Arsenal top as we rank Premier League clubs on taking care of transfer business | OneFootball

Contrasting summers for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino, and Everton's Sean Dyche.

Some clubs, having got the bulk of their transfer business done already, are smug and satisifed while others are flailing around. Quite a few, actually.

Completely subjectively, here’s how we’ve ranked the Premier League sides on how efficient and effective they have been in the market so far…

1) Arsenal The Gunners are buzzing off their tits having spent more than anyone else in Europe – a lot more – while smashing their transfer record to land a potentially game-changing signing. Well done, Mikel Arteta and Edu. But it does mean that simply being close enough to sniff Man City won’t be enough next season.

2) Brentford The Bees have smashed their transfer record twice this summer, and while Nathan Collins might not be the sexiest benchmark signing, Thomas Frank and the Bees deserve to be trusted. A centre-back was one of Frank’s biggest priorities – sorted – and so was the goalkeeper situation. David Raya hasn’t gone anywhere yet and whispers around the Spain international seem to have gone quiet, but they’ve already replaced him with Bundesliga clean-sheet machine Mark Flekken. Job done already?

3) Aston Villa Villa aren’t f***ing about. Youri Tielemans for nothing was a splendid start to the window before they signed Pau Torres, who everyone assumed would end up at a Champions League club. Villa reckon he might have done. Unai Emery wants an attacker and given how Villa have gone about the window so far, it’s reasonable to expect that he’ll get a good one.

4) Manchester City Having won the Treble with comfortably the best team in England, Pep Guardiola could have taken the summer off. But the City boss isn’t a feet-up kinda guy. He’s lost Ilkay Gundogan but signed Mateo Kovacic. He’d like a centre-back. No worries, he’ll probably get one of the very best, if not, then the most expensive. Why not light another Cuban, Pep?

5) Brighton Inevitably, most of the talk around Brighton is around confirmed or likely outgoings, with Alexis Mac Allister gone and Moises Caicedo waiting for Chelsea. But in the background, the Seagulls have done some very good business, adding James Milner, Joao Pedro, Mahmoud Dahoud and goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. Get a left-sided centre-back to replace Levi Colwill – ideally Colwill himself – and Brighton are good to go, regardless of the Caicedo saga.

6) Tottenham To the outside world, the success of Spurs’ summer might hinge on whether they keep Harry Kane, but the saga over their record goalscorer aside, it’s been a productive start. Crucially, they’ve hired a new manager, one who might be the business, and they’ve signed James Maddison, Manor Solomon and a new keeper to succeed Hugo Lloris. Maddison looks a sure-fire hit; Solomon showed exciting glimpses at Fulham; but Guglielmo Vicario may require some patience. Ange Postecoglou would certainly like another defender in and, if Bayern Munich would just f*** off, that’d be lovely too. But Spurs’ rebuild was never going to be completed in a single summer.

7) Manchester United United needed two things above all else this summer: a striker and a goalkeeper. So, of course, with a restricted budget they signed a midfielder first. But Mason Mount was crucial to Erik ten Hag’s plan and a goalkeeper – a very important one – is incoming. If they can source a goalscorer and shift some deadwood, then United are golden. Waving off the Glazers would be lovely too, but that looks even less likely to happen any time soon than United plucking up the courage to call Spurs about Harry Kane.

8) Liverpool Liverpool had no choice but to remodel their midfield and they were working through their to-do list quite nicely before the Saudis came for their cast-offs. With Fabinho and Jordan Henderson potentially following the money, and Thiago perhaps on his way, the Reds have more work to do and more money to play with than they planned for. They can’t focus exclusively on midfield, mind. Another centre-back would be ideal, but the priority now is to navigate the possible uncertainty prompted by two unexpected departures.

9) Bournemouth The most important recruit this summer was a coach once they decided to bin Gary O’Neil and they look to have got a good ‘un in Andoni Iraola. Beyond that, Justin Kluivert could be an exciting addition. Of course, he might not be, but there is a sense the Netherlands starlet needs a home after trawling around the other major leagues in Europe. Iraola hasn’t hidden his desire for a left-back and a midfielder, so there is plenty still to do.

10) Chelsea The Saudi splurge came at a very convenient time for Chelsea, helping them shift all sorts of deadwood for top dollar. Which has allowed them to continue spending. Where does it all leave them? F*** knows. Mauricio Pochettino definitely wants a midfielder in before he can be content but with so much going on around him, it’s hard to fathom whether Chelsea should be satisfied or petrified. Somewhere in between, probably.

11) Luton Town were quite reasonably caught on the hop after winning the play-offs but they’ve cracked on efficiently by tying down many of the players who got them to the Premier League while hoovering up some top EFL talent. If nothing else, they’ll have a damn fine Championship side in 2024/25, but the Hatters will doubtless keep going right up to the deadline to add enough reasonably-priced quality to avoid the swiftest return to the second tier.

12) Newcastle Newcastle fans are still pretty happy but perhaps not as cock-a-hoop as they were. They’re in the Champions League and they’ve signed a top-class midfielder from AC Milan, even if Sandro Tonali would have preferred to stay where he was. Beyond that, it’s an odd window so far. Their owners are richer than God but Newcastle want you to believe that their budget is stretched. They need another wide forward – it won’t be Kvaradona – in addition to perhaps two defenders and a midfielder. Plenty still to do for Eddie Howe and Dan Ashworth.

13) Burnley It might not be the organised chaos of last summer but the Clarets still have plenty to do to make it a serene step-up from the Championship. They have made a strong start to their to-do list, with three in at a cost of £23million but Vincent Kompany needs the whole window, beyond the start of the season, to make the changes he wants.

14) West Ham The Hammers finally have the clarity they need with Arsenal having signed off on agreeable terms for Declan Rice. Now they really need to get busy replacing him, which won’t be easy while everyone knows how much cash they have to play with. Similar goes for their interest in Harry Maguire. That’s likely to drag. Right now, the Hammers are considerably weaker than they were, and for much of the domestic season, they were sh*te. Time for David Moyes to pull up his business socks but at least he has the funds to invest.

15) Fulham After such a positive season, the summer has become about keeping the vultures at bay. The Saudis came for Marco Silva and he chose to stay. Getting Aleksandar Mitrovic to do likewise will be huge. Then there’s the inevitable interest in Joao Palhinha, with West Ham aching to spend their Declan Rice windfall. So you can understand if the Cottagers have been too busy to sign any new players. They have one coming in – but keeping Willian is just another step towards standing still.

16) Nottingham Forest This is a complicated window for Forest. After the simplicity of last season’s splurges, Steve Cooper is left to sift through a horribly-bloated squad while he susses who to stick with. Chuck in FFP concerns and there are some difficult decisions to be made and delicate balances to achieve. There’s little that’s tangible to show for their work so far, despite sniffing around a number of long-established or new targets.

17) Crystal Palace Jefferson Lerma was a solid start to Palace’s summer but it’s gone a bit quiet since. We’re still none the wiser on whether Wilfried Zaha might return and re-appointing Roy Hodgson seemed to take longer than it should have. Palace have a limited budget with which they need to play catch up and quick.

18) Sheffield United The Blades need to be clever this summer with a budget smaller than the last time they came up from the Championship. In which case, they were never going to have all or even most of their business done weeks before the season starts. They have two through the door – Tunisia international Anis Slimane and full-back Yasser Larouci – but Paul Heckingbottom will be waiting on the loan market to really get going while he continues to scour Europe for cheaper talent with potential to adapt to the Premier League. The problem is, plenty of clubs are on a similar mission.

19) Everton Everton are struggling just to tread water this summer, which is worry given how close they came to drowning last season. Ashley Young on a free and f*** all else makes for a pessimistic mood amid an effort to trim a bloated squad and wage bill before they consider adding to it. Everton had to wait last summer before getting going in the market and it is the same story this time, but with less funding. Sheesh.

20) Wolves Given all the moving parts, Wolves’ work was always likely to take all summer. They’ve lost some big names and made some decent money, much of it needed for FFP purposes, apparently. At some point, Julen Lopetegui needs to be allowed to replace some of that talent and experience and, ideally avoid losing any more. Wolves want Alex Scott but Bristol City won’t let him go on the cheap. In addition to Scott, Wolves will need a centre-back and a striker. Chop, chop.