With the transfer window having slammed shut at 5pm on Thursday August 9th, almost every Premier League club finished the summer having brought in at least one or two new names.
Teams like West Ham, Fulham and Wolves made big movements in the transfer market, with the likes of Man United and Spurs letting their down their supporters with their lack of activity this summer.
So, following the closure of this summer’s window, we’ve decided to pick out a few teams who ‘won’ this transfer window, as well as a few who certainly didn’t fair as well as their fellow Premier League sides.
Winners – Liverpool
Having reached the Champions League final last season, as well as securing a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League, a lot of Liverpool fans are going to be expecting big things from the Reds following the signings they made this summer.
Jurgen Klopp and his men managed to bring in stars like Naby Keita, Fabinho, Xherdan Shaqiri and Alisson, all players who not only add the quality of the club’s squad, but also give its depth a big boost as well.
Signings like Alisson and Fabinho are key, as both will add another level of quality to Liverpool’s starting XI, as well as allowing Klopp to rotate a bit more considering his squad is bigger than last season.
Exciting times ahead at Anfield…
Winners – Fulham
Having just been promoted from the Championship via the Play-Off final in May, it was certainly surprising to see the Whites splash out the cash that they did.
Having brought in a whole host of stars from all over the world this summer, Slovisa Jokanovic’s side are looking in great shape going into the season ahead.
With the acquisition of stars such as Sergio Rico, Jean Michel Seri and Aleksandr Mitrovic, the west London side don’t look like relegation candidates at all this year, and definitely look like a side who are capable of competing for a top-half finish this campaign.
Winners – Wolves
Similarly to Fulham, Wolves were only promoted from the Championship this season just gone, however their signings this summer should definitely fill their fans with optimism for the year ahead.
Players like Rui Patricio, Adam Traore, Joao Moutinho and Diego Jota have all made the switch to Molyneux these past few months, with all of these additions providing the club with one of a strongest squad a newly-promoted team will ever be able to boast about.
Having absolutely killed it in the second division last season, Wolves’ squad was already looking decent before the summer started, however following their moves in the window, the Midlands-based club should be looking to finish in mid-table this year, and with a bit of luck, maybe even the top half!
Losers – Man United
It’s no surprise to anyone to see Man United being put down on the losers side of this list, as Jose Mourinho’s team had an absolutely shocking window.
The Red Devils, who finished 19 points behind rivals Man City in the title race last year, have only added one starter to their squad in the shape of midfielder Fred, a purchase who surely won’t be enough for United to close the gap on City this time round.
Having missed out on a whole host of targets this summer, we can’t imagine that there are any United fans out there who think that their club did well this summer in terms of transfers.
Let’s just hope that United can still have a formidable season despite their lack of arrivals, if only for their fans’ sake!
Losers – Spurs
Spurs had one of the worst windows in recent memory, as the north London club became the first side in the last 15 years to go the whole summer without signing any players.
With a lot of their stars playing a fair amount of games at the World Cup, Spurs’ stars will surely become fatigued a lot earlier than other this season, something that could end up costing the club big time come the end of the season.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side already have a fairly thin squad as it is, and following their failure to make any additions this summer, they’re surely only a few big injuries or suspensions away from having a below-par campaign.
Losers – Burnley
With Sean Dyche’s side finishing in a very impressive seventh place last season, a lot is going to be expected of Burnley this campaign, whether they qualify for the Europa League or not.
However, having only signed a handful of players this window, Burnley’s already small squad will surely struggle to replicate the achievements they managed last season this time round.
Should the Clarets qualify for the Europa League proper in the next few weeks, it could turn out to do more harm than good, as the club will be playing more games with a squad that are clearly going to struggle to maintain their levels of fitness and tenacity this season.