Football News: Premier League Transfer Window Review

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Premier League Transfer Window Review

20. Aston Villa

Ins:
Wesley from Club Brugge
Tyrone Mings from Bournemouth
Douglas Luiz from Manchester City
Matt Targett from Southampton
Ezri Konsa from Brentford
Marvelous Nakamba from Club Brugge
Trezeguet from Kasimpasa
Anwar El Ghazi from LOSC Lille
Tom Heaton from Burnley
Bjorn Engels from Reims
Jota from Birmingham City
Kortney Hause from Wolverhampton Wanderers

A mixed bag of recruitment, Trezeguet I think is a terrible player and have no idea why they signed him. Heaton needs to refind his form, but overall it is a step in the right direction, but they need time to bring it all together. Luckily it is a long season, so they have a chance to build up the teamwork needed. They certainly now have the foundations of a good, solid Premier League side. Rating: C

Outs:
Albert Adomah to Nottingham Forest
Ritchie De Laet to Royal Antwerp
Glenn Whelan to Heart of Midlothian
Tommy Elphick to Huddersfield Town
Gary Gardner to Birmingham City
Andre Green to Preston North End
Scott Hogan to Stoke City
Aaron Tshibola to Waasl-Beveren
Mark Bunn retired
Micah Richards retired
Birkir Bjarnason released
Mile Jedinak released
Ross McCormack released
Alan Hutton released

They have cleared out a lot of players who were not good enough for this level the only real worry is how little they all brought in return. Absolutely zero. While they have the Premier League income to look forward to, it is always a worry when players are bringing no return, it shows that recruitment has been poor. Hopefully it has improved now, but there is a worrying precedent there to look at and judge the club by. On the plus side, the savings in wages would be considerable and none of the players gone are good enough. Rating: C

They have certainly improved their squad in this window, it is going to take time to find out if they have done enough or not. It cannot be disputed that what they have done is taken a step forward and they only need it to be enough to beat 3 other teams.
Overall Rating: B-

19. Sheffield United

Ins:
Oliver McBurnie from Swansea City
Lys Mousset from Bournemouth
Callum Robinson from Preston North End
Luke Freeman from Queens Park Rangers
Ben Osborn from Nottingham Forest
Phil Jagielka from Everton
Ravel Morrison from Ostersund
Michael Verrips from KV Mechelen
Dean Henderson from Manchester United (loan)
Muhamed Besic from Everton (loan)

On paper they do not look to have recruited well, but they also did not look to have a team good enough to win promotion on paper. The Blades are all about the team and how it works together, so the only thing that matters is how it gels together. I do have fears about the addition of Morrison, who is a rotten egg that could ruin the whole bunch if they are not careful. That was an extremely risky call and did not seem to be one that needed to be made either. I have a feeling that is going to be the biggest problem for Wilder this season. Rating: E

Outs:
Paul Coutts to Fleetwood Town
Caolan Lavery to Walsall
Samir Carruthers to Cambridge United
Conor Washington to Heart of Midlothian
Martin Cranie to Luton Town
Ched Evans to Fleetwood Town
Danny Lafferty released

Similar to Villa, none of the outs raised any capital at all for future reinvestment, but Sheff Utd are operating on a much smaller budget anyway, so the salary savings will be much less as well. If anything they probably failed to do enough clearing house. None of the players would have figured, so they have certainly not weakened their team. Rating: D-

Luckily for them, they are not about quality of players, they are about teamwork which makes the sum greater than the whole. They have not signed anyone that would worry opponents, it is difficult to see any major improvements made via recruitment. It is now down to Wilder to make the players better. They have brought in players who will fit straight into the team's work ethic and allowed it to keep the same Wilder style in place.
Overall Rating: C-

18. Norwich City

Ins:
Ralf Fahrmann from FC Schalke 04
Sam Byram from West Ham United
Daniel Adshead from Rochdale
Josip Drmic from Borussia Moenchengladbach
Patrick Roberts from Manchester City (loan)
Rocky Bushiri from KV Oostende
Ibrahim Amadou from Sevilla (loan)

Their recruitment puzzles me, signing Bram who, even when fit struggled to get games at Championship level last season and has not looked anywhere near good enough for the Premier League since the day he left Leeds United. Fahrmann looks a decent acquisition but the rest look hit and miss. It just seems like they have struggled to find the players they need to take them forward. Rating: D-

Outs:
Marcel Franke to Hannover 96
Ivo Pinto to Dinamo Zagreb
Yanic Wildschut to Maccabi Haifa
Tristan Abrahams to Newport County
Steven Naismith to Heart of Midlothian
Nelson Oliveira to AEK Athens
Ben Marshall released
Matt Jarvis released

They have done a decent job of getting rid of those no longer wanted while holding onto those they did want to keep. There was a lot of interest in a few of their youngsters, but they convinced them to stay, at least for the season. Again though they did struggle to bring in financial return for the players they did sell. Rating: C+

The key for Norwich was hanging on to their good young players such as those two excellent fullbacks. They had a team capable of growing into the Premier League and they have held onto it, that was the key for them. In the long term they will need to strengthen, but they have to solidify a place in the Prem gradually and giving the team that won the Championship a chance to survive is a good way to make it happen.
Overall Rating: C

17. Brighton & Hove Albion

Ins:
Neal Maupay from Brentford
Adam Webster from Bristol City
Leandro Trossard from KRC Genk
Matt Clarke from Portsmouth
Lewis Freestone from Peterborough United
Aaron Mooy from Huddersfield Town (loan)

While Trossard has got off to a flying start, I have my doubts about their recruitment, and I still see no sign of their big problems being fixed. That pairing at the back of Dunk and Duffy is woeful and in desperate need of replacing, only time will tell if Webster will be the answer. Why on earth did they sign Mooy? It just seems like a messy window with no issues solved. Rating: F

Outs:
Ales Mateju to Brescia
Markus Suttner to Fortuna Dusseldorf
Tomer Hemed to Charlton Athletic
Richie Towell to Salford City
Bruno retired

They are still stuck with hundreds of wingers on the books with little intent to use them. They also lost their captain and driving force in Bruno. Other than Bruno, who was only really a back up as a player, they have not weakened their team but also barely cleared the excess wages off the bill. Rating: E

Graham Potter has his work cut out and it will be down to his coaching to make the players better, as their squad is not that strong. It is going to be a long hard season and it is all down to Potter to work his magic.
Overall Rating: E-

16. Southampton

Ins:
Danny Ings from Liverpool
Che Adams from Birmingham City
Moussa Djenepo from Standard Liege
Kevin Danso from Augsburg (loan)

They have not done as much business as most, hopefully signifying a return to giving the academy players a chance. That did give them their initial success after all. The problem is that people at the top forget where the club has come from and start demanding instant returns, rather than remembering they were in League 1 not so long ago. Success is a relative term and they do not have the finances to compete at the top end of the table, so any time they finish in the top half should be seen as a successful season. Owners, CEOs etc forget the actual base level and just want to keep seeing progression, rather than accepting that sometimes you have reached your peak and just need to be happy to stay there as long as possible. Unless they are willing to put their hands in their own pockets and invest of course. Finally Saints seem to have realised that and are just looking to consolidate and continue on in the Premier League for the long term. Having said that I am not convinced by their signings, Ings was an excellent player but injuries mean he needs time to get his form back. Adams does not impress me at all, he looks to have the goalscoring prowess of Shane Long. Djenepo looks exciting but has little end product. I think Hasenhuttl will have his work cut out to build a side with these signings. Rating: E-

Outs:
Matt Targett to Aston Villa
Sam Gallagher to Blackburn Rovers
Charlie Austin to West Bromwich Albion
Jordy Clasie to AZ Alkmaar
Steven Davis to Rangers

They do still have a lot of players they need to offload that they were forced to loan out, just to get as much off the wage bill as possible, that will need to be dealt with soon before it hampers their ability to invest. Other than that, the only player who could be seen as a loss is Targett and he has suffered with injury problems. So it seems to be just a case of freeing up space in the squad and they have done it fairly well. Rating C+

While that could turn out to be a good thing, I feel they did not do enough to rebuild the squad. If they have some good youngsters ready to step in, that could make it the right choice, but I do feel they brought in the wrong players for the position they are in. Added to that, they still have far too many players who have not worked out that they have been unable to offload. Still it is a work in progress and a step forward, just not a big step and Hasenhuttl has a lot to do.
Overall Rating: D-

15. Burnley

Ins:
Jay Rodriguez from West Bromwich Albion
Bailey Peacock-Farrell from Leeds United
Erik Pieters from Stoke City
Ryan Cooney from Bury
Danny Drinkwater from Chelsea (loan)

It is the same story every time with Burnley, you look at their signings and you wonder what on earth Dyche is thinking. Then he somehow manages to turn them into a team that gets enough points to do more than merely survive, even if it is not pretty. Not one of the players signed are players I would consider good signings. Most look to be terrible signings, particularly Drinkwater, who needs to sort out his life before his career completely disintegrates. Under Dyche they could end up being just what is needed. Rating: F

Outs:
Tom Heaton to Aston Villa
Stephen Ward to Stoke City
Aiden O'Neill to Brisbane Roar
Anders Lindegaard to Helsingborg
Ntumbu Massanka to Chorley
Steven Defour to Royal Antwerp
Peter Crouch retired

I am really struggling to understand the decisions made this window. Well ok, it is just the one decision as, great player though he is, Defour's injuries have made it pointless to hang on to him any longer. They will really miss him though. It is the decision to sell Heaton that amazes me. He was the best keeper at the club and on a much smaller wage than the hopeless Joe 'Head'n'Shoulders' Hart. It can only be a lack of takers for Hart that meant he stayed. So surely the better option would have been to sell Pope? He is a flapper, decent shot stopper but his overall game is much worse than Heaton's. It makes little sense to me. Rating: E-

This does look to be a really poor window for Burnley but who knows how these players will turn out under Dyche! I just cannot see how he can get any use from the likes of Drinkwater and Pieters has been a liability already. However, they will no doubt manage a decent league position.
Overall Rating: F

14. Bournemouth

Ins:
Arnaut Danjuma from Club Brugge
Philip Billing from Huddersfield Town
Lloyd Kelly from Bristol City
Jack Stacey from Luton Town
Harry Wilson from Liverpool (loan)

Billing will provide the bite and mobility they previously lacked in midfield but they have done nothing about shoring up that abysmal defence that has always been their Achilles' heel. Not that it would matter if they had van Dijk alongside Godin at the back, with Eddie Howe's utter lack of ability to organise a defence they would still ship goals for fun. They always invest relatively heavily but nothing changes, no matter how much he wastes Howe still seems bulletproof. Rating: D

Outs:
Tyrone Mings to Aston Villa
Lys Mousset to Sheffield United
Connor Mahoney to Millwall
Marc Pugh to Queens Park Rangers

Finally some decent returns on players, something that has not happened much. They have not lost anyone they wanted to keep either, so all round a decent window on the outs side. Rating: B-

Not a bad window, but they are still the same old Bournemouth, decent going forward, dreadful at the back and nothing was done to fix that. They have just stood still.
Overall Rating: D

13. Newcastle United

Ins:
Joelinton from TSG Hoffenheim
Allan Saint-Maximin from OGC Nice
Emil Krafth from SC Amiens
Jetro Willems from Eintracht Frankfurt (loan)
Andy Carroll from West Ham United
Jake Turner from Bolton Wanderers

Interesting set of signings, Joelinton looks to have something, Saint-Maximin is blisteringly quick but woefully inconsistent, Willems looks good but then there is Carroll. That signing, even on a free, is just insane. It really is a very hit and miss bunch. Rating: D

Outs:
Ayoze Perez to Leicester City
Joselu to Alaves
Mohamed Diame to Al Ahli

The loss of Perez could be a big negative, he was often an important player for the team when they were on a bad run, he was usually the one to step up and snatch a goal. Perez probably should have scored more in general, but usually he was a big part of good performances with his workrate. The other two are more of a case of good riddance as both were not likely to play.Rating: E-

This is a very difficult set of signings to judge. On the face of it though, the loss of Perez is probably going to outweigh the gain of any of the signings. Joelinton looks a good signing, but Saint-Maximin will spend most of his time in and out of the side through injury and mixed form. If Bruce turns out to be a better manager than he has ever shown himself to be in the past, then Newcastle have hopes of a top half finish. The likelihood is that it will once again be a struggle, though they do look to have enough to stay up.
Overall Rating: D-

12. Crystal Palace

Ins:
James McCarthy from Everton
Jordan Ayew from Swansea City
Victor Camarasa from Real Betis (loan)
Stephen Henderson from Nottingham Forest
Gary Cahill from Chelsea

I really do not see this as a good set of incoming transfers for a club in Palace's position. They have not replaced their best player and so will once more be reliant on an utterly incompetent right-back in Joel Ward. They have still not added goals, which they desperately need and instead they have just added more grinders to drag down the game into a snoozefest. Camarasa is the only bright spot and he is unlikely to feature much under Hodgson as he has a bit of flair. Rating: F

Outs:
Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United
Jason Puncheon to Pafos FC
Pape Souare to Troyes
Julian Speroni released
Bakary Sako released

They have lost their best player, that is a hugely negative window. I would say that at least they did not lose any goals from their team, but they would have struggled to do that as they score so few! The only positive I can see is keeping hold of Zaha, but I do not rate him as highly as most and I think the money would have been more use to them than the player is. Rating: E

I can only see one effect coming of this transfer window for Palace - they will be even more tedious to watch. Has Zaha got enough dives in him to see them survive for another season or will VAR actually do its job and put a stop to that?
Overall Rating: F

11. Watford

Ins:
Ismaila Sarr from Stade Rennais
Craig Dawson from West Bromwich Albion
Joao Pedro from Fluminese
Tom Dele-Bashiru from Manchester City
Danny Welbeck from Arsenal
Sam Dalby from Leeds United

They have spent a record fee on Sarr but I am not sure why. Welbeck is a ridiculous signing for a team which struggles with extensive injuries every season. Their recruitment policy has always been an odd one, but this summer looks a disaster. Rating: E-

Outs:
Dodi Lukebakio to Hertha Berlin
Obbi Oulare to Standard Liege
Stefano Okaka to Udinese
Tommie Hoban released
Miguel Britos retired

Their bloated squad has not been reduced any by the outs but they lost no one they wanted to keep. They look a bit of a shambles, it is no wonder they have to keep changing manager to get the new manager bounce. Rating: D

Their recruitment fee has always been bizarre, but it has devolved into shambolic now. Nothing they have done makes any sense at all. Even more than normal.
Overall Rating: F

10. West Ham United

Ins:
Sebastien Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt
Pablo Fornals from Villareal
Albian Ajeti from Basel
Goncalo Cardoso from Boavista
Roberto from Espanyol
David Martin from Millwall

They look, on paper to have recruited well, with a couple of good prospects as well as a powerful striker that was desperately needed. There was the oddity of a couple of veteran 33 year old keepers arriving within days of each other but at least adding David Martin gave me a chance to remind my mother how old she is as she used to go to the same youth club as David's dad Alvin, who was younger than her. Now his son is close to retiring it was nice to be able to point out to me ma just how old she must be, even if she does still claim to be 25! Back to Hammers' transfers and their only issue is that they probably could have done with another player or two coming in.Rating: B-

Outs:
Marko Arnautovic to Shanghai SIPG
Pedro Obiang to Sassuolo
Chicharito to Sevilla
Edimilson Fernandes to 1.FSV Mainz 05
Lucas Perez to Alaves
Reece Oxford to Augsburg
Sam Byram to Norwich City
Adrian to Liverpool
Moses Makasi to FC Eindhoven
Samir Nasri to RSC Anderlecht
Andy Carroll to Newcastle United

They have offloaded a bunch of unwanted players and problem attitudes. You really could not have done much better business than West Ham have done on the outs front. Rating: A

For once the recruitment at the Hammers has been excellent, not the usual mess conducted very publicly by messrs Gold and Sullivan. You have to give them credit, they look to have got this summer right. For a change.
Overall Rating: A

9. Leicester City

Ins:
Youri Tielemans from Monaco
Ayoze Perez from Newcastle United
Dennis Praet from Sampdoria
James Justin from Luton Town
Callum Hulme from Bury

They do look to have left themselves a bit light at the back, though with Rodgers' record when it comes to buying defenders that probably is no bad thing. Overall they look to have bought well, Praet in particular looks a clever signing. They certainly look to have taken a step forward and should be pushing for the top 6. The other issue is up top, they are incredibly reliant on Vardy and do not have anyone to step up if he is not scoring. Rating: B+

Outs:
Harry Maguire to Manchester United
Shinji Okazaki to Malaga
Callum Elder to Hull City
Danny Simpson released
Davide Lorenzo released

An excellent window managing to get a ridiculous amount of money for an average (at best) centre-back when they had a better player ready to step in. A couple of problem players have been sent out on loan and they look to be improved. Rating: A-

A very good window for Leicester. They lost no one of value, but still recouped a huge sum, and look to have bought very well. It has to be the season to push on with the squad they now have.
Overall Rating: A

8. Everton

Ins:
Alex Iwobi from Arsenal
Moise Kean from Juventus
Jean-Philippe Gbamin from 1.FSV Mainz 05
Andre Gomes from Barcelona
Fabian Delph from Manchester City
Djibril Sidibe from Monaco (loan)

A mixed bag of ins, I am not a big fan of Delph, though he offers mobility and utility, they have to keep him fit and that is a full-time job in itself! Gbamin is a player I have heard a lot about and Kean is a quality young player. I also think Sidibe is an excellent option with Coleman ageing now and allowing Kenny to go and get a full season under his belt elsewhere. Gomes seems a bit of a waste for me, he lacks mobility and did not really impress me last season, it was a surprise they decided to make him a permanent signing. Iwobi I really am lost by. Maybe Silva can harness his talent, as he is talented, but he just does not impose himself on games in my opinion. Also he usually plays on the left wing, something they did not need. An odd signing for me. Rating: C

Outs:
Idrissa Gueye to Paris Saint-Germain
Ademola Lookman to RB Leipzig
Nikola Vlasic to CSKA Moscow
Henry Onyekuru to Monaco
James McCarthy to Crystal Palace
Kevin Mirallas to Royal Antwerp
Brendan Galloway to Luton Town
Mateusz Hewelt to Miedz Legnica
Harry Charsley released
Ashley Williams released

There are two ways to look at the Everton outs. On the one hand they lost a couple of highly talented youngsters in Lookman and Vlasic. On the other Silva was not going to use them and they were only going to be an issue behind the scenes if they stayed. Other than Gueye, they have lost no one that was likely to feature for the first team on a regular basis. Even Gueye they got a huge fee for a player that is decent enough at breaking up play, but tends to give away rash needless fouls and struggles to pass water let alone a football. Rating: B+

Overall Everton fans have good reason to be optimistic this season, they look to have taken a step forward with their transfers. There is just one worrying area, that is the centre of defence. They have not replaced Zouma, at the end of his loan spell and that could be an issue over the course of the season. I am far from convinced Mina is the answer. The bigger question will be if Silva is the right man?
Overall Rating: C+

7. Wolverhampton Wanderers

Ins:
Raul Jiminez from Benfica
Pedro Neto from Lazio
Patrick Cutrone from AC Milan
Leander Dendoncker from RSC Anderlecht
Bruno Jordao from Lazio
Flavio Cristovao from Desportivo Aves
Jesus Vallejo from Real Madrid (loan)
Renat Dadashov from Estoril

They brought in the two who made a difference on loan last season and added a few good signings for the future. However they did not really strengthen for now and they have the added strain of European games to worry about. What they did was good but they just did not do enough to prepare and so it seems likely they will go the Burnley route of struggling until they drop out of the Europa League. I really am not sure about the young defender from Madrid on loan either, that seems a very odd one. Rating: D

Outs:
Kortney Hause to Aston Villa
Michal Zyro to Korona Kielce
Ethan Ebanks-Landell to Shrewsbury Town
Jack Ruddy to Ross County

While they have not really lost anyone they needed on a permanent basis, they have loaned a lot of their fringe players out and that is not going to help them in a difficult season with the added stress of European football. Rating: D-

They have not really strengthened while sending a large number of fringe players out on loan. This is going to be a long, tough season for Wolves after the heroics of last season. Nuno has a real job on his hands to lift the team.
Overall Rating: D-

6. Manchester United

Ins:
Harry Maguire from Leicester City
Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace
Daniel James from Swansea City

Another mixed window. Two good young players arrived and a ridiculously overpriced and average centre-back with them. They also did not bring in enough to really strengthen the squad, leaving them open to issues if injuries hit them. Rating: D-

Outs:
Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan
Matteo Darmian to Parma
Antonio Valencia to LDU Quito
Ander Herrera to Paris Saint-Germain
James Wilson to Aberdeen

Other than Herrera, the only issue with the outs is there were so many compared to the incomings. Their squad has significantly weakened, even if the first choice XI has not. The big problem is they still look a long way off the top sides, which is where they aspire to be. Rating: C-

Their squad has been left a little light but it should give a chance for some youth to make a name for themselves. Overall they have strengthened the first team, even if they did overpay and for someone who is only a small improvement over the players they already had. They have tried to establish an identity for the club, but this has been tried by other clubs too and it can only be a foundation, not the be all and end all. Even the likes of Burnley will go for a foreign player if the British option is not available or not as good. They do have some excellent youngsters that could benefit from the lack of incomings, so it is not as dire as it may seem on first viewing, but it is a long term project.
Overall Rating: C

5. Arsenal

Ins:
Nicolas Pepe from LOSC Lille
William Saliba from Saint-Etienne
Kieran Tierney from Celtic
David Luiz from Chelsea
Gabriel Martinelli from Ituano
Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid (loan)

Ridiculous transfer window of massively compounding their problems while slightly improving their strengths. They already had a defence with Keystone Cops like tendencies, so they brought in a centre-back with a history of brain farts while defending. They already struggled with injury problems, so they signed an always-injured Tierney. They have an inconsistent attack, so they brought in an extremely inconsistent attacker in Pepe. Their midfield with a tendency to go missing in difficult games has added a midfielder with a tendency to go missing in difficult games in Ceballos. Rating: F

Outs:
Alex Iwobi to Everton
Krystian Bielik to Derby County
Laurent Koscielny to Girondins Bordeaux
David Ospina to SSC Napoli
Carl Jenkinson to Nottingham Forest
Takuma Asano to Partizan Belgrade
Nacho Monreal to Real Sociedad
Cohen Bramall to Colchester United
Stephan Lichtsteiner to Augsburg
Danny Welbeck to Watford
Aaron Ramsey to Juventus
Petr Cech retired

They do not look to be all that much weaker on the face of it through the outs, but it does feel like they have ripped the heart out of the team by losing Koscielny. Ramsey and Monreal will be missed as well. They have got a lot of players off the wage bill though and trimmed it significantly to allow for investment in the team. Rating: E

It has been a terrible transfer window, they have just made all their weaknesses even more weak and done little to strengthen, if anything. They are a mess right now.
Overall Rating: F

4. Tottenham Hotspur

Ins:
Tanguy Ndombele from Olympique Lyon
Ryan Sessegnon from Fulham
Giovani Lo Celso from Real Betis
Jack Clarke from Leeds United

Seems like a case of too little, too late for Spurs. What they have brought in is good, but it is not enough and it is happening in the midst of turmoil as half the current team want out and a number are close to leaving on a free. They are going to need to invest significantly more in future windows. Rating: D

Outs:
Kieran Trippier to Atletico Madrid
Vincent Janssen to Monterrey
Georges-Kevin N'Koudou to Besiktas
Fernando Llorente to Napoli
Josh Onomah to Fulham
Michel Vorm released

They have not lost anyone major, no one they wanted to keep so the outs were a decent window, it was just a case of trimming the fat from the squad. However they are left with an unhappy group of players. Rating: C-

This was a missed opportunity for Spurs, they have been slipping back in recent years and this was a chance to redress the balance. It has not happened and all that has happened is that they have postponed their problems for a few months.
Overall Rating: D-

3. Chelsea

Ins:
Mateo Kovacic from Real Madrid

When you consider they were under a transfer ban, bringing in Kovacic is a miracle. Added to that they had a massive pool of players out on loan they could bring back, so it was not so bad for them. Rating: D-

Outs:
Eden Hazard to Real Madrid
Ola Aina to Torino
Tomas Kalas to Bristol City
Michael Hector to Fulham (January)
David Luiz to Arsenal
Kenneth Omeruo to CD Leganes
Todd Kane to Queens Park Rangers
Eduardo to Braga
Gary Cahill to Crystal Palace
Rob Green retired

Losing your best and most important player is always potentially a problem, one which can be fixed by re-investing the money received well. However Chelsea were not able to do that, though they did have Pulisic already signed to join in the summer which mitigates the loss. When you are unable to bring in players, each player out is going to leave your squad a little weaker. In normal cases. In Chelsea's case they already had a huge army of players on loan to immediately replace fringe players that leave. The only loss then is Hazard, as Luiz left because he was no longer first choice. The only question is whether losing a player they were over-reliant on is a good thing because they can be more team-focused or whether they will simply be left with a huge hole in the team. I expect it to be a little of both, there will be games when his loss costs them points but overally I think it will benefit them in the long term to be less reliant on one man and his form. Rating: D-

They have done about as well as they can in the circumstances. Really tough transfer window but they had the huge loan army to call upon to fill in gaps in the squad.
Overall Rating: D

2. Liverpool

Ins:
Sepp van den Berg from PEC Zwolle
Adrian from West Ham United
Andy Lonergan free agent
Harvey Elliott from Fulham

It was a quiet window with little done other than an improvement in back up keeper. Is it a missed opportunity? Or have they done the right thing by keeping faith with a team of players that are improving and growing together as one? Only time will tell. Rating E

Outs:
Danny Ings to Southampton
Ryan Kent to Rangers
Simon Mignolet to Club Brugge
Daniel Sturridge to Trabzonspor
Alberto Moreno to Villareal
Adam Bogdan released
Connor Randall released
Bobby Duncan to Fiorentina

Cleared out a lot of players who were not in Klopp's plans, while holding on to the first team players. They also rid themselves of a problem which brought in a good return despite never having played a first team game. On the outs front it was a good window for the club. Rating: B

Overall it is hard to know how to judge this window. Outs are excellent and they managed to get a surprising return for a terrible keeper and a young lad who has not pulled up any trees. Added to that they offloaded Duncan, who was a problem, and got a good return. However on the ins front they did so little it is worrying. It could be a masterstroke, the majority of the team is young and growing together, they have the confidence of the Champions League win to lift them and Fabinho will be ready for the full season, instead of only really working his way in midway through like last time out. Added to that, Keita might finally show why big money was paid for him and Oxlade-Chamberlain has returned to fitness. However they could also end up in problems if injuries hit. There will be a lot of reliance on youngsters to step in and fill gaps.
Overall Rating: D+

1. Manchester City

Ins:
Rodri from Atletico Madrid
Joao Cancelo from Juventus
Angelino from PSV Eindhoven
Pedro Porro from Girona
Zack Steffen from Columbus Crew
Ryotaro Meshino from Gamba Osaka
Scott Carson from Derby County (loan)

Pep spent the summer crying poverty which is probably why he was unable to deal with the 3 pressing issues he had this summer. They needed a left-back, defensive midfielder and, most of all, a centre-back. Instead they brought in a defensive midfielder, two right backs, two left backs, two goalkeepers and an attacking midfielder. Surely he could have put some of the funds spent on unneeded players towards a centre-back as they were too skint to afford one? It just seems a messy recruitment when only Rodri seems to be intended as a regular first teamer, yet they failed to recruit the most desperate need. If anything is going to cost them the chance of winning everything again, it is that one glaringly obvious recruitment error. When you only have one defender worthy of the name, you make sure to bring another in. That was obvious before Laporte got injured, the injury has just thrown a bright spotlight on the stupidity of not buying one. Rating: D-

Outs:
Danilo to Juventus
Douglas Luiz to Aston Villa
Fabian Delph to Everton
Manu Garcia to Sporting Gijon
Pablo Mari to Flamengo
Vincent Kompany to RSC Anderlecht
Eliaquim Mangala to Valencia
Anthony Caceres to Sydney FC
Luke Brattan to Sydney FC

Letting three centre-backs go at once is a big call, but usually you do that because you have either got a surplus or replacements. Other than that, they have not done bad, to offload Danilo, who never managed to step up to Premier League level and a bunch of fringe and unwanted players is a good window. Rating: B-

It is difficult to understand their recruitment, it just seems to be so haphazard and a case of throw money at an area, then move on and throw money at another area. Did they really need two left backs, two right backs and two goalkeepers? Why not get the centre-back? It just has the feel of real arrogance. It is like going in the shop to buy a watch and coming out with two Rolexs, just because you want to show off you have the money to do so. It makes no sense because your shoes have holes in and you can only wear one watch at a time, so why not put the money towards shoes instead? But no, because you wanted to show off and say to the shop assistant, I'll take two of those you end up with two watches and shoes with holes in. How can you have the most expensively assembled squad in footballing history and yet still have a huge gaping hole in it? If you have a Messi or Ronaldo sucking up huge wages and leaving little to share around for other players, then you can understand it, but City have no one on a huge amount more than the rest. It has to go down as an error to think Otamendi and Stones were good enough.
Rating: D

Written by Tris Burke September 17 2019 13:41:22