With a quarter of the new Premier League season behind us, now feels like the perfect time to hark back to the summer and work out who ‘won the window’ and who needs to have some serious conversations with their recruitment depart.
Ranking the Premier League’s clubs transfer window success
20) Leicester City
Brendan Rodgers signed just one new player in the summer. Fortunately for him, the poodle-haired, David Luiz regen Wout Faes looks excellent value, with his line-breaking passes and all-action defending. Danny Ward, however, has struggled in goal while Leicester’s squad looks paper thin beyond the first XI.
19) Wolves
Luck really wasn’t on Wolves’ side. 45 minutes into his debut, £15 million Sasa Kalajdzic ruptured his ACL – an injury that could end his season. The free signing of Diego Costa, then, was a deal borne out of necessity rather than design. There can be no such excuses regarding Goncalo Guedes, however – anonymous so far at £27 million. Bigger things were expected, too, of Matheus Nunes.
At least Nathan Collins has settled well.
18) Crystal Palace
Patrick Vieira’s side paid fees for just two players over the summer. Injured Chris Richards is yet to start a game and, while the powerful Cheick Doucoure looks like one of the off-season’s most inspired purchases, a lack of investment elsewhere leaves Palace looking short on several key areas, including at right-back and up top.
It says a lot that Doucoure already feels irreplaceable at Selhurst Park.
17) Brentford
Mikkel Damsgaard, Aaron Hickey and Keane Lewis-Potter may prove to be excellent buys. So far, however, glimpses of the trio have been fleeting. Hickey is now out with an ankle problem. Brentford are also missing the creativity of Christian Eriksen in midfield; a player almost irreplaceable for a club of their stature and budget.
16) Chelsea
Brighton would have been laughing all the way to the bank when Chelsea forked out over £60 million for Marc Cucurella. Wesley Fofana also looks overpriced, albeit brimming with potential. Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, meanwhile, have notched just four Premier League goals between them so far. Denis Zakaria looks set to leave without ever making a Chelsea appearance.
15) Brighton and Hove Albion
The same old problem remains; Brighton, for all their pretty, passing football, lack a serious goalscorer. Deniz Undav could still fill that void, of course, but he is being eased into Premier League life. Pervis Estupinan at least looks an excellent replacement for £62 million sale Cucurella, but neither Billy Gilmour nor Levi Colwill have made an impact.
14) Liverpool
Four goals in four starts for Darwin Nunez; Eat that, critics. The feeling is, however, that this is a Liverpool side with too many players at either end of their development; ones right at the start like Fabio Carvalho and Harvey Elliott, and those on the other side of the hill like Jordan Henderson and Joel Matip, with two few in the middle region.
Arthur Melo, out of action until 2023, looks a baffling addition to an already injury-prone midfield.
13) Leeds United
There are simply too many gaps in Jesse Marsch’s squad. Marc Roca, Tyler Adams and the stylish Brendan Aaronson have settled nicely, but it’s almost criminal that Leeds remain without any real depth at centre-forward or left-back. Luis Sinisterra, at least, offers some of the creativity and unpredictability Raphinha took with him to Barcelona.
12) Aston Villa
It’s not easy to judge Villa’s window. Diego Carlos made just two appearances before being struck down by injury, while another surprise addition – Boubakar Kamara – has now joined him on the sidelines. Jan Bednarek and Leander Dendoncker are solid rather than spectacular additions, but paying £17 million to make Philippe Coutinho’s loan permanent now feels like an error.
By next summer, following Carlos’ and Kamara’s, Villa could be much higher in our ranking.
11) Southampton
Less than two months after the Saints signed Romeo Lavia, Chelsea offered £50 million for a teenage midfielder who adapted brilliantly to senior football on the South Coast (Fabrizio Romano). Whether fellow City imports Juan Larios and Sam Edozie can emulate his impact remains to be seen.
Armel Bella-Kotchap has been terrific at centre-back, but we haven’t really seen enough yet – barring the odd glimpse – of Joe Aribo, Sekou Mara or Duje Caleta-Car.
10) AFC Bournemouth
The Cherries didn’t make many headlines in the off-season, but former Barcelona, Juventus and Valencia ‘keeper Neto on a free looks an inspired piece of business. Ryan Fredericks and Marcos Senesi are growing into life on the south coast too, though the jury remains out on Marcus Tavernier.
9) Tottenham Hotspur
Turning Sergio Romero’s loan into a permanent deal was a no-brainer. Whether Spurs do the same with Clement Lenglet remains to be seen. He, alongside Yves Bissouma, struggled during the 2-1 home defeat to Newcastle United last time out. Ivan Perisic has been in and out, Djed Spence has barely featured, and Richarlison – for all his endeavour – is yet to ease the goalscoring burden on Harry Kane.
Yet, Spurs remain in contention for a Champions League spot.
8) Nottingham Forest
Where to start? No fewer than 26 players signed on at the City Ground so far and, in truth, only a fraction of those can be considered genuine successes so far. Renan Lodi and Jesse Lingard have been big disappointments, though Remo Freuler, Serge Aurier Cheikhou Kouyate, Taiwo Awoniyi, Neco Williams, Emmanuel Dennis and Taiwo Awoniyi (the matchwinner against Liverpool) have had their moments.
As you might expect, given how many new faces arrived, it’s a bit of a mixed bag.
7) West Ham United
The sight of Lucas Paqueta setting up Gianluca Scamacca for the Italian’s winner against Anderlecht would have put a smile on David Moyes’ face. The big-money duo are yet to really make the same sort of impact consistently in the Premier League, however, while Thilo Kehrer has flitted from high-profile errors to some quietly impressive displays.
Emerson, Maxwel Cornet and Flynn Downes enhance West Ham’s squad depth. Nayef Aguerd, meanwhile, could thrive as a left-footed centre-half when he returns from injury.
6) Fulham
With all due respect, how on earth did a newly-promoted Premier League club manage to get their mits on peerless Portugal international Joao Palhinha? Alongside fellow new recruit Andreas Pereira, Palhinha has excelled in a Fulham side looking up the table rather than glancing nervously over their shoulder. Bernd Leno and a revitalised Willian are also impressing, though Fulham fans are yet to see the best of Issa Diop, Layvin Kurzawa, Carlos Vinicius, Kevin Mbabu or Dan James.
5) Newcastle United
Credit to Newcastle’s recruitment team. A club of their resources could have easily been charmed by the allure big names but instead took a calm, considered approach to recruitment, epitomised by the arrivals of Nick Pope, Matt Targett and Sven Botman. £60 million record signing Alexander Isak, meanwhile, marked his debut with a stunner against Liverpool before picking up an injury.
4) Manchester City
It would have taken something very special to take Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions to a whole new level. They’ve found it, however, in Erling Haaland. Manuel Akanji, the less-heralded summer arrival from Dortmund, has gone about his business quietly but effectively. Kalvin Phillips, however, played just one league minute before a shoulder injury.
3) Arsenal
Arsenal’s status at the top of the Premier League is testament not only to Mikel Arteta’s excellent management, but a fine summer of recruitment. Much-admired technical director Edu Gaspar has added real quality to the Gunners’ squad, bringing in proven top-flight talent in Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, plus high quality squad depth in Fabio Vieira.
2) Manchester United
It cannot be underestimated just how rapidly Erik Ten Hag’s summer arrivals – Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, Antony and the exceptional Casemiro – have raised the bar at Old Trafford. In Tyrell Malacia, United have some genuine competition for Luke Shaw too. Put short, this looks like the best, most together United side in recent memory.
1) Everton
The Toffees conceded goals by the bucketload last season. Enter James Tarkowski and Conor Coady; two reliable, experienced centre-halves far better than those who came before them. Andre Onana and Idrissa Gana Gueye are also upgrades on Abdoulaye Doucoure and Andre Gomes, while Neal Maupay, James Garner and Dwight McNeil beef up Frank Lampard’s squad impressively.
Everton’s recruitment has been a bone of contention for many years. The first summer of Frank Lampard and Kevin Thelwell, however, already looks like a roaring success.
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