The summer transfer window has finally closed shut, and what a window it was! The top Premier League title contenders – with one notable exception – splashed huge sums of cash to bring in star names, including two old Premier League stars from Serie A in Romelu Lukaku and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Meanwhile, the Harry Kane transfer saga took an unexpected turn, and the same could be said about north London neighbours Arsenal’s transfer business.
So without further ado, here are SBOTOP’s picks for the winners and losers of what was a truly wild transfer window in the Premier League.
Winner: Chelsea
The Premier League 2021 odds already had Chelsea among the top title contenders heading into the season, and they further improved their chances after a brilliant transfer window. They broke the bank to bring back the big Belgian Romelu Lukaku, who now gives them the reliable goalscorer they were missing last season.
They sold Tammy Abraham to Roma to make way for Lukaku, and the young striker could also be considered a big winner with his fine start to his Serie A career.
Chelsea could not seal the deal on their other priority signing in centre-back Jules Kounde, but they did land Saul on loan from Atletico Madrid at the deadline to provide added cover in central midfield, which is excellent business.
After this transfer window, Thomas Tuchel clearly has the squad to compete with Manchester City for the championship, and it is now shaping up to be a fascinating battle at the top this season.
Loser: Arsenal
Arsenal were the biggest spenders not just in England but in all of Europe this summer, but did they actually get any better? Judging by their poor Premier League 2021 results which see them bottom of the table after three games, it seems not.
While the signing of Martin Odegaard made some sense, the Gunners’ decision to bring in centre-back Ben White and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale for enormous fees has left many scratching their heads.
Mikel Arteta is already on the hot seat once again after his side’s shaky start, and despite amassing such an expensive squad, he may not be in charge of it for much longer.
Winner: Manchester clubs
Both the red and blue sides of Manchester will consider themselves big winners in this transfer window.
For City, they may have missed out on Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo, but they don’t seem to be missing them – or a conventional centre-forward – all that much. Pep Guardiola’s system is still banging in the goals just fine with Ferran Torres up front, and they also added the new most expensive British player in Jack Grealish, who will provide a different dimension to City for their title defence.
As for United, the Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane signings already sealed their place among the big winners. Their decision to bring back Ronaldo instead of bolstering the midfield will no doubt disappoint some supporters, but they are still better off now compared to the start of the summer. It will now be up to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to make all the different pieces work on the pitch.
Loser: Liverpool
While the Manchester clubs and Chelsea strengthened their squads significantly this summer, Liverpool mostly stood pat – and might have lost ground in the title race as a result.
Centre-back Ibrahima Konate was their marquee signing, and they let midfielders Gini Wijnaldum and Xherdan Shaqiri move to France. The return of centre-backs Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez will be hailed as ‘new signings’ after missing most of last season, but the Reds did not reinforce their front line, which figures to be quite thin if an injury hits one of Salah, Mane, Firmino, or Jota.
With Jurgen Klopp in charge and reasonable health this time around, Liverpool should still be top-four contenders. But their margin for error compared to their competitors just got smaller after this transfer window.
Winner: Tottenham Hotspur
Daniel Levy does not mess around. Despite the pressure to sell Kane to City, Levy dug in his heels when City did not meet his valuation of his star striker. As a result, Spurs will have their talisman for another season and could still sell him for a king’s ransom next year.
Spurs also did some shrewd business to set them up for the future as they brought in promising youngsters Bryan Gil, Cristian Romero, Pape Sarr, and Emerson Royal, and got Erik Lamela, Toby Alderweireld, and Moussa Sissoko out.
Loser: Harry Kane
After all the drama of the Harry Kane saga, it all amounted to nothing in the end.
Kane played his part with a poor exit strategy. He signalled his intent to leave despite a lack of leverage as well as no concrete assurances that his desired move to City would absolutely push through.
And when Levy and Spurs did what they usually do and haggle for the biggest possible price, City walked away and left Kane high and dry.
Not only did Kane fail to get his move to Manchester, but his relationship with the Spurs fans has forever changed after this whole saga, which makes him the clear loser of the summer.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
