ArsenalAndrea Berta’s first transfer window since taking over as sporting director has been busy. Headline moves for Viktor Gyökeres and Eberechi Eze have given Mikel Arteta the firepower and creativity he asked for, while Martín Zubimendi has added class to midfield. The arrival of Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Nørgaard, Noni Madueke and Kepa Arrizabalaga has also added depth to Arsenal’s squad that is already being called on after a series of early season injuries, while the late signing of the exciting Ecuador defender, Piero Hincapié, should prove to be a shrewd addition. Ed AaronsAston VillaIt has been a painfully slow start to the season and a strange summer. Villa retained their talented spine but struggled to enhance their squad until deadline day, with Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho joining on loan to give Unai Emery’s side much-needed fresh impetus. Both arrive with points to prove. Sancho is seen as a low-risk signing, similar to Marcus Rashford in January, but it has not been an entirely joined-up window. Evann Guessand made his first Villa start in Sunday’s collapse against Crystal Palace and Villa will hope he evolves into a key threat. Ben FisherView image in fullscreen Evann Guessand made his first Aston Villa start against Crystal Palace. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty ImagesBournemouthAfter losing four of their defensive mainstays from last season, it was hard to envisage Bournemouth emerging from the window in such a position of power. Not only have they generated £215m in sales but they have replaced key parts with minimal fuss. It has not been simple but Adrien Truffert and Bafodé Diakité, in particular, have slotted in seamlessly and there is excitement at the promise of Amine Adli, Ben Gannon Doak and Álex Jiménez, a deadline-day addition from Milan. Bournemouth consider Djordje Petrovic, a permanent No 1, a significant piece of business that will allow them to kick on under Andoni Iraola. BFBrentfordThe departures of Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, who scored 39 of Brentford’s 66 Premier League goals last season, brought in more than £120m but have left a huge hole. Signing Reiss Nelson on loan from Arsenal represented an underwhelming end to the window for the new head coach, Keith Andrews, especially after deciding not to follow up a club-record £45m offer for Borussia Dortmund’s Max Beier that was rejected last week. The onus will be on Dango Ouattara – signed from Bournemouth for £42m – and Igor Thiago to provide the goals, while Jordan Henderson adds experience in midfield after the loss of the captain Christian Nørgaard. EAView image in fullscreen Dango Ouattara will be key if Brentford are to cope without Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa. Photograph: Richard Lee/ShutterstockBrightonMost of the club’s business was done early as usual. Maxim De Cuyper was the last new arrival in the first week of July, the Belgium defender joining Olivier Boscagli, Charalampos Kostoulas, Diego Coppola and Tommy Watson at the Amex, while Stefanos Tzimas also arrived after signing in January. After seeing off strong interest in Carlos Baleba from Manchester United and selling João Pedro to Chelsea, it was a busy end to the window in terms of outgoings, with Tariq Lamptey, Abdallah Sima and Pervis Estupiñán among those departing. EABurnleyThe revolving doors at Turf Moor kept spinning until the deadline. It was a hectic window as Burnley attempted to give themselves the strongest possible chance of staying up. The deadline-day arrival of the defensive midfielder Florentino Luís from Benfica, on loan but with an obligation to buy for £20.8m next summer, made it 14 incomings. That includes four of last season’s loanees being signed permanently. There were a staggering 19 departures, with the exits of CJ Egan-Riley, James Trafford and Josh Brownhill significant blows. Andy HunterView image in fullscreen Kyle Walker’s move to Burnley from Manchester City was one of the window’s early surprises. Photograph: Peter Powell/ReutersChelseaKey business was completed early, with Liam Delap and João Pedro arriving to fire Enzo Maresca’s team to Club World Cup glory. Estêvão Willian is a sparkling addition on the right wing, replacing Noni Madueke. Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens are new arrivals on the opposite flank. Chelsea, who combined their expenditure with a lot of sales, did not pursue a new centre-back despite Levi Colwill’s knee injury and losing Delap to a hamstring injury led to confusion over Nicolas Jackson’s move to Bayern Munich before that was confirmed on deadline day. Maresca will hope Facundo Buonanotte, a surprise arrival on loan from Brighton, provides depth in attack. Jacob SteinbergCrystal PalaceA chaotic end to the window summed up Palace’s summer as Marc Guéhi’s move to Liverpool was called off at the last minute after they failed to find an adequate replacement. It was a major victory for manager Oliver Glasner, having lost Eberechi Eze to Arsenal and having to wait for reinforcements due to uncertainty over the club’s European participation, while the chairman, Steve Parish, will be counting the cost of turning down £35m for a player with less than 12 months of his contract remaining. But at least Palace were able to add to their squad late on with the teenage French defender Jaydee Canvot joining on deadline day after they snapped up Spain forward Yeremy Pino from Villarreal. EAEvertonDavid Moyes said from the outset that his mission to rebuild Everton could not be achieved in one window and he failed to hide his frustration at times as numerous targets rejected a move to Hill Dickinson Stadium. Ultimately, however, the club delivered. The squad remains light at full-back and in attack, but the signings of Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tyler Dibling represent a significant uplift in quality. They are the calibre of player that Moyes wanted. The deadline day capture of central midfielder Merlin Röhl from Freiburg addressed another problem area. AHView image in fullscreen Midfielder Merlin Röhl has joined Everton from Freiburg. Photograph: Daniela Porcelli/Getty ImagesFulhamFulham’s only piece of business going into deadline day was for a No 2 keeper – Benjamin Lecomte. Marco Silva did not exactly hide his frustration. The Portuguese received a late boost, however, after Fulham completed the £34.5m signing of Brazilian winger Kevin from Shakhtar Donetsk after also agreeing a loan deal for Milan’s Samuel Chukwueze. Fulham also kept their tight-knit squad together. Andreas Pereira, who joined Palmeiras, was the only big-name player to depart. JSLeedsDaniel Farke has remodelled Leeds along taller and more powerful lines, but whether such newfound physicality translates into Premier League survival remains to be seen. Much hinges on the fitness of key attacking signings Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha. Can they remain sufficiently injury-free to showcase their very real talent? Only time will tell if Patrick Bamford’s attacking skills were jettisoned too quickly. Midfield seems to have been fortified sensibly by the addition of Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach, while Lucas Perri promises to prove the reliable goalkeeper Farke has long craved and Jaka Bijol offers necessary competition in central defence. Louise TaylorLiverpoolAn outstanding window before deadline day was upgraded to sensational by close of play. The champions had clear, ambitious priorities from the start and acquired almost every one in a lavish recruitment drive that leaves Arne Slot with a more formidable squad than he had last season. Having played Newcastle all summer, Liverpool finally landed Alexander Isak for a British record fee of £125m – £25m below Newcastle’s valuation – but a £35m move for Marc Guéhi was thwarted late on. The sale of squad players for high prices, along with the benefits of being a sensible and well-run club, helped fund an outlay in excess of £440m. AHView image in fullscreen Alexander Isak got his move to Liverpool. Photograph: Nikki Dyer/LFC/Liverpool FC/Getty ImagesManchester CityTijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Aït-Nouri and Marcus Bettinelli arrived early, with the first three involved in a start to the season that has seen City lose two of their opening three fixtures. This suggests the club’s recruitment may be going awry. Their arrivals were followed by thearrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain, a standout addition but also a curious one given the Italian can be clumsy with his feet – a head-scratcher as “Guardiola-ball” hinges on the keeper being slick in this area. Ederson has departed to join Fenerbahce. Jamie JacksonManchester UnitedManchester United entered the window needing one No 10 and ended up with two – Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo. They needed at least one midfielder – a No 6 – and ended up with none. They also needed an elite goalkeeper and signed a 23-year-old prospect in Senne Lammens, albeit there is a belief at Old Trafford that he can challenge André Onana and Altay Bayindir for the No 1 spot immediately. United did land the No 9 they wanted in Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig but, overall, this has been an odd window for the 20-times champions. JJView image in fullscreen Manchester United have assembled a new forward line with Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha all arriving this summer. Photograph: Ash Donelon/Manchester United/Getty ImagesNewcastleA turbulent, unedifying summer on Tyneside dominated by Alexander Isak’s ultimately satisfied desperation to leave for Liverpool has, on paper, actually ended rather well for Newcastle. Nick Woltemade – AKA “the two-metre Messi” – and Yoane Wissa may yet turn out to be a better attacking duo than Isak and Callum Wilson. Similarly, Aaron Ramsdale’s loan arrival offers Nick Pope real goalkeeping competition, Malick Thiaw strengthens the central defensive department, Jacob Ramsey adds midfield quality and versatility and Anthony Elanga is a high-calibre winger. LTNottingham ForestThere is so much to like about Forest’s business but recruitment, overseen by Edu, the global head of football for Evangelos Marinakis’s stable of clubs, is also behind the friction with Nuno Espírito Santo. Only one of Forest’s new faces, Dan Ndoye, a £34m buy from Bologna, started Sunday’s defeat by West Ham and Nuno would have preferred all 11 signings to have been embedded during pre-season. No fewer than four arrived from Botafogo, including the left-back Cuiabano and the goalkeeper John Victor. Nuno counts last summer’s preparations as a driver behind their historic season. BFView image in fullscreen Winger Dan Ndoye moved from Bologna to the City Ground. Photograph: Richard Bowcott/IPS/ShutterstockSunderlandSunderland have not quite eclipsed Nottingham Forest’s record of signing 21 new players in a single window but Regis Le Bris’s squad has certainly been refreshed. If turning Enzo Le Fée’s January loan from Roma into a formal transfer was a triumph, the arrival of the impressive Netherlands Under-21 goalkeeper Robin Roefs, the Switzerland captain and former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka and the former Strasbourg midfielder Habib Diarra look three more terrific deals. At the last count, Le Bris had overseen the arrival of 14 new faces for a combined £141.5m this summer. Retaining squad harmony amid such wholesale change is vital but, if Sunderland stay up, the investments will look shrewd. LTTottenhamWhen James Maddison ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in pre-season against Newcastle on 3 August, Tottenham’s need for a new playmaker became desperate. Dejan Kulusevski was already a long-term injury casualty. So there was anxiety when the club failed with moves for Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze. The capture of Xavi Simons, then, brought relief as well as excitement. Mohammed Kudus had arrived earlier to plug the gap left by Son Heung-min’s departure, while João Palhinha reinforces the base of the midfield. Randal Kolo Muani will provide a needed extra option up front as the club prepare for the demands of a Champions League return. David HytnerView image in fullscreen Randal Kolo Muani arrived at Tottenham from Paris Saint-Germain on a deadline-day loan. Photograph: Stéphane Mahé/ReutersWest HamForced to sell in order to buy, West Ham were unable to do anything before Mohammed Kudus joined Spurs for £54.5m. The attacker’s departure heaped pressure on the club’s unpopular board. There was cautious optimism when deals for Mads Hermansen, Callum Wilson, Kyle Walker-Peters and El Hadji Malick Diouf went through, but the pressure rose when a dreadful start to the season exposed gaps in midfield. Then the mood lifted, Edson Álvarez’s exit making room for West Ham to sign Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa. However they encountered frustration with their attempts to sign a centre-back on loan to replace Nayef Aguerd, who followed Emerson Palmieri to Marseille on deadline day. JSWolvesRetaining Jørgen Strand Larsen amid sustained interest from Newcastle was a victory for the chairman, Jeff Shi, a target for criticism among supporters. Shi personally informed Strand Larsen, who only joined permanently in July, that he would be staying put despite Newcastle’s interest. Better still, Wolves finally have another forward option after a £24m deal for Genk’s Tolu Arokodare. Offloading Fábio Silva and Gonçalo Guedes was also a significant step, but it is difficult to argue Wolves have done sufficient business to avoid another season of struggle after the sales of Matheus Cunha and Rayan Aït-Nouri. Vítor Pereira wanted three signings before the deadline and there is only one piece missing – a midfielder. BF
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