Our writers give their thoughts on which club recruited well, who are the best signings and more Related Articles With the summer transfer window now shut, our writers pick out which clubs did the best - and worst - business, the astutest signings, and much more.
Which three clubs had the best window and why?
Alex Keble: Brighton, West Ham, Man Utd
Brighton & Hove Albion have reportedly spent £200million on new players - and almost every single one has a high ceiling, giving Fabian Hurzeler the chance to do something special this season. Yankuba Minteh and Brajan Gruda are exciting wingers, Mats Wieffer and Matt O’Riley are the midfield reinforcements they badly needed, while Ferdi Kadioglu and Georginio Rutter will be a lot of fun to watch develop at Brighton.
West Ham United also did very good business, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Crysencio Summerville, and Maximilian Kilman particularly astute acquisitions, although 31-year-old Niclas Fullkrug may not be quite the centre-forward the team needed. Manchester United have started the season poorly, but the new team at INEOS deserve credit for managing to sell the players they may not have wanted so well. On top of that, Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, and Noussair Mazraoui are smart additions.
Adrian Clarke: Brighton, West Ham, Ipswich
Brighton have done some fantastic business, making major improvements to the quality and depth of their squad. Kadioglu was brilliant for Turkey at the Euros, and the vibrant full-back can thrive down either flank under Hurzeler. Winger Minteh has also hit the ground running, bringing power and productivity to the side. Signing midfield lynchpin Wieffer from Feyenoord for a reported £25m could prove a bargain as he has the potential to be a difference maker. Rutter and Gruda are exciting attacking additions, with O’Riley another smart pick up in central midfield. Brighton look much stronger now than they were at the end of 2023/24. A raft of top-quality players have arrived at West Ham including defenders Wan-Bissaka, Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo, all of whom look like upgrades, while the arrival of Fullkrug must be uplifting for the squad and supporters. Recruiting one of European football’s most in-form forwards...
Kieran McKenna has been busy acquiring a lot of the EFL’s brightest talents at Ipswich Town, and as many of his new recruits are young players with scope for development, the future looks bright at Portman Road. Liam Delap, Jack Clarke, Omari Hutchinson, Jacob Greaves and Sam Szmodics were all superb in last season’s second tier. If they handle the top flight, Ipswich can avoid the drop.
Adrian Kajumba: West Ham, Man Utd, Crystal Palace
Having brought in so many new faces, West Ham have delivered for new head coach Lopetegui, who could field a team featuring an improved and new-look defence, midfield and attack while they managed to avoid losing any key players. The impact has not been totally instant yet, but spells in defeats against Aston Villa and Manchester City, plus the win against Crystal Palace, have all been promising. Man Utd would have been happy with their five major signings - Zirkzee, Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte - who filled their priority positions and lowered the squad’s average age, plus the amount of players they were able to move on. A number of other clubs also carried out significant work on their squads, including Ipswich and Fulham, but Palace’s window caught the eye. Michael Olise’s exit was inevitable and he was joined by Joachim Andersen, but they have strengthened in attack and defence to compensate for their departures, while they kept Marc Guehi.
Ben Bloom: Brighton, Spurs, West Ham
After making healthy profits with some high-profile outgoings in recent years, Brighton spent a lot of money this summer, and early indications suggest they will reap rewards. Minteh looks an excellent showpiece signing, and there is enough depth among the plentiful new faces even if they all fail to fire. Tottenham Hotspur's big-money punt on Dominic Solanke to belatedly replace Harry Kane looks a good move, while their trio of new teenage midfielders - Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert - are exciting both for the future and present. West Ham have massively improved the squad depth, while making notable upgrades to their starting defence.
Which three clubs had the worst window and why?
...Ben Bloom: Newcastle, Wolves, Everton
While he did keep hold of some important players, Newcastle manager Howe did not hide his own frustration at what he admitted “has not been a brilliant window”. They failed in their reported long pursuit of Guehi and there are not many signs that they have improved their starting XI. Wolves head coach O’Neil was also open about transfer dealings not going to plan after losing key players, but Rodrigo Gomes, Strand Larsen and Andre are intriguing. Hamstrung by ownership issues, Everton were always going to struggle to make big-money moves and had to focus on future talent rather than instant upgrades.
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