Premier League Transfer Window Review: Key Moves and Ratings
After a summer of record outlay and Deadline Day brinkmanship, the Premier League’s transfer window has left a trail of bold gambles, quiet masterstrokes and a few clubs already wondering how they’ve boxed themselves in. Here’s how the business really stacks up.
Arsenal – Ruthless trimming, one winger short
Rating: 8/10
Eight senior players out, £100m-plus banked, a hefty wage bill shaved. Arsenal’s summer was about ruthless clarity as much as recruitment.
Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Christian Norgaard, Fabio Vieira, Ethan Nwaneri (loan), Jakob Kiwior and Reiss Nelson have gone. Only Nwaneri is expected back in the long term. The rest were judged expendable in a squad now chasing marginal gains, not wholesale change.
The big swings never landed. Vinicius Junior and Julian Alvarez were fantasy-level targets that still somehow got close enough to be credible. Had one arrived, this would have been a 10/10 window. Arsenal at least showed they belong in those conversations.
What they didn’t do was fully replace last season’s two primary left-sided attackers. That’s the gripe among supporters. The club insists it wasn’t for lack of ambition – the right profile never materialised after the Vinicius saga collapsed.
So they improvise. Christos Tzolis has already made himself a fan favourite despite a shaky outing at Villa Park. Eberechi Eze can drift left to great effect. Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka can switch flanks, which in turn opens the door for Max Dowman to pick up minutes on the right. There’s even a theory that Riccardo Calafiori could be pushed higher up, in the same way Mikel Arteta once reimagined roles for Mikel Merino and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
No new left winger. No new striker. Yet everywhere else, Arteta has options. Look at the bench at Villa Park: depth in defence and midfield that allows wholesale rotation without losing edge.
Crucially, he landed his two prime targets: Bruno Guimaraes and Ezri Konsa. That alone makes it a strong window. Arsenal are lighter, sharper, and one elite forward away from something close to complete.
Aston Villa – Champions forced into a reset
Rating: 7/10
A Europa League trophy in one hand, a dismantled XI in the other. Aston Villa’s summer was as jarring as it was necessary.
Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Ollie Watkins, Emiliano Martinez, Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa – six starters from that European triumph – have gone. Unai Emery never envisaged this scale of churn. Financial constraints dictated otherwise.
Villa’s response? Go younger, go hungrier. Ibrahim Mbaye and Johan Manzambi bring upside, Leon Goretzka and Aaron Wan-Bissaka bring scars and know-how. Nicolas Jackson slots in with the advantage of already knowing the league and impressed on debut. Zion Suzuki’s first outing in goal was encouraging, while Taylor Harwood-Bellis openly admits he’s a work in progress but trusts Emery to elevate him.
The manager’s presence matters. Players buy into Emery, and Villa have balanced their books without surrendering ambition. On paper, the rebuild looks coherent. The reality will only emerge once this new-look side faces the grind of a season that starts with expectation, not hope.
Bournemouth – Quietly outstanding
Rating: 9/10
Two summers, two very different stories. In 2025, Bournemouth cashed in on key assets. This time, they drew a line.
Rayan, Eli Junior Kroupi and Alex Scott all stayed. The club’s model allows exits, but not a fire sale. Marco Rose was given a promise: the core would remain. The board kept it.
Operating under the tighter financial lens that European football brings, Bournemouth still managed to upgrade. Michele Di Gregorio arrives as last season’s Juventus No 1. Antonio Silva, once linked with giants across Europe, comes in at what looks like a steal. Juanlu Sanchez adds reliability at full-back, Alvaro Rodriguez offers something different up front.
Fringe players have gone, the wage bill is tidier, and the key moves were done early. No Deadline Day scramble, no late panic. For once, Bournemouth could watch the chaos rather than contribute to it.
Rose now has a deeper, smarter squad. The club has done its bit. The next step is proving they belong among Europe’s regulars.
Brentford – Smart, sharp, almost flawless
Rating: 9/10
Brentford rarely miss in the market, and this window is no exception.
The brief was clear: land a midfielder to build around. Mamadou Sangare, at £39m, looks like classic Brentford value – expensive at first glance, a bargain if he hits the ceiling he’s already hinting at. He changes the feel of their midfield.
El Hadji Malick Diouf, a late addition, looks primed to claim the left-back slot. Jaidon Anthony has already started twice, Callum Wilson gives proven Premier League goals as support – or competition – for Igor Thiago, and Jannik Schuster shores up the back line with Sepp van den Berg injured.
They’ve kept their stars. Thiago, Kevin Schade and Yehor Yarmoliuk all remain, with Michael Kayode and Vitaly Janelt tied to new deals. Jordan Henderson’s leadership will be missed, but the spine is intact.
The only Deadline Day move was a sensible loan: Jayden Meghoma to Portsmouth for minutes. It fits the club’s long-term thinking.
Why not a 10? Because inside Brentford, they’ll tell you the same thing: there’s always another edge to find.
Brighton – Heavy spend, familiar gamble
Rating: 7.5/10
Brighton spent big and often. Nine first-team signings, nearly £170m outlaid, and a squad now stacked with defensive options.
Luka Vuskovic, a £50m centre-back, headlines the arrivals. It’s a statement fee and a statement of faith in their scouting. Chema Andres, a Spain U21 midfielder from Stuttgart, arrived in a late twist on Deadline Day to help plug the Carlos Baleba-shaped hole left by his move to Manchester United.
Andres will need time to adjust, but the talent is obvious. Up front, the exit of Danny Welbeck strips away experience and a reliable reference point. Loan signing Promise David must hit the ground running.
The biggest quiet win? Keeping Yankuba Minteh despite Liverpool’s interest. That could define their season.
Once the injured players return and the new faces settle, Fabian Hurzeler will believe he has enough to juggle the Premier League and Conference League. Brighton have gone bold again. The question, as ever, is whether their replacements can grow as quickly as the players they’ve just sold.
Chelsea – Strategy reboot, Stamford Bridge reborn
Rating: 9/10
Chelsea finally changed the script.
Out went the obsession with pure potential. In came Premier League-ready operators to sit alongside the starlets. The pursuits of Jordan Henderson, Emiliano Martinez and Danny Welbeck signalled a major shift from the post-takeover chaos.
Geovany Quenda fits the old model – one of the best young prospects around – but he arrives in a squad now anchored by players who can deliver now. Joao Pedro has been rewarded with a new deal, underlining a commitment to keep a core together rather than constantly churn.
Last season collapsed after Enzo Maresca’s departure. The football was fractured, the mood toxic despite a run to the FA Cup final. Xabi Alonso’s appointment, coupled with a more coherent recruitment policy, has changed the atmosphere overnight. Stamford Bridge crackled again in that 4-3 win over Brighton.
The Enzo Fernandez saga lingered like a bad smell. A 5pm, August 15 deadline to resolve his future came and went without clarity, leaving fans split and the club exposed. Yet three wins from three suggest the dressing room has parked the noise.
On the pitch, Emiliano Martinez, Morgan Rogers and Maxence Lacroix all walk straight into the XI. Losing Marc Cucurella stings, but Chelsea sold well across the board, securing strong fees for Liam Delap, Nicolas Jackson and Alejandro Garnacho.
They’ve become elite traders. Now the pressure flips: can Alonso turn a well-built squad into one that competes for the biggest prizes again?
Coventry – Brave, structured, and unapologetically ambitious
Rating: 8/10
For a newly promoted side, Coventry didn’t tiptoe into the market. They strode in.
Frank Lampard has more depth than at any point in his tenure. Carl Rushworth returns permanently after his starring role in promotion. Aurele Amenda adds athleticism at centre-back. Caleb Yirenkyi excites in midfield, while Frank Onyeka brings Premier League steel and Gustavo Hamer offers familiarity and craft.
Up front, Taiwo Awoniyi is a proven focal point at this level. Loum Tchaouna and Sidiki Cherif inject pace and upside.
Two defeats without a goal to start the season raise fair questions about end product. But the squad is undeniably stronger and deeper than the one that came up. This is bold, not reckless. Coventry have signalled they intend to stay – and stay with intent.
Crystal Palace – Losses absorbed, habits maintained
Rating: 7/10
Palace know this drill by now: lose big names, recalibrate, keep moving.
Maxence Lacroix and Daniel Munoz, two of their standout performers, have gone. Yet Adam Wharton, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr remain. That matters.
Mateta, still nursing the scars of a failed AC Milan move last January, may now need to guide Sarr through his own disappointment after Liverpool’s pursuit fizzled out. Mateta is into the final year of his contract, which guarantees another round of speculation in four months’ time.
Sarr’s form between now and January will decide whether Palace were right to dig their heels in.
They’ve shopped smart rather than spectacular. Axel Disasi, Dwight McNeil, Ben Chilwell and Takehiro Tomiyasu are proven Premier League operators. Dario Osorio could be the jewel – Palace have a knack for turning such profiles into stars. Honest Ahanor bolsters the back line, while Anan Khalaili is seen as a potential long-term heir to Munoz.
Depth has improved, crucial with European commitments again on the calendar. Palace have become experts at surviving the loss of marquee players – Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi – and not just surviving, but thriving.
Their summer doesn’t guarantee success. It does, however, keep them firmly in the conversation as one of the league’s most resilient stories.
Everton – A window that leaves scars
Rating: 2/10
This was a mess. Everton’s summer was chaotic, damaging and, crucially, avoidable.
They started with a misfiring strike force and somehow halved it. Letting Beto go to Fiorentina before Folarin Balogun was signed off looks reckless now. The subsequent lunge for Joshua Zirkzee, once the Balogun deal wobbled, only underlined the lack of a coherent plan.
Then came the body blow: Iliman Ndiaye sold. All summer, Everton insisted they held the cards with three years left on his deal. In the end, £65m was enough to tempt them. It’s more than four times what they paid, but short of the figure that might have softened the anger.
The attempted swap with Spurs – Ndiaye to north London for £60m, Richarlison back for £35m – collapsed. So did the late move for Kenny Tete, with Fulham refusing to budge without a replacement lined up. That alone should sting.
All this played out while the ownership weighed up a £40m bid from Nottingham Forest for Harrison Armstrong, and David Moyes pleaded publicly for reinforcements.
Evertonians are left hurt, embarrassed, angry, frustrated. They know it didn’t have to be this way.
There were positives. Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Jack Grealish, Hayden Hackney, Christian Norgaard, Merlin Rohl, Tyrique George and Brennan Johnson all arrived. But the overriding truth remains: once again, the manager doesn’t have the tools he needs.
Last season’s shortfalls – no right-back, no proven striker – have morphed into an even more acute problem. Thierno Barry stands as the only recognised front man until at least January.
Given that reality, a European push would be a miracle. Failure to reach it should not be pinned on the dugout.
Fulham – High risk, high press
Rating: 7/10
Fulham’s summer makes sense on paper. The pitch will deliver the verdict.
Alvaro Arbeloa wants a high-pressing, high-tempo side. That demands legs, depth and bravery. The club has backed him.
The headline act is Gonzalo García, signed from Real Madrid to solve the long-standing No 9 problem. Two goals in three games suggest he’s ready to shoulder that burden.
Midfield has been overhauled. Cesar Palacios and Manuel Angel, both Real Madrid academy products, join Shea Charles and Hugo Larsson to give Arbeloa energy, control and flexibility in the middle.
The concern sits behind them. Fulham have already been exposed defensively, a natural by-product of asking centre-backs to defend high with full-backs flying on. David Affengruber, signed on Deadline Day, looks tailor-made for that system – quick, aggressive, comfortable in space.
Out wide, though, there’s a gap. Harry Wilson and Samuel Chukwueze have gone, and no specialist winger has arrived. Palacios has been used on the left, but that’s a compromise, not a solution.
Even so, Fulham’s business feels purposeful. They’ve bought to fit a philosophy, not just to fill shirts. If Arbeloa can find the balance between chaos and control, they should steer clear of the relegation scrap.
Hull – Volume with a vision
Rating: 8/10
Eighteen new players, six of them on Deadline Day. On the surface, Hull’s summer screams upheaval. Look closer and there’s method.
Owner Acun Ilicali has been central to recruitment, selling a vision of a club with genuine ambition. Hull wanted pace, athleticism and quality. They’ve loaded up on all three.
The strategy leans heavily on youth – players who can grow with the club and, if it clicks, deliver huge upside on and off the pitch. There’s risk baked in, of course, but also the possibility of a rapid climb.
Importantly, the core of the promotion-winning side remains. The spirit that carried them up has been preserved, then wrapped in a thicker layer of quality. In a brutal first season back in the Premier League, that mix might be their best hope of staying afloat.
Ipswich – Lessons learned, chequebook open
Rating: 9/10
Two years ago, Ipswich spent around £110m trying – and failing – to stay up. This time, they’ve gone harder and smarter.
Fourteen arrivals, 18 departures, roughly £200m outlaid, capped by Zian Flemming’s Deadline Day move from Burnley. The message is unmistakable: Ipswich don’t intend to yo-yo.
Julio Enciso arrives as a record signing. Abdul Fatawu, Emersonn and Exequiel Palacios add real attacking threat and technical quality. Sasa Lukic, Issa Diop and Florentino Luis bring Premier League experience. Daizen Maeda adds searing pace and proven work rate.
The standout is the depth. Ipswich haven’t just replaced; they’ve upgraded across the board. Gary O’Neil now has options in every area and the kind of internal competition that can transform standards.
The spending is aggressive. The structure behind it looks far more considered than last time.
Leeds – Targeted upgrades, with one wild card
Rating: 8/10
Leeds did their best work before the window’s final act.
Daniel Farke wanted quality in key positions and got it. Harry Wilson, Tarik Muharemovic and James Trafford all elevate the starting XI. The manager has been blunt about wanting better individuals; this trio fits that bill.
Depth, a glaring issue last season, has been addressed with Nico Elvedi, Michael Zetterer and Melvin Bard. None of them are headline names, but all raise the floor of the squad.
Then came the flourish. Jean-Matteo Bahoya, the last arrival, brings raw pace and unpredictability from the wing. He’s the gamble. If he hits, this window looks even better in a year’s time.
As it stands, Leeds have assembled a squad that should not just survive, but stabilise in the Premier League.
Liverpool – Good business, nagging gaps
Rating: 7/10
Liverpool ticked several boxes. Not all of them.
They needed pace out wide. Bradley Barcola and Victor Munoz supply it. With Cody Gakpo staying – Liverpool were rebuffed in moves for Yankuba Minteh and Ismaila Sarr – Andoni Iraola now has four wide options when you factor in Rio Ngumoha.
At the back, Ronald Araujo offers versatility at centre-back and right-back, vital with Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni sidelined. His style dovetails neatly with Jeremy Jacquet, whose move was agreed in the winter and who already looks at home as a Liverpool centre-half.
The problem? Mohamed Salah’s departure left a very specific hole. Liverpool still don’t have a natural right-sided winger, even if Barcola, Gakpo, Ngumoha and Munoz can all operate there.
Another quality full-back and a dedicated holding midfielder would have transformed the squad’s potential. Those positions remain light.
On the positive side, Liverpool’s recruitment profile is clear: the average age of first-team signings over the last two summers is around 22. Deals are already in place for Lucca Brughmans and Djylian N’Guessan, both 18, to join fully next season.
It’s a good window, not a great one. The foundation is youthful and exciting. The question is whether the missing pieces cost them when it matters most.
Manchester City – Painful exit, powerful response
Rating: 8/10
Losing Rodri, the best player at the World Cup and the heartbeat of their midfield, to Barcelona should have defined Manchester City’s summer. It didn’t.
The mood shifted late. From the embers of Deadline Day, City dragged out two huge deals, headlined by Enzo Fernandez. They smashed their transfer record for the second time this summer to land him, and he now joins Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi in a £300m midfield that many across Europe will envy.
Behind the scenes, there’s confidence that this squad is stronger than last season’s. Sales of Savio, Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Tijjani Reijnders, Nathan Ake and James Trafford funded not just Fernandez but also the arrivals of Iliman Ndiaye and Allan in attack.
Enzo Maresca wanted tools for a tactical revolution. He has them. Now he has to prove that a City side without Rodri can still set the standard in a title race that suddenly looks far more open.
Manchester United – Not flashy, but focused
Rating: 7/10
The noise around Manchester United often drowns out the logic. Strip it back and this was a measured window.
The priority was clear: rebuild the midfield. Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba come in for around £155m to sit alongside Kobbie Mainoo. The combinations available to Michael Carrick across four competitions are far richer than last season.
Yes, they missed on a specialist left-back. But they’re not entirely exposed there. Noussair Mazraoui has filled the role for Morocco, Diogo Dalot can step across, and the club clearly decided that funds were better spent centrally.
Departures didn’t materialise as expected. Joshua Zirkzee, Manuel Ugarte and Marcus Rashford all stayed, limiting room for manoeuvre elsewhere. That cuts both ways. It blocked some plans, but if Rashford builds on his promising start, Carrick may yet feel like he’s gained a new signing without spending a penny.
Newcastle – From crisis talk to controlled ambition
Rating: 8/10
At one stage, this looked like a window drifting towards disaster. By the end, Newcastle had quietly put together one of the most intriguing squads in the league.
Matias Fernandez-Pardo’s Deadline Day arrival took them to eight signings. Four – Lukas Hornicek, Amar Dedic, Nico Gonzalez and Fernandez-Pardo – are strong XI material. The others, Sean Steur, Aladji Bamba, Bazoumana Toure and Ewan Jaouen, are raw but carry significant upside.
They’ve spent £262m, but recouped £245m from the sales of Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon. That’s brutal turnover in quality, yet the reinvestment has been targeted.
Gonzalez and Fernandez-Pardo, at a combined £101m, feel like the defining bets. Ambitious, expensive, and central to what Newcastle want to become.
Add in the impact of Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa – signed last summer for £110m but now truly bedding in – and the squad feels refreshed without being ripped apart.
The early panic has gone. Now comes the test of whether this new-look side can match, or even surpass, the heights they hit under their previous core.
Nottingham Forest – Coach-led and coherent
Rating: 7.5/10
Oliver Glasner arrived with a clear idea of what he wanted. Forest listened.
He asked for a physical No 9 with room to grow. Liam Delap fits. He wanted a starting wing-back. Daniel Munoz, familiar from previous work together, ticks that box. Ousmane Diomande was another Glasner target, as was Xaver Schlager, with whom he shared a successful spell at Wolfsburg.
The one miss was a like-for-like replacement for Elliot Anderson – a young, dynamic, forward-thinking midfielder. They didn’t get him, but they did extract strong money from Manchester City for the player.
It’s a solid first window under a new manager who clearly has influence over recruitment. Forest look more like a Glasner team already. That’s the point.
Sunderland – Drama at the gate, talent on the pitch
Rating: 7/10
Sunderland waited, waited, then threw themselves into Deadline Day chaos.
They wanted a winger all summer. Malick Fofana wasn’t the first choice, but as the clock ticked down he became the best remaining option. Then he made it complicated.
A tug-of-war at Lyon airport with Crystal Palace, owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus flying in with more money and more persuasion – it was pure deadline theatre. Sunderland got their man. After all that, Fofana has to start. Anything else would be absurd.
Dayann Methalie, the marquee summer signing, also walks into the XI. But the real win is retention. Granit Xhaka, Brian Brobbey and Noah Sadiki all stayed, giving Sunderland a spine that many mid-table clubs would envy.
The scramble was messy. The outcome leaves them stronger.
Tottenham – All-in on De Zerbi’s vision
Rating: 7/10
On commitment to spend, Tottenham score a perfect 10. On the clarity of that spend, the verdict is more cautious.
They burst out of the blocks, beating Manchester United to Mateus Fernandes and landing Sandro Tonali – a signing few thought realistic. Roberto De Zerbi has been given licence to reshape the squad in his image.
The club paid around £50m for Jan Paul van Hecke with just a year left on his contract – a deal that would have been unthinkable in previous eras. Defence and midfield have been heavily reworked.
The glaring issue last season, though, was up front. Savio finally arrived after a year-long chase, joined by Omar Marmoush, to the delight of supporters.
De Zerbi wanted one more major piece. The plan was Cody Gakpo, but once Manchester City entered the race, the direction of travel was obvious.
Then came the twist. After a bruising defeat to Newcastle, Spurs agreed a fee with Everton for Iliman Ndiaye, with Richarlison heading the other way. It looked like a coup. Ndiaye chose City. Richarlison, stung, criticised the club in public.
Spurs pivoted to Chelsea. Mykhailo Mudryk and Tosin Adarabioyo arrived, a remarkable development given the history between the clubs. Times change. So do bank balances and boardrooms.
Mudryk is a huge risk. He hasn’t played competitive football in nearly two years. Yet if De Zerbi can unlock the player Chelsea thought they were buying, it could be one of the stories of the season. Chelsea’s insistence on a high loan-to-buy fee shows they haven’t completely given up on him either.
Tottenham have spent big and backed their manager. Now comes the hard part: proving that this wild, expensive experiment actually moves them closer to the teams they’re chasing, rather than just reshaping the squad for the sake of it.
