Arsenal
Who have they got?
Sead Kolasinac, Alexandre Lacazette
Who have they lost?
Yaya Sanogo
What do they still need?
A centre-back, central midfielder and winger
Verdict – Winner
Arsenal’s success or failure in this transfer window now rests on whether they can keep hold of Alexis Sanchez, rather than who else the can bring in.
Lacazette looks like the pacy striker Arsenal have needed for some time, while the left-back Kolasinac could prove a bargain having joined on a free from Schalke. The Monaco winger Thomas Lemar remains heavily linked and moves for a centre-back and midfield destroyer have been mooted in recent days.
Arsenal have a very big squad, with some eleven players now entering the last year of their contracts. These include the likes of Sanchez, Santi Cazorla, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey. Arsenal must persuade their top stars to stay, while funding further transfer activity with the sale of unwanted players.
Chelsea
Who have they got?
Tiemoue Bakayoko, Willy Caballero, Antonio Rudiger
Who have they lost?
Nathan Ake, Christian Atsu, Asmir Begovic, Juan Cuadrado, Dominic Solanke, John Terry, Bertrand Traore
What do they still need?
A right-back, left-back and striker
Verdict – Loser
This may seem a harsh verdict considering that Bakayoko looks set to form a fearsome partnership with N’Golo Kante in midfield and Rudiger is an experienced addition to the defence.
Yet the story of Chelsea’s transfer window is their bungling of the Diego Costa situation, which got off to a terrible start with Antonio Conte’s now infamous text message. Costa is now set on a move to Atletico Madrid, who can’t sign anyone until January and therefore will want to pay a reduced fee. Meanwhile, the club waited too long to make a bid for Romelu Lukaku and missed out on their favoured replacement for Costa.
A new striker is clearly the priority but Chelsea are likely to be held to ransom, as everyone is aware how desperate they are. The wing-back positions also lack strength in depth and need fresh blood.
Everton
Who have they got?
Michael Keane Davy Klaassen, Cuco Martina, Jordan Pickford, Sandro Ramirez, Wayne Rooney
Who have they lost?
Tom Cleverley, Gerard Deulofeu, Arouna Kone, Romelu Lukaku, Aiden McGeady
What do they still need?
An attacking midfielder and a striker
Verdict – Winner
Everton have done very well to have lost their top scorer in Lukaku and still be heading into the new season full of optimism for what is to come.
Though they have lost their talisman, Ronald Koeman has undoubtedly strengthened the squad as a whole. They might not make much progress in the league, as European distractions will complicate matters, but are well capable of winning a cup.
Ross Barkley looks set to leave, so Everton will probably look to bring in another attacking midfielder, with a bid having already been turned down for Gylfi Sigurdsson. Lukaku’s absence will be felt unless Everton can sign another striker to add to new additions Rooney and Sandro.
Liverpool
Who have they got?
Mohamed Salah, Dominic Solanke
Who have they lost?
Lucas Leiva, Alex Manninger, Andre Wisdom
What do they still need?
A left-back, centre-back and central midfielder
Verdict – Winner
One of Liverpool’s big problems last season was their lack of pace when Sadio Mane was unavailable, so Salah is a wise signing even if it may appear that Jurgen Klopp’s team need more attention further back.
Solanke is a low-risk purchase that gives Liverpool extra numbers in attack. They may still go for another striker, but the priorities are now the back four and protecting the defence.
The RB Leipzip midfielder Naby Keita is a confirmed target, with the two sides still squabbling over the fee. Left-back Andrew Robertson is likely to be an easier purchase from Hull and could join the Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk in a new look back four. There is no sign though of Liverpool signing a new goalkeeper, which could prove costly over the course of the season.
Manchester City
Who have they got?
Ederson, Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker
Who have they lost?
Willy Caballero, Gael Clichy, Jesus Navas, Nolito, Bacary Sagna, Pablo Zabaleta
What do they need?
A left-back, centre-back and central midfielder
Verdict – Winner
It’s been a busy summer and promises to continue apace, as Pep Guardiola clears his squad of deadwood and brings in a number of new signings.
It’s questionable as to whether City needed to sign Silva, but there is no doubt that the attacking midfielder is a fine player. In greater need were the goalkeeper Ederson and right-back Walker, though both have raised some eyebrows. There are few foreign goalkeeper who move to England and hit the ground running, while Walker’s fee of over £50m is clearly excessive.
They now need to push one and sign another full-back, a reliable central defender and most importantly, a defensive midfielder who can plug the gaps in Guardiola’s attacking side. The worry for City fans is that these issues might be ignored in favour of another marquee signing, with Alexis Sanchez having been linked all summer.
Manchester United
Who have they got?
Victor Lindelof, Romelu Lukaku
Who have they lost?
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Adnan Januzaj, Wayne Rooney
What do they need?
A central midfielder, left-winger
Verdict – Winner
At the time of writing it looks certain that the pacy left-winger Ivan Perisic will join United from Inter Milan, which along with the likes of Anthony Martial, Henrikh Mkhitarayan, Marcus Rashford and new signing Lukaku, gives Mourinho some seriously speedy options.
Lukaku’s signing was now just a fine addition but also a dagger blow to Chelsea. Mourinho has been looking to do something similar to Spurs by bidding for Eric Dier, but it’s likely that he’ll have to find a defensive midfielder elsewhere.
With United there is always the potential for a huge signing. Right now there’s no obvious candidates, but they’ve cleared a lot off the wage bill this summer by having got rid of the ageing Ibrahimovic and Rooney.
Tottenham
Who have they got?
No one
Who have they lost?
Nabil Bentaleb, Federico Fazio, Clinton N’Jie, Kyle Walker
What do they need?
A right-back, centre-back and attacking midfielder
Verdict – Loser
Spurs may ultimately end the summer in better shape than they started off, but it’s hard to argue that they are anything but weaker right now, having failed to sign a player.
Walker’s sale for an inflated fee may end up being a masterstroke, yet he was one of the team’s most consistent performers last season. A new signing at right-back or Kyle Walker-Peters in the academy could usurp him in time, but in the short-term Tottenham will have less strength in that position.
Spurs are in the position of having a very good team, but not having the money or salary to make improving it easy. Therefore they must sniff out bargains and youngsters. Ross Barkley is one who could arrive, while teenage central defender Juan Foyth is another player to have been linked.
