Summer of 2017 saw the English Premier League clubs smash all the previous transfer records. More than a billion Pounds were spend on acquiring new players for the teams. None of the other top leagues in Europe could match the Premier League’s spending capacity. While many players were signed from other leagues, some of the intra-EPL transfers were mind boggling as well. Let’s take a look at how the top EPL clubs fared during the transfer window 1. Arsenal – Surprisingly, even after missing out on Champions League after years, they signed only two players. Club record Alexandre Lacazette and free transfer Sead Kolasinac. The former is a striker, a position Arsenal needed to upgrade, and the latter a very strong left back. Wenger here surely missed out on an attacking midfielder and preferably a wing back. Makeshift wing back Alex Oxlade Chamberlain left for Liverpool, full back Kieran Gibbs for West Brom while centre back Gabrel Paulista joined Valencia. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny joined Italian champions Juventus, while forward Lucas Perez re-joined Deportivo la Coruna. Although Arsenal managed to let go off unwanted players in the squad, their biggest blunder was to keep star players who wanted to leave, namely Shkodran Mustafi, Mesut Ȫzil and Alexis Sanchez. Nothing is worse than a dressing room of players who do not want to play for the club which the manager is life-passionate about. It’s a challenge for Wenger to dig out the best from the squad, which is pretty good otherwise. Transfer Season rating – 6/10. 2. Chelsea – Defending champions have been infamous for their deadline day deals, which comprise of a list of stars like Fernando Torres, David Luiz etc. This year round, they signed right back Davide Zappacosta from Torino and midfielder Danny Drinkwater from Leicester City on the deadline day. These deals stretched on till late night, depriving fans of their sleep. Chelsea paid a club record fee of £58 million for Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata, while also signing £40 million midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko and £34 million defender Antonio Rüdiger. Chelsea signed goalkeeper Willy Caballero for free as well. The players who left were big as well, with star striker Diego Costa heading back to Atletico Madrid after three successful years in London. Club legend John Terry left for Aston Villa on a free transfer, while youngsters Nathaniel Chalobah, Nathan Ake, Bertrand Traore and Dominc Solanke left due to lack of chances. Nemanja Matic left to re-unite with Jose Mourinho and Old Trafford while Asmir Begovic left due to limited opportunities. Transfer Season rating – 8/10. 3. Liverpool – Jürgen Klopp’s side missed out on their primary requirement – a central defender. Too ambitious in their pursuit for Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk, they contacted the player without the permission of the club, to which The Saints threatened to complain. Thus “ended the interest in the player”, according to an official statement by Liverpool. They signed ex-Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah from AS Roma, Andrew Robertson from the relegated Hull City, striker Dominic Solanke from Chelsea and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain from Arsenal. To this day, pundits have questioned the latter’s signing and his perfect position to play. Among the big names to leave were Lucas Leiva, who replaced Lucas Biglia at Lazio SS and Mamdou Sakho, who re-joined Crystal Palace. Transfer Season rating – 6.5/10. 4. Manchester City – One of Europe’s biggest spenders, City have overhauled their complete squad in the past two years, spending more than €460 million in the process. City spent about £140 million this season on three full backs alone. Letting go off their older players on free transfers, Guardiola’s side replaced them with young and talented prospects, thus also bringing down the average age of the squad. In came Benjamin Mendy from AS Monaco, Kyle Walker from Tottenham Hotspurs and Danilo Luiz from Real Madrid, joining goalkeeper Ederson Moares from Benfica and Bernardo Silva from AS Monaco again. All the unwanted players in Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri, Alexander Kolarov and others were bid goodbye in this new revolution started by Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain. Transfer Season rating – 9/10. 5. Manchester United – Another of the dominant names in the transfer market, United have learnt how to spend wisely more than others. With the arrival of Jose Mourinho, it was expected that United will sign big names for huge fees. It happened, but not as much as others had expected. They signed £75 million striker Romelu Lukaku, Victor Lindelof and Nemanja Matic, while giving out a new contract to Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Of the names who left were legend and all time top goal scorer Wayne Rooney, Adnan Januzaj and others. Manchester United arguably had one of the best transfer windows in Europe, with full credit to Jose Mourinho and Ed Woodward. Transfer Season rating – 9.5/10. 6. Tottenham Hotspurs – They left it late in the window, but had a real good one. Their fans had gone frustrated when the club had failed to finalise on even one target. They sold star Right Back Kyle Walker to rivals Manchester City for a staggering £50 million. Spurs finally signed highly rated defenders Davinson Sanchez from Ajax and Juan Foyth from River Plate. Then they went on to sign back up goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga from Sothampton, full back Serge Aurier from PSG and finally back up striker Fernando Llorente from Swansea City, who replaced Vincent Janssen as he had left on loan. Spurs completed their squad, overcoming the weaknesses and also signed players who had been winners previously – a mentality needed in the dressing room. Spurs have always competed for the top spot, only to choke towards the end due to weak mentality. This, in comparison to previous seasons, has been a good window for them.
Transfer Season rating – 7/10.
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