With what was a record breaking transfer window coming to an
end, here is my review of how successful the 20 Premier League teams were in
their dealings.
Arsenal
Arsène Wenger only narrowly missed out on overseeing a
thoroughly disappointing transfer window by making the 11th hour
capture of Mesut Özil from Real Madrid.
The French manager finally came good on his promise to Arsenal fans to
spend big this summer as he shelled out £42 million on the Germany playmaker
but it wouldn’t be unfair to suggest that this signing was made for the wrong
reasons. With fans at the Emirates
getting restless it seems to an outsider that Wenger prioritised a big name
signing over strengthening a weak squad.
Whilst he could have spent the club’s money on strengthening his defence
or providing depth up front he instead chose to bring in an expensive marquee
signing in an attempt to prove to his doubters that he was in fact willing to
splash the cash. Özil joins a team
already abundant in creative players and it is difficult to see where he will
fit into Arsenal’s system in spite of his excellent record in recent seasons. Although they succeeded in getting big
earners like Arshavin and Gervinho off the wage bill, their only other
permanent signing was young striker Yaya Sanogo who will serve as the only back
up to Olivier Giroud after the club failed to complete a deal for their top
target Luis Suarez. Score:
4.5/10
Aston Villa
Manager Paul Lambert added several young players to the
inexperienced squad that avoided relegation last season against the odds. Villa successfully managed to strengthen all
over the pitch without overspending and it is clear that they are attempting to
improve in a sustainable manner which whilst not the quick fix some fans demand
will surely set them up well in the long-term. Deadline day signing Libor Kozák represented
their biggest expense at £7 million but they also managed to bring in
reinforcements in defence in the shape of Jores Okore and Antonio Luna (affectionately
known as Tony Moon by Villa fans) whilst improving their attacking options with
the signings of Leandro Bacuna and Nicklas Helenius. They also successfully shipped out unwanted
fringe players like Stephen Ireland and Darren Bent to free up more funds that
could be re-invested to take the club forward.
One of those to benefit from this policy with an improved contract was
Christian Benteke, a player who looked certain to leave for pastures new
earlier in the window. With the young
Belgian as their spearhead (he is still only 22 after all), Villa are slowly
building the sort of squad that will allow them to challenge higher up the
league and avoid any further relegation scares. 7/10
Cardiff have clearly decided that spending big is the best
way to stay in the Premier League this season, shelling out on central defender
Steven Caulker, combative midfielder Gary Medel and big target man Andreas
Cornelius. The biggest positive Cardiff
fans can take from this spending spree is that the newly promoted Red Dragons
have strengthened in 3 key areas whilst keeping hold of the majority of the
players who contributed to their Championship triumph last season. Their
biggest loss over the summer came in the shape of last season’s retiring top
scorer Heidar Helguson but they will be hoping that new man Cornelius can fill
the void left by the experienced Icelandic international. Caulker is an excellent defensive prospect
with a great future ahead of him and Chilean midfielder Medel will undoubtedly
add steel to their midfield in the season ahead. His disciplinary record is less encouraging
however and he will need to curb his aggressive nature at times if he is to
consistently help out his team in the months to come. If Cornelius can strike up an effective
partnership with Frazier Campbell, who has started this season so impressively,
Cardiff will have a much better chance of extending their stay in the top
division beyond one season. 6/10
Chelsea
Chelsea invested greatly in attacking options this summer
with the signings of Willian (from under the nose of Spurs) and German André Schürrle. With the Stamford Bridge outfit far from
lacking in creative midfield options it is curious that the returning José
Mourinho felt the need to bring in further competition for the likes of Eden
Hazard and Juan Mata, the latter of whom has seen his Chelsea career stall for
some unexplained reason since the return of the ‘Special One.’ Whilst the signing of Marco van Ginkel may
provide a ready-made replacement for the aging Frank Lampard, the refusal to
bring in any defensive reinforcement leaves Chelsea in a questionable position
at the back given John Terry’s waning powers and the inconsistency of both Gary
Cahill and David Luiz. Although Mourinho
pulled off two excellent free signings in the shape of Mark Schwarzer and
Samuel Eto’o, the bizarre decision to allow Romelu Lukaku to again leave the
club on loan is highly suspect given the unconvincing striking options of
Torres and Ba which Chelsea have retained.
Allowing Victor Moses to leave and strengthen Liverpool’s attacking
options on deadline day was also a strange decision and his departure along
with that of Lukaku ruined what had been a decent transfer window for the club
up until that point. 6/10
Crystal
Palace
Eccentric manager Ian Holloway brought in a fair few players
during the off season, especially as deadline day approached. His signings of choice were players with proven
Premier League experience which he knows will be crucial to their chances of
survival. New faces include former
Reading man Jimmy Kébé, Stoke’s unwanted Cameron Jerome and Barry Bannan who
has experience playing in the top division for Aston Villa. The club’s strategy is in contrast to that of
fellow newcomers Cardiff as they chose to curb their spending; only shelling
out a considerable fee on former non-league star Dwight Gayle. Like the Welsh side however they only let a
few players leave Selhurst Park and added some depth to an already settled
squad. The influence of experienced duo
Kevin Phillips and Neil Alexander may be felt more off the pitch than on but
they have also tried to look to the future with the signings of Jack Hunt from
Huddersfield and promising young Spanish midefielder Jose Campaña from
Sevilla. Only time will tell whether
their strategy of bringing in players who know their way around the Premier
League to support their promotion winning squad is the right one but they have
clearly tried not to overstretch their resources in their first season back in
the top flight for 8 years. 6/10
An already strong transfer window was transformed into an
exceptional one in the last hour before the deadline as 3 players came in and 2
went out. The twin loan signings of
Gareth Barry to shore up the midfield and Romelu Lukaku who excelled with West
Brom last season were secured and young prospect James McCarthy came in from
Wigan for £13 million. Whilst some may
say that the fee for the young Republic of Ireland international was too high, any
concerns about breaking even were quickly offset as incredible profit was made
with the sale of Marouane Fellaini to Manchester United and academy graduate
Victor Anichebe who now finds himself at West Brom. Whilst Fellaini is undoubtedly a loss to
Everton, the fee that they managed to command for him was much greater than
anyone expected and chairman Bill Kenwright certainly exploited former manager
David Moyes’ desperate need for a big-name capture. The £6 million fee received for the
unconvincing Anichebe is an excellent bit of business for the club, especially given
that they replaced him with Lukaku. They
had already managed to attract three of Martinez’ trusted men in Robles,
Alcaraz and Koné whilst Blues’ fans must be over the moon that their club held
on to star man Leighton Baines. An
excellent summer. 9/10
Manager Martin Jol showed his transfer pedigree this summer
with some astute signings on a tight budget.
The club successfully found an excellent replacement for Chelsea-bound
Mark Schwarzer in the shape of Dutch ‘keeper Martin Stekelenburg whilst
managing to retain all of their other key players. The most notable of these was Brede Hangeland
and Fulham brought in some much needed support for him, completing a permanent
deal for right-back Sascha Riether and adding Fernando Amorebieta to their list
of central defensive options. Adel
Taarabt arrived from QPR to add further creativity to a team already blessed
with the attacking talents of Bryan Ruiz and Dimitar Berbatov. For these flair players to flourish Fulham
were in desperate need for some steel in midfield and have managed to find this
with the signing of Derek Boateng and more impressively Scott Parker who was a
Spurs and England regular in the recent past.
The former Charlton and West Ham man will add experience and character
at his 5th London club.
Fulham’s key success this summer has been to retain the majority of
their key players whilst replacing those on the fringes of the first-team with
stronger individuals who offer more to the team. The addition of Darren Bent provides useful support
to Berbatov up front. 7/10
Hull City took a similar approach to fellow newcomers Crystal
Palace and tried to add experience to their squad whilst keeping faith with
many of those who helped them to get up.
Maynor Figueroa and Ahmed Elmohamady have both played in the Premier
League and add versatility in both midfield and defence. The Yorkshire club completed the impressive
signing of Spurs pair Jake Livermore and Tom Huddlestone, the latter of whom
will add both a calming influence and a physical presence in this season’s
midfield battles. Huddlestone is
excellent on the ball which will allow his team to better retain possession and
he will be looking to prove that he is worthy of playing at this level after a
disappointing couple of seasons at Spurs.
They too have strived to spend within their means and new man between
the sticks Allan McGregor already looks more than comfortable in the Premier
League. Whilst Cardiff City chose to
take a risk and spend big on a goal scorer to keep them in the top flight, Hull
hedged their bets and brought in a variety of attacking options including Danny
Graham, George Boyd and Ivory Coast striker Yannick Sagbo. With more options to choose from, they surely
have a better chance of one of their new forwards hitting the ground
running. 6.5/10
Liverpool succeeded where many other clubs failed and
completed all of their transfer business well ahead of the deadline. Whilst Arsenal spent their entire budget on
Mezut Özil, Liverpool managed to bring in 8 new singings for roughly the same
total spend. These 8 players not only
strengthened the squad overall but were carefully selected so as to fit
perfectly into the system that manager Brendan Rodgers is trying to employ as
he enters his 2nd season at the helm. Simon Mignolet arrived to replace the
departing Pepe Reina and has settled well whilst the signings of Mamadou Sakho
and Tigao Ilori have added further depth to a defence already bolstered by the
free transfer of Kolo Touré from rivals Manchester City. With big wage earners like Stewart Downing
and Andy Carroll moved on earlier in the summer, Liverpool have strengthened in
attacking positions with permanent deals for Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto as
well as the deadline day loan move for Victor Moses. Whilst the loaning of Fabio Borini to Sunderland
late on was a curious decision, the club managed to retain the world-class Luis
Suarez and with his return from suspension on the horizon Liverpool fans are
relishing his link-up with current attacking stars Sturridge and Coutinho. They go into this season stronger than at the
end of last. 8/10
Like Liverpool, Manchester City did the majority of their
transfer business early on in the window and so avoided the inflated transfer
fees that are often demanded as deadline day approaches and selling clubs look
to exploit buyers desperate for new signings.
They spent big on attacking options Álvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetić to
replace Italy-bound Carlos Tévez and looked to solve their creative problems by
bringing in Spanish winger Jesús Navas and Brazil midfielder Fernandinho who
will be looking to form a daunting physical partnership with Yaya Touré at the
heart of City’s team this season. They
may be regretting letting brother Kolo join rivals Liverpool however as injury
problems in defence resulted in them needing to dip back into the market to
sign Argentine Martin Demichelis for over £4 million. Some fans may wonder why their team needed to
waste money on a 32 year-old central defender having let one go just a few
months earlier. City were confident
enough with their early singings that they were virtually absent from the
market once the season got underway though they offloaded big earners Maicon
and Santa Cruz and allowed Gareth Barry and Scott Sinclair to join fellow
Premier League clubs rather than spend the season on the bench. Big money
spent, but good players brought in by Manchester’s second club. 7.5/10
An awful transfer window for the reigning champions was
topped off on deadline day by the signing of overpriced midfielder Marouane
Fellaini from Everton. Having been
rejected by all of their transfer targets over the summer (including Cecs Fàbregas,
Thiago Alcântara and Ander Herrera) the Old Trafford based club panicked as the
minutes ticked away and spent £27.5 million on a player that they could have
got at a much cheaper price had they met Fellaini’s buy-out clause earlier in
the summer. Not to mention that they
missed out on fellow Everton star Leighton Baines who new manager David Moyes
was keen to snatch from his former club.
United struggled to secure any marquee signings as Moyes showed that he
couldn’t match the pulling power of former gaffer Sir Alex Ferguson and to make
matters worse, Fellaini is far from the player that United needed having again failed
to replace Paul Scholes following his 2nd retirement. Their only other signing came in the shape of
young Uruguayan Guillermo Varela and they failed in their attempt to bring in
Fábio Coentrão as an alternative to Leighton Baines. Although they kept hold of want-away striker
Wayne Rooney, a poor transfer window has left the club with their weakest squad
going into the Premier League season for many years. 3/10
As a football fan it is difficult to watch the implosion of such a great club that is blessed with some of the most passionate fans around. A disgraceful performance in the transfer window which saw only one player come in was compounded by the debacle which ensued as Mike Ashley appointed former manager Joe Kinnear to oversee Alan Pardew as director of football. It is unclear exactly what Kinnear has been doing since his appointment as Newcastle failed to spend a single penny, only managing to capture striker Loïc Rémy on loan from relegated QPR. With a squad that barely avoided relegation last season and all other teams in the division strengthening to some extent, the lack of ambition shown by their club will surely be a massive worry to the Toon Army who must be wondering exactly where the money from their inflated ticket prices is going. Although they managed to hold on to their best player in Yohan Cabaye, his commitment to the cause must surely be called into question and the reception he received from some of St. James’ Park recently suggests his re-integration will be far from easy. Joe Kinnear is evidently to blame for this summer’s debacle but it seems that it is Pardew who is being lined up to take the flack. 1/10
Norwich City
The Norfolk club made some unbelievable signings this summer and their fans can look forward to seeing several excellent players strut their stuff at Carrow Road this season. Looking to build on an impressive return to the top flight, they have brought in a blend of youth and experience without overreaching on their budget. Experienced trio Johan Elmander, Javier Garrido and Martin Olsson come in to bolster the team but it is the young prospects that they have managed to attract which will most excite Norwich fans. Dutchman Leroy Fer finally gets his move to England following failed talks with Everton in January and adds quality to the midfield whilst Nathan Redmond comes in at a bargain price and is one of the most promising English players to emerge in recent years. Their most spectacular signing however is Dutch striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel (the ‘Wolf’ to many pundits) who has shown himself capable of scoring goals in both Holland and Portugal and was on the radar of the likes of Liverpool in recent seasons. Norwich now have good strength in depth and several quality players who are worthy of a top 10 team which the Canaries may prove to be this season. They have offloaded several sub-standard players and brought in genuine quality which makes for an excellent transfer window. 9/10
Southampton
Southampton have followed Norwich’s lead and signed players
of real quality who can take them to the next level following a strong season
back in the Premier League. Unlike
Norwich however they struggled to find the real bargains and instead broke
their transfer record on 3 separate occasions in the pursuit of
excellence. The players they did add are
excellent though. Dejan Lovren is a
central defender with European experience, Vincent Wanyama could be the
physical presence that the Saints require to compete at the top end of the
division and Pablo ‘Dani’ Osvaldo is a proven goal scorer who has been courted
by much bigger clubs than Southampton.
Fans at St Mary’s will surely be delighted with their clubs ability to
attract players of this calibre to strengthen an already very impressive
group. Although they have significantly
trimmed their squad over the summer to accommodate their 3 new record signings,
they have not let anyone essential to their side head for the exit. The aim of the transfer window is to ensure
that your squad is stronger than the previous season and this is without doubt
what Southampton have succeeded in doing.
Nevertheless they have done it without abandoning their faith in young
English players and several graduates of their fabled academy still feature
strongly in their starting XI. 7/10
Stoke City
Mark Hughes failed to sign a so-called big name player during
this summer’s transfer window, preferring instead to bring in players who
fitted the style of play which he is trying to instil at the Britannia Stadium
this season. On a small budget, Stoke
could only afford to bring in unknown quantities from abroad or players looking
to get their careers back on track. This
resulted in obscure names like Marko Arnautović and Juan Agudelo finding
themselves at Stoke as August became September.
Hughes and Potters’ fans will be hoping that they prove to be hidden
treasures who really make an impact on the team this season and make other
clubs curse the fact that they didn’t spot them first. Marc Muniesa arrives from Barcelona looking
to get his development back on track with consistent first-team football and
both Steven Ireland and Liverpool’s forgotten man Oussama Assaidi will be keen
to show exactly what they can do. It may
well be the case that these players entering the last chance saloon will really
knuckle down and work hard to ensure that they don’t waste their potential and
this can only be a good thing for Stoke fans.
Letting the likes of Michael Kightly and Cameron Jerome leave on loan
may have left them lacking in depth however.
5.5/10
The Stadium of Light saw an incredible turnover of players
over the summer months with the squad that starts this season being virtually
unrecognisable to that which avoided relegation by the skin of its teeth last
season. 14 new signings arrived during
the transfer window with a further 15 being shown the exit door and that will
make for an unpredictable few months for Sunderland fans. Such huge overhauls rarely come good and with
Black Cats’ manager Paolo Di Canio having already displayed his fickle nature
during his time in the Sunderland hot seat who knows how long some of his new
signings will last before being discarded.
American striker Jozy Altidore will be looking to show he is a
much-improved player to the teenager who spent a season on loan at Hull whilst
Emanuele Giaccherini, a surprise signing from Juventus, will be expected to
show the quality that has made him an Italy regular from the off. Di Canio has signed many unknowns who will
need time to adapt but he made good use of the loan system bringing in Swansea’s
Ki and Liverpool’s Borini to strengthen his growing squad. Sunderland’s biggest problem this summer was
their failure to replace the departed Simon Mignolet in goal and they may come
to regret it by May next year. ?/10
*anyone’s guess
Swans’ boss Michael Laudrup has brought in the players
required to add depth to a squad which will face the dual challenge of domestic
and European competition for the first time this season. The club smashed their transfer record to
sign Ivorian striker Wilfried Bony and his good start to the season suggests
that his physicality will make him well suited to the Premier League after
spending 2 years wreaking havoc in Holland.
Jonjo Shelvey is also an excellent acquisition from Liverpool and with a
run of first team football Swansea fans will be looking for him to reproduce
the quality which he evidently has but which he only came out in flashes during
his time at Anfield. Much will also be
expected from new Spanish imports Jordi Amat, José Cañas and Alejandro Pozuelo
who will be looking to repeat the success of last year’s diamonds in the rough
Michu, Chico and Hernández. Keeping hold
of last year’s top scorer Michu is another massive positive of Swansea’s summer
transfer business and the return of Jonathan de Guzmán on loan for a further
season means that the Liberty Stadium will still be able to count on all of the
star players who performed impressively last season as well as some excellent
new additions. The challenge of Europe
awaits. 7.5/10
It is very rare that you can say that a team who lost their
best player had a successful transfer window but that is exactly what Spurs
have done. Despite losing Gareth Bale to
Real Madrid in a record-breaking deal, disappointed fans at White Hart Lane
have been appeased by several excellent signings joining a new-look Spurs squad. The root of Tottenham’s transfer success this
summer lies in the fact that they invested the money from the Bale deal before
it had even been completed and thus avoided the inflated fees which clubs would
have demanded if they had waited as well as any panic buying before the window
closed. They spent big but in doing so
strengthened all over the pitch; Roberto Soldado is a proven goal scorer,
Paulinho will add steel to the midfield and the attacking trio of Nacer Chadli,
Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen should go some way to replacing the influence
of the departed Bale. Young Dane Eriksen
looks to be an absolute bargain and Spurs’ fans will be glad that they managed
to secure his signature ahead of their domestic rivals. Tom Huddlestone and Clint Dempsey were
rightly allowed to leave but they may have made a mistake in letting Steven
Caulker slip away given his potential and their lack of defensive depth. 8/10
The Baggies finally spent some money on deadline day to bring
in Everton’s Victor Anichebe and Sunderland’s Stéphane Sessègnon for whom they
broke their transfer record. With free
signing Nicolas Anelka seemingly dissuaded from retirement following the death
of his agent, he will be expected to spearhead the Albion attack and use his
experience to guide those around him.
Uruguayan international Diego Lugano will also be expected to lead from
the front, though it may be his off-field influence which is more important as
the season goes on. The loan signings of
Morgan Amalfatino and Scott Sinclair will add quality to the West Brom
squad. Former Marseille man Amalfatino
comes with experience of playing in Europe and Sinclair will be looking to get
his career back on track after what has proved to be a disastrous move to
Manchester City. Fans at the Hawthorns
will have been disappointed to miss out on re-signing Romelu Lukaku from
Chelsea who chose to join Everton whilst the £6 million spent on Anichebe to
replace him seems excessive for a player who has never shown the consistent
ability to be a success in the Premier League. Nevertheless the club did well to bring in 9
players to strengthen the team all over the pitch without spending a great deal
of money. 6.5/10
West Ham United
A fairly quiet and unspectacular window passed by without
much movement either in or out at West Ham.
Fan’s favourite Andy Carroll was signed on a permanent deal and bringing
with him another fairly hefty price tag he will be looking to show that
Liverpool didn’t give him a fair chance to show his full quality. Sam Allardyce has also taken a punt on fellow
Anfield reject in winger Stewart Downing and the link-up between him and
Carroll will go some way to defining how successful a season West Ham have this
year. The club only made two further
signings this summer; goalkeeper Adrián arrived to compete with established
number one Jussi Jääskeläinen and full-back Razvan Rat will add a wealth of
experience to the West Ham defence. The
East London club were hindered by lack of funds following the completion of the
deal for Carroll and so struggled to add any real depth to a squad that seems
to be understrength despite last season’s top half finish. More first team players left the Boleyn
Ground than came in this summer so West Ham could struggle to repeat their
success of last season especially if injuries hit. They’ve taken a big chance on the £20 million
due of Carroll and Downing and that could come back to haunt them. 5.5/10
