Grading the big summer transfer moves

For soccer transfer nerds, July 1 is better than Christmas Day. Because that’s the day the summer transfer window opens, which has become many times more significant than the winter one. Practically all the big deals are now done in the summer because selling clubs have a chance to replace their departed stars then, rather than having to pay a premium for a mid-season, stop-gap solution.

The opening of this transfer window, however, was rather snowed under by the Euro, even though scads of big deals have already been concluded. So we’ll break down the starting XI of major moves for you, and grade the purchasing teams on them.

Hulk, forward – Zenit St. Petersburg to Shanghai – $62 million

The sturdy Brazilian has now made several super-expensive mega-moves, but he’s never quite broken into the true world class of players. As such, he’s probably overpriced – even for the bottomless wells of money currently being dug out in the Chinese league. Grade: B.

Granit Xhaka, midfielder – Borussia Moenchengladbach to Arsenal – $50 million

Arsene Wenger already has a logjam in central midfield, where Mesut Ozil, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla and Mohamed Elneny can all play. But when one of the best young players in the game comes available – Xhaka is 23 – and you can get him, it’s worth the risk. His fee is ever so high, though. Grade: A-minus

Sadio Mane, winger – Southampton to Liverpool – $45 million

There’s no questioning Mane’s abilities, but this transfer is one of the first signs of the hyperinflation that will likely sweep through the Premier League this summer. For that kind of money, the Reds could surely have gotten a tad more for their money abroad. But then there’s always something to be said for weakening rivals while reinforcing your own squad. And Liverpool wouldn’t be Liverpool if they didn’t wildly overpay. Grade: B.

Eric Bailly, defender – Villarreal to Manchester United – $42 million

This one is hard to rate. There’s such a scarcity of good central defenders that any time you can get your hands on one – and especially one who is only 22 – the temptation is large. But Bailly has been a regular for just one season at Villarreal – or anywhere else. Given his price tag, he could be an all-time bust. Or he might just work out. But the peril is large. Grade: B-minus.

Mats Hummels, defender – Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich – $39 million

See that bit about elite defenders above. Bayern snagged a good one. Albeit expensively, after one Jurgen Klinsmann decided he wasn’t up to snuff and let him leave for Dortmund for about a tenth that amount eight years ago. Grade: A.

Renato Sanches, midfielder – Benfica to Bayern Munich – $39 million

There’s been a run on expensive wunderkind prospects. Because enough of them have been wildly successful in recent years to suggest more will pay off. Sanches is having a strong Euro but the 18-year-old may have to wait some on a starting job with Bayern, because in Thiago, Xabi Alonso and Arturo Vidal, he has a lot of competition in central midfield. To say nothing of Javi Martinez, who also plays in defense but might appear there less with the arrival of Hummels to play alongside Jerome Boateng. Grade: A-minus.

Miralem Pjanic, midfielder – Roma to Juventus – $35 million

The Serie A isn’t as visible as it once was, but Pjanic is a classical playmaker who is one good Champions League campaign away from becoming a superstar. At 26, he’s entering his prime yet has already been a full-time starter with clubs like Metz, Olympique Lyon and Roma for nine seasons. If Paul Pogba winds up leaving Juve, look for Pjanic to be handed the keys to the attack. Grade: A.

Alvaro Morata, forward – Juventus to Real Madrid – $33 million

This was the most obvious transfer of the summer. Everybody knew Real had a buy-back clause it negotiated when it let Morata, who was then excess to its needs then, leave for Turin. After two strong seasons there – in which he didn’t light up the scoring column, but became an all-around threat and Spain’s starting striker – the only question was whether Real would sell him on after bringing him back or keep him. It’s looking like the latter because the club could use an alternative to Karim Benzema. Grade: A.

Ilkay Gundogan, midfielder – Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City – $30 million

After twice coming close to letting his contract run out and leaving for free, Gundogan finally moved to City to play for Pep Guardiola. Because of the limited time left on his old deal – one season – the Sky Blues got him at a discount. And at that price, you can’t go wrong with getting one of Europe’s premier playmakers. Grade: A.

Nico Gaitan, winger – Benfica to Atletico Madrid – $28 million

Six seasons into his European career, all of them spent with Benfica, Gaitan is finally getting his big move. And considering his play with Argentina at the Copa America Centenario, Atletico looks like it’s once again getting great value on an attacking player. Grade: A.

Samuel Umtiti, defender – Olympique Lyon to Barcelona – $28 million

Another central defender making a move. Umtiti, at 22, has been a starter for Lyon for four seasons. But he has yet to make his debut for France – although he’s on the Euro 2016 roster. That’s the only caveat about this deal. Barca has had quite a few misfires buying defenders, but Umtiti comes relatively cheaply for such a blue chip prospect. Grade: A-minus.

Oh, and how could we forget Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Paris Saint-Germain to Manchester United? Well, that technically isn’t a full-on transfer, since he was out of contract. He signed for free. But since it’s one of the most high-profile moves of the summer, we’ll grade it anyway.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, striker – Paris-Saint Germain to Manchester United – Free transfer

Signing up Zlatan is a no-brainer for a team that needs a striker and some good press. But his enormous salary and age, 35, makes even his one-year contract something of a risk. Grade: A-minus.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.