Winners and losers of the transfer window: City’s title push strengthened, Villa reinforced; Liverpool short at the back, Palace gutted | OneFootball

It feels premature to claim teams 'winners' and 'losers' of a transfer window before some new signings have even kicked a ball - but we're going to pass judgment anyway.

Winners

Manchester City

Adding two provenPremier League talents to an already-stacked squad seems like smart business for a side aiming to catch Arsenal in the title race.

The Citizens won the race for Antoine Semenyo and have felt the immediate impact, with the £62.5m recruit fromBournemouth scoring four times in five games.

The arrival of Marc Guehi at a knockdown £20m fee is also a coup, with City adding an England international to their depleted defensive stocks, at a price far below his market value.

Aston Villa

A much need injection of depth forAston Villa, who have added Tammy Abraham and Douglas Luiz to their ranks.

The two return toAston Villa after previous spells as Villa Park favourites, a scenario which will probably afford them patience from the fans as they get up to speed.

Leon Bailey has also been recalled from his loan at Roma to further flesh out the squad. Villa remain competitive on multiple fronts this season and adding experienced options is a timely boost. Youth prospects Alysson and Brian Madjo have also arrived as ones for the future.

Bournemouth

Bournemouth were powerless to prevent Antoine Semenyo from leaving this month, but the Cherries have secured something of a coup in his replacement.

Rayan was tracked by some top teams before swapping Vasco de Gama for the South Coast and the Brazilian wonderkid has already notched up an assist in just 22 minutes of league football.

A €100m release clause in his contract meansBournemouth will be under no pressure to sell if, as expected, he continues to develop at a rapid rate.

The highly-rated Alex Toth has also arrived from Ferencváros asBournemouth's recruitment team continue to cherry-pick emerging talent to ripen.

Losers

Liverpool

There's an argument thatLiverpool needed defensive cover before the window opened, but events since heightened that requirement. The failure to land Marc Guehi last summer has left Liverpool light at centre-back, with the often-injured Joe Gomez the only alternative to Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.

Gomez may also be required at right-back with Conor Bradley out for the season and Jeremie Frimpong sidelined. Late moves for Lutsharel Geertruida and Denzel Dumfries failed to materialise into the signings Slot needed.

Jeremy Jacquet's arrival for the summer is promising, butLiverpool needed signings now.

Crystal Palace

Losing your captain mid-season would be a body blow to any side, never mind in a period where your club's head coach has also announced he will quit in the summer.

The exit of Marc Guehi is a tough, if expected, pill to swallow for Palace. Having clung on to the England defender in the summer after failing to sign a replacement in time, the Eagles sanctioned his sale for £15m less this month, without signing a replacement...

Jean-Philippe Mateta's reintegration may also be difficult, as the Frenchman pushed hard for an exit but saw his move to Milan fall through.

There is some promise in the arrivals of Brennan Johnson, Evann Guessand and Jorgen Strand Larsen, but will it be enough to get Palace's season back on track? Palace's FA Cup-winning core has been ripped from them in recent transfer windows.

Tottenham Hotspur

Things are tough for Thomas Frank right now as the under-fire Spurs boss deals with an injury crisis in North London. CaptainCristian Romero called it 'disgraceful' that Spurs had just 11 fit players for their weekend draw with Manchester City, with the Argentine again taking aim at the club's board.

Tottenham brought in Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid and the England midfielder will add energy to the side, but it feels little more than a plaster on a gaping wound.

Spurs are badly lacking creativity in the absence of Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Mohammed Kudus, and teenage arrivals James Wilson and Souza do not look like readymade reinforcements.