bowler to Cardiff City (loan)
Alex Mighten to KV Kortrijk (loan)
Jesse Lingard released
Andre Ayew released
Lyle Taylor released
Adnan Kanuric released
Another of the clubs to spend over £100m in the summer, though they bought a lot less players in than last year. This year their recruitment has been a little more targeted, though still the numbers are insane and make it very difficult for Cooper to get them integrated into one team. This time though he already has a good foundation to work from and they should be in a much more comfortable position this season to survive in the Premier League. They are almost in position to begin consolidating as a top flight side for the long term. If they continue to recruit quality such as Sangare, you would have to think the only way is up for them. The only minor negative from this summer's transfer window was the sale of Johnson to help fund it all. Though they do look to have replaced him already. The big question mark now is over Cooper and if he has the ability to take them to the next level.
Sheffield United
Ins:
Cameron Archer from Aston Villa
Gustavo Hamer from Coventry City
Vini Souza from Lommel SK
Auston Trusty from Arsenal
Benie Traore from Hacken
Anis Slimane from Brondby IF
Tom Davies from Everton
Luke Thomas from Leicester City (loan)
James McAtee from Manchester City (loan)
Yasser Larouci from Troyes (loan)
Outs:
Ilman Ndiaye to Olympique Marseille
Sander Berge to Burnley
Enda Stevens to Stoke City
Billy Sharp to Los Angeles Galaxy
Jake Eastwood to Grimsby Town
Jack O'Connell retired
Kyron Gordon released
Their recruitment is more in line with what I would expect from a team promoted to the Premier League and hoping for survival. A decent investment, but not enough to mortgage the club's future, and most of it on younger players who can grow with the club. It looks like a good window, though whether it is good enough to give them the quality to avoid the drop is another matter. They have taken a large step forward though and should be in a better position to return if they do go back down. They did have to sell a couple of players that I am sure they would have preferred to keep, in the shape of Ndiaye and Berge, to fund the incomings, but they look to have been replaced and improved upon with their incomings.
Tottenham Hotspur
Ins:
Brennan Johnson from Nottingham Forest
James Maddison from Leicester City
Pedro Porro from Sporting Clube de Portugal
Micky van de Ven from VfL Wolfsburg
Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus
Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli
Alejo Veliz from Rosario Central
Ashley Phillips from Blackburn Rovers
Manor Solomon from Shakhtar Donetsk
Outs:
Harry Kane to Bayern Munich
Harry Winks to Leicester City
Davinson Sanchez to Galatasaray
Djed Spence to Leeds United (loan)
Lucas Moura to Sao Paulo
Tanguy Ndombele to Galatasaray (loan)
Sergio Reguilon to Manchester United (loan)
Joe Rodon to Leeds United (loan)
Japhet Tanganga to Augsburg (loan)
A summer spending spree to give new man in charge Ange Postecoglou a fighting chance of being competitive has been slightly hampered by having to convert the two loans of Porro and Kulusevski to permanent deals. They still spent nigh on a quarter of a billion on players, though it was largely funded by the sale of club captain and talisman Harry Kane. That has left them looking short of centre-forwards, Postecoglou's style of football will ensure that they are likely to still rack up the goals with his attacking ways. It must be said that their incomings look impressive, particularly Vicario, who looks a very good goalkeeper. Though I have my doubts over van de Ven, he is an improvement over what was there before. The outs, with the obvious exception of Kane, have certainly not weakened them. It has been a summer full of promise, mostly because of the manager, but the transfer window has seen him very well backed to take Spurs onwards.
West Ham United
Ins:
Mohammed Kudus from Ajax
Edson Alvarez from Ajax
James Ward-Prowse from Southampton
Konstantinos Mavropanos from VfB Stuttgart
Andy Irving from Austria Klagenfurt
Outs:
Declan Rice to Arsenal
Gianluca Scamacca to Atalanta
Nikola Vlasic to Torino
Arthur Masuaku to Besiktas
Manuel Lanzini to River Plate
Flynn Downes to Southampton (loan)
Andy Irving to Austria Klagenfurt (loan)
Another one to spend over £100m but their spending spree was almost entirely funded by the sale of Rice, so they will not have to worry about P&S or FFP regulations in the future and can continue to invest in their team. I am not a big fan of Ward-Prowse, but he is almost perfectly suited to Moyes' style of football, especially the emphasis on set-pieces which is Ward-Prowse's forte. They look to have signed very well indeed, but you do wonder how much further they can go even with the investment in players. It seems to me that Moyes has a ceiling and that you could give him peak Messi, peak Ronaldo (both of them) and any other player you care to mention but Moyes would still play the same football and finish in a similar league position. How much longer will that be enough for the Hammers' board?
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Ins:
Matheus Cunha from Atletico Madrid
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde from Racing Strasbourg
Santiago Bueno from Girona
Boubacar Traore from Metz
Enso Gonzalez from Libertad
Matt Doherty from Atletico Madrid
Tom King from Northampton Town
Tommy Doyle from Manchester City (loan)
Outs:
Matheus Nunes to Manchester City
Ruben Neves to Al-Hilal
Nathan Collins to Brentford
Conor Coady to Leicester City
Raul Jimenez to Fulham
Ryan Giles to Luton Town
Daniel Podence to Olympiacos (loan)
Hayao Kawabe to Standard Liege
Matija Sarkic to Millwall
Adama Traore to Fulham
Joao Moutinho to SC Braga
Goncalo Guedes to Benfica (loan)
Ki-Jana Hoever to Stoke City (loan)
Luke Cundle to Plymouth Argyle (loan)
Bendeguz Bolla to Servette (loan)
Chiquinho to Stoke City (loan)*
Chiquinho to Famalicao (loan)*
Chem Campbell to Charlton Athletic (loan)
Louie Moulden to Rochdale (loan)
Diego Costa released
*Initially Chiquinho went on loan to Stoke only to be sent back due to attitude issues and subsequently sent on loan to Famalicao.
Not only were Wolves one of the few Premier League clubs to spend less than £100m in the summer, they were also one of even less that made a profit in the window. In fact it very much had the feel of a fire sale as they offloaded player after player hot on the heels of news that the club's owners Fosun had put their feeder club, Grasshoppers, up for sale. Then their manager Lopetegui decided to throw his toys out of his pram and walk out on them, adding to the uneasiness amongst fans. Bringing in a novice in the shape of Gary O'Neil to replace the Spaniard did not help quell misgivings either. The big question is whether it is indeed Fosun preparing to sell up and get out of football or whether they were just, as they stated, looking to comply with FFP restrictions. Either way, there was a hell of a lot of belt tightening going on in the summer and Wolves have significantly reduced their outgoings, which should see them clear any FFP problems quickly.
While that worry about Fosun's future plans for the club has to be in the back of fans' minds, at least they still look to have a very good side and actually did some good business in the window. The sale of Nunes in particular helped as Citeh sweetened the pot with a cheap player from Girona and the loan of Doyle to fill the gap in midfield. There are still question marks over their ability to score enough goals, but they do not really look any weaker up front after this window. Now it is all in the hands of O'Neil to keep them away from relegation danger and push them into midtable mediocrity so they can continue the rebuild.
Window Winners
I am going to pick Everton for this 'trophy', such as it is. Despite being extremely hamstrung by a need to cut costs, they look to have solved their goalscoring issues with the arrival of Beto and also offloaded a lot of players that simply were not good enough.
Window Losers
Fulham are my choice for this dubious accolade. I just do not understand what they were trying to do. Their transfers made little sense and they do not look to have bought well at all.
Best Signing
There is a lot of possibilities for this, Moussa Diaby, Declan Rice, Beto, Sangare, Gvardiol and so on. But, and yes it may be bias, but when the team you supports signs one of your favourite players and he hits the ground running, it is hard to look past him. So while I am going to choose Szoboszlai as the winner, I will choose a second one as well, just in case it is just bias! While I have to give an honourable mention to Vicario, who was a good price and looks to be absolute quality so far, I am going to pick Ibrahim Sangare. It is the kind of signing that they had absolutely no chance of making, he had 'bigger' clubs sniffing round him, but somehow they managed to persuade him to join them. If he lives up to expectations, he will be a driving force for them in the centre of midfield.
Worst Signing
Again there is a lot of possibilities, a fair few of them joining Fulham, such as Iwobi and Traore, but there can only really be one winner for this trophy. For the second window in a row Arteta has bought a player from Chelsea that has left me scratching my head as to why he would do that. In January it was the bizarre Jorginho deal, a player who has never looked like a Premier League player. This summer he returned to help them out again by buying Havertz. Again I have no idea what he was thinking or where he fits into the Arsenal system.
Written by Tris Burke September 11 2023 16:16:07
