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Ranked! Every Premier League club rated by their summer transfer business
All fees are reported and approximate, etc. We don’t hate your club – or at least, we hate all equally.
20. Tottenham
IN: N/A
OUT: Keanan Bennetts (£2m), Anton Walkes (£200,000)
You know, Daniel, you should really stop doing this.
Levy did what Levy does, engaging in brinkmanship to ensure the best deal for his club. That’s the theory, anyway. Last season, Tottenham’s first summer signing arrived only a week before the transfer deadline; this season, he never arrived at all. Rumours of a £150m war chest were rightly greeted with scepticism, but even so… nothing?
While the Levy lols flooded Twitter, some focusing on the irony that the Spurs chairman voted for the earlier transfer deadline, the joke is ultimately on the club’s fans. Ticket prices rose for Tottenham’s move to their still-uncompleted new stadium, some by as much as 50%, yet the supposedly ring-fenced budget for transfers hasn’t been ring-fenced at all. The team needed strengthening and new contracts are not new signings, whatever Mauricio Pochettino says.
19. Manchester United
IN: Fred (£52m), Diogo Dalot (£19.3m), Lee Grant (£1.5m)
OUT: Daley Blind (£14.1m), Sam Johnstone (£6.5m), Joel Pereira, Dean Henderson, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Axel Tuanzebe, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Matty Willock (all loan), Joe Riley (released), Michael Carrick (retired)
Given their own manager’s feelings on the coverage of his club, we feel it necessary to declare that it was never our intention to put Manchester United this low in our rankings. They were mid-table until recently, the assumption being that, after a solid start, two more defenders would arrive. Or one. But a really good one. Right?
Nope. Despite Jose Mourinho saying a fortnight ago: “I would like two more players; I think it’s possible I’m going to have one,” in a not-so-subtle prod to his boss, Ed Woodward didn’t manage even that and returned empty-handed.
Mourinho’s belittling of his own players, most notably Luke Shaw, affords him limited sympathy, and he shouldn’t be allowed to forget that he has bought two £30m centre-backs already. Nonetheless, it seems extraordinary that United will enter the 2018/19 season with Alex Ferguson’s old wingers as their first-choice full-backs. Oh well. There’s always Lee Grant.
18. Burnley
IN: Ben Gibson (£15m), Matej Vydra (£11m), Joe Hart (£3.5m)
OUT: Scott Arfield, Dean Marney, Chris Long (released)
Burnley were slow to add to their squad, and the upshot of that hesitancy was almost a premature end to their long-awaited European campaign. The Clarets released two useful squad players in Scott Arfield, who started 15 Premier League games last term, and Dean Marney, yet didn’t bring in anyone until the final few days of the window. By that point, a tiny squad had been dragged into extra time by Aberdeen, while their fans feared Burnley’s Europa League adventure might end in A) tears, B) early August, and C) Scotland.
Burnley got there in the end, in the match and the market. However, giving yesterday’s man, Joe Hart, a two-year contract is incredibly short-sighted: Tom Heaton returns soon and Nick Pope later in the year, whereupon Hart will be an expensive – and noisy – third-choice goalkeeper.
Meanwhile, Matej Vydra’s transfer raises questions, not answers. He can’t replace Chris Wood or Sam Vokes as the lone striker in a direct team, and is Sean Dyche, having shifted with such success from 4-4-2 to 4-4-1-1, prepared to play Vydra as a No.10 in place of the hard-working Jeff Hendrick? It’s not certain where the Czech will fit in. On a happier note, record signing Ben Gibson is a very shrewd addition in defence.
17. Watford
IN: Gerard Deulofeu (£11.5m), Adam Masina (£3.5m), Ben Foster (£2.5m), Ken Sema (£2m), Marc Navarro (£1.8m), Ben Wilmot (£1.5m), Domingos Quina (£1m)
OUT: Richarlison (£40m), Nordin Amrabat (£7.5m), Mauro Zarate (£2m), Costel Pantilimon (£1.1m), Jerome Sinclair, Tommie Hoban, Dodi Lukebakio, Daniel Bachmann, Alex Jakubiak (all loan), Brandon Mason (released)
Hmm. There are positives: Marc Navarro is a bargain at that price, they’ve taken a lot of low-risk punts and it’s hard to argue with a profit of nearly £30m. Perhaps they could’ve used that windfall to acquire some goals, however.
Buying 35-year-old Ben Foster to displace 37-year-old Heurelho Gomes in nets also seems insufficient, unless Javi Gracia plans to throw teenage Sweden international Pontus Dahlberg straight in. None of this screams ‘confidence’ from Watford.
£40m (rising to £50m) for Richarlison, though…
16. Everton
IN: Richarlison (£40m), Yerry Mina (£27.2m), Lucas Digne (£18m), Andre Gomes (loan), Bernard (free)
OUT: Davy Klaassen (£12m), Ramiro Funes Mori (£8m), Henry Onyekeru (loan – £700,000 loan fee), Ashley Williams, Shani Tarashaj, Luke Garbutt, Antonee Robinson, Callum Connolly (all loan), Wayne Rooney, Joel Robles, Jose Baxter, David Henen (all released)
Everton needed an injection of pace and they’ve got it in Richarlison, Bernard (one of those transfers where life imitates Football Manager) and the earlier acquisition of Theo Walcott.
However, they also needed a striker, a midfielder and a pair of centre-backs, and it took a late scramble to find two of those four players. The inconsistent Yerry Mina shot up in value thanks to his set-piece goals at the World Cup, but at 23 he could still be an asset; the question is whether he, Michael Keane, Phil Jagielka and Mason Holgate represent four reliable centre-back options.
The striker didn’t materialise, even though Everton disentangled themselves from Wayne Rooney’s wage asphyxiation and found a buyer for Davy Klaassen, clawing back half of the fee they paid for the Dutchman a year ago. Fans should be excited by the new arrivals, if they ignore the nagging sense that Everton think they’re best mates with Barcelona, while Barcelona see them as the geeky new kid with deep pockets.
INTERVIEW Richarlison: “On the day that the guy pointed the gun at my head, he thought I was a drug dealer”
15. Chelsea
IN: Kepa Arrizabalaga (£71.6m), Jorginho (£50m), Mateo Kovacic (loan), Rob Green (free)
OUT: Thibaut Courtois (£31.5m), Jeremie Boga (£3.6m), Jonathan Panzo (£2.7m), Kenedy, Baba Rahman, Mario Pasalic, Kasey Palmer, Lewis Baker, Jamal Blackman, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, Trevoh Chalobah, Todd Kane, Matt Miazga, Eduardo, Jake Clarke-Salter (all loan), Wallace, Matej Delac (both released)
It’s all a bit unbalanced. Having a large squad is no skin off Chelsea’s nose – they’ve 25 players out on loan already and another half-dozen will surely join them before that window shuts – but over 30 senior players are at the club. While Maurizio Sarri’s 4-3-3 allows for some rotation between central midfielders, he probably doesn’t need Jorginho (part of a £57m deal with Napoli for player and manager), Mateo Kovacic (part of a hostage negotiation with Thibaut Courtois), N’Golo Kante, Cesc Fabregas, Ross Barkley, Danny Drinkwater, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (not to mention Ethan Ampadu and Marco van Ginkel).
Amid a £90m net spend for not a great deal, the headline is, of course, Courtois’ vanishing act. Losing one of the world’s best goalkeepers for less than half what Liverpool paid for Alisson has to hurt, and ending up £40m out of pocket after finding his replacement doesn’t look good either, but it’s the best Chelsea could have hoped for once Courtois had refused to extend his contract beyond next year and then stopped turning up for training. We’re sure Rob Green will push Kepa hard for his place.
READ Kepa Arrizabalaga: Chelsea’s world-record goalkeeper with magnificent reflexes – but still a lot to learn
14. Newcastle
IN: Yoshinori Muto (£9.5m), Federico Fernandez (£6m), Fabian Schar (£3.5m), Martin Dubravka (£3.5m), Salomon Rondon, Kenedy (both loan), Ki Sung-yueng (free)
OUT: Aleksandar Mitrovic (£22m), Mikel Merino (£10.7m), Chancel Mbemba (£7m), Matz Sels (£3.5m), Adam Armstrong (£1.7m), Ivan Toney (£800,000), Dwight Gayle, Jack Colback (both loan), Massadio Haidara, Jesus Gamez, Curtis Good (all released)
“Rafa, as always, has my full support, and contrary to some media reports that portray me as a pantomime villain, I will continue to ensure that every penny generated by the club is available to him.” So said Mike Ashley in May.
Three months on, Newcastle have predictably ended the summer with a £23m surplus. Shifting Aleksandar Mitrovic to Fulham covered their four cash buys; it’s just that Newcastle sold five other players as well. It’s not hard to see why the fans aren’t happy.
And yet, from the business perspective which these rankings have to consider, the situation is this: Newcastle are £20m-plus to the good and don’t look any weaker. The problem is that they weren’t exactly strong to begin with.
READ Where does the money go at Newcastle United?
13. Southampton
IN: Jannik Vestergaard (£22.1m), Mohamed Elyounoussi (£16m), Angus Gunn (£10m), Stuart Armstrong (£7m), Danny Ings (loan)
OUT: Dusan Tadic (£10.1m), Guido Carillo, Sofiane Boufal, Jordy Clasie (all loan), Stuart Taylor, Florin Gardos, Jeremy Pied (all released)
Is there value in Southampton’s under-the-radar summer business? The cop-out answer is ‘only time will tell’, but an early guess might be that it’s questionable. Although Stuart Armstrong is an athletic, attacking and intelligent midfielder, he isn’t at the level of Virgil van Dijk or Victor Wanyama, who trod the same Celtic-to-Southampton path at a younger age.
Goalkeeper Angus Gunn still has a lot to learn. Mohamed Elyounoussi and Jannik Vestergaard feel overpriced. Finally, Danny Ings was a last-minute grab that, with Manolo Gabbiadini, Shane Long and Charlie Austin, leaves Saints with four quarters of one fully-functioning Premier League striker (Guido Carrillo, a club record signing seven months ago, has been shipped out on loan).
More positively, all five arrivals are of the right age, 22-26, and persuading an Eredivisie club to part with £10m for one player deserves some sort of medal.
12. Crystal Palace
IN: Cheikhou Kouyaté (£9.5m), Jordan Ayew (loan), Max Meyer, Vicente Guaita (both free)
OUT: Jaroslaw Jach (loan), Yohan Cabaye, Damien Delaney, Bakary Sako, Lee Chung-yong, Diego Cavalieri (all released)
Although very little money was spent (and received), Roy Hodgson identified a competent goalkeeper in Vicente Guaita and bolstered his midfield options two-fold, theorising that his team didn’t need much in order to improve on their impressive results under him in 2017/18.
Some might argue, though, that Palace needed full spinal surgery and that Vicente Guaita, Cheikhou Kouyaté and Max Meyer are just a few vertebrae. Scott Dann and Mamadou Sakho are injury concerns, yet they and James Tomkins are Palace’s only natural centre-backs, while at the top end, a move back to the wing for Wilfried Zaha would make their striking options Alexander Sorloth, Christian Benteke and Connor Wickham – the mysterious, the misfiring and the missing. A last-minute loan deal for Jordan Ayew doesn’t inspire confidence.
Between the two problem positions, Meyer is an eye-catching signing. His star may have fallen at Schalke since he was hailed as Germany’s next wunderkind and made their provisional World Cup squad in 2014, but his ability isn’t in question and he is still only 22.
11. Cardiff City
IN: Josh Murphy (£11m), Bobby Reid (£10m), Greg Cunningham (£4m), Alex Smithies (£3.5m), Harry Arter, Victor Camarasa (both loan)
OUT: Omar Bogle (loan), Lee Camp, Greg Halford, Matty Kennedy, Frederic Gounongbe, Ben Wilson (all released)
It started well: Neil Warnock identified his targets and bought them, all four purchases being made in June. Then six weeks passed with no more arrivals, despite Warnock searching with increasing desperation for a holding midfielder to ensure that Sol Bamba wouldn’t be deputising there on the opening weekend. Whether deadline-day loanees Harry Arter and Victor Camarasa really embody that role is up for debate, but Arter’s energetic all-round game could make him a canny signing.
Criticising signings is trickier when they’re the players expressly wanted by the manager – unlike with other clubs here, none of Warnock’s four Championship purchases were fall-back options. Alex Smithies looks the pick of the bunch, provided he can wrestle the underrated Neil Etheridge out of goal, and Greg Cunningham is a good bargain buy.
Josh Murphy still has much to prove, however, and while Bobby Reid looks an excellent signing on paper after his 21-goal season for Bristol City, 2017/18 was his first season as a striker (hence it accounting for two-thirds of the goals across the 25-year-old’s career). There are doubts over his natural position, if any, in Warnock’s preferred 4-3-3 system.
10. Manchester City
IN: Riyad Mahrez (£60m), Philippe Sandler (£2.2m), Daniel Arzani (£1.3m)
OUT: Angus Gunn (£10m), Pablo Maffeo (£8m), Angelino (£5m), Joe Hart (£3.5m), Olarenwaju Kayode (£2.7m), Rodney Kongolo (£800,000), Jack Harrison, Aleix Garcia, Manu Garcia, Mix Diskerud, Luke Brattan, Tosin Adarabioyo, Marlos Moreno, Lukas Nmecha, Brandon Barker, Matt Smith (all loan), Yaya Toure (released)
They got Riyad Mahrez. They cast off Yaya Toure and his moods. They raised £30m by selling players they won’t miss. And, of course, Manchester City didn’t need to change much.
But why didn’t they buy a midfielder? After all, Pep Guardiola identified Jorginho as a necessary purchase, only to make no alternative arrangements once he chose Chelsea. David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne playing in central midfield means that Fernandinho’s role is arguably the most important in Manchester City’s XI. He absolutely stepped up to the plate, curbing his box-to-box instincts, but for how much longer can a 33-year-old carry the defensive duties of three players?
Neither Ilkay Gundogan nor Fabian Delph have convinced in that vital role, and Phil Foden doesn’t suit it, which leaves City with a potential problem that was easily identified and should have been easily avoided. Baffling.
9. Bournemouth
IN: Jefferson Lerma (£25m), David Brooks (£11.5m), Diego Rico (£10.7m)
OUT: Benik Afobe (£10m), Lewis Grabban (£6m), Max Gradel (£1.8m), Harry Arter, Brad Smith, Emerson Hyndman, Connor Mahoney (all loan), Adam Federici, Ryan Allsop (both released), Rhoys Wiggins (retired)
Somehow, Bournemouth will go into their fourth Premier League season with half of the same starting XI that took them up in 2014/15. That in itself is a worry, although Diego Rico may well replace Charlie Daniels at left-back once his opening three-match suspension is served. Moves have been made to regenerate the midfield, with Lewis Cook playing more of a starring role alongside Bournemouth’s new record signing: the, uh, combative Jefferson Lerma, with his 16 bookings in 26 La Liga appearances last season.
David Brooks, 21, is the most exciting new face and Bournemouth need him in an attack that borders on uninspiring. With that in mind, as well as the Cherries having only four options for their occasional back three, is this trio of additions enough?
8. Huddersfield
IN: Terence Kongolo (£17.5m), Adama Diakhaby (£9m), Ramadan Sobhi (£5.7m), Florent Hadergjonaj (£5m), Jonas Lossl (£2.5m), Juninho Bacuna (£2.5m), Isaac Mbenza (loan), Erik Durm, Ben Hamer (both free)
OUT: Tom Ince (£10m), Scott Malone (£3m), Michael Hefele (£300,000), Sean Scannell (£250,000), Jordy Hiwula (£150,000), Tariq Holmes-Dennis (appearances-based fee), Joel Coleman, Jack Payne (both loan), Rob Green (released), Dean Whitehead (retired)
The Terriers made a decent return on their £30m net spend, the coffers boosted by the sale of Tom Ince back to his natural home in the second tier. Turning loans permanent is an excellent strategy – ‘try before you buy’ and all that – and they’ve made very good acquisitions in defender Terence Kongolo, the bargainous goalkeeper Jonas Lossl and, to a lesser extent, the nonetheless useful right-back Florent Hadergjonaj.
Potential seems to be the watchword. Six of Huddersfield’s seven outfield signings are 24 or under. The exception is an intriguing one: 26-year-old Erik Durm, World Cup winner, who has joined on a one-year contract in order to prove his fitness.
7. Arsenal
IN: Lucas Torreira (£26.4m), Bernd Leno (£19.3m), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (£17.7m), Matteo Guendouzi (£7m), Stephan Lichtsteiner (free)
OUT: Chuba Akpom (£2m), Jeff Reine-Adelaide (£1.5m), Calum Chambers, Matt Macey, Takuma Asano (all loan), Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere (both released), Per Mertesacker (retired)
It seems a very long time ago that Arsenal brought in this famous five (if that’s not too generous to 19-year-old Matteo Guendouzi). Extra settling time is no bad thing, however, especially following the wide range of departures from Arsenal’s squad over the past 12 months, not to mention a new manager.
Lucas Torreira promises big things in midfield, while defensive thirtysomethings Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Stephan Lichtsteiner offer leadership if not longevity. Bernd Leno could be a real coup: he is 26, racked up 300 appearances in seven years for Bayer Leverkusen and, in stark contrast to headline-makers Alisson and Kepa, cost under £20m to buy.
READ Why Lucas Torreira will give Arsenal something they have lacked since Patrick Vieira
6. Brighton
IN: Alireza Jahanbakhsh (£17m), Yves Bissouma (£15m), Bernardo (£9m), Martin Montoya (£6.3m), Florin Andone (£5.3m), David Button (£4m), Dan Burn (£3m), Percy Tau (£2.9m), Anders Dreyer (£500,000), Leon Balogun, Jason Steele (both free)
OUT: Sam Baldock (£5m), Connor Goldson (£3m), Jamie Murphy (£1m), Jiri Skalak (£700,000), Dan Burn, Christian Walton (both loan), Steve Sidwell, Tim Krul, Niki Maenpaa, Rohan Ince, Uwe Hünemeier (all released), Liam Rosenior (retired)
It’s initially surprising to see Brighton spend over £60m and yet it’s roughly equivalent with last year’s outlay, with the added bonus of recouping £10m in sales this time. The results are intriguing – a mixture of low-cost experience (Martin Montoya, Leon Balogun), genuinely exciting record signings (21-year-old Yves Bissouma, promptly usurped by Alireza Jahanbakhsh) and lower-league back-ups (Dan Burn, who has gone back to Wigan on loan until January, and David Button).
That Button cost £4m and will only compete with Sunderland outcast Jason Steele to be first reserve in goal, rather than third choice, says a lot about today’s market. There’s a potential problem here, too: Mat Ryan will be at the Asian Cup for maybe as long as a whole month later in the season, and there are big questions over the quality of his replacements in Button and Steele, although they’d make for a superb detective duo.
Beating competitors to Jahanbakhsh is a real coup, mind, in an otherwise positive window.
5. West Ham
IN: Felipe Anderson (£35m), Issa Diop (£22m), Andriy Yarmolenko (£17.5m), Lukasz Fabianski (£7m), Carlos Sanchez (£4m), Lucas Perez (£4m), Fabian Balbuena (£3.5m), Xande Silva (£1.3m), Jack Wilshere, Ryan Fredericks (both free)
OUT: Cheikhou Kouyaté (£9.5m), Reece Burke (£1.5m), Domingos Quina (£1m), Jordan Hugill, Martin Samuelsen, Marcus Browne (all loan), James Collins, Patrice Evra (both released)
Recent high-risk, low-reward transactions mean West Ham are rarely high in our rankings, but this season they seemed to have learned their lesson. Instead of signing a 29-year-old flavour of the month for an eight-figure fee, they’ve identified and acquired a range of talented freebies, a reliable goalkeeper in Lukasz Fabianski and, in Felipe Anderson, their second record signing of the summer. It’s a statement that West Ham now look to buy the best – and don’t mind paying for it.
Admittedly, West Ham’s owners did slip into old habits at the last. Spending a significant sum on the past-his-best Andriy Yarmolenko was already questionable, but mitigated as a one-off. That was seemingly debunked, however, when the club brought in Carlos Sanchez (32) and Lucas Perez (29) on the final day. Still, with Cheikhou Kouyaté moving across London to Crystal Palace, the experienced Sanchez will cover them for a year should Pedro Obiang leave, as expected, and Perez has plenty to offer on the back of a reasonably low fee.
4. Liverpool
IN: Alisson (£67m), Naby Keita (£52.8m), Fabinho (£39m), Xherdan Shaqiri (£13m)
OUT: Danny Ward (£12.5m), Danny Ings, Harry Wilson, Ben Woodburn, Adam Bogdan, Ryan Kent, Ovie Ejaria, Allan (all loan), Emre Can, Jon Flanagan, Jordan Williams (all released)
Jose Mourinho would have you believe that Liverpool’s transfer business has been so outlandish, they must win the title. We can’t imagine why he’d have an agenda to say such a thing, so he must be right.
It has been a good summer for Liverpool, mind. Spending north of £170m naturally brings both expectation and an element of risk, but it was imperative that Jurgen Klopp addressed a goalkeeping problem of five years’ standing and revamped the Reds’ midfield. In 23-year-old Naby Keita and 24-year-old Fabinho, Liverpool should be set for a few years. (Fabinho also offers a fourth option at right-back, and you can never be too careful.) Buying Xherdan Shaqiri with the money raised from selling a reserve goalkeeper isn’t bad business, either.
The drawbacks? Allowing Emre Can to wind down his contract and leave for nothing is a blow, when he could have brought in a handy £30m, and the centre of defence still looks vulnerable. On the whole, though, Liverpool have done well.
READ Alisson Becker: Liverpool's world-record new goalkeeper "who can define an era"
3. Leicester
IN: James Maddison (£22m), Caglar Soyuncu (£19m), Ricardo Pereira (£17.5m), Filip Benkovic (£13m), Rachid Ghezzal (£12.6m), Danny Ward (£12.5m), Jonny Evans (£3.5m)
OUT: Riyad Mahrez (£60m), Ahmed Musa (£14.8m), Harvey Barnes, George Thomas (both loan), Robert Huth, Ben Hamer (both released)
It’s not often that a club’s best signing is also the cheapest, but a cut-price Jonny Evans, in or not long past his prime at the age of 30, might be the pick of a good crop. Two young centre-backs have arrived alongside him, too, meaning Leicester are ready for Harry Maguire’s big-money departure in January (look, it’s going to happen).
The good news doesn’t stop there. Ricardo Pereira is one hell of an upgrade on Danny Simpson, while Rachid Ghezzal can help to fill the void left by Riyad Mahrez, a hitherto underused Danny Ward can challenge the waning Kasper Schmeichel for his place, and 21-year-old James Maddison can show why he was so in-demand.
On top of all that, the Mahrez windfall and a surprisingly good fee for Saudi Arabia-bound Ahmed Musa means that Leicester’s overall expenditure was only £25m or so; indeed, they were in profit before deadline day. It has been a very good window indeed.
READ Caglar Soyuncu: Turkey's great defensive hope
2. Fulham
IN: Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (£30m), Jean Michael Seri (£25m), Aleksandar Mitrovic (£22m), Alfie Mawson (£15m), Joe Bryan (£6m), Fabri (£5.4m), Maxime Le Marchand (£5m), Andre Schurrle, Sergio Rico, Luciano Vietto, Calum Chambers, Timothy Fosu-Mensah (all loan)
OUT: David Button (£4m), Tayo Edun, Stephen Humphrys (both loan), Ryan Fredericks, George Williams (both released)
So, the tweet from a certain betting company that applauded Fulham for being the first promoted club to spend £100m completely missed the point. That in itself should not be celebrated. It’s not the amount spent that matters; the important thing is always to recruit well.
But bloody hell, have Fulham recruited well. They started with 14 senior players, such was their reliance on loans last season, and ended with a tightly-packed squad of 25 that has no discernible drop-off in quality. Jean Michael Seri is easily Fulham’s jewel in the crown, the Ivorian midfielder having been only a last-minute administrative U-turn away from joining Barcelona last year.
If anything, things got a bit silly on the window’s final day. The Cottagers had already made excellent inroads, buying a whole new spine in Fabri, Alfie Mawson, Seri and Aleksandar Mitrovic. Maxime Le Marchand provides defensive support, and Calum Chambers and Andre Schurrle have arrived on loan, the latter’s lasting two years.
Then came the afternoon of August 9. Sergio Rico on loan? Well, there’s already Fabri and Marcus Bettinelli in goal, but OK. Luciano Vietto as well? Go on then. And still they spent, splashing a club-record £30m fee on a Marseille midfielder, acquiring a new left-back to take their total expenditure past £100m, and finally arranging a fifth loan deal, leaving Fulham with a full XI of signings, plus a substitute goalkeeper. Smiles turned to nervous laughter. Was this overkill?
Optimism reigns supreme nonetheless. The question does remain: will these players fight for a place, or just fight? But, with more options added to an already talented squad, Fulham are prepared for battle.
1. Wolves
IN: Adama Traore (£18m), Diogo Jota (£12.3m), Willy Boly (£10m), Benik Afobe (£10m), Joao Moutinho (£5m), Leo Bonatini (£3.6m), Ruben Vinagre (£300,000), Leander Dendoncker (loan + £13.5m purchase in 2019), Raul Jimenez, Jonny (both loan), Rui Patricio (free)
OUT: Benik Afobe (£1m loan fee + £12m purchase in January), Barry Douglas (£3m), Ben Marshall (£1.5m), Priance Oniangue (£500,000), Duckens Nazon (£200,000), Roderick Miranda, Rafa Mir, Harry Burgoyne (all loan), Carl Ikeme (retired)
Negatives out of the way first. One: there are question marks over a couple of Wolves’s defenders, although they do have options: Romain Saiss is being retrained to play there, as Conor Coady was before him, and new midfielder Leander Dendoncker can play at centre-back if necessary. Secondly, selling Barry Douglas felt a little needless, unless Nuno is confident that Jonny or Ruben Vinagre can replace the Scot’s attacking threat on the left, not to mention his set-pieces – in all, Douglas contributed 19 goals and assists in 38 appearances at wing-back last season.
But it’s very revealing that the biggest doubt at Wolves is how they’ll manage to pack so much talent into their midfield and attack, following one of the most aggressive recruitment drives of any promoted team in recent history. They’ve bought virtually a full XI and added depth across the park, not to mention natural talents in Portugal No.1 Rui Patricio, experienced Champions League campaigner Joao Moutinho and record signing Adama Traore.
It’s also hard to ignore the suggestion that Benik Afobe could be the single best bit of business by any club. Wolves bought him for £10m, paid a week of his wages, then loaned him to Stoke for £1m with an obligation to buy for £12m in January. That’s a nice little £3m profit for doing bugger all.
