For the second summer transfer window in a row, Premier League teams have broken the record for spending, with a massive £2.3b, compared to the £1.9b from last summer.
Below is my team-by-team review of some of their notable transfers…..
ARSENAL
Kai Havertz (£65m, Chelsea), Jurrien Timber (£34.3m, Ajax), Declan Rice (£100m, West Ham), David Raya (loan, Brentford).
I think this is a pretty positive window for the Gunners. However, I am sure they would have wanted a few more in. Especially as defender Timber, who looked like a good signing, seems to be out for most of the season.
We all know the quality of Rice, and regardless of the price tag, he looks like a missing cog in a title-challenging team. Raya will bring high-quality competition in goal, and I was surprised Brentford let him go.
Havertz is a curious one and has split opinion. He has obvious talent there, but often flatters to deceive and will need to step up his game to vindicate the managers’ decision.
NET SPEND: £124.7m
ASTON VILLA
Youri Tielemans (free, Leicester City), Rico Richards (free, West Brom), Pau Torres (£27.77m, Villarreal), Moussa Diaby (£34.6m, Bayer Leverkusen), Nicolo Zaniolo (loan, Galatasaray), Clement Lenglet (loan, Barcelona).
It was a lowkey window from Villa, but I was impressed with their business. Diaby already looks a good find and has made an impact with two goals in three games.
Another who has looked good is Torres at full-back, with his energy and forward runs. We all know the quality of Tielemans, and he will improve Villa’s midfield if he finds form. Lenglet could be another shrewd acquisition on loan with his experience at the back.
NET SPEND: £43.4m
BOURNEMOUTH
Tyler Adams (£23m, Leeds United), Hamed Traore (£20m, Sassuolo), Justin Kluivert (£9.5m, Roma), Romain Faivre (£12.8m, Lyon), Milos Kerkez (£15.5m, AZ Alkmaar), Ionut Radu (loan, Inter Milan), Max Aarons (£8m, Norwich), Alex Scott (£20m, Bristol City), Luis Sinisterra (loan, Leeds United).
This looks like a very good window for Bournemouth. Getting Adams in midfield must be a positive, as he had been touted for a few high-profile clubs. That also goes for Aarons, who will hope to settle in the Premier League and show what all the fuss is about.
Kluivert could be an interesting signing and will want to show he has his dad’s talent. Sinisterra on loan, also looks like an interesting one and he will want to show his quality back in the top flight.
That also goes for Scott; who has been a regular in the England youth teams. Also, Traore, who is a tricky attacking midfielder.
NET SPEND: £109.9m
BRENTFORD
Mark Flekken (£11m, Freiburg), Ethan Brierley (undisclosed, Rochdale), Kevin Schade (£22m, Freiburg), Ji-soo Kim (£550,000, Seongnam), Romeo Beckham (undisclosed, Inter Miami), Nathan Collins (£23m, Wolves), Neal Maupay (loan, Everton).
It was a positive window for Brentford in their push for European football. Schade has already looked like a decent signing and scored one of the goals of the season so far.
Maupay will be excited to be back after four years. In his last season at the club, he was the fan’s player of the year. Collins will bring some valuable experience at the back. And, it will be interesting to see if Beckham has been signed for his ability or his name.
NET SPEND: £50.2m
BRIGHTON
Joao Pedro (£30m, Watford), James Milner (free, Liverpool), Mahmoud Dahoud (free, Borussia Dortmund), Bart Verbruggen (£16.3m, Anderlecht), Igor (£14.5m, Fiorentina), Carlos Baleba (£23.2m, Lille), Ansu Fati (loan, Barcelona).
I’m sure everyone connected to Brighton will be very happy with this window. I don’t know how they did it, but the season-long loan signing of Fati is a real coup and is sure to get the fans off their seats.
Milner will bring bags of experience to the squad. Pedro seems to have fitted into the team already and looks a decent buy. I will be interested to see how Dahoud develops. Igor Julio is a strong, Brazilian centre-back who looks like a good fit for English football.
NET SPEND: £-94.7m
BURNLEY
Jordan Beyer (£13m, Borussia Monchengladbach), Michael Obafemi (£3m, Swansea), Dara O’Shea (£7m, West Brom), Zeki Amdouni (£16.15m, FC Basel), James Trafford (£14m, Man City), Nathan Redmond (free, Besiktas), Luca Koleosho (£2.6m, Espanyol B), Jacob Bruun Larsen (loan, Hoffenheim), Sander Berge (£15m, Sheffield United), Wilson Odobert (£10.36m, Troyes), Hannes Delcroix (£2.5m, Anderlecht), Aaron Ramsey (£14m, Aston Villa), Han-Noah Massengo (free, Bristol City), Logan Pye (undisclosed, Manchester United), Mike Tresor (loan, Genk).
Vincent Kompany has followed the trend of newly promoted teams bringing loads of players in to fight relegation. Ramsey looks an excellent buy, and I was surprised Villa let him go. Defender Bayer has fitted into the team already and looks settled.
They will need the experience of Berge and especially Redmond in midfield, with his quality. Amdouni looks to have settled in the squad and will hope to hit the ground running. As will Rep Ireland international Obafemi, who made his loan move permanent.
Goalkeeper Trafford will hope to get a run of games. Tresor is a Belgium winger capped at all levels, and Odobert is a young winger capped at all youth levels for France.
NET SPEND: £92.1m
CHELSEA
Christopher Nkunku (£52m, RB Leipzig), Nicolas Jackson (£31.7m, Villarreal) Diego Moreira (free, Benfica), Alex Matos (free, Norwich), Angelo (£13m, Santos), Lesley Ugochukwu (£23m, Rennes), Axel Disasi (£38.7m, Monaco), Robert Sanchez (£25m, Brighton), Moises Caicedo (£100m, Brighton), Romeo Lavia (£53m, Southampton), Deivid Washington (£14m, Santos), Djordje Petrovic (£12.5m, New England Revolution) and Cole Palmer (£40m, Manchester City).
Chelsea has ripped up the Fifa Fair Play rule book and spent a whopping £434m, the most any team has spent in one window. Nkunku looks a good signing but unfortunate to be struck down with injury before the start of the season.
Jackson also looks a decent buy and just needs to add goals. Disasi looks decent, as does Sanchez in goal, who obviously knows the league. They will hope their British record-signing Caicedo hits the ground running, as the pressure will be on.
Young midfielder Lavia also looks like a good acquisition and will be eager to get going. I was surprised Man City let Palmer go, as the boy has obvious talent and quality.
NET SPEND: £204.7m
CRYSTAL PALACE
Jefferson Lerma (free, Bournemouth), Matheus Franca (£17m, Flamengo), Dean Henderson (£20m, Manchester United), Rob Holding (£3.5m, Arsenal).
It was a lowkey window by Palace but a decent one nonetheless. Lerma will bring more experience and steel in midfield. In goal, Henderson will hope to finally settle at a club and show his talents.
Holding will bring further valuable experience at the back, and will hope to get a run of games. Franca is a skilful Brazilian attacking midfielder.
NET SPEND: £35.2m
EVERTON
Ashley Young (free, Aston Villa), Arnaut Danjuma (loan, Villarreal), Youssef Chermiti (£13m, Sporting Lisbon), Jack Harrison (loan, Leeds), Beto (£21.5m, Udinese).
I would say this was not a bad window for Everton, but they may have needed a few more. Given the circumstances, Young is a good acquisition with his experience and winning mentality. Beto looks a real find and has already made his mark on the team.
Danjuma looks like a decent loan signing and has already made an impact, as does Harrison with the quality we know he possesses and has shown in this league previously. Chermiti is a young Portuguese striker.
NET SPEND: £-20.6m
FULHAM
Raul Jimenez (£5m, Wolves), Calvin Bassey (£19.3m, Ajax), Adama Traore (free, Wolves), Timothy Castagne (£11.2m, Leicester) and Steven Benda (£1m, Swansea), Alex Iwobi (£22m, Fulham).
I am sure Fulham are quietly content with their summer window. Jimenez needed a new lease of life and will hope to recreate his old Wolves form. As will Traore, who will hope to use his relationship with his old Wolves teammate to benefit Fulham.
I was surprised Everton let Iwobi go, he will bring energy to their midfield. Castagne showed his quality in a relegation team last season and looks a very good buy. Bassey has had a mixed start to his Fulham career, but he looks a good defender with quality.
NET SPEND: £-11.3m
LIVERPOOL
Alexis Mac Allister (£35m, Brighton), Dominik Szoboszlai (£60m, Leipzig), Wataru Endo (£16.2m, Stuttgart), Ryan Gravenberch (£35m, Bayern Munich).
Klopp had a clear mission this summer, and although a defender was needed, it looks as though he completed that mission. World Cup winner Mac Allister looks like a good buy with his quality. Szoboszlai has already made an impact since his arrival and looks like a real star.
Endo will bring experience and ingenuity to the midfield. Gravenberch looks an interesting buy. It didn’t work for him at Bayern but, still only 21 if he can recreate his Ajax form and beyond. Liverpool could have a real player on their hands.
NET SPEND: £93.4m
LUTON
Chiedozie Ogbene (free, Rotherham), Mads Andersen (£3m, Barnsley), Tahith Chong (£4m, Birmingham City), Marvelous Nakamba (£2.5m, Aston Villa), Issa Kabore (loan, Manchester City), Ryan Giles (£5m, Wolves), Thomas Kaminski (£2.5m, Blackburn), Ross Barkley (free, Nice), Jacob Brown (undisclosed, Stoke), Tim Krul (free, Norwich), Teden Mengi (undisclosed, Man Utd) and Albert Sambi Lokonga (loan, Arsenal).
Luton has followed that same trend of stacking their squad with some much-needed numbers and quality. They will hope the likes of Barkley and Chong can bring creativity in midfield. Giles also looks decent and seems to have settled in the squad already.
Nakamba also looks to have settled and will be an important cog in midfield. The deadline-day loan signing of Lokanga looks like a decent one, bringing more quality in midfield, and Krul will bring valuable experience in goal.
NET SPEND: £20m
MANCHESTER CITY
Mateo Kovacic (£25m, Chelsea), Josko Gvardiol (£77m, RB Leipzig), Jeremy Doku (£55.5m, Rennes), Matheus Nunes (£53m, Wolves).
City have splashed the cash this window, letting their rivals know they have no intentions of letting up. Kovacic has already settled in the team and even looks a better player under Pep. Defender Gvardiol was highly touted by many top clubs and looks a future star.
The deadline-day signing of Doku looks like another big one. The young winger will give defenders all sorts of issues. Nunes also looks a shrewd signing, he obviously has quality, and now knows the league, so shouldn’t need much bedding in.
NET SPEIND: £75.6m
MANCHESTER UNITED
Mason Mount (£55m, Chelsea), Andre Onana (£47m, Inter Milan), Rasmus Hojlund (£64m, Atalanta), Altay Beyindir (£4.3m, Fenerbahce), Sergio Reguilon (loan, Tottenham), Sofyan Amrabat (loan, Fiorentina).
Given the circumstances, I would say it’s an indifference window for United. However, it would have been much worse if they didn’t get the deadline-day signing of midfield destroyer Amrabat.
In goal, Onana will be a good signing. However, for the price tag, Mount will be under pressure to perform, and it doesn’t help he has not started his United career will.
The United fans will be eager to see Hoijlund pull on the shirt and show what all the fuss is about after injury delayed his debut. The loan signing of Reguilon was needed for cover, and it helps he is familiar with the league.
NET SPEND: £124,5m
NEWCASTLE
Yankuba Minteh (£6m, Odense), Sandro Tonali (£52m, AC Milan), Harvey Barnes (£38m, Leicester), Tino Livramento (£32m, Southampton), Lewis Hall (loan, Chelsea).
This looks like a decent window from Newcastle. Tonali took less than 10 minutes to make an impact on his debut, and the fans will hope he continues in that form.
Barnes also looks like a good acquisition and has already made an impact off the bench.
Hall’s loan singing works for all parties back at his home town club. Livramento looks a shrewd buy. He really impressed at Southampton, and with years to develop, Newcastle definitely have a player.
NET SPEND: £88.6m
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Chris Wood (£15m, Newcastle), Ola Aina (free, Torino), Anthony Elanga (£15m, Manchester United), Matt Turner (£7m, Arsenal), Gonzalo Montiel (loan, Sevilla), Andrey Santos (loan, Chelsea), Murillo (£10.3m, Corinthians), Nuno Tavares (loan, Arsenal), Nicolas Dominguez (swap deal, Bologna), Callum Hudson-Odoi (loan, Chelsea), Odysseas Vlachodimos (£7.7m, Benfica), Ibrahim Sangare (£30m, PSV Eindhoven), Divock Origi (loan, AC Milan), Andrew Omobamidele (£11m, Norwich).
Forest have continued their trend of bringing in a mass of players to fight relegation, which worked for them last season. I was impressed with the deadline-day signings of Origi, Sangare and Hudson-Odoi. All three have obvious quality and brings something different to the team.
I was surprised they managed to bring in World Cup winning full back Montiel. Aina is another decent fullback, another shrewd signing, and someone who knows the league from his Fulham days. Tavares on loan makes it a hat-trick of fullbacks.
Wood has already made an impact this season, and will hope to get more minutes. As has Elanga, who I was surprised Man Utd let go, but already looks like a good signing. Rep Ireland defender Omobamidele will hope to get a chance to show his quality at this level.
NET SPEND: £54.5m
SHEFFIELD UNITED
Benie Traore (£4m, BK Hacken), Anis Slimane (£1.2m, Brondby), Yasser Larouci (loan, Troyes), Auston Trusty (£5m, Arsenal), Vini Souza (£10.3m, Espanyol), Gustavo Hamer (£15m, Coventry), Tom Davies (free, Everton), Cameron Archer (£18.5m, Aston Villa), Luke Thomas (loan, Leicester City), James McAtee (loan, Manchester City).
I would say this is not a bad window for Sheff Utd. Archer has made an immediate impact on his debut and will hope to continue in that vein.
They will also hope midfielders Hamer and Davies will hit the ground running with their experience and quality. Larouci has already made a good start to the season at left-back and will get good competition from Thomas, who did well with Leicester.
It will be interesting to see how youth stand out McAtee develops on loan. Not to mention young forward Traore, who has an eye for goal. Defender Trusty, who has been capped at all levels for USA.
NET SPEND: £-6.8m
TOTTENHAM
Pedro Porro (£39m, Sporting), Dejan Kulusevski (£25.6m, Juventus), Guglielmo Vicario (£17.2m, Empoli), James Maddison (£40m, Leicester), Manor Solomon (free, Shakhtar Donetsk), Ashley Phillips (£2m, Blackburn), Micky van de Ven (£34.5m, Wolfsburg), Alejo Veliz (£13m, Rosario Central), Brennan Johnson (£47.5m, Nottingham Forest).
It was a positive window for Spurs, although they may have wanted a bit more in. They will be happy to make Kulusevski’s loan move permanent. Maddison looks one of the buys of the summer and has gone straight in as one of the leaders in the squad.
Van de Ven had fitted into the team seamlessly at the back. As have Porro, who has made an impact along with goalkeeper Vicario. Solomon on a free, could be a shrewd signing.
But the deadline day signing of Johnson really caught the eye. It will be very interesting to see how develops in this new, exciting and attacking Spurs team.
NET SPEND: £103.4m
WEST HAM
Sean Moore (£170,000, Cliftonville), Edson Alvarez (£32.8m, Ajax), James Ward-Prowse (£30m, Southampton), Konstantinos Mavropanos (£20m, Stuttgart), Mohammed Kudus (£38m, Ajax), Andy Irving (undisclosed, SV Austria Klagenfurt).
I am sure the West Ham faithful were expecting their team to splash more of the Rice money, but all things considered, they have done well this window. Ward-Prowse looks one of the buys of the summer for the price tag, and he has made a huge impact already.
Alvarez has already settled into the squad and looks like a decent signing. Mavropanos will hopefully bring experience at the back. But I was really impressed with the acquisition of Kudus, and I was surprised more clubs were not in for him. He looks like a real player.
NET SPEND: £-17m
WOLVES
Boubacar Traore (£9.5m, FC Metz), Matt Doherty (free, Atletico Madrid), Enso Gonzalez (£5.15m, Libertad), Santiago Bueno (£10.3m, Girona), Tommy Doyle (loan, Manchester City), Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (undisclosed, Strasbourg).
I would say it’s an interesting window for Wolves, who may have wanted more in. Traore’s loan move is now permanent. He will now hope to settle and bring presence to the midfield. Doherty will bring experience after his short La Liga stint.
Bueno is a no-nonsense centre back, capped at all levels for Uruguay. It will be interesting to see if Doyle will make an impact on loan. He has been capped at all youth levels for England and did well in the Championship with Sheff Utd last season.
NET SPEND: £-62.6m
