They do realise the window ends in two weeks, don’t they?
Just two weeks remain in this summer’s transfer window for the Premier League due to the rule change introduced last summer which means the window must close before the season starts for teams in the top two tiers of English football.
It has felt like a relatively quiet window, with clubs identifying their targets and not settling for anything else, rather than adopting Fulham’s scattergun approach that backfired spectacularly last season.
Here is a definitive ranking, from best to worst, of every Premier League team’s transfer window thus far.
1) West Ham United
Can’t quite believe I’m writing this but West Ham have had a great transfer window. Sebastien Haller looks like the guy to finally break their curse of signing bad strikers and Pablo Fornals is an excellent addition to an already good midfield. They’ve also shipped a lot of dead weight. dg.
2) Aston Villa
Villa have spent a lot of money this summer but they were left with no choice. You can’t survive in the Premier League with Glenn Whelan and Mile Jedinak as your holding midfield options. Not in 2019. Tyrone Mings is the pick of the bunch after an impressive loan spell, while Matt Targett will provide excellent service for new striker Wesley. They also signed Jota from their local rivals and gave them Gary Gardner in return which is really funny.
3) Norwich City
Another newly-promoted club doing lots of business, but clever business. They’ve kept their best players, tied them down to long-term contracts and will be well equipped to have another crack at coming straight back up should this season end in relegation.
4) Manchester City
They only really needed two players: a long-term successor to Fernandinho and a left-back, and they got them both in Rodri and Angelino. As ruthless and efficient in the window as they are on the pitch.
5) Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs are finally spending some money and spending it well. Jack Clarke is one for the future while Tanguy Ndombele is the ideal player to step into their midfield alongside Harry Winks. If Giovani Lo Celso and possibly, maybe, Paulo Dybala join as well, they will shoot straight to the top of this list.
"He is capable of seeing things that even you, on your TV, don't see."
Fans of @OL give us the low-down on @TanguyNdombele and tell @SpursOfficial what to expect from their new midfielder. pic.twitter.com/cZhC7r0l83
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) July 12, 2019
6) Leicester City
Spending £30m on Ayoze Perez can’t really be described as “good business” but keeping Youri Tielemans on a permanent deal most certainly can be. They’ve also shifted Shinji Okazaki and Danny Simpson, who very much needed to go despite their heroics in 2015/16.
7) Everton
André Gomes impressed on his loan spell last season and securing his services on a permanent basis will serve the Toffees well this season. As will Fabian Delph, who looks likely to replace Idrissa Gueye as rumours of a move to PSG gather speed.
8) Liverpool
Didn’t really need anyone new in the starting XI. Didn’t sign anyone other than 17-year-old Sepp van den Berg. It’s worth noting that they were particularly fortunate with injuries last season and got away with not having much depth. A couple of signings to strengthen the bench over the next two weeks would make a perfectly decent transfer window for the Reds.
9) Chelsea
It’s difficult to place a club who are under a transfer embargo on here, but keeping Mateo Kovacic after his loan spell is a clever move, as is tying Mason Mount down to a five-year contract. Selling Eden Hazard drops them a few places down the list though.
10) Southampton
Beating a number of clubs to one of the Championship’s most in-demand strikers in Che Adams was a shrewd piece of business. The 23-year-old should form a prolific partnership with Danny Igns upfront. Moussa Djenepo has also joined from Standard Liege. Based on his YouTube compilations (I know), the Mali international looks like the player they thought they were getting in Eljero Elia. And Sofiane Boufal.
11) Wolves
Securing both Raul Jimenez and Leander Dendoncker this summer was essential for Wolves, but there is still a concerning lack of squad depth, which could come back to bite them on the backside if they do not bring in some extra bodies.
12) Sheffield United
Chris Wilder is an excellent manager. What he’s done for the Blades is incredible. He deserves a lot of credit.
But Lys Mousset is not a Premier League level footballer.
13) Burnley
Good business: Jay Rodriguez’s homecoming. He will add some much-needed mobility to their front line alongside Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood.
Bad business: Signing Erik Pieters.
14) Watford
They’ve signed Craig Dawson alongside two previously free agents. They’ll be fine.
15) Brighton
In possibly the most Brighton transfer to ever happen, they have signed Leandro Trossard from Genk for £18m. I have literally no idea how good he is but Seagulls fans will be hoping Graham Potter has better judgement than Chris Hughton, who spent north of £70m on 14 players, all of whom you’ve forgotten play for Brighton.
16) Bournemouth
Again, not too much to report but getting Lys Moussett off the books is an achievement. England U21 international Lloyd Kelly could prove to be an excellent find too, with Charlie Daniels heading into the twilight of his career.
17) Manchester United
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is a great signing and for a 21-year-old with huge potential, £45m looks like a bargain. Daniel James also looks a handy addition, with his blistering pace off the bench a useful weapon. But as has been the case for half a decade now, there is still so much more to do. Doubts remain over the future of Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba; they have not replaced Ander Herrera; they need to upgrade on Nemanja Matić; Harry Maguire is still ramming his head into everything he sees 100 miles south of Manchester.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise though. They’ve not made a good singing since Robin van Persie.
18) Crystal Palace
Palace have sold Wan-Bissaka and – as much as I don’t want to admit it – could still lose Wilfried Zaha if the right offer comes in. So far they have only signed Jordan Ayew, a player whose style of play can only be described as running in straight lines, trying to barge defenders and completing one nutmeg in every game.
Must do better.
19) Newcastle United
Replacing Rafa Benitez and Salomon Rondon with Joelinton (whose best ever goal return is 11 in 33) and Steve Bruce is as disastrous a window as Newcastle fans could have imagined. Mike Ashley is the real winner here, spending £40m on one player to quash the “spend some fucking money” protests. The city of Newcastle has my sympathy.
20) Arsenal
Dani Ceballos will provide the spark they were missing in midfield for much of last season, but ultimately, Aaron Ramsey has left on a free and Shkodran Mustafi still plays for the club.
Now, should Arsenal get Nicolas Pepe [see below] and Celtic’s Kieran Tierney, they would shoot up into the top 10.
Arsenal have reached an agreement with Lille to sign Ivory Coast winger Nicolas Pepe for ~€80m, paid by instalments to fit #AFC budget. 5yr deal, agent agreement still needed but set to be closed in next 24/48hrs. Napoli also have agreement with #LOSC but agent rejected proposal
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) July 27, 2019
Just 10 days left before the window clangs shut.
