How the Premier League’s big boys fared in the summer transfer window – and whether they did enough | OneFootball

A historic summer transfer window has come to an end, with Premier League clubs spending billions of pounds on new players.

We’ve had a look back at the big deals of the window and if the Premier League’s biggest clubs managed to do everything they wanted, and needed…

Liverpool’s big spending summer

Alexander Isak has signed for Liverpool (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Liverpool might have won the Premier League title last season but they have moved to strengthen their squad with several big additions.

A low spending last summer means the Reds were in a strong position to be able to go big this summer, and they have done just that by signing Florian Wirtz in a club and British record £116.5m deal.

They have also moved to strengthen in the full-back areas. Jeremie Frimpong has arrived from Bayer Leverkusen as a replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has gone to Real Madrid, while Milos Kerkez will likely take Andy Robertson’s starting spot at left-back.

Striker Hugo Ekitike arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt in a deal reported to be around £79m, which took Liverpool’s total spend this summer to almost £300m. However, you do not have to spend big with these $5 minimum deposit casinos.

Their biggest signing of the summer came on the final day of the window, however, when Alexander Isak arrived from Newcastle United in a £125m deal, bringing to an end the transfer saga of the summer. Following the departures of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, the Reds have certainly upgraded and strengthened their attack.

Central defence does remain an area where Liverpool could have done more, however, with Jarrell Quansah having departed and Ibrahima Konate’s current deal running out next summer. They signed youngster Giovanni Leoni but failed in their attempts to sign Marc Guehi. An injury in that area could prove problematic for their title hopes.

Arsenal secure their much needed striker

Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

Arsenal’s need and desire to bring in a striker has long been discussed and they finally did so this summer, bringing in Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP for around £63.5m.

Much of Arsenal’s window was focused on adding squad depth and revamping their midfield. The departures of Thomas Partey and Jorginho have seen defensive midfielders Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard arrive, while Noni Madueke will provide depth on both wings, as will Kepa Arrizabalaga in the goalkeeper position.

Arsenal also signed two new central defenders in Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie, with Jakub Kiwior departing for Porto. Oleksandr Zinchenko, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson have also left the club either on loan or permanently.

The most exciting addition may not be Gyokeres, however, but Ebere Eze. The 27-year-old was one of the Premier League’s top attacking talents last season and certainly brings more dynamism to Arsenal’s attack. On paper, the Gunners have done everything they needed to in the window, but will it result in boss Mikel Arteta ending the club’s trophy drought?

Goalkeeping changes at Man City

Gianluigi Donnarumma (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

Manchester City had been open about their desire to complete the majority of their transfer business early on in the window, and they did just that. They added midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri, attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki and goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli all before the Club World Cup, and further added to their squad with the signing of highly-rated youngster Sverre Nypan.

This summer has marked a continuation of the rebuild started in January, with Pep Guardiola keen on having a younger, fitter, and less injury prone squad moving forward after last year’s struggles. Long serving players Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish have also left.

The big change has come in the goalkeeper position, however. Long time number one Ederson has left for Fenerbahce with James Trafford, re-signed from Burnley this summer, starting the first three league games.

It looks as though Trafford would be the new number one, but that has changed with the deadline day signing of Italy shot stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who has left PSG after helping them to win the treble last season.

City have got certainly got younger and fitter, but question marks over whether their new investments can live up to Guardiola’s incredible record of success remain to be seen. Their start to the season certainly casts some doubt.

Chelsea’s effort to improve in attack

Enzo Fernandez celebrates with Joao Pedro (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Unsurprisingly, Chelsea have also been busy in the transfer window. Much of their efforts have focused around improving in attack, with strikers Joao Pedro and Liam Delap arriving from Brighton and Ipswich respectively along with wingers Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund and Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United. Wonderkid Estevao has also completed his previously agreed move to Stamford Bridge.

That has had to be balanced out with some departures, however. Most significantly that of Noni Madueke, who has left for Arsenal in a £52m deal. Madueke has shown what he can do in glimpses at Chelsea but there remains a frustration that he did not consistently hit the heights he is capable of with the Blues.

Nicolas Jackson has also left for Bayern Munich, while Christopher Nkunku has joined AC Milan and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has signed for Everton. Much of this summer has been about selling players for profit, which they have done. In that aspect, their transfer window has been a success.

Chelsea were told by UEFA that they must have a “positive transfer balance” on their A list of registered players for the Champions League, meaning the amount saved on players leaving must outweigh the costs of new signings, taking into account their most recent A list for UEFA competition. If they failed to achieve that, they were at risk of not being able to register new signings for their European campaign, but appear to have complied.

But, on the pitch, it remains to be seen whether their new signings are really of the level to help them take that next step.

Man Utd’s new front line

Mbeumo, Sesko and Cunha (Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)

Much of Manchester United’s window was dominated by their pursuit of Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo, which finally came to an end ahead of the new season, joining Matheus Cunha who signed from Wolves. There was also the arrival of new striker Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.

Given their goalscoring struggles, the club have clearly addressed their shortcomings but are undoubtedly still lacking in other areas. Midfield remains a big concern with a lack of energy and athleticism, and they did not manage to address that.

They have, however, targeted their weakness in goal by signing Semme Lammens, though he is unproven at the Premier League level.

Several of the unwanted players also departed including Marcus Rashford, Garnacho, Antony and Jadon Sancho. Overall the window was a positive one for United but there is still plenty of work left to do in future windows.

Slow going Spurs

Xavi Simons greets the Tottenham fans (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

It took a while for Tottenham to really be active in the market, but when they did move, they invested heavily by bringing in Mohammed Kudus from West Ham for £55m.

That was followed by a bid for Morgan Gibbs-White of Nottingham Forest, though that move fell through with the England international opting to stay at Forest.

Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel have arrived on permanent deals following their initial loan spells while defenders Luka Vuskovic and Kota Takai have also joined.

Back up for striker Dominic Solanke was also a priority for Spurs, and they moved to bring in Randal Kolo Muani on loan from PSG. That followed the addition of Xavi Simons, who will bring more creativity in the number 10 role with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski out injured, though that did follow a failed pursuit of Eze who instead went to Arsenal.

Perhaps the biggest change at the club, however, was Heung-min Son leaving for LAFC after ten years. It is a new era at Tottenham and, should they avoid injuries, look well placed to challenge for the top six again.