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Did your team shop well or drop the ball?
After what seems like an age, the Premier League will finally return on Friday, 11 August. And this year, you’ll be able to stream 159 Premier League games with a NOW TV Sky Sports Pass. There’s no contract so you’ll only have to pay for matches that you want to watch.
It’s a welcome return for fans who’ve had to make do with pre-season friendlies and months of tenuous transfer rumours. Which is fine, as long as you enjoy reading lies, mistruths and… lies. At least we only had to endure the inevitable Ronaldo to Man United rumour for a couple of weeks.
With the transfer dust settling, we’ve rated how each club did in the market. Obviously, you can expect a couple of big surprises and a late arrival or three but here’s how we rate each club’s transfer business to date.
Arsenal
The Gunners have finally stumped up for a prolific goalscorer after spending £46m to get Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon. They also secured the solid left back Sead Kolasinac on a free deal from Schalke. Yet they still haven’t addressed deficiencies in central midfield and central defence.
Their only major departure so far is Wojciech Szczesny to Juventus but Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud, Kieran Gibbs and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could still jump ship. They’ve been linked with Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez, Man City starlet Jadon Sancho, Nice midfielder Jean-Michael Seri, Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Aymen Barkok and Monaco winger Thomas Lemar.
Arsene Wenger still needs to draft in reinforcements if he wants to challenge for the top four, especially if he loses any of his big guns like Sanchez.
Rating: D
Bournemouth
Eddie Howe’s men have been evolving into an enjoyable team and they’ve added oldie-but-goodie Jermain Defoe to get some goals. Well, if he can score 15 goals for Sunderland, why not? Versatile defender Nathan Ake joins from Chelsea after last season’s successful loan spell at Bournemouth and goalkeeper Asmir Begovic is another upgrade to the first team. They’ve also reportedly had a £20million bid rejected for Leicester’s Demarai Gray.
Ireland’s Marc Wilson is one of the players on the edge of the squad who’s been told that he can go but Howe has managed to hang onto many of the club’s star performers like Joshua King. Bournemouth have done well in the window. They’ve improved the spine of the team and kept a promising unit intact… so far.
Rating: B
Brighton & Hove Albion
The new arrivals have brought in former Valencia goalkeeper Mathew Ryan, German playmaker Pascal Gross from Ingolstadt, Celtic’s Josh Kerr, PSV Eindhoven’s Davy Propper, Ingolstadt’s Markus Suttner, Mathias Norman, Steven Alzate, Czech U21 right-back Ales Mateju and added Chelsea’s Izzy Brown on loan. So it’s safe to say that they haven’t gone down the big names route.
They’ve lost no big players so far but they’re still hunting for talent and they’ve been linked with Werder Bremen’s Thomas Delaney. Questions remain about whether their low-key signings can bridge the quality gap and help them hit the ground running in the Premier league.
Rating: C
Burnley
Burnley have become something of a safe haven for Irish internationals, adding Jon Walters from Stoke for this season. We’d call them the new Sunderland but nobody wants that title. Walters will be joined by new additions like Leeds’ Charlie Taylor, Swansea’s Jack Cork, Stoke’s Phil Bardsley, Birmingham City goalkeeper Adam Legzdins.
Burnley will struggle to replace £25m man Michael Keane after selling him to Everton and they also lost a potent attacking threat in Andre Gray, who’s gone to Watford. They’ve been linked to Argentinian midfielder Gonzalo Escalante and Sean Dyche is open about his desire to plug some holes in his current squad. Their tested Premier League additions will do a job but there’s still work to do.
Rating: D
Chelsea
Chelsea must still be smarting after being pipped to Romelu Lukaku by Man United but they salved their wounds with the addition of Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata. Their batch of talented reinforcements included feisty defender Antonio Rudiger from Roma, Monaco enforcer Tiémoué Bakayoko and Willy Cabellero as a back up goalkeeper.
They’ve sold the unwanted Nemanja Matic to Man United and offloaded Ake, Begovic and Juan Cuadrado. Human pitbull Diego Costa is expected to bring his inimitable charms elsewhere for the upcoming season. And they’re currently loaning out the makings of a pretty decent Championship side.
They’re chasing highly-rated Juventus full back Alex Sandro, linked to Bayern Munich’s Renato Sanchez, Inter’s Antonio Candreva, Valencia right-back Joao Cancelo and Southampton’s Virgil Van Dijk, and there are unlikely rumours linking them to Leicester’s Danny Drinkwater. Antonio Conte would probably have liked to add one or two more big signings but he’s added some quality and held on to Eden Hazard. Not a bad window really.
Rating: B
Crystal Palace
New manager Frank de Boer will be working with a team that’s relatively unchanged next season, which is a glass half empty/glass half full scenario. They have brought in Ajax’s Jairo Riedewald and raided Chelsea’s stockpile of talented youngsters to take the talented Ruben Loftus-Cheek on loan. Versatile Man United youngster Timothy Fosu-Mensah is also due expected to go there on loan. They’ve been linked with Arsenal’s Calum Chambers, Benfica defender Andre Almeida and Man United’s Chris Smalling – signings that will hardly send the fans into a frenzy.
Hanging on to Wilfried Zaha is a serious boost although they’ll also need to fend off interest in Andros Townsend. Securing Mamadou Sakho from Liverpool could also set them back £30m. Even if they get Sakho and retain everyone else, it’s hard not to consider the glass in need of a refill.
Rating: E
Everton
The Blues offloaded Lukaku but his £75m fee has already been soaked up by deals for goalkeeper Jordan Pickford for £25m, Ajax’s Davy Klasson for £24m and defender Michael Keane for £25m. They’ve been joined by striker Sandro Ramírez and Everton old boy Wayne Rooney has also returned, weighed down with medals and the inevitable passage of the years.
They’ve lost Gerard Deulofeu to Barca and want away starlet Ross Barkley seems certain to go if anyone ever makes a reasonable offer. Everton are desperate to prise Gylfi Sigurdsson from Swansea but the Welsh club are relentlessly batting away offers below their £50m price tag. They’ve also been linked to West Ham’s Winston Reid and Thomas Vermaelen but a mooted move for Giroud looks unlikely. Everton have brought in some decent reinforcements but their goalscoring options still look somewhat limited following Lukaku’s departure.
Rating: C
Huddersfield Town
They’ve been repeatedly breaking their own transfer record while bringing in targetman Laurent Depoitre, midfielder Aaron Mooy, perennial underachiever Tom Ince and striker Steve Mounié. Other additions include Kasey Palmer who’s on loan from – you guessed it – Chelsea.
They’ve been linked to Internazionale centre half Andrea Ranocchia and Barnsley defender Andy Yiadom as they try to add some depth to a fairly light squad. A lot done but more to do.
Rating: D
Leicester
Leicester have brought in the highly rated defender Harry Maguire, attacking midfielder George Thomas from Coventry, Sevilla’s Vicente Iborra and sealed a deal for Man City’s Kelechi Iheanacho. Meanwhile, Riyad Mahrez has expressed a desire to leave if anyone will pay what the Foxes are asking, with Roma having a number of bids rejected for the Algerian.
They’re expected to bring in another centre half and a number 10/attacking defender to fill the impending Mahrez-shaped hole in their attack, although Thomas can offer them cover. Outgoings could include Islam Slimani, Ahmed Musa and Nampalys Mendy and unwanted departures could include Demarai Gray and Danny Drinkwater. It’s been a relatively quiet summer but Iheanacho could be an important addition if he can maintain his impressive goals per minute ratio as a first team player.
Rating: C
Liverpool
Winger Mohamed Salah is already looking like a quality signing and other additions include the lively ex-Chelsea player Dominic Salanke and Hull’s Andrew Robertson. The botched pursuit of Virgil Van Dijk won’t be a popular conversational topic at Anfield but they continue to bat their eyelids at Leipzig’s defensive midfielder, Naby Keita. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s name keeps popping up as well.
Liverpool have fended off interest in Philippe Coutinho by declaring that he’s not for sale but the looming shadow of Barcelona refuses to go away. With two rejected bids from Barca, it looks like the Brazilian could be on his way out of Anfield. Overall, it’s been a frustrating window for Jurgen Klopp but he’ll be hoping that the Catalans don’t make it any worse.
Rating: D
Man City
Man City have taken the “throw money at it” approach to Pep’s underwhelming first season. So he’s spent a mouthwatering amount on Monaco’s Bernardo Silva (£44m), Benfica’s Ederson (£35m), Douglas Luiz (£10m) and full backs Kyle Walker (£50m), Danilo (£27m) and Benjamin Mendy (£52m).
Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, Gaël Clichy, Aleksandar Kolorov, Jesús Navas, Fernando and goalkeeper Willy Caballero have all been given their marching orders. Kelechi Iheanacho has gone to Leicester, Wilfried Bony and Fabian Delph are expected to leave and Joe Hart’s been loaned out to West Ham. Plus there are strong rumours that Alexis Sanchez and Van Dijk are on the shopping list, which is a terrifying prospect for the rest of the league.
This could be a fantastic window for City if Pep can manage to get his group of talented strangers to function as something resembling a team.
Rating: B
Manchester United
It’s been a typical Mourinho second season as he brought in reinforcements to the spine of his team in the form of striker Lukaku, former Chelsea charge Nemanja Matic and defender Victor Lindelof. He also quietly ushered Rooney out along with former boy wonder, Adnan Januzaj, with more expected to follow. This is starting to look like a proper Mourinho team and Matic’s arrival could be the key to unleashing Paul Pogba’s potential.
Mourinho was frustrated in his attempts to get his fourth target – Inter’s Ivan Perisic – so the search for an attacker/winger may continue. Rumours persist about PSG full back Serge Aurier, even if he can’t currently enter the UK, and we could yet see the second coming of Zlatan. Danny Rose’s one-man rebellion at Spurs will certainly get their attention and rumours abound about interest in Gareth Bale. Is there still another surprise to come?
Rating: B
Newcastle United
They’re back but Newcastle have avoided any big money blow outs so far. Incomings include Athletico’s Javier Manquillo (£4.5m), Chelsea’s Christian Atsufor (£6m), Eibar’s Florian Lejeune (£9m) and Jason Murphy (£12m) while their biggest departure is Florian Thauvin to Marseille.
Rafael Benetiz was looking to draft in a striker, central midfielder, winger, right-back, left-back and goalkeeper. West Ham keeper Adrian could be the keeper they are looking for and the arrival of Borussia Dortmund’s Mikel Merino on loan will fulfill their need for a central midfielder. They’ve reportedly tried to get Chelsea’s Brazilian starlet Kenedy on loan and they’ve been linked with Fabian Delph and Leicester’s Islam Slimani. It’s fair to say they’ve a bit of work to do.
Rating: E
Southampton
New manager Mauricio Pellegrino has so far brought in young defender Jan Bednarek, Juventus midfielder Mario Lemina and sold Jay Rodriguez to West Brom. His biggest challenge could be fighting off interest in Van Dijk in the annual scramble to steal Southampton’s biggest asset.
They have been linked with Athletico striker Luciano Vietto but much of their energy seems to be focused on keeping Van Dijk. Short of a late trolley dash, it’s been a pretty low key window to date.
Rating: E
Stoke City
Darren Fletcher’s come in on a free transfer and they’ve taken Kurt Zumo on loan from the friendly talent bank that is Chelsea. They’ve also secured the services of Cameroon winger Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Dutch defender Bruno Martins Indi is expected to seal a deal shortly. Meanwhile, Marko Arnautovic is off to West Ham for £20m.
Ireland’s Glenn Whelan, Jon Walters and Shay Given are leaving along with Phil Bardsley. Reinforcements could yet be needed if they’re going to avoid a relegation dogfight.
Rating: D
Swansea City
The Welsh side have drafted in goalkeeper Erwin Mulder on a free transfer and Chelsea continue to prop up other teams by giving them Tammy Abraham on loan. Talented midfielder Roque Mesa has come in for £11m and they’ve offloaded Jack Cork (£8m), winger Mo Barrow and some unwanted players like Bafétimbi Gomis.
Swansea’s transfer window has been largely focused on the will they/won’t they Sigurdsson saga. Even if he stays, which is unlikely, they’ll still need a striker and some cover in central defence.
Rating: E
Tottenham Hotspur
Firstly, Spurs have kept this talented team intact apart from the sale of Kyle Walker and the unwanted Nabil Bentaleb. Although Danny Rose has thrown an unwanted grenade into their display of solidarity. Keeping their team together is no mean feat but they still need to reinforce some areas if they want a tilt at the title. One or two big additions could work wonders if the will is there at board level.
Bournemouth’s Josh King and Valencia right back Joao Cancelo are options and they’ve also been linked with Man City starlet Jadon Sancho and Ross Barkley. Spurs may be doing great things for their bottom line but the danger is that they’ll get left behind if they don’t strengthen in a summer of spending.
Rating: E
Watford
Watford have made a habit of drafting in lots of players in the last two seasons and 2017/2018 looks set to see more churn. New manager Marco Silva has brought in Tom Cleverley from Everton, Brazilian U20 star Richarison, right-back Kiko Femenia, goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann, England U21 Will Hughes and Chelsea’s Nathaniel Chalobah. Perhaps the pick of the bunch is Andre Gray from Burnley for a reported £18m, who can offer them a serious threat up front.
They’ve offloaded the likes of Sven Kums, Juan Carlos Paredes, Steven Berguis and Mario Suarez but you can expect there to be more changes. There’s also talk of interest in Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs and Valencia’s Aymen Abdennour. Watford’s musical chairs approach may be unorthodox but it might work if their new signings can gel.
Rating: C
West Bromich Albion
Tony Pulis’ side have lost a leader in Darren Fletcher and could yet face a Leicester bid for Johnny Evans. They’ve brought in Jay Rodriguez and reportedly had two bids rejected for Middlesborough centre half Ben Gibson. There’s talk of Gareth Barry and Marc Wilson joining but things are quiet on the WBA rumour vine.
Don’t expect any bids for Messi. Rodriguez should give them a bit more firepower but that could be their most notable transfer action.
Rating: F
West Ham United
Their big additions are Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic for £20m, former Man United poacher Javier Hernandez for £16m and a free transfer for Pablo Zabaleta on a loan deal from City. Young Swedish attacker Sead Haksabanovic has also joined. Notable departures include Enner Valencia to Tigres and the sale of both Ashley Fletcher and Darren Randolph to Middlesborough.
Manuel Lanzini could yet leave but there has been talk of Giroud going the opposite way. There’s also been optimistic talk of them landing Brazilian wunderkind Gabriel Barbosa. Arnautovic and Hernandez should offer the Hammers more of a goal threat but they’ll be hoping that they settle better than some of last season’s underwhelming signings.
Rating: C
Sometimes all it takes is one big signing to turn a team’s fortunes around so there are plenty of teams whose grade could change with one particularly canny purchase. Perhaps the only sure thing is that there’ll be a few surprises before NOW TV screen the first game on 11 August.
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