Premier League clubs‘ 2021 summer transfer windows – ranked
Deadline day has come and gone, bringing an end to what felt like the craziest transfer window we have ever seen.
In the Premier League, so many teams have done excellent business to prepare themselves for the year ahead, whereas others look as though they could be left to rue a few missed opportunities this summer.
Here’s a look at how each side got on.
In: Joe Willock (£25m), Santiago Muñoz (loan with option)
Out: Matty Longstaff (loan)
With only Willock coming through the first-team door at St James‘, Newcastle find themselves in exactly the same place as last season.
Steve Bruce’s men weren’t good last year, and because of the lack of changes, they’re not going to be good this time around either.
They did, however, almost get bonus points for trying to bring Goal! back for another sequel by signing Santi Muñoz. Respect.
In: Ibrahima Konate (£36m)
Out: Harry Wilson (£12m), Xherdan Shaqiri (£9.5m), Taiwo Awoniyi (£6.5m), Marko Grujic (loan with obligation), Ben Davies (loan), Rhys Williams (loan)
Konate is an absolute steal at £36m, but even with his arrival, you can’t help but feel as though Liverpool needed to do more in the market.
Sure, they’ve got some more cover at centre-back now, but they’re still lacking depth up front (even more so now Shaqiri is gone) and are gambling that young Harvey Elliott can fill the void left by Georginio Wijnaldum.
They spent the summer focusing on contract renewals, and while that’s obviously important, it feels like that took too much attention away from the transfer market. Depth is going to be a problem… again.
In: Ben White (£50m), Martin Odegaard (£30m), Aaron Ramsdale (£24m), Albert Sambi Lokonga (£18m), Takehiro Tomiyasu (£16m), Nuno Tavares (£6.8m)
Out: Joe Willock (£25m), Matteo Guendouzi (loan with obligation), Lucas Torreira (loan with option), William Saliba (loan), Hector Bellerin (loan), Reiss Nelson (loan), Alex Runarsson (loan), Willian (free)
Arsenal have spent an insane amount of money this summer, and yet still look no better than they did before.
The English tax on White and Ramsdale is huge and raises serious questions over their signings, but to Arsenal’s credit, they did well to bring Odegaard back and Lokonga looks to be a smart long-term signing. Unfortunately, Arsenal need so much more right now.
In: Demarai Gray (£1.8m). Asmir Begovic (free), Andros Townsend (free), Andy Lonergan (free), Salomon Rondon (free)
Out: Bernard (£850,000), Moise Kean (loan with obligation)
On the surface, Everton’s business looks pretty underwhelming. Their entire ranking comes down to whether or not you think Gray is a steal at £1.8m.
The former Leicester man isn’t a world-beater, but he’s a very decent winger. He’s made Everton better, but they could have done with a little more.
2️⃣0️⃣ @Daniel_James_97 pic.twitter.com/25qogELOIZ
— Leeds United (@LUFC) August 31, 2021
In: Daniel James (£25m), Junior Firpo (£12.8m), Jack Harrison (£11m), Lewis Bate (£1.2m), Kristoffer Klaesson (£1m)
Out: Kiko Casilla (loan), Ian Poveda (loan), Helder Costa (loan)
Leeds needed a central midfielder and didn’t get a senior one, instead splashing out on winger James on deadline day. For £25m, they better be sure about that move.
Firpo is a smart signing for a team that needed a new left-back, while bringing Harrison back permanently was always on the cards. Leeds look better than last season, but only just.
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We are delighted to confirm the arrival of Ivory Coast international Maxwel Cornet on a five-year deal ✍️
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— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) August 29, 2021
In: Maxwel Cornet (£15m), Nathan Collins (£12m), Connor Roberts (£2.5m), Wayne Hennessey (free), Aaron Lennon (free)
Out: Ben Gibson (£8m)
Burnley have splashed the cash this summer, but it’s how they’ve done that that raises eyebrows. Collins and Roberts are both good players but must now prove that they are good enough to make a difference in the Premier League. It’s a risk for a club with Burnley’s limited finances.
Cornet is an intriguing signing and one which could bring some much-needed flair to Turf Moor. Not bad, but not that good.
✍️ We are delighted to confirm the signing of Imrân Louza for an undisclosed fee from FC Nantes!@_AFEX
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) June 1, 2021
In: Imran Louza (£8.6m), Emmanuel Dennis (£3.4m), Moussa Sissoko (£3m), Ozan Tufan (loan with option), Peter Etebo (loan with option), Ashley Fletcher (free), Danny Rose (free), Josh King (free)
Out: Will Hughes (£6m), Nathaniel Chalobah (£3m), Craig Dawson (£2m), Ben Wilmot (£1.5m), Domingos Quina (loan with option), Troy Deeney (free)
Watford were very active this summer, sending scouts all across Europe to bring in a whole host of new faces.
Their net spend isn’t big and the squad is slightly better than it was last season – midfield is now looking particularly stacked – and the Hornets look to have set themselves up for a genuine shot at survival this year.
In: Kristoffer Ajer (£13.5m), Frank Onyeka (£8.5m), Yoane Wisse (£8.5m), Myles Peart-Harris (£1m), Alvaro Fernandez (loan with option)
Out: N/A
Brentford haven’t been afraid to spend big and put their faith in players who, with all due respect, don’t come with Premier League-level reputations (perhaps excluding Ajer). It’s a gamble, but the Bees have an excellent transfer strategy and there are plenty of reasons to back what they have done here.
They look more than capable of doing a 2019/20 Sheffield United (back when that was a compliment), and at the end of the day, that’s the best they could hope for. Job done.
In: Christos Tzolis (£10m), Milot Rashica (£9.4m), Ben Gibson (£8m), Josh Sargent (£8m), Dimitrios Giannoulis (£6m), Pierre Lees Melou (£3.5m), Angus Gunn (£5m), Ozan Kabak (loan with obligation), Mathias Normann (loan with option), Billy Gilmour (loan), Brandon Williams (loan)
Out: Emi Buendia (£33m), Jordan Hugill (loan), Onel Hernandez (loan), Tom Trybull (free), Marco Stiepermann (free)
Norwich were right to cash in on Buendia and have not been scared to reinvest that money (and then some) to bolster every area of the squad.
With so many changes, it’s going to take Norwich a while to gel, but they do look capable of surviving in the top flight. Their midfield is fascinating and there are plenty of intriguing options up top, so Daniel Farke should have the tools needed to mount a push for survival this time.
In: Rayan Ait-Nouri (£9.5m), Jose Sa (£6.8m), Yerson Mosquera (£4.5m), Francisco Trincao (loan with option), Hwang Hee-chan (loan with option)
Out: Rafa Mir (£13.7m), Rui Patricio (£9.8m), Owen Otasowie (£3.5m), Ruben Vinagre (loan with option), Patrick Cutrone (loan), Morgan Gibbs-White (loan),
For Wolves, apart from bringing in Bruno Lage, their biggest success of the summer was largely keeping their core group of players together.
Ait-Nouri is a future star and both Trincao and Hwang could go down as signings of the season if they play out well. Some very shrewd business from Wolves.
In: Adam Armstrong (£15m), Romain Perraud (£11m), Lyanco (£6.4m), Tino Livramento (£5m), Armando Broja (loan), Theo Walcott (free), Thierry Small (fee tbc)
Out: Danny Ings (£30m), Jannik Vestergaard (£15m), Angus Gunn (£5m), Mario Lemina (£4m), Michael Obafemi (£1.5m)
There’s a real sense of risk about Southampton’s business this summer, but it all feels so calculated. Some of these deals look fantastic on paper.
Livramento, Small and Lyanco are quality players brought in for cut-price fees, and importantly, they give Ralph Hasenhuttl the kind of squad depth he was crying out for last season.
In: Jack Grealish (£100m), Kayky (£9m), Dario Sarmiento (£5.2m), Scott Carson (free)
Out: Angelino (£16m), Jack Harrison (£11m), Lukas Nmecha (£6.8m), Ivan Ilic (£6.4m), Yangel Herrera (loan)
City finally managed to land Grealish, who makes their midfield even scarier than it already was, but there are still a few issues with the squad that didn’t get addressed.
The absence of a pure goalscorer may prove to be a problem, and the impact of keeping a number of players who are known to be frustrated with life at the Etihad is something to keep an eye on.
In: Patson Daka (£22m), Boubakary Soumare (£17m), Jannik Vestergaard (£15m), Ademola Lookman (loan with option), Ryan Bertrand (free)
Out: Rachid Ghezzal (£2.5m), Dennis Praet (loan with option)
Leicester got off to a really hot start this summer. Soumare and Daka look like inspired signings and will only aid their push to permanently disrupt the top four.
Their squad is deeper and stronger than last season, so Brendan Rodgers will be feeling good about making something special happen this year.
In: Enock Mwepu (£18m), Marc Cucurella (£15.4m), Abdallah Sima (£6m), Kjell Scherpen (£4.2m)
Out: Ben White (£50m), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (£5m), Percy Tau (£1.5m), Viktor Gyokeres (£1m), Michal Karbownik (£900,000), Florin Andone (loan with option), Abdallah Sima (loan), Moises Caicedo (loan), Leo Ostigard (loan), Matt Clarke (loan), Davy Propper (free), Mathew Ryan (free)
Brighton will miss White, but getting £50m for him will definitely have done a lot to ease the pain.
After a smart deal for Mwepu earlier in the window, Brighton enjoyed a late flurry by snapping up Cucurella and the highly rated Sima, in two deals which could easily be viewed as bargains in just a few years. An excellent end to the window.
In: Marc Guehi (£18m), Joachim Andersen (£17m), Odsonne Edouard (£14m), Michael Olise (£8m), Will Hughes (£6m), Jacob Montes (undisclosed), Conor Gallagher (loan), Remi Matthews (free)
Out: N/A
Palace had the most intriguing window by a long way. After losing so many players at the end of last season, the Eagles went full rebuild this summer and chucked money around on some exciting young talents.
The job isn’t done, but progress has been made. Guehi and Andersen are great at the back, Olise and Gallagher will be fun in midfield, but Edouard could be the one to decide the success of this summer. If the goals come, Palace will be laughing.
In: Emi Buendia (£33m), Danny Ings (£30m), Leon Bailey (£25m), Axel Tuanzebe (loan), Ashley Young (free)
Out: Jack Grealish (£100m), Mbwana Samatta (£5.5m), Bjorn Engels (£3m), Wesley (loan)
Losing Grealish is obviously not ideal, but £100m is an enormous amount of money for Villa, who have reinvested that into three quality players in Buendia, Ings and Bailey.
Dean Smith’s squad is now significantly deeper and overflowing with attacking talent, and they still ended up making a profit when all was said and done.
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— West Ham United (@WestHam) August 31, 2021
In: Nikola Vlasic (£33m), Kurt Zouma (£29.8m), Craig Dawson (£2m), Alphonse Areola (loan with option), Alex Kral (loan with option)
Out: Felipe Anderson (£2.3m)
It took West Ham a while to get going, but once they dipped their toe into the transfer market, they couldn’t be stopped.
Zouma is an excellent Premier League defender who found himself in the wrong system at Chelsea, Vlasic is an upgrade on Jesse Lingard and makes significantly more financial sense, and Kral offers some vital cover in midfield. The Hammers got there in the end.
We can’t wait to see you in action, @Emerson_Royal22! ? pic.twitter.com/1SD4Q1Csjz
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 31, 2021
In: Emerson Royal (£30m), Bryan Gil (£22.5m + Erik Lamela), Pape Matar Sarr (£14.6m), Pierluigi Gollini (loan with option), Cristian Romero (loan with option)
Out: Juan Foyth (£13m), Toby Alderweireld (£13m), Erik Lamela (Gil swap deal), Moussa Sissoko (£3m), Joe Hart (£1m), Cameron Carter-Vickers (loan with option), Pape Matar Sarr (loan), Serge Aurier (free)
As funny as this summer began for Tottenham, those in charge definitely managed to turn things around in the transfer market.
Gil, Romero and Emerson are three excellent deals and Sarr is a brilliant long-term investment. Add to that the fact they managed to keep Harry Kane, and you’ll see that Spurs have themselves a very tidy squad this year.
In: Romelu Lukaku (£97.5m), Saul Niguez (loan with option), Marcus Bettinelli (free)
Out: Tammy Abraham (£34m), Kurt Zouma (£29.8m), Fikayo Tomori (£25m), Marc Guehi (£18m), Davide Zappacosta (£8.6m), Valentino Livramento (£5m), Victor Moses (£4m), Lewis Bate (£1.2m), Myles Peart-Harris (£1m), Olivier Giroud (£1m), Tiemoue Bakayoko (loan with obligation), Kenedy (loan with option), Tino Anjorin (loan with option), Billy Gilmour (loan), Emerson (loan), Michy Batshuayi (loan), Danny Drinkwater (loan)
Chelsea look absolutely terrifying this year.
With Lukaku leading the line, Chelsea can be confident of competing for major silverware again, and adding Saul on an affordable loan to boost the elite depth in midfield is brilliant.
The Blues were also right not to be bullied into spending a crazy sum on Jules Kounde, with young Trevoh Chalobah able to shoulder some of the defensive burden this year.
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— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 31, 2021
In: Jadon Sancho (£72.9m), Raphael Varane (£41m), Cristiano Ronaldo (£20m), Tom Heaton (free)
Out: Daniel James (£25m), Andreas Pereira (loan with option), Tahith Chong (loan), Facundo Pellistri (loan), Axel Tuanzebe (loan)
If we’re being picky, Man Utd probably needed to sign a new right-back and a new central midfielder, but how could anyone complain about the ridiculous array of superstars who have rocked up at Old Trafford this summer?
Sancho and Varane are among the world’s finest in their respective positions (both of which were major issues for United last year), and when you add Ronaldo to that bunch, it starts to get a little mental.
To top things off, United even managed to get £25m for James on deadline day, putting the cherry on top of what was a stunning summer for the Red Devils.