Following two months of suspense, drama, thrills and record-breaking fees, the summer transfer window for Premier League teams is finally over.
With the increase in prize money and Tv deal, it’s not surprising to see premier league teams once again exceed the £1bn mark in summer spendings.
According to the BBC, the total money spent on transfers this window by premier league clubs is £1.41bn with deadline day deals alone accounting for £170m of the total fee.
Eleven clubs broke their transfer records with Sheffield United breaking theirs four times. According to Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, this summer marks the fourth time Premier League teams will break the 1 billion pounds barrier and this shows the amount of money in English football.
However, despite the money spent, some teams still fell short of what is expected of them in the transfer market and that’s why Soccernet.ng is taking a look at the winners and losers of the transfer window.
Winners
Arsenal: Prior to the opening of the transfer window, it was widely reported that Arsenal have a transfer budget of just £45m which led many of the club fans to believe they are heading for another summer of frustration. The Gunners faithfuls have witnessed their club in recent years fail to sign quality players due to their inability to spend big like their rivals and it looked like this summer will be taking a similar pattern.
https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/1159563322737537025
The £45m war chest would have been the last thing the fans want to hear especially after a season where they finished outside the top four.
https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1159766519305396224
However, it proved the £45m budget was just a smokescreen as Arsenal emerged the biggest spenders of the window. The Gunners spent a total of £155m including the club record fee of £72m they spent on Nicolas Pepe.
Although just 20m of the 72m was paid instantly with the rest being paid in instalments, it still represented a major coup for the club given the teams they beat for the Ivorian international’s signature.
Aside Pepe, the Gunners also signed Kieran Tierney for £25m from Celtic while they also managed to get David Luiz from London rivals Chelsea for a reported fee of £8m. They brought in Dani Ceballos on loan from Real Madrid while they signed highly-rated French defender William Saliba from Saint Etienne who will still spend the next one year at the club after he was loaned back.
The Gunners business also signed to Brazilian youngster Gabriel Martinelli to cap off a fine summer. They have also been smart in the outgoings by recouping some of the money they spent. Academy graduate, Alex Iwobi was sold for a reported fee of £40m which is the club’s most expensive sale ever, while Jenkinson was also sold to Nottingham Forest.
Tottenham: After becoming the first club since the transfer window was introduced to not sign any player last season, Tottenham were back in business this summer. Last season Champions League finalist failed to sign a play in the two windows available last campaign.
https://twitter.com/SpursOfficial/status/1159510583248658439
However, with the completion of their new stadium and the money earned from their champions league run, the club were busy in the transfer market once again. The Lillywhites brought in Giovani lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon from Real Betis and Fulham respectively, while they were also able to keep Christian Eriksen and Toby Alderwield at least for now.
Man City: It would still have been a wonderful summer for Man City even if they had not signed anybody- that’s how good their squad is. But knowing Pep Guardiola to be the ‘Oliver Twist’, he still went ahead and made two additions to the squad.
https://twitter.com/ManCity/status/1159184936986918917
The former Barcelona manager recruited Rodri from Atletico Madrid for £62.8m pounds while they also brought in one of the finest fullbacks in football right now in the person of Joao Cancelo for £60m from Juventus with Danilo going the opposite way.
Despite speculations linking him away from the club, Leroy Sane is still at the Etihad. It will be a surprise if Man City don’t retain their title with business they have done this season.
Losers:
Manchester United: Following a disappointing season that saw Manchester United finished in the sixth position, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer promised to overhaul his squad. But with the window done and dusted, the majority of the deadwood is still at large at the club.
Confirmation that @HarryMaguire93 is #MUFC's new no.5️⃣
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 7, 2019
Although they managed to sign Harry Maguire from Leicester for £85m, it won’t still be enough to improve Man Utd’s position from last season. The club added Aaron Wan Bissaka from Crystal Palace and Daniel James from Swansea, but they let Romelu Lukaku leave without bringing a replacement.
It looks like it’s going to be another season of disappointment for United with the business they have done this season.
Liverpool: It was surprising to see Liverpool not sign anyone given the position they are in right now. Last season’s champions league winners have never been better placed to attract any player they want, but manager Jurgen Klopp felt his team does not need any improvement.
While it is understandable why he may not want to disrupt a winning team, his team could have had that extra competitive edge with one or two major signings and that would have been enough to probably wrestle the league title from City.
Many felt Liverpool’s lack of depth was the reason they fell short by the narrowest of margins last season and Klopp’s failure to add in a creative midfielder the team is craving for could his undoing once again this season.
Chelsea: Due to a transfer ban, Chelsea were unable to sign players while they also lost their most prized asset in the form of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid. Although they brought in Pulisic and some of their players back from loan, it is hard to see how they can compete with the top two without Hazard and window of no signings. New manager, Frank Lampard has a huge task on his hand with his team likely to be in a top-four battle against Arsenal this season.
