Phew! Breathe a sigh of relief, the transfer window has closed. The most hectic period in football is over, until January at least. Now the only football news we receive should be due to people actually going out onto a pitch and playing the game, god forbid.
With numerous records not just broken but thoroughly smashed there was plenty to report on with the various comings and goings across the country. And, as is tradition, this was the case right up until Sky Sports showed Big Ben chiming at 11pm on Monday night. But, in a market as competitive as this, not everyone can come out on top. Like with any aspect of Sport, there are winners and there are losers. And here they are...
Winners
Tottenham Hotspur
One thing that Spurs managed to do, which seemed unthinkable at the start of the summer, was make people forget that their one stand out player was leaving. The early summer doom-mongers were quick to highlight how many games Bale had won single-handedly and that without him Spurs were destined for mid-table mediocrity at best. But the addition of 7 international players has seen Spurs fancied for the top 4 once again.
Spurs broke their transfer record 3 times in a summer where they spent a grand total of £106million. Yet, despite this, the sale of Bale plus a few others has seen them close to turning a profit. The additions of Roberto Saldado, Paulinho, Erik Lamela and the like will take time to gel. But the long term future of Spurs looks rosy.
Everton
Another club who have managed to avoid pessimism amongst their fans despite selling a star player. Everton’s summer only really seemed to get interesting on transfer deadline day. Fellaini left for Manchester United but was promptly replaced by James McCarthy of Wigan and Gareth Barry on loan from Man City. This, paired with the emergence of Ross Barkley means that Fellaini’s loss is unlikely to be felt in midfield.
The loan of promising striker Romelu Lakaku is another shrewd move by Everton. The Belgian will be better for his season long loan at West Brom last year and will be a welcome addition to the Toffee’s front line. All this as well as resisting Man United's overtures for Leighton Baines who is rightly considered one of the best full backs in Europe.
Southampton/Norwich
Two clubs in very similar situations. Both had enjoyed successful debut seasons in the Premier League and were now looking to strengthen with the aim of becoming an established Premier League side. It’s impossible to say at this early stage whether either will achieve this goal but they certainly do seem to be going about it the right way.
Norwich’s acquisition of young winger Nathan Redmond could quickly become one of the signings of the season as the former Birmingham City man seems to be adapting to life in the top flight quickly. Record signing Ricky van Wolfswinkel should also add much needed fire-power.
Whereas Southampton have added highly rated Roma striker Pablo Osvaldo to a strike force that already boasted England man Ricky Lambert. Victor Wanyama has also arrived in a £12million deal from Celtic.
Losers
Arsenal
I don’t want to take away from what Arsenal have achieved this summer. They have truly signed one of the world’s best creative midfielders in Germany international Mesut Özil and showed a real statement of intent by having the willingness to spend a club record £42.5million to prise him away from Real Madrid. The general consensus from Arsenal fans seems to be that they are pleased with the signing and it’s easy to see why. It’s the kind of marquee signing that Arsenal fans have been crying out for since the likes of Thierry Henry and Patrick Viera begun to be sold.
But with a team that already boasts Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Matthieu Flamini and Thomas Rosicky could the money have been better spent elsewhere? The Gunners have looked short at centre back so far this season, a move for Swansea’s Ashley Williams was suggested but nothing came of it in the end. Presumably a centre forward would also have been on Arsene Wenger’s shopping list. But instead Nicklas Bendtner has not been allowed to leave so that there is sufficient cover for Olivier Giroud.
You can’t knock the signing of Özil, but overall I think Arsenal fans can be left a little disappointed that a transfer window that promised so much has yielded just one significant addition.
Manchester United
It’s surprising that in a transfer window that has seen a huge amount of transfer activity, the reigning champions have remained relatively quiet. It has been no secret that United have been looking to recruit a creative midfielder for quite some time. Yet in a window where Bale, Özil, Paulinho, Lamela and numerous others have moved, United haven’t been able to land any of them. Their desires to sign Cesc Fàbregas and Ander Herrera were made incredibly public, leaving United in quite an embarrassing situation when neither pursuit bore fruit.
They were also unable to complete a deal for Leighton Baines which looked likely to happen at various points of the summer. The signing of Fellaini will appease some of the United fan base for a while but this may simply paper over the cracks. One thing you could take from this transfer window is that Man United no longer seem to be the draw that they once were for the world’s best footballers.
For certain, money is no guarantee of success. We’ve seen many a multi-million pound signing flop so truly a promising transfer window can count for nothing if you don’t then turn potential into points on the football pitch. For better or worse each team can have a look at the group of players they have and can now focus on playing.
And, thankfully, we can now also forget about transfers and just enjoy our football.