Now that the window is closed, and there has been record breaking spending around the Premiership, I'm curious how people feel about the business done by the top clubs. Who has strengthened significantly and who didn't do enough to maintain a title or top four challenge? Here are my personal thoughts:
Manchester United: 10/10 rating. I think all four of their signings were top class. Ibra brings a winner's mentality they've sorely lacked, and Pogba is a such a talent that once he gets accustomed to the league, I think he'll shine in their midfield. Bailly might end up being the best signing of them all, as he is improved tremendously since the beginning of last season at Villareal. Mkhitarayan also is going to be a top signing once he settles. All in all, they are co-favorites to win the title in my opinion.
Manchester City: 9/10 rating. Nolito is going to be the best signing for value in Europe. They singed some serious attacking talent in the form of Sane and Gabriel Jesus, but also mixed in a proven winner in Claudio Bravo. The key for them, though, is Gundogan. If he's fit soon, and stays fit, they are the title favorites in my opinion.
Tottenham: 8/10 rating. I actually would've given us a 6/10 before the signing of Sissoko. I think he's going to massively prove a number of folks wrong here. He's versatile, but I think he'll play mostly on the right of the AM3. The Wanyama signing was also phenomenal value for the money spent. While I think we will regret missing out on Batshuayi, Janssen fulfills a need and there were a dearth of strikers out there. Nkoudou is the one signing I think will likely struggle given the physicality of the Prem. Would've preferred we went for Boufal. Nevertheless, the Sissoko signing is the story of this window for us, and I think Poch will be proven prescient in his desire to grab Sissoko at great cost.
Leicester: 8/10 rating. They held on to Vardy and Mahrez, and tied up others to long term deals. Kante left, which hurts, but they replaced him well with Mendy. They made a big splash buying Slimani today, and Musa might be the fastest player in the Prem. I think they're going to stubbornly hang around the top 6-8 this season.
Chelsea: 8/10 rating. They did very well with their first two purchases in Batshuayi and Kante. Had they been able to get their top CB choice in Koulibaly, they'd really be right there with the Manchester clubs. They also couldn't secure James Rodriguez, so they don't have the top class #10 to match their other attacking talent. The Luiz fee was absurd, but by all accounts Alonso has improved a lot at Fiorentina in the last few years and is versatile enough to allow Conte to play 3-5-2.
Arsenal: 7/10 rating. Xhaka and Mustafi are both good players and will help them. However, they made a MASSIVE mistake not going all out for Lacazette. He genuinely could've won them the league with their set-up and the form he's been on. Perez had a good season last year in a poor Deportivo side, but moving from a Coruna to London and settling into life in the Prem is going to be very tough for him.
Liverpool: 6.5/10 rating. Mane was a great signing for Klopp. Wijnaldum was also a decent signing. However, they seemingly did little to improve their squad beyond that, which doesn't make sense, as they had huge hole at left back. Liverpool also recouped a lot of money in transfer fees, but didn't reinvest more than that into their squad.
Southampton: 6.5/10 rating: Boufal was a total coup for them. However, they sold their three best players. They also were the form team of 2016, as they took home more points than anyone bar Leicester and January, I believe. Their manager did well at Nice last season, but I don't think he has the personnel to play his diamond system at Southampton.
Everton: 6/10: They were very ambitious, but nothing came off for them. They apparently tried hard for Witsel, Perez, and Brahimi, but got turned down by either the player or the club. Despite their new ownership, they spent next to nothing net. Koeman is a fantastic manager, but he's going to require some spending to implement his philosophy. They did do really well with the Gueye signing. Conversely, the Bolasie signing was awful. They also don't have any real cover for Lukaku. They'll be improved from last season, but missed a chance to really build a top 4 contending squad.
Manchester United: 10/10 rating. I think all four of their signings were top class. Ibra brings a winner's mentality they've sorely lacked, and Pogba is a such a talent that once he gets accustomed to the league, I think he'll shine in their midfield. Bailly might end up being the best signing of them all, as he is improved tremendously since the beginning of last season at Villareal. Mkhitarayan also is going to be a top signing once he settles. All in all, they are co-favorites to win the title in my opinion.
Manchester City: 9/10 rating. Nolito is going to be the best signing for value in Europe. They singed some serious attacking talent in the form of Sane and Gabriel Jesus, but also mixed in a proven winner in Claudio Bravo. The key for them, though, is Gundogan. If he's fit soon, and stays fit, they are the title favorites in my opinion.
Tottenham: 8/10 rating. I actually would've given us a 6/10 before the signing of Sissoko. I think he's going to massively prove a number of folks wrong here. He's versatile, but I think he'll play mostly on the right of the AM3. The Wanyama signing was also phenomenal value for the money spent. While I think we will regret missing out on Batshuayi, Janssen fulfills a need and there were a dearth of strikers out there. Nkoudou is the one signing I think will likely struggle given the physicality of the Prem. Would've preferred we went for Boufal. Nevertheless, the Sissoko signing is the story of this window for us, and I think Poch will be proven prescient in his desire to grab Sissoko at great cost.
Leicester: 8/10 rating. They held on to Vardy and Mahrez, and tied up others to long term deals. Kante left, which hurts, but they replaced him well with Mendy. They made a big splash buying Slimani today, and Musa might be the fastest player in the Prem. I think they're going to stubbornly hang around the top 6-8 this season.
Chelsea: 8/10 rating. They did very well with their first two purchases in Batshuayi and Kante. Had they been able to get their top CB choice in Koulibaly, they'd really be right there with the Manchester clubs. They also couldn't secure James Rodriguez, so they don't have the top class #10 to match their other attacking talent. The Luiz fee was absurd, but by all accounts Alonso has improved a lot at Fiorentina in the last few years and is versatile enough to allow Conte to play 3-5-2.
Arsenal: 7/10 rating. Xhaka and Mustafi are both good players and will help them. However, they made a MASSIVE mistake not going all out for Lacazette. He genuinely could've won them the league with their set-up and the form he's been on. Perez had a good season last year in a poor Deportivo side, but moving from a Coruna to London and settling into life in the Prem is going to be very tough for him.
Liverpool: 6.5/10 rating. Mane was a great signing for Klopp. Wijnaldum was also a decent signing. However, they seemingly did little to improve their squad beyond that, which doesn't make sense, as they had huge hole at left back. Liverpool also recouped a lot of money in transfer fees, but didn't reinvest more than that into their squad.
Southampton: 6.5/10 rating: Boufal was a total coup for them. However, they sold their three best players. They also were the form team of 2016, as they took home more points than anyone bar Leicester and January, I believe. Their manager did well at Nice last season, but I don't think he has the personnel to play his diamond system at Southampton.
Everton: 6/10: They were very ambitious, but nothing came off for them. They apparently tried hard for Witsel, Perez, and Brahimi, but got turned down by either the player or the club. Despite their new ownership, they spent next to nothing net. Koeman is a fantastic manager, but he's going to require some spending to implement his philosophy. They did do really well with the Gueye signing. Conversely, the Bolasie signing was awful. They also don't have any real cover for Lukaku. They'll be improved from last season, but missed a chance to really build a top 4 contending squad.
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