Rating every Premier League club’s winter transfer window | OneFootball

Another transfer window of twists, turns and everything in between has come to a close. Over £350 million was spent and several fanbases have new idols to adore while others are left feeling incomplete. Without further ado, let’s review every Premier League club’s transfer business.

Rating every Premier League club’s winter transfer window

Arsenal – C

There were no notable outgoings or incomings for the Gunners and you can’t help but feel underwhelmed by their lack of activity. An additional forward to add fuel to their Premier League title charge didn’t materialise despite Bukayo Saka forecasted to be out until mid-March. Youngster Ayden Heaven made the switch to Manchester United, but aside from that it was a very quiet January for the North London club.

Aston Villa – A-

An eclectic mix of former stars attempting to revive their career and young talents fleeing in pursuit of financial glory have gone in and out of the door at Villa Park.

Marcus Rashford, Axel Disasi and Marco Asensio all fall into the former bracket. If Unai Emery can get the trio back to their previous heights, the Spaniard could have some top-class talent at his disposal.

First recruit Donyell Malen has a wealth of Champions League experience. He appeared in the final last season with Dortmund, and at just £17 million he could be a steal.

Jhon Duran’s bumper £77 million plus add ons deal to the Saudi League facilitated the multiple additions, although Villa have lost one of football’s most potent finishers in the process.

Bournemouth – C-

An injury-hit Bournemouth squad wasn’t replenished this January.

The services of Eli Junior Kroupi were purchased, but the teenager won’t join up with his new employers until next season.

The Cherries made the smart decision to recall Daniel Jebbison. He helps relieve the gaping hole that Enes Unal and Evanilson’s injuries have left up front.

They also let some peripheral figures get some much-needed game time out on loan. Phillip Billing moved to Napoli and Max Aarons to Valencia. But amidst an injury crisis that consists of eight players, it does leave Andoni Iraola’s squad extremely light as they battle for European qualification for the first time in their history.

Brentford – B

The Bees’s prominent piece of business was the like-for-like swap of Mads Roerslev with Michael Kayode.

The latter had many admirers across Europe due to his potential but is currently a raw and unknown quantity.

It may take the teenager a while to emulate the performances of Roerslev. The Dane chose to sign for Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg after six seasons with the Bees.

Brighton: B-

Stefanos Tzimas was the big arrival at Brighton after arriving from Nuremberg in a £20.8m deal. Brighton beat competition from Premier League rivals to the 19-year-old, who has scored 10 goals in 13 2. Bundesliga starts this season. He will remain with the German side on loan until the end of the campaign.

Eiran Cashin’s transfer from Derby County went under the radar but could prove to be another astute acquisition from the Seagulls. The Irishman softens the injury blow of Brazilian defender Igor who has been ruled out for the rest of the campaign.

The Seagulls allowed Julio Enciso and Evan Ferguson to leave on loan to Ipswich Town and West Ham respectively – moves which allow the young pair to continue their development in a top-flight environment.

According to reports, Brighton turned down a  £77 million offer from the Saudi League for Kaoru Mitoma. Chairman Tony Bloom resisted the temptation to let the winger leave and make a handsome profit in the process.

Chelsea: C

Uncharacteristically, the Blues were fairly conservative with their transfer dealings.

The West Londoners cleverly recalled Trevoh Chalobah after a productive six-month loan at Crystal Palace.

Enzo Maresca will need to rebuild the bridge of trust after he has previously exiled the defender from first-team commitments. Chalobah’s homecoming feels like a new arrival to replace the outgoing Axel Disasi – yet didn’t cost a single penny.

Renato Veiga was allowed to leave and joined Juventus on loan. The versatile 21-year-old had expressed a desire to play centre-back, which hadn’t been fulfilled at Stamford Bridge.

Crystal Palace: B

The signing of Romain Esse from Millwall has shades of Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze’s transfers from the lower leagues. Esse made an instant impact at Selhurst Park with a goal on his debut in the 2-1 loss against Brentford.

Ben Chilwell on loan from Chelsea is a coup for Palace. The Englishman provides strong competition for Tyrick Mitchell and represents a peace offering from Chelsea after they exercised their option to recall Trevoh Chalobah.

However, they prevented that cavity from getting a whole lot bigger by rejecting a £70 million bid from Tottenham for captain Marc Guehi. They sensibly refused the large sum -with the ability to find a replacement virtually unfeasible in the 48-hour timeframe left of the window.

Everton: C+

Despite the recent takeover from new owners the Friedkin Group, the window came too early in the consortium’s reign to invest significant funds for returning manager David Moyes. Former Southampton midfielder Carlos Alcaraz did make the switch from Flamengo on deadline day and the Argentine brings plenty of tenacity to the Toffees midfield.

Fulham: C

Fulham are another club that conducted no business but are set to bring back a familiar face. The return of 36-year-old Willian on a free transfer is imminent. Due to the Brazilian terminating his contract with Olympiacos, Fulham have time to complete the deal outside of the window.

Ipswich: A-

Ipswich brought in significant reinforcements for Kieran McKenna with the Tractor Boys languishing in the relegation spots and trying to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.

Ben Godfrey’s loan move from Atalanta is clever as the former Everton defender has experience dealing with a relegation battle. Godfrey came through Norwich’s academy – Ipswich’s arch-rivals.

Jaden Philogene’s arrival on a permanent move from Aston Villa and Julio Enciso’s switch on loan from Brighton provide an injection of quality out wide. On their day, the youngsters can be match winners.

Alex Palmer’s move from West Bromwich Albion may prove pivotal to survival. The 28-year-old goalkeeper has kept 11 clean sheets this term. He instantly improves the existing options of Christian Walton and Arijanet Muric, who are both noticeably lacking confidence. To compare, the latter two goalkeepers have only kept two clean sheets between them this season.

Leicester City: D

It was an underwhelming window from Leicester, who are still dealing with financial difficulties of their own. The powers that be couldn’t give Ruud van Nistelrooy significant support in his first window in charge. Tom Cannon and Hamza Choudhury departing to Sheffield United weakens the Foxes squad. Their only incoming of note is Walo Coulibaly, a promising albeit unproven French defender.

A swap deal involving Craig Dawson and Conor Coady was rumoured but never close to completion. More Premier League experience was severely required with a particular need to strengthen at the back.

Liverpool: C

The league leaders didn’t necessarily need to dip into the market and chose not to disrupt the squad this January.

They still haven’t resolved their contract issues of Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah. The trio’s contracts terminate in the summer.

Manchester City: A-

The Premier League champions identified their glaring problems. In typical City fashion, they addressed their issues aggressively with four lucrative signings.

Omar Marmoush joins from Frankfurt to provide competition for Erling Haaland while highly-rated central defensive prospects Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis have joined Pep Guardiola’s project.

Spanish midfielder Nico Gonzalez made the deadline-day switch from Porto for an estimated £49 million. The Manchester-based club were the biggest spenders in the hope of reigniting their stuttering season.

Kyle Walker has left to join AC Milan on an initial loan. The 34-year-old defender expressed interest in a new challenge.

Manchester United: C

Patrick Dorgu was the sole first-team signing with the Danish prospect fitting the profile of a Ruben Amorim wing-back.

Murmurings of United being forced to get rid of Carrington graduates Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho to alleviate PSR worries quietened down as the month developed. The the issue may need to be revisited in the summer.

Antony, whose £82 million transfer from Ajax epitomised the shortcomings of the club’s recruitment, has joined Real Betis on loan. Marcus Rashford’s exit to Aston Villa ends the distraction of the attention garnered by Amorim’s strict treatment of the forward.

Newcastle: C-

Miguel Almiron’s return to MLS to rejoin Atlanta United may have upset the sentimental Geordies, but made sense for all parties.

A replacement for the 31-year-old would have enhanced their chances of securing another season of European football. The dark cloud of PSR regulations continue to limit Newcastle’s ability to utilise their economic supremacy. It’s now successive windows where the Magpies haven’t been able to flex their financial muscle.

Nottingham Forest: C-

The surprise package of the league this campaign showed intent early on with rumoured bids for Yoane Wissa and Matheus Cunha.

Those deals failed to materialise and their solitary incoming ended up being the return of Wayne Hennessey as third-choice goalkeeper. One for the romantics maybe, but not for the dreamers. Nuno Espirito Santo will be frustrated over the lack of incomings with the squad determined to qualify for Europe for the first time since 1995.

Southampton: D

In Ivan Juric’s first window at the helm, the Southampton board struggled to supply the Croatian with suitable reinforcements, despite being rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table.

Albert Gronbaek has moved on loan from Rennes with forward Victor Udoh also signing from Royal Antwerp.

Ben Brereton Diaz moved back to Sheffield United on loan and Shea Charles and Ronnie Edwards both secured moves to second-tier sides in search of regular first-team football. The squad is undeniably weaker and possesses less knowledge of English football’s demands. Relegation surely awaits.

Tottenham: B-

The transfer saga of the January window culminated with Spurs eventually getting their man, the highly-rated young Frenchman Mathys Tel.

After initially rejecting a permanent move, the 19-year-old was convinced by Ange Postecoglou and in a dramatic turn of events signed for the Lilywhites on loan with minutes to spare.

The Tottenham fanbase will rightfully argue that it was negligent of the board to not invest in an outfield player until the final 48 hours of the window amid one of the club’s worst injury crises in recent memory.

Promising Czech stopper Antonin Kinsky made the switch early on and has shown flashes of brilliance, but is still very raw at 21 years old. Tottenham also hijacked Wolves’ move for Austrian centre-half Kevin Danso, who will provide cover for the injured Radu Dragsuin.

Their last-ditch attempt to sign Marc Guehi had huge desperate undertones.

West Ham: B+

West Ham’s approach to the transfer window has been simple yet effective. The Hammers recalled James Ward-Prowse from Nottingham Forest, who is expected to go straight into Graham Potter’s plans. Potter’s predecessor, Julen Lopetegui, froze the midfielder out of his squad, but the Englishman could be given a new lease of life under the new boss.

Evan Ferguson also entered the building on a temporary basis with the Irishman looking to revive his career after an injury-hit period. The East Londoners needed a natural focal point and Ferguson’s availability on loan was a no-brainer.

Their lack of business was partly down to the insecurity surrounding former technical director Tim Steidten, who has since been relieved of his duties due to his abrasive relationship with the club during his short tenure.

Wolves: B

Vitor Pereria is yet another new manager who has had to settle for limited funds due to financial difficulty. But the Wolves board managed to provide a couple of new faces.

Emmanuel Agbadou was brought in to bolster their defensive ranks and, at an early glance, the Ivorian certainly looks a force to be reckoned with. Wolves also pushed for another central defender in Kevin Danso but saw Spurs swiftly hijack the deal. Defender Nasser Djiga was a last-minute incoming on deadline day.

Crucially, they have kept hold of talisman Matheus Cunha amidst keen interest from several Premier League rivals. After scoring the winner against Aston Villa on the weekend, Cunha signed a new contract until 2029 with a release clause inserted for next summer. That contract extension is Wolves’ best piece of business as the former Atletico Madrid man is paramount to the Wanderers’ bid to retain their top-flight status.

Read – Eight winter window transfers you might have missed

See more – The heaviest defeats suffered by Premier League champions

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