New season, new squads, same glorious chaos. With the window slammed shut, we’ve graded every club’s business based on quality of signings, key departures, squad fit, and likelihood of moving the needle this season.
Liverpool’s window reads like a five-year plan executed in one summer. Multiple first-team upgrades, a coherent spine, and depth added in the right places. There are tactical questions to iron out, but on paper this is as strong a refresh as we’ve seen in years.
Ruthless and targeted. A high-end striker to finish chances, a creative fulcrum to pair with Ødegaard, and age-profiled recruits that make the squad younger without losing quality. This is the kind of window title challengers have.
A grown-up window: a ball-winning midfielder to steady the centre, a dynamic forward with end product, and high-ceiling attacking talent. Add a proper centre-back and it looks like the platform for a genuine step forward.
Coherent, Premier-League-ready signings across the front line and midfield with a manager who knows how to use them. The attack finally has balance and bite; the pieces fit the plan. Genuinely exciting for Goodison.
Ambitious and focused. Veteran leadership in midfield, complemented by bright young pieces. For a promoted side, it’s exactly the blend you want: experience that raises the floor and prospects that raise the ceiling.
Plenty of churn but—crucially—smarter churn. Quality in, saleable assets out, PSR-savvy deals, and cash recouped without gutting the core. Still short of an instant title push due to a couple of unaddressed needs, but undeniably trending up.
Kept their difference-makers and added seasoned Premier League quality. A bit spendy in places, but the XI looks stronger and Europe-ready on its day.
Yes, they sold stars. Also yes, they always identify the next wave. On immediate optics it looks average; on Brighton optics it’s typically shrewd. Expect at least one newcomer to explode.
Experience through the spine—proper Premier League minutes at keeper and full-back, plus useful depth. It won’t turn them into a possession juggernaut, but it does raise survival odds.
A decent spread of additions across the back line and attack. As ever, the season pivots on the No.9 staying fit and finishing. Enough here to compete, but nothing that radically redefines them.
Lost a raft of talent (the tax of over-performing) but reinvested wisely, and—most importantly—kept an outstanding coach. Net-net: competitive, if thinner.
The biggest win was retention: key pillars stayed. Add a couple of intriguing wide/FB profiles and Glasner’s coaching, and Palace should hold firm. Lack of one more marquee addition keeps it from “Solid+”.
Some upgrades up front, but the midfield anchor and GK clarity questions linger. Not a disaster—more a window defined by what didn’t happen rather than what did.
A younger, refreshed City with a blue-chip keeper and value plays out wide/left-back. The outgoings are massive in leadership and moments; until the new core beds in, this reads “good, not transformative”.
The headline sale hurt and the chase for certain targets was messy, but they still added real Premier League quality and a top young forward. Directionally fine; the execution wobbles keep it mid-table in the rankings.
Hard to spin losing your two most decisive attackers and your manager. Fees were strong, but the footballing gap they leave is enormous. Keller at GK is neat business; it doesn’t fix the goal deficit.
Selling a star to a direct rival set the tone. Wages structured cleverly on one veteran forward won’t mask the lack of a definitive No.9 solution or a reliable No.1. Too much experience out, too many questions in.
A couple of intriguing names can’t offset the miss-hits: premium wages on a reclamation project and depth moves that don’t move the needle. Feels sideways to backwards relative to last season’s level.
Too much quality out, not enough in. When you lose your most dangerous creators and fail to replace their output, the margins at the bottom get brutal very quickly.
Transfer windows don’t win titles on their own, but they do set the range of outcomes. Liverpool and Arsenal look ready to push the ceiling. Spurs and Everton have finally found balance. At the other end, Brentford, West Ham, Villa and Wolves have work to do—on the pitch and in the plan.
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