Who Actually Won the Transfer Window? Why Arsenal and Newcastle Outperformed Chelsea and Liverpool This Summer
It’s not simply about winning or losing on the pitch. Gen Z’s battleground is transfers. There are now round-the-clock reports on players ‘just wanting’ to join clubs, as opposed to the days when you would find out about your club’s acquisition of a Peruvian right-back by seeing them on the pitch with a scarf over their heads and a club shirt tucked into their shorts.
The phrase “Here we go” can be more upbeat than the sound of the ball hitting the net. It was the same this summer.
Premier League clubs spent £3 billion, and titles were being awarded and teams were being instructed to get ready for life in the Championship before a ball had even been kicked.
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But football has the ability to make all predictions look silly, and after seven games of the new season, the teams that “won” the transfer window are suddenly unsure of where they placed the money.
Team that won in the transfer market
Arsenal
When the Gunners paid £50 million for Madueke, the social media buzz was, “Hey, look at Arsenal buying more Chelsea cast-offs.”
An ugly social media trend began when some Arsenal supporters joined in, stating that they didn’t want to sign him (it’s not your money, guys).
However, the winger has since shown that Mikel Arteta and company have been making wise business decisions this summer.
They signed long-term player Martin Zubimendi, who frees up Declan Rice by controlling the midfield when he’s not scoring goals.
Viktor Gyokeres eventually filled the void at number nine, and Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christian Norgaard, and Cristhian Mosquera strengthened the team.
With the former Palace player appearing to be the last piece of the puzzle, they even closed out the window by outbidding Tottenham to sign Eberechi Eze.
Overall, Arsenal had a great window that may have given them the Premier League’s finest team, therefore there can be no forgivenesss now.
Newcastle United
Many rival supporters gathered to jeer at the Geordies as Isak’s transfer to Liverpool was officially announced.
From a public relations standpoint, the Newcastle hierarchy’s summer was a nightmare since it appeared that their forward targets would rather to relocate to the ninth circle of hell than Tyneside.
Away from the “vibes,” though, Newcastle had a great window that helped them fill in squad gaps.
Anthony Elanga was an early signing before Mr. Marinakis decided he didn’t like the idea of selling his best players; Jacob Ramsey was the most recent player to be sold for PSR reasons, with Newcastle pleased to receive a promising midfielder for a fair price; and Malick Thiaw was brought in from Milan to strengthen the defence.
Although Yoane Wissa was somewhat pricey, he arrived when Newcastle was in dire need of strikers. But Nick Woltemade, who has that Erling Haaland quality of being totally unaffected by the so-called pressure around him, has unquestionably been their biggest achievement.
With three goals overall, the 6′ 4 colossus scored on his debut. Haaland is the only player in the league’s top 10 with a higher goals-per-90 ratio.
If that’s the only criticism you can level at him thus far, it’s that he hasn’t played a full 90 minutes and is still getting used to the extremely demanding Premier League.
The club needed a striker and had more than enough money to do it. Senior Bayern Munich executives have once again been embarrassing themselves in front of a microphone, taking a break from eating their sour grapes to call Newcastle “not wise” for spending £65 million on the player.
Even though they lost Isak, Newcastle is a lot better team than they were the previous season and now appear poised to surge up the table. They took a bit to get going, not recording their first victory until the second week of September.
Sunderland
Two of the three promoted clubs adopted the motto “go big or go home” in an attempt to halt a run of six teams that were headed straight back to the Championship.
The Black Cats have enjoyed the most success, although only Chelsea acquired more players than Sunderland and Burnley.
With a combination of new acquisitions and long-term contracts for promising players, one BBC fan wrote that the transfer window was the club’s “greatest transfer window” ever.
Granit Xhaka recently won a vote to be named the club’s finest acquisition since 2020, and their four best players so far this season are all new signees.
With his expertise essential to preventing a recently promoted side from collapsing under the pressure of playing in the top division, Xhaka is the ideal illustration of the club’s wise spending.
He also serves as an illustration of the club’s capacity for swift market response. When local idol Jordan Henderson moved to Brentford, initial expectations that he would rejoin the team were dashed, and Sunderland instead signed Xhaka, a better choice.
In response to Chelsea recalling Marc Guiu from his loan, Sunderland signed Ajax’s number nine.
Sunderland’s team need a significant overhaul as the play-off winners who finished 14 points ahead of Burnley and Leeds.
Their current league ranking of ninth, seven points above the drop, indicates the Black Cats have succeeded.
Team that loose in the transfer market
Liverpool
The red second consecutive triumph felt more like a “if” than a “when” when they signed some of the best (and priciest) players from the Premier League and Bundesliga.
The addition of Alexander Isak was the icing on the cake, and Anfield supporters would have been delighted with their new additions even if the Swede had not been one of their summer acquisitions. But Liverpool hasn’t clicked for some reason.
The late goals that had saved them earlier in the season had abruptly stopped coming, and they entered the second international break of the season having lost three straight games.
If players like Mo Salah are being blamed for not being able to replicate his performance from the previous season, then the newcomers, who were expected to be instant hits, are also being questioned.
According to FotMob, the four Liverpool players with the highest average ratings this season were all present the previous season. The top nine only includes one new signing.
Isak was eased in gently after being on strike all summer. In his 181 minutes of Premier League action, he has contributed one assist, albeit it is unclear if he meant it. Isak arrived on deadline day.
It has also been difficult for their full-backs, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong to get in with their new squad.
From a position previously held by creative machine Trent Alexander-Arnold, Frimpong has contributed zero assists while the former Bournemouth player has been hooked multiple times.
However, Florian Wirtz is the one who has caused the most annoyance. If a lack of fitness is the reason for Isak’s poor start, Wirtz has been a member of the team since the summer and has played 486 minutes for his new team.
He has scored and produced zero goals during that time. Bundesliga gurus have justified their export by arguing that his game is more than just goals and assists, but is that really worth £116 million?
Hugo Ekitike, who demonstrated to Arne Slot that they did not require Isak by scoring a goal and providing an assist in the team’s inaugural match against Bournemouth, has been Liverpool’s only notable transfer success.
In his initial games for the team, he would score three goals in three games, but since Isak joined, the security a number nine needs to succeed has vanished, and he has now gone four games without scoring.
Is it premature to make judgements about players who have committed to multi-year contracts at this point in time? Of course, Liverpool’s summer acquisitions are already creating more issues than they have resolved.
Chelsea
It would be equivalent to describing the blazing hot magma of a volcano as “a bit warm” to characterise Chelsea’s transfer window as “busy.”
In keeping with its “flipping players for profit” strategy, BlueCo had the highest turnover of any team, with 24 players arriving and 26 leaving, including returning loan players. The annoying part of playing football is the only issue.
Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, Alejandro Garnacho, Estevao, and Liam Delap were among Chelsea’s most significant offensive additions, while Noni Madueke, Christopher Nkunku, and Nicolas Jackson left.
Despite this, the team’s top two scorers are defensive midfielders. Joao Pedro’s three goals during Chelsea’s Club World Cup tour and two Premier League goals in August gave his new managers the impression that the £55 million they paid for him was not the most recent Brighton-inflated price tag.
However, despite having five games to play in September, the Brazilian failed to score a goal. He managed to get himself sent off in a 29-minute cameo during his last game of the month.
Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens cost a combined £88.5 million, but are they both obvious improvements over Chelsea’s current roster? The early success of Noni Madueke at Arsenal would seem to indicate otherwise.
In addition to explaining his lack of goals, Delap’s injury caused Chelsea’s management to worry and first block Jackson’s transfer to Bayern, only for the player to refuse to leave Munich.
After that, they summoned up Marc Guiu from his loan at Sunderland, and since coming back to the Bridge, the 19-year-old has played a total of 16 minutes. In addition, Raheem Sterling, who makes £325,000 a week, is rotting on the bench.
Chelsea’s transfer strategy has seemed like a “buy them because we can” tactic, but if it is a viable business model, the fact that the team is trailing Crystal Palace and Bournemouth in the league proves that football does not operate that way.
