Which Premier League teams ‘won’ the 2024 summer window? Who struggled?
[ MORE: Full list of summer transfers for all 20 Premier League clubs ]
Below we dish out a grade to all 20 Premier League clubs based on all of the business they did during the summer transfer window.
Arsenal: A-
Made two big additions in Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino, plus trimmed their squad impressively. They needed one more attacking player to make this a very good window, and their late move for Raheem Sterling could prove to be a masterstroke. He knows Arteta well and provides something totally different to their other attackers, plus plenty of experience and he was pretty good last season for a Chelsea side which was all over the place. Arsenal’s squad is stronger now than it was last season. Fact.
Aston Villa: C+
Losing Douglas Luiz was a blow but Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen and Ross Barkley are all solid additions. Villa probably needed more attacking depth given their Champions League exploits coming up, but financial restrictions seemed to hold them back from signing the likes of Joao Felix.
Bournemouth: C-
Losing Dominic Solanke was a big blow but they spent big on striker Evanilson and time will tell if that works out. Kepa is a solid upgrade in goal but is the Cherries squad stronger than last season? It doesn’t feel like it.
Brentford: B-
Losing Ivan Toney was inevitable and a bit of a relief to get it sorted in the end, while adding Fabio Carvalho, Igor Thiago and Sepp van den Berg makes them stronger across the pitch. Thiago’s preseason injury aside, a pretty good summer for the Bees.
Brighton and Hove Albion: A-
Perhaps the biggest winners of the summer, Brighton spent the Caicedo and Mac Allister money wisely and backed Fabian Hurzeler’s project. Big time. Minteh, Wieffer, Gruda, Rutter, O’Riley and Kadioglu took Brighton’s summer spending close to $260 million and they look set to challenge for Europe. Brilliant recruitment after selling off their top players for so long. The Seagulls have a clear plan and are the model club in terms of player recruitment.
Chelsea: C+
How on earth do you grade this window!? Chelsea have added supreme quality in attack with Joao Felix, Pedro Neto, and now Jadon Sancho, but they’ve neglected their main areas of need at center forward and goalkeeper. Chelsea’s squad is massively imbalanced and there is no clear plan as they’ve stockpiled so many players in similar positions. They also lost lots of experience in Conor Gallagher and Raheem Sterling in particular. Enzo Maresca has a lot of work to do to gel this talented group of individuals together.
Crystal Palace: C
The big news was keeping hold of Marc Guehi, but they still lost Michael Olise, Sam Johnstone and Joachim Andersen and it’s hard to argue that Palace’s squad is stronger this summer than it was at the end of last season. Oliver Glasner will at least be pleased that Palace strengthened their attack further right on the deadline by adding Eddie Nketiah.
Everton: F
What a dreadful window, but it’s understandable. Given the current financial restrictions at Everton due to the delayed impending sale of the club, Sean Dyche has admitted publicly how tough it was for them to do deals. Jake O’Brien’s arrival was the one bright spot as Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s future remains uncertain and they made a late bid to get an injured Armando Broja on loan. Everything at Everton remains uncertain until they can sort out their ownership situation.
Fulham: B-
Losing Joao Palhinha is a massive blow. He was the heartbeat of this Fulham team. But adding Emile Smith Rowe, Sander Berge, Joachim Andersen (and possibly Reiss Nelson) will give them quality and experience through the spine of the team. Overall it was a decent window for Fulham. They’re still missing a prolific target forward though. But everyone is looking for that.
Ipswich Town: C+
A busy summer for the new boys and they added depth to their squad, but not much top-flight experience as they struggled to get some deals over the line late on. They will be solid and tough to beat with Sammie Szmodics, Kalvin Phillips and Omari Hutchinson the standout additions.
Leicester City: D
Due to the financial situation they find themselves in the Foxes sold star player Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea and the new boys have reinvested a small sum to bolster their squad. Oliver Skipp will prove a solid buy, while signing Abdul Fatawu on a permanent basis was a must. Still, their squad might be weaker than last season when they won the Championship.
Liverpool: C
Very quiet summer for the Reds and Arne Slot will be fine with that. He has so much quality in this Liverpool squad and adding Federico Chiesa late in the window for a bargain fee was great business to add an extra layer to their attack. Not adding a central midfielder was the only negative as Zubimendi turned them down, but they didn’t panic buy and have enough quality in that area for now. The lingering contract situations around Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold will now become the priority to figure out.
Manchester City: C
As above. Quiet for City as Savinho arrived from City Football Group partners Troyes and looks a real talent out wide. While Ilkay Gundogan returning on an unexpected free transfer from Barcelona was a wonderful piece of business. Best business was keeping Kevin de Bruyne and Ederson around for another season as they had offers from Saudi Arabia.
Manchester United: B+
Overall a very strong transfer window for United. Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee have all arrived and will be starters, while Manuel Ugarte arriving from PSG was the icing on the cake late in the window. Erik ten Hag now has a very talented and balanced squad to work with and the age profile is very different to when he took over. Now it’s time for them all to deliver as a cohesive unit. That’s the hard bit.
Newcastle United: C-
Not the best window for Eddie Howe, as he seemed frustrated as there was a lot of change in the hierarchy of the club and Paul Mitchell arrived to oversee transfers with Dan Ashworth and Amanda Staveley moving on from key roles. They had to sell Anderson and Minteh to reportedly comply with PSR, while Lloyd Kelly was their only experienced addition. They did hold on to Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak but with no European action this season, not strengthening this summer feels like an opportunity missed for a top four push.
Nottingham Forest: C+
Solid window from Forest who added Milenkovic and Anderson as starters, plus James Ward-Prowse on loan on deadline day, and they kept hold of their big talent in Gibbs-White. Crucially they also trimmed their squad significantly and they now have a clearer identity.
Southampton: B+
Out of the newly-promoted teams Southampton had to do the most business and they did. And savvy business too. They signed Downes, Fraser and Harwood-Bellis permanently and the arrival of Brereton-Diaz was a bargain, plus right back Sugawara looks a real player. But it was the addition of goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale right at the end of the window which was their marquee buy and a real coup. Another center forward addition to lead the line was the only player they couldn’t get over the line and they came close on Carvalho and O’Riley but couldn’t quite compete financially. Still, a great window for Saints as they hope to survive.
Tottenham Hotspur: B
A very good window for Spurs who got their central striker in Dominic Solanke. Yes, they paid big for him but they needed this type of forward and Solanke has Premier League experience. Gray, Odobert and Bergvall are signings for the future and Spurs managed to move on plenty of squad players too. Solid. Sensible.
West Ham United: A-
Right up there with the best business this summer. Fullkrug, Wan-Bissaka, Kilman, Summerville, Guilherme, Rodriguez, Soler and Todibo are all huge upgrades and Julen Lopetegui now has the kind of players he loves to work with. This Hammers squad is much stronger than last season and they’ve trimmed it. One year on and they’ve waited to use the Declan Rice money wisely.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: D-
Overall, a bad summer for Wolves. Similar to Everton and Leicester City, they have been hampered by financial restrictions placed on them by their owners. Wolves sold star player Pedro Neto and captain Max Kilman and they haven’t been able to reinvest with experienced players, but their late signings of Forbs and Andre are intriguing. However, Gary O’Neil’s squad was thin last season and it still is, as well as losing key players. Far from ideal.