Who won the Premier League's historic transfer window?
€3.5 billion spent, but only one club can rise to the top...who will it be?
Did you get all that? We’re not going over it again!
This Premier League transfer summer seemed to feature a comical amount of money moving not just between one club and the other, but also between the league and the rest of Europe, or even the globe more broadly.
Per Transfermarkt, 169 players were signed excluding loans, with €3.5 billion coughed up in fees on incoming signings alone. Everybody’s got their own opinion about whose window went best or worst, but of course my opinion is superior, and my pieces last season and the season before prove that, LOL. That’s why you’re here, so let me tell you who’s in line for a raise and who should be run out of town on a rail, starting with…
20. Fulham
Acquired: Kevin (€40m), Jonah Kusi-Asare (€4m loan fee, option to buy), Samuel Chukwueze (loan)
Sold: Andreas Pereira (€10m), Martial Godo (€7m), Carlos Vinicius (free), Willian (free)
Net Spend: €27m
It’s just not enough for me. The Kevin deal is what the Mudryk deal should have looked like, for what it’s worth, and I have liked his profile going back a bit — incredibly dribbly and could give some PL defenders trouble at times. But it’s still a gamble. Marco Silva’s side really seemed to fade down the stretch last season, and for me I question if there’s enough talent in the central midfield, where it’s Lukic-Berge, and wide defensively, where Sessegnon-Tete-Robinson-Castagne will have to do the job. I think this is a solid squad but could’ve used an additional infusion of talent throughout, even in the form of another Smith Rowe-esque gamble.
19. Burnley
Acquired: Lesley Ugochukwu (€28.7m), Armando Broja (€23m), Loum Tchaouna (€15.2m), Bashir Humphreys (€14m), Quilindschy Hartman (€10m), Marcus Edwards (€10m), Jaidon Anthony (€9.5m), Zian Flemming (€8.3m), Jacob Bruun Larsen (€4m), Max Weiß (€4m), Florentino Luis (loan + obligation worth €26m total), Axel Tuanzebe (free), Kyle Walker (€5.7m), Martin Dúbravka (free)
Left: James Trafford (€31.2m), Han-Noah Massengo (€3m), CJ Egan Reilly (free), Josh Brownhill (free)
Net Spend: €94m
Last time up, Burnley had a window that I thought was pretty fun. This time around, I’m more inclined to call this a window that feels done in anticipation of going back down soon. Not that they haven’t added talent here — Ugo, Hartman and Florentino in particular are guys that I could see shaking out in higher leagues — but this is a side that overperformed in the Championship a year ago and this is all pretty middling to me.
18. Wolverhampton Wanderers
Acquired: Ladislav Krejci (€35m), Jørgen Strand Larsen (€27m), Tolu Arokodare (€26m), Fer López (€23m), Jhon Arias (€17m), Jackson Tchatchoua (€12.5m), David Møller Wolfe (€12m)
Sold: Matheus Cunha (€74.2m), Rayan Aït-Nouri (€36.8m), Fábio Silva (€22.5m), Gonçalo Guedes (€4m), Nélson Semedo (free), Chiquinho (free), Pablo Sarabia (free)
Net Spend: €15m
Wolves lost so much of what made them barely good enough to remain in the Premier League last season and essentially replaced it with a series of gambles and Ladislav Krejci. I do like Tolu, and he’s the type of striker I’d target for a club like Wolves looking to spend in that range, but López and Møller Wolfe are going to be under pressure to produce right away to bring this club anywhere near where it was last season, which was already really, really low. Scary times at the Molineux.
17. Brighton & Hove Albion
Acquired: Charalampos Kostoulas (€35m), Maxim De Cuyper (€20m), Tom Watson (€12m), Diego Coppola (€11m), Do-young Yoon (€2m), Olivier Boscagli (free)
Left: João Pedro (€63.7m), Simon Adingra (€24.4m), Julio Enciso (€18.5m), Pervis Estupiñán (€17m), Valentin Barco (€10m), Tariq Lamptey (€6m), Abdallah Sima (€4.5m), Evan Ferguson (loan, €40m option), Facundo Buonanotte (loan), Matt O’Riley (loan), Jeremy Sarmiento (loan), Ibrahim Osman (loan), Amario Cozier-Duberry (loan), Igor Julio (loan)
Net Spend: -€75m
I like individual components of the Brighton window here, for example De Cuyper is an exciting piece and Coppola really has caught my eye before, while Boscagli is a shrewd free signing, but I struggle with the broader strategy. This is a club, to me, on the verge of making a leap from midtable to European competitor, and spending the way it has over the past couple of seasons on prospect after prospect feels bound to keep its ceiling pretty much exactly where it is. I struggle to understand the idea behind buying Kostoulas for so much more than any Greek League player ever when he’s not even ready for the Premier League, per his new coach, and the club actually needs a striker right now. Their midfield most games lacks experience, meanwhile Matt O’Riley has started a match already this season *and then* been loaned out. I do like Brighton, and I hope I’m wrong, but it feels too much like kicking the can down the road over and over.
16. Newcastle United
Acquired: Nick Woltemade (€85m), Anthony Elanga (€62m), Yoane Wissa (€58m), Jacob Ramsey (€45m), Malick Thiaw (€35m), Aaron Ramsdale (€5-6m loan fee, option to buy), Antoñito Cordero (free)
Left: Alexander Isak (€144m), Lloyd Kelly (€17.2m), Sean Longstaff (€13.8m), Callum Wilson (free), Isaac Hayden (free), Martin Dubravka (free)
Net Spend: €114m
Isak was always going to be the huge story here, and replacing him was always going to be the huge measuring stick. I expect opinions to vary really wildly. I don’t blame NUFC at all for 1) going for two guys or 2) going for one younger, more unproven and one older, more PL-ready. That said, I think they may have kinda-sorta botched both of these deals at the same time.
Woltemade joins the Magpies with 14 career Bundesliga goals at age 23. He joined Stuttgart for free just a year ago. To pay €85 million at this stage is lunacy to me, particularly when you can make an argument that there are others out there for similar or significantly less with just as exciting a value proposition. For example, just spitballing here, but why not Rodrigo Muniz, Moise Kean, Victor Boniface or even a complete shot in the dark like Tolu Arokodare? They’ve got just as many questions, more compatible profiles for the way Newcastle play, but would come with far less financial risk.
In Wissa, you’ve got a player I really like, but he turns 29 this week. This is a few record for highest fee paid for a striker of his age in the PL, beating Shevchenko, who scored 9 goals in all for Chelsea. Newcastle have another of those leaders, by the way, in Chris Wood. Big risk here.
On the other stuff: I do like Elanga, and I think that’s a strong signing for their wide attack. Ramsey feels like an overpay but adds a good athletic element to midfield. I’m not huge on Thiaw so I do think the depth at the back is a little risky here, and think they also needed one more strong central midfielder with the added competitions this season. We’ll see if they can power through.
15. Brentford FC
Acquired: Dango Ouattara (€42.8m), Antoni Milambo (€20m), Michael Kayode (€17.5m), Caoimhín Kelleher (€14.8m), Romelle Donovan (€3.6m), Jordan Henderson (free), Reiss Nelson (loan+option)
Left: Bryan Mbeumo (€75m), Yoane Wissa (€57.7m), Christian Nørgaard (€11.6m), Mark Flekken (€11m), Mads Roerslev (?), Ben Mee (free), Josh Dasilva (free)
Net Spend: -€155m
Brentford have hit a pretty hard reset here. I don’t think they could have reasonably said no to either the Mbeumo or Wissa offers, but much as I like the players they’re left with, a front line of Dango-Schade-Igor Thiago does feel like it’s going to have a tough time hanging with the big guys in the Premier League. They’ll desperately need Jordan Henderson to keep their midfield together, along with a huge season from Mikkel Damsgaard, who could be next in the shop window. The good news for Bees supporters is that this club scouts really well, and I think the signings of Milambo and Kayode are good work, with €150m+ in the bank and ready to deploy on signings in the near future. Might have to endure some tough times before then, though.
14. Manchester United
Acquired: Benjamin Šeško (€76.5m), Bryan Mbeumo (€75m), Matheus Cunha (€74.2m), Senne Lammens (€21m), Diego Leon (€4m)
Left: Alejandro Garnacho (€46.2m), Antony (€22m), Rasmus Højlund (loan with €44 million obligation), Victor Lindelöf (free), Marcus Rashford (loan with €35 million option), Jadon Sancho (loan), Christian Eriksen (free)
Net Spend: €176.5m
I find the three attackers heading this class plenty exciting. I even think Mbeumo and Cunha, xG overperformance be damned, are solid enough types that regression won’t be enough to offset their impact. The issue here is that Mbeumo, Cunha and Bruno Fernandes are not a foundation you can build a club on. This side desperately needed a solid midfielder to connect everything together and instead went and blew €225 million on three guys who all belong in the attacking third, two of whom arguably play the same role as their most important player. All three of whom are overpays, by the way. I still like Šeško, and will let my preference for him as the Arsenal signing age however it ages, but the second he signed for this United side with this personnel, he pretty much signed himself up to be the next high-priced flop in their history.
13. West Ham
Acquired: Mateus Fernandes (€44m), J.C. Tobido (€40m), El Hadji Malick Diouf (€22m), Mads Hermansen (€20.8m), Soungouto Magassa (€17m), Kyle Walker-Peters (free), Callum Wilson (free), Igor Julio (loan)
Left: Mohammed Kudus (€64m), Nayef Aguerd (€23m), Edson Alvarez (loan with option), Emerson (€700k), Aaron Cresswell (free), Danny Ings (free), Vladimir Coufal (free), Kurt Zouma (free), Michail Antonio (free)
Net Spend: €54m
I really rate Fernandes, but I think the Irons got a bit taken for a ride on the price. Otherwise, this window to me rides on the shoulders of Magassa, a very bright young midfielder with a lot of great tools but a lot of polishing needed. If Magassa can overcome some of that youthful exuberance that leads him into making mistakes and develop consistency and reliability to go with his physical tools, the window starts to look a lot better. For now, it’s a tough one.
12. Leeds United
Acquired: Anton Stach (€20m), Noah Okafor (€19m), Jaka Bijol (€18m), Lucas Perri (€16m), Sean Longstaff (€13.8m), Gabriel Gudmundsson (€11.6m), James Justin (€9.3m), Sebastiaan Bornauw (€6m), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (free), Lukas Nmecha (free)
Left: Rasmus Kristensen (€6m), Sam Greenwood (€2m), Junior Firpo (free), Patrick Bamford (free)
Net Spend: €105 million
Leeds shopped very much like a side that have been to the Premier League recently, and were looking to top off rather than go over-the-top. Anton Stach has been one of the guys lurking on every midfield list I’ve produced for years, Okafor has bounced around but hasn’t found his ideal home as an attacker yet, and Perri is a good keeper who will help them move beyond Meslier, one of their biggest issues last time they were promoted. I both think Nmecha is a clever free signing and that he, DCL and Piroe are not good enough to be an actual Premier League striker group, so I think Leeds have that group too weak. A group of Daniel James, Jack Harrison, Gnonto and Okafor is also both simultaneously tricky and dangerous but just … not good enough. So there’s some quality here but just not enough of it.
11. AFC Bournemouth
Acquired: Bafodé Diakité (€35m), Djordje Petrovic (€28.9m), Ben Doak (€23.2m), Amine Adli (€21m), Álex Jiménez (loan with conditional obligation, total of €20m), Veljko Milosavljevic (€15m), Adrien Truffert (€13m)
Left: Ilya Zabarnyi (€63m), Dean Huijsen (€62m), Milos Kerkez (€46.9m), Dango Ouattara (€42.8m), Jaidon Anthony (€9.5m), Philip Billing (€5m), Mark Travers (€4.6m), Luis Sinisterra (loan-to-buy, €15m total), Neto (free)
Net Spend: -€100m
Bournemouth really got picked apart by the big guys at the back, and this season could bring some growing pains defensively as a result. We’ve already seen Marcos Senesi cost them at times. I know so little about Milosavljevic, so I don’t have much to say on that one, but Diakité and Truffert are two players whose careers I’ve enjoyed watching in Ligue 1, and whose performances I’d back for AFCB. Petrovic felt like an overpay as soon as I heard about it, so we’ll see if he can live up to the very high fee. I’m not sure I would’ve gone with Doak and Adli specifically, but I like the idea of going with two high-upside young attackers as a way to try and rebuild value through the massive sales made over the summer.
10. Aston Villa
Acquired: Harvey Elliott (€40m), Evann Guessand (€30m), Victor Lindelöf (free), Marco Bizot (?)
Left: Jacob Ramsey (€45m), Kaine Kesler-Hayden (€4m), Leon Bailey (loan + option), Enzo Barrenechea (loan + option), Phillippe Coutinho (free), Alex Moreno (free), Leander Dendoncker (free), Robin Olsen (free)
Net Spend: €21m
Villa have been hampered by spending almost as much on wages as they make in revenues, and decided this summer to largely hang on to what they had. They did almost sell Emi Martinez, but that obviously didn’t happen. Their deadline day move for Lucas Paqueta, nonsensical as it was, also fell flat.
It’s probably good that it did, because it’s hard for me to look at their squad list and see “attacking midfielder,” particularly one in his late 20s, as a need. Elliott, of course, is one of those. But at least he’s a young one on the rise, which in my view will help Villa fend off some of the stagnation I think they’re fighting as a squad. Guessand, to me, also has a shot at being a sweet pickup for the Villans, but I’m not sure overall enough has been done here to help the club achieve its objectives.
9. Crystal Palace FC
Acquired: Yeremi Pino (€30m), Jaydee Canvot (€23m), Christantus Uche (loan plus obligation, €20m total), Borna Sosa (€2.3m), Walter Benítez (free)
Left: Eberechi Eze (€69.3m), Odsonne Édouard (€3.7m), Rob Holding (free), Jeffrey Schlupp (free)
Net Spend: €3m
Crystal Palace have huge shoes to fill in Eze’s, their leader and best player. The good news is they’ve retained the rest of the group that won their first silverware under Oliver Glasner, although you wonder whether Marc Guehi will be a happy camper. Pino and Uche, at least in my view, represent a solid approach at trying to re-create Ebe Eze in an affordable, young way. Pino has more traditionally been a wider player, while Uche is more central and inexperienced, so I’m interested to see who gets the most minutes under Glasner and in which situations. At times I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Palace this season and at others it’s been a little rough, so I’m just going to see what happens at this stage.
8. Sunderland
Acquired: Habib Diarra (€31.5m), Simon Adingra (€24.4m), Enzo Le Fée (€23m), Brian Brobbey (€20m), Chemsdine Talbi (€20m), Noah Sadiki (€17m), Granit Xhaka (€15m), Nordi Mukiele (€12m), Omar Alderete (€11.6m), Robin Roefs (€10.5m), Bertrand Traore (€2.9m), Reinildo Mandava (free), Arthur Masuaku (free), Lutsharel Geertruida (loan with option, €25.5m total)
Left: Jobe Bellingham (€30.5m), Tom Watson (€12m), Pierre Ekwah (€6m),
Net Spend: €137m
There are different schools of thought on how to spend once you’re promoted, and I think Sunderland have done a nice job blending the two here. They’ve added youth that can age well with the side in Diarra, Talbi, Sadiki and Roefs, as well as been-there-done-that types like Xhaka, Mukiele, Alderete, Reinildo and Masuaku, who are also among the lower-fee names here. With that first group, and likewise Adingra, Le Fée, Brobbey and defenders Mukiele and Geertruida, the Black Cats are making an educated gamble that the guys they’re signing can play at Premier League level enough to justify this spend, which is top-10 in Europe. If you remember, Ipswich were 11th last season and still couldn’t stay up, so nothing is guaranteed.
7. Manchester City
Acquired: Tijjani Reijnders (€55m), Rayan Aït-Nouri (€36.8m), Rayan Cherki (€36.5m), James Trafford (€31.2m), Gianluigi Donnarumma (€30m), Sverre Nypan (€15m), Marcus Bettinelli (€2.4m)
Left: James McAtee (€25.5m), Yan Couto (€20m), Máximo Perrone (€13m), Ederson (€11m), Manuel Akanji (loan + option), Kevin De Bruyne (free), Kyle Walker (€5.7m)
Net Spend: €131m
That’s a lot of action at goalkeeper, and not to acquire more of Pep’s traditional GK of choice. I have no idea why Donnarumma and Trafford joined for €60m+ to replace the outgoing Ederson, but maybe City are leaning into shot-stopping on purpose?
Meanwhile, the midfield is sure to be quite a bit less robust with Rodri back from injury and surrounded by the likes of Reijnders, Cherki, Bernardo and Foden. There’s a lot of attacking pop in this incoming group, but a lot of fragility out of possession as well. Added to my continued skepticism over the last few windows, this feels distinctly un-City and I feel could represent more of a step backward than forward.
6. Totnum
Acquired: Xavi Simons (€65m), Mohammed Kudus (€64m), Mathys Tel (€35m), Kevin Danso (€25m), Luka Vuskovic (€11m), Kota Takai (€5.8m), João Palhinha (€5m loan fee, €30m buy option), Randal Kolo Muani (loan)
Left: Son Heung-Min (€22m), Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (€13.5m), Bryan Gil (€6m), Sergio Reguilon (free)
Net Spend: €169m
It’s true, Xavi Simons is probably a better long-term fit for Spurs than Eze, but the latter would’ve made them better this season. Even off the back of an all-time-worst shooting season a year ago, I had Eze a couple of points better in my number 10 rankings than Xavi, whereas the prior season it was a 7-8 point spread in Eze’s favor.
The notes in Simons’ favor are age, cost and resale value, and the last of those may be particularly important, as this is a player who seems to see himself at the highest of highs of the footballing pyramid. If Thomas Frank can’t deliver on that vision quickly, I do wonder whether Xavi starts to get itchy for a move to greener pastures. But while he’s there, I do expect him to produce in keeping with his club-record outlay.
Kudus is someone I’m ambivalent about, as a true hot-and-cold showman. I’m not especially worried about Tel, as I’ve outlined before, I think he’s got a ways to go. Palhinha adds a great deal of robustness to this midfield, but lacks a lot of ability on the ball, which can be exposed (as Bournemouth did this past weekend. Kolo Muani is not an attacker I’m especially high on, and I’m not sure if he adds much on top of Richarlison and Solanke, other than some “ooh, ahh,” dribbling moments.
In all, I think this season is more defined by growth from Spurs’ signings from last summer and their new manager than it is by this summer’s additions, save for Simons.
5. Nottingham Forest
Acquired: Omari Hutchinson (€43.4m), Dan Ndoye (€42m), Dilane Bakwa (€35m), Arnaud Kalimuendo (€30m), James McAtee (€25.5m), Igor Jesus (€19m), Nicolò Savona (€13m), Jair Cunha (€12m), John Victor (€8m), Cuiabano (€6m), Douglas Luiz (loan with €25m buy obligation), Oleksandr Zinchenko (loan)
Left: Anthony Elanga (€61.4m), Danilo (€23m), Ramón Sosa (€12m), Andrew Omobamidele (€10.5m), Matt Turner (€8m), Carlos Miguel (€5.5m), Lewis O’Brien (€3.5m), Harry Toffolo (free)
Net Spend: €137.5 million
One of my biggest questions with Forest coming into the league season was depth, and they’ve certainly addressed that through quite a trolley dash over the past two weeks. With Hutchinson, Bakwa, Kalimuendo and McAtee, they suddenly have more options in attack(ing midfield) than ever. Bakwa has been a standout to for my formulas and it will be interesting to see how he makes the jump to the Premier League, while Ndoye has been solid as I’ve watched but less flattered by the numbers.
Keeping Gibbs-White felt like a monumental moment for Forest as a club, and they’ll need repeated greatness from Anderson in midfield to really carry this club another step forward. They’re in Europe now, and will doubtless take that seriously, but their performance in the PL was not in keeping with their place on the table. Will adding six young attackers and Douglas Luiz be enough to turn that around? That’s the question.
As an aside: Someone will need to look into what’s going on between Textor and Marinakis. Not normal.
4. Chelsea
Acquired: João Pedro (€63.7m), Jamie Gittens (€56m), Alejandro Garnacho (€46.2m), Jorrel Hato (€44.2m), Liam Delap (€35.5m), Estêvão (€34m), Dário Essugo (€22.3m), Mamadou Sarr (€14m), Kendry Páez (€10m), Facundo Buonanotte (€2m loan fee)
Left: Noni Madueke (€56m), Christopher Nkunku (€37m), João Félix (€30m), Djordje Petrovic (€28.9m), Lesley Ugochukwu (€28.7m), Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (€28.7m), Renato Veiga (€24.5m), Armando Broja (€23m), Carney Chukwuemeka (€20m), Nicolas Jackson (€16.5 million loan fee, €65m option), Mathis Amougou (€14.5m), Bashir Humphreys (€14m), Kepa (€5.8m), Marcus Bettinelli (€2.4m), Alfie Gilchrist (€2.3m) Ben Chilwell (free)
Net Spend: -€4m
The C in CFC stands for Churn these days. Nico Jackson could end up leaving for €80m total, backfilled by Pedro and Delap. Pedro has looked good so far, and maybe he becomes the long-term answer at 9 for Chelsea. On the wings, you’ve got Madueke out, Gittens in for the same price, and that feels like a sideways move at best but one I view as a step backward. Perhaps Estêvão explodes right away, but if he doesn’t, do Chelsea have the patience to allow him to develop into the player he could be? They haven’t shown that with the players they’ve brought in to date.
Ironically, that’s why Garnacho left United, so I’m curious to see where he fits into this equation, ditto for Hato on the left side of defense, where Cucurella has solidified his place in the squad. If he can’t win the left centre-back role in the wake of Colwill’s injury, does he play enough to develop? Will Essugo and Páez even really play, or do they just get sold for 5-10% profit in two seasons?
Chelsea pretty much have to make top four at this stage for this window not to be a complete waste of time, but given their spend you’d like to think the media would be looking for more. I’m not holding my breath.
3. Everton
Acquired: Tyler Dibling (€40.5m), Thierno Barry (€30m), Kiernan Dewsbury Hall (€28.7m), Carlos Alcaraz (€15m), Adam Aznou (€9m), Mark Travers (€4.6m), Merlin Röhl (loan plus obligation, €25m), Jack Grealish (loan)
Left: Youssef Chermiti (€9m), Neal Maupay (€4m), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (free), Ashley Young (free), Jack Harrison (end of loan), Abdoulaye Doucouré (free)
Net Spend: €117 million
This is a pretty crafty transfer window from Everton, a club that was already on the rise under David Moyes without actually making any transfers yet. Some of the longer-held DNA of the club left in the form of DCL, Young and Doucouré, but that’s not such a bad thing. The attacking flair of Grealish, KDH and Dibling is a fun addition to what Iliman Ndiaye can do out front, and I maintain that James Garner is one of the most underrated midfielders in the Premier League.
Barry is, for me, more of a two- or three-year project, which is fine because I also find Beto underrated. I’m also not the highest on Röhl, but overall I think Everton have built a nice squad here with a lot of depth that could see them pushing for the fringe European spots into the New Year.
2. Liverpool
Acquired: Alexander Isak (€144m), Florian Wirtz (€125m), Hugo Ekitike (€95m), Milos Kerkez (€46.9m), Jeremie Frimpong (€40m), Giovanni Leoni (€31m), Freddie Woodman (free)
Left: Luis Díaz (€70m), Darwin Núñez (€53m), Harvey Elliott (€40m), Jarell Quansah (€35m), Ben Doak (€23.2m), Caoimhín Kelleher (€14.8m), Tyler Morton (€10m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (€10m), Nat Phillips (€3.5m), Konstantinos Tsimikas (loan)
Net Spend: €220m
There’s been quite a bit of an attempt to use the sales to spin this as something short of an unprecedented window by Liverpool, but I’m definitely not buying into that idea. In Isak and Wirtz, LFC have acquired two players in one window alone that many might have called “once in a project” types 12 months ago. The idea that you could add a €95 million player to that, let alone at the same position as one of them, makes the entire thing pretty bananas.
There’s absolutely no question about it: Liverpool have made one of the largest investments in their attack that the Premier League has ever seen. Isak, Wirtz and Ekitike replacing Díaz, Núñez and the late Diogo Jota is something like a €240 million net investment in terms of transfer fees, but it’s also a huge uptick in wages. I haven’t seen reliable reporting on Isak’s Liverpool wages, but he will unquestionably be on a much higher wage than the €140k or so per week he got at Newcastle, while Wirtz and Ekitike are reportedly both getting €225-230k per week, roughly 50% increases from Darwin and Jota. Díaz meanwhile was reportedly on less than €100k per week, part of why he left.
The big question with Liverpool is whether they’ve put too many eggs in too few baskets. Depth behind centre-back and full-back is awfully thin, and you’d say the same about their wide attackers. Neither Ekitike nor Isak is a natural wide man, no matter what Twitter tacticos tell you. Any decision to play them together would still be an experiment, same with moving Wirtz wide. Health is always key to any title-winning season, but it may be even more so for this group of players. And their outgoings are incredibly significant…Díaz and Trent alone were massive for them last season.
1. Arsenal
Acquired: Martín Zubimendi (€70m), Eberechi Eze (€69.3m), Viktor Gyökeres (€65.8m), Noni Madueke (€56m), Piero Hincapié (loan + likely obligation, €52m total), Cristhian Mosquera (€15m), Christian Nørgaard (€11.6m), Kepa (€5.8m)
Left: Jakub Kiwior (loan + likely obligation, €26m total), Nuno Tavares (€5m), Marquinhos (€3m), Albert Sambi Lokonga (€300k), Kieran Tierney (free), Jorginho (free), Thomas Partey (free), Reiss Nelson (loan), Karl Hein (loan), Fábio Vieira (loan), Oleksander Zinchenko (loan), Takehiro Tomiyasu (free)
Net Spend: €311m
Many Arsenal fans spent last season saying that this summer required to go big, which it obviously would, so I hope they’re feeling pretty good right about now.
I’m definitely able to take the non-homer route here and point out the questions about this window: With Zubimendi (26), Eze (27) and Gyökeres (27) joining, Arsenal have signed three players for more than €200 million who are almost certainly all one-contract guys. From a value perspective, there is very little there, and there is little to capture from their exits. That makes me think KSE have penciled this into their long-term planning, but also that this is very much a move that necessitates some big accomplishments. But at this point in the Arsenal story, that feels appropriate.
My other questions are more tactical in nature, with Gyökeres less of a territorial dominance striker and more of a quick back-to-front, transitional one and Eze more of a left-half-space midfielder and less of a wide, touchline-hugging winger. But each is incredibly talented and far from what I’d consider a longshot in either role. The work is up to the players and Arteta at this point, and the good news is that Berta and the manager now have a ton of options to work with.
Madueke has never been a talent question for me, but more a sidedness one, so I’m glad to see early returns that make me look a little silly. May they continue. Mosquera looks every bit a great signing, and I’m excited to watch Hincapié join the fold soon.
There will undoubtedly be some complaints about the outgoings from this window, but few pieces were truly marketable here. Outside of Kiwior, whose fee is good, the best was either Zinchenko, a late 20s, injury-prone left-back with a reputation for defending poorly, or Nelson, a 25-year-old winger with a near-decade-long list of injuries and two hamstring tears in the past 12 months. They’re not on incredibly sales-friendly contracts, but neither was Eddie Nketiah or Bernd Leno, and Edu Gaspar managed to sell those guys, so…
Anyway, I’m not all that bothered by the outgoings. Arsenal may end up needing to sell someone over the next couple of seasons to balance things out, but as I like to say when I leave a task around the house for the next day, “that’s a problem for future Adam.”
While we’re here, other big winners:
Real Madrid: Huijsen, Trent, Mastantuono, Carreras in; Modrić and Vázquez out
Stuttgart: Badredine Bouanani, Tiago Tomás, Lorenz Assignon, Lazar Jovanovic, Chema Andrés, Noah Darvich, Bilal El Khanouss (loan) in, Angelo Stiller stays; Nick Woltemade, Enzo Millot; Jacob Bruun Larsen, Woo-yeong Jeong, Anrie Chase out
AC Milan: Nkunku, Jashari, Ricci, De Winter, Estupiñán, Athekame, Rabiot, Modrić in; Reijnders, Thiaw, Hernández, Kalulu, Okafor, Emerson, Musah, Jiménez out
FC Porto: Froholdt, Veiga, Costa, Sainz, Pérez, Bednarek, Prpić, Rosario, Kiwior, de Jong in; Conceição, Otávio, João Mário, Gonçalo Borges, Fran Navarro out
And potential losers:
RB Leipzig: Harder, Vermeeren, Rômulo, Diomande, Bakayoko, Banzuzi, Maksimovic, Finkgräfe in; Šeško, Simons, Moriba, Openda, Vermeeren (loan), Poulsen, Geertruida out
Bayer Leverkusen (for now): Tillman, Quansah, Ben Seghir, Badé, Equi Fernández, Maza, Flekken, Poku in; Wirtz, Frimpong, Adli, Kossounou, Xhaka, Puerta, Hradecky, Tah, Boniface, Mukiele, Hincapié out
Juventus: Conceição, González, Zhegrova, Kalulu, Di Gregorio, Openda, João Mário, Jonathan David in; Rovella, Costa, Fagioli, Savona, Mbangula, Pellegrini, Caviglia, Luiz, González, Weah
Lyon: Morton, Turner, Sulc, Greif, Ruben Kluivert, Moreira in; Cherki, Mikautadze, Perri, Benrahma, Sarr, Lepenant, Lacazette, Matic out
What do you think, where am I wrong? Sound off in the comments or find me on BlueSky, and see you next time!