Now that the dust has settled, the Premier League’s ‘top six’ can focus on the football, for the next few months at least, rather than bringing in new players. It was a record-breaking summer transfer window with £3.19 billion spent by sides in the English top flight.
In part one, we looked at Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool, now it’s the turn of the two Manchester clubs at Tottenham. So, here is how we believe they all fared throughout a truly manic summer.
We will be focusing on players who are still in the squads, not ones that were shipped out on loan almost as quickly as they came in, for example Sverre Nypan at City.
Manchester City
City’s start to the Premier League season hasn’t been as many would have expected, losing two of their first three games, and sitting below Ruben Amorim’s much maligned Man United side. It’s almost as if a couple of issues weren’t addressed.
Pep Guardiola’s side spent the second least of the ‘big six’, spending £185 million on seven new players, three of which were goalkeepers. Marcus Bettinelli was the first signing, joining from Chelsea to replace much-loved third choice shot stopper Scott Carson. He’s never going to get a game, but that’s not his job, he’s there to keep the vibe as positive as possible.
Competing in the summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, which feels like forever ago now, meant they did a lot of their business early. Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, and Tijjani Reijnders all signed in early June.
The marquee signing was Tijjani Reijnders. City’s 2024-25 season was completely thrown off by Rodri’s ACL injury, they needed to bring in a player more naturally capable of doing what the Spaniard is able to do.
The Dutchman isn’t exactly that, in fact Guardiola has been playing him more as a number ten. Rodri still isn’t quite 100% but a full 90 minutes against Brighton, even if they lost, would have done him wonders. Expect the two to form an impressive partnership at some point this season.
James Trafford may well be the unluckiest man of the window. He got his big move back to the club he grew up at, had an absolute nightmare in the 2-0 defeat to Tottenham, and now looks set to lose his place to deadline day signing Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Speaking of, the giant Italian was their final signing of the window, and it’s a bit of an odd one. Donnarumma isn’t exactly known for his ability to play out from the back, unlike the now departed Ederson who was exceptional.
Guardiola will know that, and there is also no doubt that he will have a plan for what to do with him. In an era where rotation is becoming more common than ever, perhaps City won’t have a nailed down number one this season.
If there is one position that needed bolstering more than the others, it was probably central defence. John Stones and Ruben Dias are probably their best options, but they’re arguably past their best and the same can be said for Nathan Ake.
Abdukodir Khusanov has seriously struggled to make the step up since joining in January, but he’s only 21-years-old, so there is time. Perhaps it’s a pipe dream, but someone like Alessandro Bastoni would have come in and absolutely changed the game.
Grade: C
Manchester United
Amorim promised a storm when he addressed the Man United fans at Old Trafford having led them to their worst ever Premier League finish. So far, it’s been exactly that, but not necessarily in a good way.
The club’s recruitment department clearly saw that the side weren’t scoring enough goals, so what did they do? They went and added two of the Premier League best xG over-performers in Matheus Cunha and Byran Mbeumo.
These two deals made a lot of sense. They’re both in their prime, have done it for lesser sides in the Premier League, and have the attitude needed to become successes at the club. The Benjamin Sesko signing doesn’t quite add up, however.
That’s not to say he isn’t an exceptional striker, he’s just very similar profile to what they already had, and £74 million is a lot of money to spend on another project player. One could suggest that money could have been spent better elsewhere, perhaps in central midfield.
United’s pursuit of Baleba felt more like a PR stunt than an actual potential signing. The fans had been pushing for the club to sign a central midfielder, the Brighton man was one they had suggested, but the £100 million+ asking price made it easy for the club to turn around and say a deal can’t be done.
Amorim is now stuck with a 33-year-old Casemiro attempting to hoover up all the space that will be left by Bruno Fernandes. With all due respect to the Brazilian, that’s no longer what he should be tasked with doing.
Still, arguably the most important part of United’s window was shifting the deadwood, something they’ve struggled to do in recent years. Marcus Rashford was the first to go, securing a loan move to Barcelona with a £30m option to buy, although it remains to be seen if they could afford it.
Alejandro Garnacho was the most sellable asset of United’s ‘bomb squad’ and they managed to get £40 million out of Chelsea for him. It’s below market value, but sometimes it’s just best to get rid and take the hit.
They also got a fee for Antony, who got what his heart desired and moved to Real Betis. Again, they could have probably got more for him, but he clearly had no intention of moving anywhere else, so good luck to him.
Jadon Sancho was the trickiest, and just like last season, it was a deadline day loan. He left for Aston Villa with no option or obligation to buy, largely due to the fact he has just one year left on his contract. United have the option to extend by another 12-months, but that’s unlikely to happen.
Perhaps the biggest winner of the summer was Rasmus Hojlund. A loan with a condition obligation to buy for around £38 million to Napoli feels like a deal that suits everyone involved.
Grade: B-
Tottenham
There has been a lot of change at Tottenham this summer. More adaptable Thomas Frank has come in to replace idealogue Ange Postecoglou, Heung-Min Son left after a decade at the club, and Daniel Levy just stepped down as the club’s chairman.
James Maddison’s ACL injury essentially defined the club’s entire transfer window. First they were in for Morgan Gibbs-White activating his secret £60m release clause, but he was persuaded to remain at Nottingham Forest by their terrifying owner Evangelos Marinakis.
Then came Eberechi Eze. This one was always going to be tricky, Arsenal simply couldn’t let one of their former academy players that the fans were begging them to sign, join their arch North London Rivals, and so he ended up at the Emirates for £67.5m.
As the club weighed up their options, they finally landed on Xavi Simons. The Dutchman had reportedly agreed personal terms with Chelsea, but they continued to hesitate, never actually making a bid for him despite been in talks for weeks.
Spurs decided to pick up the phone, and Simons answered. With former captain Son no longer at the club, Simons could now become the face of the club not just because of his immense ability on the pitch, but because of his marketability off it.
All of that made many forget that Spurs had already signed Mohammed Kudus from West Ham for £55 million. He already looks like a potential signing of the season, starring in the wins over Burnley and Man City. Let’s not talk about the Bournemouth game, though.
Joao Palhinha has come in to shore up their central midfield on loan from Bayern Munich and he too has taken to it like a duck to water. All of a sudden, Tottenham are starting to look like a well-rounded side.
Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso came in permanently having joined on initial loans in January. Expect there two to be nothing more than squad options, so long as Spurs don’t have to endure a similar injury crisis this season as they did last.
Tel was left out of their Champions League squad, so, a penny for his thoughts.
Grade: B+