The Premier League’s summer transfer window has slammed shut, which means the new season is officially upon us.
A few sides made a huge impact, namely two of the newly promoted clubs. Meanwhile, a couple of marquee sides had a less-than-stellar window and might regret their inactivity.
Here are the five biggest winners and losers of the Premier League’s transfer window.
WINNERS
Liverpool
Notable signings: Naby Keita, Fabinho, Alisson, Xherdan Shaqiri
Notable departures: Emre Can
Not only did Liverpool complete its business early in the window, the Reds addressed all of their glaring needs.
Snapping up Alisson gives Liverpool the stalwart goalkeeper its lacked for years while the acquisitions of Naby Keita and Fabinho are nothing to sneeze at either.
Even Xherdan Shaqiri is an excellent signing, be it as a backup or as a No. 10, for just £13.5 million ($22.9 million).
There was significant expenditure, so manager Jurgen Klopp has few excuses this season. He now has a squad that’s capable of mounting serious challenges for both the Premier League and Champions League.
Everton
Notable signings: Yerry Mina, Andre Gomes (loan), Richarlison, Lucas Digne, Bernard
Notable departures: Wayne Rooney, Kevin Mirallas, Ashley Williams, Ramiro Funes Mori
Everton’s summer window last year was an outright disaster. Signing multiple No. 10s was not a wise transfer strategy, to say the least.
This year, the club has learned some valuable lessons. Yerry Mina – coming off an excellent World Cup with Colombia – is a huge upgrade on the departing Ashley Williams. Mina sorely lacked consistent minutes at Barcelona, which clearly won’t be the case at Everton.
Andre Gomes, also from Barca, is a low-risk loan signing who’s in serious need of a confidence boost. Marco Silva is the perfect manager for Gomes, who can easily help the midfielder rekindle his form.
Richarlison and Bernard inject some dynamism and improvisation out wide, while Lucas Digne addresses a serious need at left-back as Leighton Baines is turning 34 later this year.
Striker Cenk Tosun will now be under pressure to deliver the goals up front, which shouldn’t be an issue with the litany of creative wingers in the squad.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Notable signings: Adama Traore, Rui Patricio, Raul Jimenez (loan), Joao Moutinho, Leander Dendoncker (loan)
Notable departures: Barry Douglas
Wolverhampton has a serious advantage in the transfer market thanks to super-agent Jorge Mendes. However, the business conducted by Wolves has been fantastic.
Rui Patricio is a big upgrade at the goalkeeper position. Joao Moutinho and Leander Dendoncker are outstanding additions for the midfield, which was significantly lower in quality before the window opened.
Raul Jimenez, acquired on loan with an option to buy, should also provide an injection of goals up front. His Benfica stint was marred by inconsistent minutes, so the Mexican international needs regular playing time.
It’s arguable that Wolves’ Championship-winning squad last year was strong enough to stay in the Premier League. This group of players may now be capable of a top-10 finish.
Fulham
Notable signings: Maxime Le Marchand, Jean Michael Seri, Fabri, Andre Schurrle (loan), Alfie Mawson, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Luciano Vietto (loan)
Notable departures: None
Fulham became the highest-spending newly promoted Premier League club in the summer transfer window, but the London side got great value.
Jean Michael Seri, who was linked to Barcelona last year, signed for a fee of £25 million ($41.8 million). That’s arguably the coup of the summer in England. Seri’s passing range and defensive prowess in the heart of midfield will certainly be crucial in Fulham’s bid to stay in the Premier League this season.
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa is an up-and-coming midfielder who is similar to Seri, but is still just 22-years-old. A midfield trio along with Tom Cairney will be quite formidable.
Between them in Ligue 1 last season, Jean Michael Seri and André-Frank Zambo Anguissa averaged:
146 complete passes per match
3.5 chances created per match
A pass completion of 90%
3.1 interceptions per game
#FFC pic.twitter.com/OZ9j8KDXGa
— bet365 (@bet365) August 9, 2018
Alfie Mawson and Maxime Le Marchand help solidify centre-back and left-back, respectively. Winger Andre Schurrle and striker Luciano Vietto, even on loan, should be stupendous for the attack as well. Vietto is more of a project, although manager Slavisa Jokanovic can help the Argentine reach his potential.
Leicester City
Notable signings: James Madisson, Ricardo Pereira, Jonny Evans, Rachid Ghezzal, Filip Benkovic, Caglar Soyuncu
Notable departures: Riyad Mahrez, Ahmed Musa, Robert Huth
Fewer clubs had as impressive a window as Leicester City. The sale of Riyad Mahrez helped finance moves for James Madisson, one of the young players to watch this season, along with the defence.
Ricardo Pereira will certainly be Portugal’s next starting right-back, plus Jonny Evans is an experienced centre-back who’ll be a solid partner for Harry Maguire. Turkish wonderkid Caglar Soyuncu – linked to Arsenal earlier this summer – was a savvy addition as well.
Keeping Maguire, especially on the back of his World Cup performance, was probably the most important move for Leicester, though.
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LOSERS
Cardiff City
Notable signings: Josh Murphy, Victor Camarasa (loan), Harry Arter (loan)
Notable departures: None
There’s a reason why Cardiff City is a favourite for relegation, and they didn’t exactly bolster their odds of staying up.
It’s unfair to compare Cardiff to the other promoted sides, given their financial muscle and, in Wolves’ case, their “relationship” with Mendes. However, the Welsh outfit needed to bolster its squad in most areas and failed to do so.
In total, Cardiff City spent around $50 million on transfers. Even Huddersfield Town ($71.9 million) and Bournemouth ($79.8 million) outspent Cardiff.
None of the club’s marquee signings have a lot of Premier League experience. Victor Camarasa earned rave reviews in La Liga last season, but will that translate in a club fighting for survival?
Tottenham
Notable signings: None
Notable departures: None
On one hand, Tottenham has a consistent and settled squad. But it wouldn’t have hurt to make another signing or two for squad depth.
Keeping Toby Alderweireld is a slight surprise, especially considering Manchester United’s desire to bring him the Belgian centre-back over.
However, given the fixture congestion in the English game, coupled with Champions League, the Spurs squad may be stretched to the maximum this season.
Southampton
Notable signings: Mohamed Elyounoussi, Jannik Vestergaard, Danny Ings, Stuart Armstrong
Notable departures: Dusan Tadic, Jordy Clasie (loan), Sofiane Boufal (loan)
When Danny Ings costs around $33 million, that’s usually an indication that the purchasing club was likely desperate.
Ings was plagued by injuries at Liverpool and it’s unknown if he’ll be able to deliver double-digit goals for a team that will be battling relegation.
Mohamed Elyounoussi will have high expectations as he’ll be replacing the outgoing Dusan Tadic. He was a promising player at Basel, although this will be a significant challenge.
Jannik Vestergaard was a solid centre-back with Borussia Monchengladbach. It was an astute signing and Vestergaard should solidify that back line.
However, that was not a problem area for Southampton. It was No. 9 and there are still question marks surrounding the position.
Watford
Notable signings: Marc Navarro, Ben Foster, Domingos Quina
Notable departures: Richarlison, Mauro Zarate, Nordin Amrabat
The Richarlison money could’ve been put to better use for Watford. Unfortunately for the club, that was not the case.
Gerard Deulofeu was signed permanently, but that is a lot of pressure for one player in an attack that was one of the patchiest in the league last season.
There is a fair amount of mediocrity in the bottom half of the table, so Watford might steer clear of trouble, but one poor run of form could see them struggle, especially without a bolstered attack.
Manchester United
Notable signings: Fred, Diogo Dalot
Notable departures: Michael Carrick (retired), Daley Blind
Many have blasted Manchester United’s business over the summer, so some perspective is necessary.
Fred is a tremendous signing for United’s midfield. His box-to-box presence is what the Red Devils have lacked for a while. Diogo Dalot is a project at right-back, although Jose Mourinho has improved most of the defenders at the club.
However, the defence is still low on quality. Other than Eric Bailly, there is no other stalwart centre-back. United pushed hard for every central defender from Harry Maguire to Diego Godin, but couldn’t complete a deal.
It’s also likely that Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia – two converted wingers – will be United’s starting full-backs again. For a club that prides itself on winning titles, it’s quite embarrassing that those are their primary options out wide.
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