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For Premier League sides, the transfer window slammed shut at 7pm last night, with plenty of big money moves getting over the line ahead of the continuation of the 2025/26 season. New signings will have a couple of weeks to embed into their new sides ahead of a short international break, with fixtures restarting on Saturday 14th when Arsenal host Nottingham Forest.
With all transfers now completed until January, the period to reflect on every side’s window comes now as the dust will settle and official announcements get made. So who were the window’s winners?
HM. Sunderland
Sunderland returned to the Premier League for the first time since 2017 this summer after a last-gasp winner from Tom Watson at Wembley in the play-off final. What followed has been one of the most ambitious and impressive transfer windows arguably ever seen from a newly promoted side. All business completed can be viewed as even more impressive given their window started by losing aforementioned play-off hero Tom Watson to Brighton, followed by the sale of fellow superstar teenager Jobe Bellingham, as the midfielder followed in his brother Jude’s footsteps and made the move from the Championship to the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund.
The midfield rebuild that ensued was fantastic though, namely with the acquisition of Bundesliga champion Granit Xhaka for £17.3 million (according to Sky Sports). Xhaka may have dipped slightly from the very high standards he and the rest of the Leverkusen squad set in the invincible 2023/24 Bundesliga season, but to lure him away from Champions League football and a top Bundesliga side to a relegation dog fight in the North East is tremendous work from the club on Tyneside.
He was followed by Strasbourg maestro Habib Diarra, the permanent addition of French midfielder Enzo Le Fée after he impressed in his loan spell from January, and talented 20-year-old Noah Sidiki from Union Saint-Gilloise. Midfield wasn’t the only area rebuild though, with almost an entirely new defence being installed for Regis Le Bris, with Reinildo, Nordi Mukiele, Omar Alderete and the deadline day addition of Lutsharel Geertruida. All four of them come with bags of European experience, most notable Mukiele who has enjoyed successful spells at the likes of RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and PSG, where he became a two time Ligue 1 champion.
Simon Adingra and Chemsdine Talbi are exciting additions in attack to support the likes of Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda. It seems likely though that they’ll be replaced by Dutch forward Brian Brobbey, with the Ajax academy graduate completing a last-minute switch from the Dutch capital in the last hours of deadline day. Previously linked to the likes of Spurs and West Ham, Brobbey will add explosive power and pace to an already electric Sunderland front line that will certainly boost their survival hopes.
5. Manchester City
It was another major summer of change for Manchester City, with plenty of interesting outgoings as well as incomings. The guard in goal was the most notable change, as Ederson looks set to depart the club after a highly successful eight years with the club for Fenerbahce. It seemed his replacement would be former academy starlet James Trafford after a record breaking season at Burnley, but after a ropy first few games for the club which has seen them lose two of their opening three games, the club has proceeded with the signing of Gianluigi Donnarumma from PSG. Undeniably a brilliant shot stopper and cross claimer, the Italian has never been comfortable with the ball at his feet, a characteristic Pep Guardiola has always placed emphasis on during his career. This is why his signing, especially after Trafford for £27 million initially, could be a poor one.
City parted ways with club legends Kevin de Bruyne and Kyle Walker too, and though they haven’t replaced the latter as it seems Matheus Nunes and Rico Lewis will cover that ground, Dutchman Tijjani Reijnders joins from AC Milan to replace the playmaking Belgian and has impressed in his appearances so far at the Etihad. More creativity has been added in attack too, with Rayan Cherki making the move from Lyon to freshen play up in the final third.
Rayan Aït-Nouri is a smart purchase from Wolves too, allowing Joško Gvardiol to play his more natural centre half position more often as well as adding a young profile to an ageing backline. The age problem has been remedied further by the sale of Manuel Akanji to Inter Milan though after a decent few seasons with City, winning two Premier Leagues and playing an important role in the club’s first ever Champions League win in 2023.
After a majorly disappointing return to Manchester, İlkay Gündoğan has once again left the club, this time for Galatasaray as his career will surely begin to wind down at the age of 34, soon to be 35 in October. Jack Grealish also had a majorly disappointing time at the club, despite winning the Champions League and two Premier League titles. His time seems to be coming to an end also, leaving for Everton initially on loan with a buy option of £50m next summer, which seems to be more likely to be exercised every time he plays for the club after an excellent start in Merseyside with four assists in three Premier League games.
4. Chelsea
Chelsea finish the window with a net spend of -£10m, an incredible tally given the 10 players they’ve brought in this summer. One of the most recent additions comes from Argentine attacker Alejandro Garnacho, who was forced out of Old Trafford this summer after a reported fall out with Ruben Amorim and his unnatural fit in United’s new system. Despite rejecting £50m in January from Napoli, United were happy to part ways with the 21-year-old for £40m this summer after a long drawn out negotiation process that only reached its conclusion the day before deadline day.
He wasn’t the only new attacker Enzo Maresca added to his ranks though, as Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap, Facundo Buonanotte and the pre-agreed Willian Estêvão came to the club. This leaves Chelsea with 10 first team attackers, which doesn’t include forgotten man Mykhailo Mudryk serving his ban. Outside of Cole Palmer, Chelsea experienced varied form in front of goal last season, and the two players that finished behind Palmer for Premier League goals- Nicholas Jackson on 10 and Noni Madueke on seven- have now departed. This can certainly be remedied with the Blues’s new look attack, as Joao Pedro contributed 10 last season, Delap notching 10 and Gittens taking eight for Dortmund in the Bundesliga.
There were limited reinforcements elsewhere, as Jorrell Hato became the only defender to join the club from Ajax for an initial £37m. Offering cover at left back and comfortable at LCB- a position he may become more accustomed to in the absence of Levi Colwill this season- Hato enjoyed some excellent seasons in Amsterdam, winning the Ajax Talent of the Season award in 2024.
The big question mark over Chelsea’s window remains their inability to attain a goalkeeper, a glaring position of trouble for them after a poor season from Robert Sanchez last season and Maresca’s hesitance to back Filip Jörgensen to become the club’s number one. Mike Maignan was linked heavily earlier in the window, but with reports suggesting Chelsea were unwilling to meet AC Milan’s £25 million asking fee for the French ‘stopper.
With Sanchez in between the sticks, a strong defence ahead of him with the likes of Marc Cucurella, Reece James and Trevor Chalobah should offer sufficient cover to keep Chelsea competitive for a top five spot and a decent Champions League run ahead of their return to the competition this season. With a new star studded attack that has got off to a great start too to help Chelsea to seven points out of nine so far, it can certainly be deemed as a successful window for the Club World Cup Champions.
3. Arsenal
It was a disappointing campaign for Arsenal last time out, in a season where many predicted them to become Premier League champions only to fall to Liverpool and claim a third consecutive second placed finish. Arteta’s side look raring to go again though, and have filled some pressing gaps in the squad to prepare them to do so in a season where some major silverware will be needed in North London before patience in Mikel Arteta wares thin.
The Gunner’s fanbase nagging problem seemed to be a dominant number nine of a different profile to Kai Havertz, who often lacked the killer instinct in front of goal to change games for Mikel Arteta’s side. The answer to that problem was the acquisition of one of the best strikers in Europe, with Swedish striker Viktor Gyökeres arriving for an initial £55 million that could rise to £64 million. After 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting Lisbon, albeit in a much less competitive league than the Premier League, that is a tremendous price for a proven goalscorer who has his best years ahead of him, only recently turning 27.
An already star studded attack to support him with the likes of Bukayo Saka and captain Martin Ødegaard as then added to with Noni Madueke and Crystal Palace star man Eberechi Eze. Though Madueke raised some eyebrows given his mixed form he experienced at Chelsea after joining in January 2023, Eze will have many fans gawking at his talent that he consistently showed South London, most notable helping them to become FA Cup champions for the first time in their history in May.
Piero Hincapié is an excellent pickup at the back, adding to the excellent left-side depth at the club with the likes of Riccardo Calafiori and Miles Lewis-Skelly. Able to play centre-half as well should Gabriel need cover, the Ecuadorian is a versatile addition to the Arsenal backline, and for a buy option next summer of £45 million next summer, it would be little surprise if the G
2. Tottenham Hotspur
It was a brave decision to relieve Ange Postecoglou of his duties in June, just 16 days after he guided Tottenham to their first piece of silverware in 17 years after conquering Manchester United 1-0 in the Europa League final in Bilbao. The Ozzie was axed nonetheless, with Brentford boss Thomas Frank taking his place in the dugout, putting pen to paper on a three year deal.
The Dane has certainly been backed this summer, with Daniel Levy opening his wallet and investing £181 million in this new-look Spurs side. The most notable of which is Dutch attacker Xavi Simons, who looked almost certain to join Chelsea earlier in the month. In the end, a deal stalled there as the Blues look towards other attacking midfielder talent like Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Buonanotte. Simons came to North London for £51.8 million, a welcome addition given the creativity the squad will be lacking for the next few months due to injuries for Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, who seems to be out for the entire season.
The former PSG man wasn’t the only attacker to be added to Frank’s ranks, with Mohamed Kudus making the switch from East to North London, joining from West Ham for £55 million despite a dip in form last season that saw him bag just five goals and three assists in 32 Premier League games. Despite these underwhelming numbers, Kudus was the bright spark in a difficult season alongside Jarrod Bowen and has started well in lily white, claiming two assists in his first three Premier League games for the current Europa League champions. He wasn’t the only offensive addition though, as Mathys Tel made his move permanent from Bayern Munich after an impressive loan spell in the second half of last season.
Tottenham engaged in some smart loan deals too, firstly adding Joao Palhinha to their midfield after struggling to settle in at Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich last season. In his last stint in the Premier League, the 30-year-old was a defensive monster, leading the league in tackles and finishing 3rd for passes blocked that earned his £43 million to the German giants in the first place. Randal Kolo Muani joined on loan too after being deemed surplus by Luis Enrique at PSG. The Frenchman has barely had a look in under the Spaniard so far in Paris, getting loaned to Juventus in the second half of last season where the the Drughi warmed to him, bagging nine goals and assists in 16 games.
Son Heung-min called time on his time in England in an emotional farewell, as he felt the time was now to move on, signing for LAFC for an MLS record fee of £20 million. With a new brand of football being instilled at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, and plenty of new stars to tow the line for the next few years alongside the likes of Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson, Spurs look set for a great new era under Thomas Frank that should promise a much shorter wait for the next trophy.
1 . Liverpool
Liverpool’s summer window ended on a bitter sweet deadline day, filled with elation and some disappointment alike. On one hand, the Reds completed many fan’s dream signing, finally ending the Alexander Isak transfer saga that dragged on all summer by landing his signature on September 1st. At the same time, Arne Slot’s side were locked in talks to sign England international Marc Guehi. What seemed like a certain deal, especially after getting the deal on their deal sheet by the 7pm deadline, Palace pulled the plug on the dal after failing to secure a replacement. Though it remains likely he’ll sign for the current Premier League champions next summer after his contract expires, it was clear they wanted to sign him now in a deal that was so close to happening to round put the window.
Giovanni Leoni joined the club in mid-August to add to their defensive ranks, which means alongside the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté and Joe Gomez, Liverpool aren’t short on natural centre half options without Guehi this season. The Italian wasn’t the only defensive reinforcement to arrive at Anfield this summer: Milos Kerkez made the switch from the South coast from Bournemouth, forcing Kostas Tsimikas our on loan to Roma; and Jeremie Frimpong replaced Trent Alexander-Arnold, after his release clause was payed to Bayer Leverkusen for just £35 million.
An incredible offensive rebuild followed too, after South American duo Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez were sold to Bayern Munich and Al Hilal respectively. Alongside Isak, Hugo Ekitike was brought to the club for an initial £69 million, and has starred in fine form with four goals and assists in four games so far. Arguably the biggest shock transfer of the summer came in the form of Florian Wirtz, who put pen to paper after the club coughed up £116 million to Bayer Leverkusen. The German maestro was expected to leave for Manchester City or Bayern Munich, but Liverpool’s shock move for the attacker sent shockwaves around the world and certainly set the tone for the unforgettable window they’ve had.
The six time Champions League winners smashed the record for most money spent in one window, signing six top class players as they look forward to a year of defending the title they so brilliantly won last season in Arne Slot’s first season in England. Add these players to a squad full of world class talent already like Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk, Alisson and Alexis Mac Allister, and it could be scary era of Red dominance thanks to this window.
