Kickoff chronicles

Now that it is September and the transfer window has finally closed, I thought I would rank every club’s window in order from worst to best. Clubs who have signed the most players won’t automatically go into the top spots. I will be looking at departures, free transfers, and loan moves to decide.

20. Everton

Starting off in 20th place, with the worst summer business in my opinion, is Everton. After 3 seasons of treading water and scrambling to stay up, you would have thought the Toffees had bigger ambitions then yet another season of languishing at the bottom of the table. It is looking like they are going to build their brand new stadium for next season, only to be hosting Championship football. At the time of writing, they are bottom of the table with a goal difference of minus 8 and no points. They let go of young talents such as Lewis Dobbin and Ben Godfrey, to Aston Villa and Atalanta respectively, while also letting Aston Villa snatch up one of their better players last campaign in Amadou Onana who is proving to be a key player for the Villains. Everton have signed players on loan with Premier League experience, but there were no big money purchases that Everton fans were crying out for. Their biggest sealed deal was arguably the signing of Jack Harrison for another year on loan from Leeds. Their best permanent deal was Illiam Ndiaye who joined from Marseille. Ndiaye has previous English League experience when playing for Sheffield United, scoring 14 goals and registering 11 assists as he helped them to promotion in 2022/23.

19. Brentford

Moving up to 19th place, Brentford have had a pretty terrible window despite their good performances in the league. They let their star man, Ivan Toney, join Saudi club Al-Ahli for just 35 million pounds while the replacement for Toney, Igor Thiago from Club Brugge, is out injured for at least the next 4 months. They have failed to pick up any statement signing or even anyone with real Premier League experience with their most exciting deal Fabio Carvalho. Brentford signed the young man from Liverpool as he had failed to make an impression under Jurgen Klopp and clearly wasn’t in the plans for Arne Slot’s new look side. He did enjoy a good season in the championship under Marco Silva when he helped Fulham get promoted to the Premier League in 2021/22. Though they have failed to make any big signings, it hasn’t affected them currently as, at the time of writing, they have picked up 6 points from a potential 9 with Bryan Mbuemo shining in the absence of Toney. 

18. Wolverhampton Wanderers

Coming in at 18th place, to cap off the bottom three, is Gary O’Neil’s Wolves. Wolves have let go of two of their crucial players, captain Maximilian Kilman to West Ham, and winger Pedro Neto to Chelsea while also failing to replace them. The majority of their transfers this season look like deals for the future and they have failed to mix experienced signings with young ones. Wolves have managed to sign striker Jorgen Strand Larsen on a loan deal from Celta Vigo, who is looking sharp under O’Neil, but if they struggle this season, it’s hard to see Larsen lengthening his stay at the Molineux. The only signing that looks like playing most of the season is goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, who Wolves picked up from Crystal Palace on deadline day. 

17. Newcastle

Moving up into 17th is Eddie Howe’s Newcastle. The Magpies haven’t let go of too many crucial players (although Yankuba Minteh is now shining at Brighton), but they have failed to make any statement signings as Eddie Howe’s side will hope to challenge for a European spot again. Newcastle managed to pick up Lloyd Kelly on a free and Lewis Hall on a permanent deal but aside from a few other squad depth transfers, that’s all the business the Magpies have been involved in. Although they haven’t made many signings, they haven’t let any key players go and, at the time of writing, Newcastle have made a great start to the season gaining 7 points from a potential 9.

16. Nottingham Forest

Slotting into 16th place is Nuno Espirito’s Nottingham Forest. The remaining teams have not necessarily had poor transfer windows, there have just been some much stronger than others. Forest have had a solid window, bringing in some exciting young players like Morato, Jota Silva, and Ramon Sosa while also bringing in players with Premier League experience on loan deals such as James Ward-Prowse and Alex Moreno (West Ham United and Aston Villa). From a Forest fans perspective, it has been a solid window. They were potentially missing just one big statement signing to say that staying up wasn’t their objective and that they are top 10 challengers. So far this season Forest are unbeaten, winning 5 points from 9.

15. Liverpool

Liverpool are different to most of the teams this year. Long term manager Jurgen Klopp departed the club after an 8 year stint and was replaced by Dutch manager Arne Slot. Slot came in straight away and decided there were no real changes needed to this already strong Liverpool side. Their crucial first team players remained unchanged and they managed to pick up Federico Chiesa from Juventus for a bargain of just over 10 million pounds. This looks a great move for both player and club, with Reds fans hoping he can bring back the old Chiesa that lit up Euro 2020. Liverpool have also started the season strongly, conceding no goals and winning all 3 fixtures.

14. Manchester City

Coming in at 14th is Premier League champions Manchester City. Much like Liverpool, City had just come off the back of a 4th Premier League title in a row and Pep Guardiola felt as though they didn’t need much improvement. They did pick up Savinho from Troyes, who was brilliant in Girona’s qualification for the Champions League last season. The Citizen’s also managed to sign their old captain back, Ilkay Gundogan, who had his contract terminated by Barcelona recently (as they needed to get rid of a high earner to get their main target, Dani Olmo). After signing one exciting young player and one experienced winner, they also sold back-up striker Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid, for a fee of 63 million pounds. Despite Alvarez being a very talented footballer, Pep decided to let him go. With Haaland up front for City, Alvarez was never going to get any guaranteed game time, therefore he wanted out. Later in the season they might regret not signing more players, but so far they have won 3 games from 3, and Haaland has scored 7 goals in those 3 games.

13. Southampton

Fitting in at 13th place is Russell Martin’s newly promoted Southampton side. The Saints’ business this window was really positive, managing to sign Flynn Downes on a permanent from West Ham as well as Ben Brereton Diaz from Villarreal. Southampton also picked up Maxwell Cornet and Lesley Ugochukwu on loan deals from West Ham and Chelsea. Notable other signings also include; Charlie Taylor from Burnley, Cameroon Archer from Aston Villa, Aaron Ramsdale from Arsenal, and Adam Lallana on a free. It is a solid window for the Saints as they hope to survive relegation this season. Unfortunately, their new look side is still adapting to all the changes and they currently sit in the bottom 3 after only scoring 1 goal and registering all losses. 

12. Chelsea

Slotting in at 12th place is Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea. Chelsea’s trading window looks good on paper but it was actually chaotic as, at one point, the Blues had 40 plus players registered in their squad, which has now been whittled down to 33. They made solid signings, bringing in players such as Marc Guiu from Barcelona, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester (who Maresca had worked with at Leicester last season as the Foxes won the Championship), and the Portuguese duo of Pedro Neto from Wolves with Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid. Another notable move Chelsea made was signing Jandon Sancho on a loan from Manchester United who had a stellar season for Borussia Dortmund last season. Chelsea also loaned out a whopping 19 players and sold some big names including Lewis Hall to Newcastle, Ian Maatsen to Aston Villa, Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid, and Romelu Lukaku to Napoli. Maresca has done a great job of getting multiple players off the wage books while also bringing players that suit his style. Chelsea haven’t got off to an ideal start to the 24/25 season, picking up 4 points from 3 games, but their fans will be hopeful that they can find some form once their new transfers settle in. 

11. Bournemouth

Bournemouth come in at 11th after making some solid moves in the summer window. The Cherries unfortunately lost their star man Dominic Solanke to Tottenham but have replaced him intelligently, signing Enes Unal on a permanent from Getafe after a good end to last season at the Vitality, and Evanilson from FC Porto who has looked sharp in the opening games of the 24/25 campaign. In addition, Bournemouth have also signed Luis Sinisterra on a permanent deal from Leeds, Julian Araujo from Barcelona, and Kepa Arrizabalaga on loan from Chelsea just to name a few. The Cherries signed Kepa on a loan due to the fact that Arsenal picked up their keeper Neto on a loan because Ramsdale transferred to Arsenal. All very complicated, but at the end of the day, Bournemouth needed to replace Neto between the sticks. It has been a successful window for Adoni Iraola and his team as they have started the season strongly, sitting 8th currently, as well as retaining an unbeaten start to the season.

10. Tottenham Hotspur

Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs slot in at 10th after he made some smart moves in the summer window. Tottenham had a very big hole in their front line last season after Bayern Munich swooped in and signed Harry Kane for around 80 million pounds, so this season they made the decision to pick up Dominic Solanke for 65 million pounds after his stellar 23/24 campaign, scoring 19 league goals. Spurs also scouted some young talents, signing Archie Gray from Leeds, Lucas Bergvall from Djurgarden and Wilson Odobert from Burnley while also extending Timo Werner’s loan for an extra year. Postecoglou also decided not to sell any of his crucial players and opted to clear out benchwarmers and loan out youngsters. Spurs haven’t made a dream start to the 24/25 season, picking up 4 points from a potential 9, but once Solanke kicks off, Tottenham will be a team to watch.

9. Leicester City

After coming straight back up to the Premier League from a shock relegation in 2023, Leicester came into 9th place on my list after some intelligent deals. The Foxes unfortunately lost their manager, Enzo Maresca, as well as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (both to Chelsea), but they made up for it with some solid signings. To name a few, the Foxes managed to sign Abdul Fatawu on a permanent from Sporting Lisbon, Oliver Skipp from Spurs for just 20 million pounds, Facundo Buonanotte on loan from Brighton, Jordan Ayew as well as Odsonne Edouard (on loan) from Crystal Palace, and finally, Bobby De Cordova-Reid on a free. Steve Cooper has taken over and been involved in some brilliant business as the Foxes look to avoid relegation. Leicester haven’t made an ideal start to their campaign, picking up 1 point from 3 games (against Tottenham, Fulham and Aston Villa), but Cooper knows his side has what it takes to find some form and avoid the drop.

8. Arsenal

After finishing 2nd for 2 consecutive seasons, Arsenal needed to make some statement signings to hopefully boost them to a 3rd Premier League title. They started off by onboarding keeper David Raya on a permanent from Brentford after his successful loan last season. Arsenal then swooped in and bought Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna after his promising stint during the 2024 Euros for Italy. Mikel Merino was the next through the door signing from Real Sociedad followed by Raheem Sterling on loan from Chelsea and goalkeeper Neto on loan from Bournemouth. Arsenal sold a few squad rotation players but no crucial players as Mikel Arteta hopes his side has what it takes to push for the title. The reason I have not put the Spainard’s side higher on the list is due to the fact that they failed to sign a no.9 which is what Gunners fans have been crying out for.

7. Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace slot into 7th place after some decent summer deals. After losing big players such as Michael Olise to Bayern Munich and Joachim Anderson to Fulham, Oliver Glasner needed to make some big signings to fill those gaps after their strong end to last season. They used the money from Olise to sign attacking players such as Eddie Nketiah from Arsenal, Ismaila Sarr from Marseille, and Daichi Kamada from Lazio, while replacing defender Andersen with Trevoh Chalobah from Chelsea on a loan deal and Chadi Riad from Real Betis. Palace also let Sam Johnstone go to Wolves and replaced him with Matt Turner from Nottingham Forest as their 2nd choice keeper. It was a stellar window for Glasner’s side as they hope to continue last season’s form. They haven’t made an ideal start to the campaign so far with lots of their new players still needing to settle. Unfortunately they have only picked up 1 point from 3 games so far.

6. Fulham

Slotting in at 6th is Marco Silva’s Fulham. Fulham had a fairly decent 23/24 season, finishing 13th, and never in any doubt of surviving the drop. Despite this, Silva wanted to make some signings to hopefully develop his squad even further into a top 10 side. They started off by bringing in Emile Smith Rowe from Arsenal, which is already paying dividends. He was followed by Ryan Sessegnon from Spurs, Jorge Cuenca from Villarreal, Joachim Andersen coming back from Crystal Palace, Sander Berge from Brunley, and finally Reiss Nelson from Arsenal on a loan move. After all of these intelligent moves, the only real potential starter they lost was Tosin Adarabioyo who went to Chelsea on a free. Fulham have made a mediocre start to the season, picking up 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss in their first 3 games.

5. Manchester United

Despite their average start to the 24/25 season,Manchester United have had a brilliant transfer window which is why I’m putting them in at 5th. United started off the window bringing in some young talents; Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna and Leny Yoro from Lille. Erik ten Hag then brought in some more experienced players who he had worked with before at Ajax; Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. To cap off a stellar summer window, United then managed to get both Sekou Kone and Manuel Ugarte through the door; from Guidars FC and PSG. Despite such a positive plethora of signings, ten Hag has already found himself in a bad way after United have lost to Brighton and been smashed by Liverpool. He will hope his new players can settle in as Manchester United look to return to the Champions League for next season.

4. Aston Villa

23/24 4th placed side, Aston Villa, come into 4th place after some brilliant summer business. Unai Emery’s statement signing of the summer was Amadou Onana, coming in from Everton for over 50 million pounds and also replacing Douglas Luiz who was poached by Juventus prior to the Belgian’s move. Following Onana to Villa Park included smart signings such as Lewis Dobbin from Everton, Ian Maatesen from Chelsea, Ross Barkley from Luton, Cameroon Archer from Sheffield United and a double deal of Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea from Juventus. Joining Luiz as a crucial player departing Villa is Moussa Diaby who decided to travel abroad and play for Saudi side, Al Ittihad. Villa have spent their money from Luiz and DIaby wisely and made some great purchases. The results are already showing after the Midlands side have won 2 games from their opening 3, with Onana on 2 goals for the season already.

3. Ipswich Town

Despite only just making their return to England’s top flight, Ipswich are the first team in my top 3 after they brought in multiple exciting and experienced Premier League players. The extensive list of players brought into Portman Road includes: Omari Hutchinson from Chelsea, Ben Johnson from West Ham, Jacob Greaves from Hull City, Liam Delap from Manchester City, Sam Szmodics from Blackburn, Kalvin Phillips on loan from Manchester City, Dara O’Shea and Arijanet Muric from Burnley, Chiedozie Ogbene from Luton, and more exciting players capping off a perfect transfer window. Kieran McKenna’s side have had a tough start to Premier League life, drawing Liverpool and Manchester City in their first 2 games and losing 0-2 and 1-4, but then managing to earn a point against Fulham at Portman Road.

2. West Ham United

The runner up in my summer window ranked list is Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham United. West Ham have been very successful in recent years, playing 3 consecutive seasons in Europe and winning the Conference League in 2023. Lopetegui only came in this summer and has made some brilliant transfers, mixing proven Premier League players with some young exciting talents. The first through the door was young Brazilian wonderkid Luis Guilherme from Palmeiras who was followed by; Wes Foderingham on a free, Maximilian Kilman from Wolves, Crysencio Summerville from Leeds, Niclas Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund, Guido Rodriguez on a free, Jean Clair-Todibo from Nice on loan, Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Manchester United, and Carlos Soler on loan from PSG. It has been regarded as one of West Ham best ever transfer windows as the Hammer’s set their hopes high for European football once again. West Ham have also cleared out a lot of their squad, releasing and selling players that were not getting game time and loaning out multiple others. The Hammers have only picked up 1 win from 3 games this season, although their 2 losses were against Aston Villa and Manchester City, but the feel around the club is still very positive. 

1. Brighton

Coming in at no.1 on my list is Brighton Hove and Albion. Brighton is regarded as the best run club in the U.K and once again they proved why they were in this transfer window under their new young manager, Fabian Hurzeler (31). The Seagulls started their window off by bringing in Ibrahim Osman from FC Nordsjaelland followed by Yankuba Minteh from Newcastle who is already turning out to be a bargain signing. Next in was Mats Wieffer from Feyenoord and then Brajan Gruda who was successful at Mainz last season. Frenchman Georgino Rutter was the 5th big signing through the door coming in from Leeds United. The Seagulls then made 2 late signings, bringing in Danish international Matt O’Riley from Celtic and Ferdi Kadioglu from Fenerbahce. It was yet another successful window for Brighton as they replaced players they sold, such as Pascal Gross and Billy Gilmour, loaned out young talents so they can get regular game time, and brought in some experienced yet exciting players. Brighton have also made a super start to the season, picking up 7 points from 3 games as they sit 3rd in the table.

Written by Ollie Wade