The Premier League transfer window snapped shut two weeks earlier than the rest of Europe but not before some clubs could reach deep into the warchest to splash the cash on a swoop for a player they had targeted and prepared a bid for.
The big spenders this summer were Liverpool with an outlay of £151m. Coming in second was Fulham with £98m, and then in third was the bus stop in Fulham with £91m spent.
Liverpool spent the majority of their outlay on keeper Alisson. But also reinforced key areas of central midfield with Naby Keita and Fabinho. They were also able to add a little more attack when they took Shaqiri from Stoke City for 13m.
Not to be outdone by Liverpool, Chelsea broke the keeper transfer record by buying a keeper named Kepa for £71m. They also paid 51m for Jorginho.
West Ham spent a lot of money but didn’t pick up any household names other than Fabianski and Lucas Perez, both formerly of Arsenal. They will have to hope that their spending covers up for the fact that the stadium they play in is a cavernous, cold tomb for football.
Arsenal head into the 2018/19 Premier League season having spent £65m on the transfers of Torierra, Guendouzi, the philosopher Sokratis, a 400 year old Necromancer who escaped death by transforming himself into a Lich, and an 8th goalkeeper. Surprisingly, Arsenal were not able to move many players this summer. Where a “clear out” was expected for players like Dave, Carl, Danny, and Joel none of them were able to find new homes. It has long been speculated that Arsenal’s salary structure was out of control and the fact that Arsenal couldn’t move any of these players seems strong evidence to back that claim.
The big surprise of the summer was Tottenham. They had zero transfers. None. No, wait, not true. They got that one guy back from loan. You know. The guy? The forward some Arsenal supporters wanted?
Looking back over the last three years we see a slightly different picture for spending:
Man City have spent over a billion Pounds since the Sheik-up and £400m of that in just the last three years. Despite Mourinho’s moaning, United have spent 2nd most in that time with a £300m outlay and then there are the “also-spents”. One surprising figure is the spending of Brighton and Hove Albion. I don’t think many people know this but they spend a steady amount on transfers every season and have racked up £121m in the last three years. Most of that, £110m, in the two seasons since they were promoted into the Premier League.
Just below them are Fulham, who seem to have thrown off the shackles of their last “stats guru” and spent the money on tons of players.
Source: Transfermarkt.co.uk
Jack Wilshere just spit his Americano when he read your paragraph on West Ham.
Interestingly, Chelsea and Liverpool concentrated on strengthening their midfield. Have to say I like the look of Chelsea’s… Kante, Fabregas, Jorginho, Kovacic and Bakayoko. They’ve got everything, and I tip Kovacic to be a star in the EPL. The window didnt start well for them, but they ended it well. Courtois is a big loss (depending on how well Kepa does), and they’ll be glad to have kept Hazard and Willian. Chelsea are not that potent up front, but they have goals from wide and through the middle
Way I see it, it’s them or us getting back in the top 4, and Spurs will drop out and finish below both of us. In fact 3rd to 5th is a tossup between us, United and Chelsea. The Manchester team have plenty of depth, but I see Liverpool finishing second. I dont think that Muorinho is either happy with his squad or knows his best XI, and his defence is subpar, a point that Gary Neville reinforced today. Theyre also not a happy squad. Martial wanted out, Jose wanted him out, and the board wouldnt sanction his departure. On the plus side, Alexis is looking razor sharp in pre-season, and Rashford is about to break out.
I wouldnt exchange Laca, Auba and Ozil from anyone else’s front 3. I like our midfield, but not so certain about our back line. Would have liked a speedy, goalscoring winger, and a tall, dominant central defender. Unai’s job is making us harder to beat by Top 5/6 rivals, and being better on the road. That’s an additional 10 points right there
There’s only one way a Mourinho type of management can produce happy or at least content players and that’s by winning.
That’s not impossible if he has the most talented squad in the league but when he doesn’t, the negativity that surrounds him starts to wear the players down.
Every costly mistake a player makes gets magnified and eats away at their confidence.
Smalling and Jones aren’t world’s best but their confidence was shot by Mou last season and you could see it in their play.
Jose wanting to spend £70 m on Alderweireld didn’t do any of his CB’s any good.
Bakayoko was shipped out to Milan. He was a first rate disaster and doesn’t make a fine addition to the murders’ row of Drinkwater, Barkley, Morata and Rudiger. They also bought Willy Caballero and some guy named Zappacosta. Chelsea have not spent well recently.
Everyone seems to be approaching Jorginho as the second coming of Xavi. OK, he had a good season for Napoli but forgive me if I don’t quite leap onto the hype train just yet. I haven’t even seen him play a PL game. He could become the lynchpin anchor in a devastating midfield unit, but it’s far more likely that not everything will click at once for them given the 180 degree coaching change and player turnover.
But don’t you think Jorginho’s familiarity with Sarri’s system, coupled with the protection that Kante offers will be a huge plus for them? Cesc has been around and still has quality, and although Barkley and Drinkwater are a bit useless, Loftus-Cheek and Kovacic can be good ball carriers for them. They could even play Hazard/Willian in the middle. I think their midfield is potentially very strong.
Yeah, maybe, although when they won the title with Conte, Kante was paired with Matic who is a very different sort of player. They were the best midfield in PL that season. I’m not so sure Kante fits as well with a pure passer, but we will see. Loftus-Cheek has yet to play meaningful minutes for them and Kovacic is a wildcard. I see Cesc as backup to J at this point due to his physical limitations. A lot of uncertainty there.
“Everyone seems to be approaching Jorginho as the second coming of Xavi.”
Er, no. That’s you exaggerating for the sake of making a point. Simply put, he’s regarded as a good player, and both Pep and Sarri wanted him. Hey, every new player in a new league is potential risk and potential reward. The great Shevchenko and the great Veron turned out not to be good fits. The proof of the pudding is in the playing, to mix metaphors.
OK, guilty, but by the same token the hype with this guy is too much. Sure, he’s a good player. So are lots of other midfielders around the league. So as you say let’s temper expectations a bit.
City’s net spend and their ownership should probably be enough to make one root against them but I just can’t.
Call it the Guardiola factor or maybe the absence of any really annoying characters in their squad, but I would mind if they won the whole thing again.
Liverpool did really well addressing their needs and this being Klopp’s third season, he needs to seriously challenge for the title or take his lumps.
United are a mess mainly because of Mourinho.
They could finish second again, or do a Mourinho’s Chelsea and implode into a mid table farce.
Emery will do well to get his system in place by mid season but top four is too big an ask this year.
Top five and north of 70 points should make most people happy.
Chelsea better hope that their new keeper, Kepa, is a keepa, at the price they paid for him.
Glad I got that out of my system.
Doesn’t the club have another 3 weeks (Aug 31) to continue the summer clear out? The summer window just closed for acquisitions. I didn’t realize it actually opened up on May 17th as Fifa mandates it must be open for 12 weeks.
Dave could end up in Turkey, Carl in the Championship, Joel somewhere else in Europe and as for Danny, I’d think a long term extension would be the smarter play unless he fancies a European adventure.
Yeah, other than Welbeck who won’t move abroad, I’m thinking we’ll clean out the rest. Jenkinson will go on loan to a championship team, Ospina, Campbell, Martinez possibly will go to a European club. Willock will probably go out on loan to a Championship team. I think we’re going to regret not finding a buyer for Ramsey who I don’t believe is re-signing, but c’est la vie.
Welbeck shouldnt be sold. Sure he’s going to block Nketiah, but he’s needed for depth. And injury to Auba, Laca or both would expose us terribly.
Chelsea have a phenomenal midfield, but who is finishing their chances? At the back, so much depends on Azpilicueta. I have no idea how to call it. They could finish anywhere from 3rd to 6th.
City and Liverpool will fight for the title, with the former winning it, probably. So don’t care about the title race this year. Feels a foregone conclusion.
United, well, it would be lovely if they had a meltdown and finished out of the Big Six. Morale’s got to be low, and Mourinho is in full-on Moan Mode. Still, with the quality they have (keeping De Gea was a bit of a coup for them this summer, and they have a frightening midfield), you never know.
Spurs will be excellent, as usual, despite not signing anyone (did they need to? No.). I see them finishing 3rd or 4th.
Arsenal…this is going to be a tough transitional year. We’re at least one or two seasons away from having the kind of squad that Emery will want, playing the system he wants. I can see a repeat of last year’s finish (6th), but I don’t think it’s out of the question that we get back into the CL next season via a Europa triumph. Hey, one can dream: Atletico won’t be in it this year!
Why does Chelsea have this amazing midfield all of a sudden? Everyone is saying this and I just don’t get it. OK, they signed two good players but they really needed to because what they had wasn’t good enough. To me theirs is just like ours; lots of parts with big question marks as to where to put them. They needed to buy a passer type and did, and we needed to buy a defensive type and did.
Liverpool made the most of the boost from the Salah for Coutinho exchange either side of the Neymar move and their run in the CL. I know they’ve strengthened the midfield significantly, but Shaqiri is ho hum, and I doubt Salah has the same season as the one prior. City won’t get 100 points again, but Liverpool, will they be as devastating in attack? This has to be it for Klopp. Trophies or bust.
ManU are still a good side, and if Pogba and Alexis play at peak form, they could carry ManU’s attack with them. But Sourinho is at it again, throwing his players under the bus, so you never know. I’ve gone for a draw for them today. (Can you believe the PL starts today?)
I’m intrigued by the likes of West Ham, Wolves and Fulham and the transfers they’ve done. As well as Everton. Even Newcastle actually. This is a tough league.
But hopefully, we can get our share of the points against the rest, including away, and make it a battle among the top 6 mini league. Our attack is excellent, especially now that Welbeck also stays. (I doubt he goes abroad) Our midfield should be good. Question marks over the defense but here’s hoping we get the mindset right.
Not too confident for Sunday, but let’s see. If nothing else, it will be a good gauge of how far we have to go.
I disagree about Shaqiri, at £13m I think he’s the bargain of the PL season.
Ask yourself, would rather have Xhaka on your team at three times the fee?
It’s not about the fee. I think he’s selfish and doesn’t play well consistently. Does score the odd great goal though.
It’s a world of difference playing for “Sparky” at Stoke where a player like Shaqiri has a tendency to look down on his teammates and get a bit selfish, and play for Klopp at Liverpool where he’s not the main threat and probably not even an automatic starter.
Sure, I guess we’ll see. Maybe he’s matured too, because if memory serves, he was similar at Bayern.
I don’t mean to say he’s a bad signing. Just that I don’t think Liverpool will be as explosive in their attack as last season. Shaqiri won’t replace Salah’s drop off, and teams will have learnt to cope better. Still think Liverpool are good for 2nd spot.
Salah had a once-in-a-lifetime season, and he won’t come close to repeating that again. Firminho is short of being truly top drawer by THIS much 👌🏽
But they have pace, power and penetration to burn, and Mane, Salah, Firminho, Shaqiri, Keita and Wijnaldum will trouble most defences. Theyre more formidable at the back with VVD and Alisson Becker, and Lovren has improved significantly. Fabinho shielding is a great addition. Trent Alexander-Arnold is a very good young player, and is going to run Trippier and Walker hard for a regular England spot. I feel for Ox. This team plays to his strengths, and he’d have been a terrific option for them.
Shaqri, a 26 year old premier league seasoned Swiss international winger for 13m is a steal, and the sort of business I wish we had done this summer. I think he’ll do well in that side.
Your tables are showing up in very small boxes on desktop and aren’t really readable.
Reading is for the weak.
Hahaha
1 – City (91 pts)
2 – Liverpool (84 pts)
3 – Chelsea (78 pts)
4 – United (75 pts)
5 – Spurs (74 pts)
6 – Arsenal (72 pts)
7 – Leicester (60 pts)
8 – Everton (58 pts)
9 – Crystal Palace (58 pts)
10 – Wolves (57 pts)
Bottom 10 will be absolute garbage. A very top heavy league this year.
Relegated – Southampton, Watford and Cardiff. Newcastle and Bournemouth in the mix there, but managers good enough to keep them from the drop.
Sorry, but I think we improve but not enough to overcome Chelsea (no European football) or United (Mourinho has to know this is his last job, there’s no one left to hire him) and Spurs are damn solid, barring an injury to Kane, Alli or Erikson, why would they suddenly get worse? I do think we win the Europa League though, we have to be the odds on favorite. That’s our path back to Champions League.
Fulham won’t be garbage and hopefully neither will Crystal Palace. Brighton have also spent a lot. I don’t think Spurs will get worse except through attrition, but it’s not unreasonable to expect Arsenal to improve. The PL luck index (take it for what it’s worth) showed that we should’ve been 8 points better than we finished, so you have to expect regression there, and you have to think that the new coach and new players will count for something too.
Newcastle, West Ham and Cardiff are my picks for the drop, though it could get ugly with Watford joining the scrum.
The difference for Liverpool this season will be mental. Having spent all this money and been so good last season, they really will be expected to play like a big club, to blow small teams away and win every week. Salah will be expected to play like a golden boot winning striker and score at least once every other game. Neither he nor Liverpool have had such expectations in years. Klopp understands that, having been in a similar position with BVB, but a lot of his players have never had to perform under such scrutiny. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.
Given Manchester City’s dominance last season and Liverpool’s spending, it’s hard to see a different top 2 this season. Arsenal, Chelsea and United seem too flawed in one way or another, and Tottenham too thin to sustain a challenge.
Just watched Guardiola presscon. Everyone, including KDB and Sterling who went late into the tournament, is match fit and in contention. KDB came back fit, he said, Sterling near fit and but kind of match read after 5 days. That’s staggering. They’ll not be putting out a weak(ened) team this weekend, as I’d hoped. I now think that we’ll definitely see Torreira start.
I like City to repeat. I think Liverpool are right there in terms of first team quality but City’s depth is better and Pep is a much better manager than Klopp. I like them to finish second. 3rd through 6th is the interesting race and will involve the usual suspects. I like Utd for the Mourinho implosion and think they’ll finish 6th. I’m going to plump Chelsea for 3rd and Arsenal for 4th but I wouldn’t be surprised anyway those suspects shuffle out.
For the rest of the table, I think Wolves, Fulham, Everton, Burnley, Leicester and Crystal Palace will be the class of the rest of the division and battle for the final Europa League place. I think West Ham will disappoint and be solidly bottom half. I’ll bet Benitez is good enough to keep Newcastle in the division despite having one of the worst teams. I like Soton, Cardiff and Huddersfield for the drop., though I think Brighton and Bournemouth will be in the conversation, as well as Newcastle all season.
Give me Aubameyang for the Golden Boot, De Bruyne for player of the season and Keita for best newcomer.
Unai on further departures today (from Arsenal.com):
“We only have three players: Carl Jenkinson, David Ospina and Joel Campbell, with the possibility to leave. But the other players are with us and we are going to work in the Emirates the day before the match with all the players. Only two young players are going today, to play tomorrow with the under-23s against Manchester City away. They are Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah. The others, they are with us and tomorrow we decide the group for going to the hotel and also the first 11 and the first 18 players.”
Sounds like Danny never really had a battle to win against Lucas Perez, although he will not be included this weekend, and Nketiah/ESR will be prepared behind the scenes. He also said that every player is otherwise in consideration to be in the squad and left back will be a game time decision.
Just want to say, I’ve always liked Fulham and I’m glad they’re back in the big league. The other team from Fulham who call themselves as being from the tonier adjacent borough? Not so much.
Looks to be a dogfight between City and Liverpooh for the title but I think we are a legit shot for the 4th place trophy. In May, Wenger will be saying, “Merde, I could have done that!”
Like their venue too. Hard by the Thames and Craven Cottage is an oddly cool name. Why “Craven”? What’s so craven about it?
Yes, it rolls off the tongue, but a pejorative, is it not? I always wondered why it stuck.
Ok, I have time on my hands tonight obviously so here you go, for anyone too lazy to google it themselves (from wikipedia):
The original ‘Cottage’ was built in 1780, by William Craven, the sixth Baron Craven[4] and was located on the centre circle of the pitch. At the time, the surrounding areas were woods which made up part of Anne Boleyn’s hunting grounds.[4]
The Cottage was lived in by Edward Bulwer-Lytton[4] (who wrote The Last Days of Pompeii[13]) and other somewhat notable (and moneyed) persons[4] until it was destroyed by fire in May 1888.[4] Many rumours persist among Fulham fans of past tenants of Craven Cottage. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jeremy Bentham, Florence Nightingale and even Queen Victoria are reputed to have stayed there, although there is no real evidence for this. Following the fire, the site was abandoned.[4] Fulham had had 8 previous grounds[14] before settling in at Craven Cottage for good. Therefore, The Cottagers have had 12 grounds overall (including a temporary stay at Loftus Road[15]), meaning that only their former ‘landlords’ and rivals QPR have had more home grounds (14) in British football. Of particular note, was Ranelagh House, Fulham’s palatial home from 1886–1888.”
Is this spend or net spend? Im guessing net, looking at Pool, but it really does make a difference. People laugh at net spend, but only idiots look at spend alone.
And then there’s inflation, but that’s a whole other can of worms.
Our problem is for whatever reason the last few seasons we’ve not had saleable assets (ironic, since we can’t shake off that selling club banter). I haven’t done any analysis, but it seems to ge a combination of signing players of a bad age profile (old), letting their contracts run without renewing or selling (Ozil, Sanchez, Ramsey, Ox) or just a bad sales team who aren’t able to maximize value.
Pool can get 100 or whateve for Courinho to help fund purchases. Chelsea sell off young talent. Other teams buy young and take a minimal hit or even a profit when they sell them off. But the youth market has inflated more than the market for prime players, hence we can affors Auba for 50m with no resale value but would’ve had to play twice that for an inferior player in Lemar.
Not are we developing youths who we can sell.
Finally we let players stagnate before moving them off, rather than selling them at peak. Walcott, Giroud, etc. Wage problem? Maybe.
If Wenger truly was the source of all these problems, then we can hope that they improve in the next few cycles.
Even with some attitude, Shaqri at 13m is a steal in today’s PL market. I’d rather have him than Welbeck or Iwobil to be honest.
Shaqri at least would try to get past the defenders rather than making yet another back pass. Anyway, ship sailed.
Just watched Spurs v. Newcastle. Must say Tottenham looked like a great team for the first 20 or so minutes. Their press was suffocating, their use of the ball was intelligent and they have quality technicians throughout the team. Once they got in the lead they took their foot off the pedal, saw out the win. If they looked vulnerable, it was to the ball over the top or on set pieces, though the goal they gave up came from an outstanding cross. Ben Davies is a good player but no Kyle Walker (athletically at least) and Serge Aurier has devastating athleticism and right foot but is prone to making bad fouls and taking too long on the ball.
For their part, Newcastle were also pretty good given their shoestring budget. I was impressed with Matt Ritchie, the right footed winger playing on the left flank. He reminds me of a young James Milner with his industry, powerful right foot, and fiery attitude. It was no surprise that he assisted their one goal. I felt like he was at the hub of all the good things they were doing, and then Benitez goes and replaces him just before 70 minutes. Inexplicable from Rafa and the player was furious. It’s just like Benitez to do that though; a brilliant detail oriented football mind who sometimes just can’t see the forest for the trees.