Transfer window rankings: Manchester United lead 'big six' as Arsenal and Chelsea miss out on key signings

1. Watford

Arguably the club who most backed their manager relative to their resources, and also signed the widest range of different qualities. Watford got Marco Silva strikers, players he knows like Andre Carrillo, and a decent English core to add some badly needed identity to a previously transient team in players like Nathaniel Chalobah and Tom Cleverley. There was a forensic nature to what they did, as was reflected in the forensic way they took apart Bournemouth last week.

2. West Brom

On a deadline day that was expected to involve so many massive deals, West Brom pulled off one of the most impressive in getting Grzegorz Krychowiak from Paris Saint-Germain. That didn’t just raise eyebrows but was in-keeping with the way they generally raised the level of their squad with signings like Kieran Gibbs, Oliver Burke and Jay Rodriguez.

3. Leicester City

They went about it rather quietly, but that was just one other reason why the 2016 champions enjoyed one the smartest transfer windows, even if they ended up losing Danny Drinkwater. They still kept Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, and signed intelligently in additions like Harry Maguire and Vicente Iborra.

4. Manchester United

The fact Jose Mourinho was so relaxed coming up to deadline said almost as much as his side’s recent displays. The club completed signings for all the positions that he saw as crucial, as those early-season performances made clear, even if it would have been his preference to bring in another wide player.

It would in fact have been an ideal window if that wide player had also been the kind of star quality that truly elevates the overall standard of the team, such as Gareth Bale, and there is still an argument that United may end up ruing the inability to bring in that type of player. It is inarguable, however, that they have improved the balance and fluency of the squad.

5. Tottenham Hotspur

Their window is so much better than it looked like it was going to be a few weeks ago and, in the end, so much better than most of the division. Spurs added significant depth, added a genuine coup in Fernando Llorente, and only lost Kyle Walker from their much-envied squad. The only wrinkle is that much envied squad could still have done with that extra bit of innovation and quality in attack, to really take them up a level. This window may not do that, but it is still a step above most.

6. Everton

Substantially improved their squad in most areas, but enough to bridge the gap between seventh and sixth or above? The lack of pace from a striker suggests not. A hugely progressive window, but no longer looks like a properly ground-breaking one.

7. Manchester City

City missing out on their top target in Alexis Sanchez will greatly colour their window - and will especially disappoint Pep Guardiola - but it shouldn’t be forgotten that their attack was already supremely well stocked, while they have strengthened a number of other key areas. The Catalan got the full-backs he wanted, and Bernardo Silva is likely to prove one of the signings of the summer.

8. Liverpool

For a time, it threatened to be a truly block-busting and game-changing summer as there was hope they would still add Virgil van Dijk and Thomas Lemar to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mohamed Salah, with Naby Keita to come next summer - and that is pretty much the only reason why this otherwise good transfer now feels a touch underwhelming.

Liverpool have undeniably improved and also kept Philippe Coutinho, but not quite made the huge impression expected. It also remains debatable whether Jurgen Klopp has the depth, or the defence, for a full title challenge.

9. Swansea City

Made one of the most remarkable deals of the summer in getting Renato Sanches from Bayern Munich, topping off some clever business that also saw the gem of Roque Mesa arrive… but have also lost the defence-opening capabilities of Fernando Llorente. Whether Wilfried Bony can still offer that type of strikerate is open to question.

10. Stoke City

Given some of the fears for their campaign, they ended up making some very astute deals, adding the experience of Darren Fletcher, the sturdiness of Kurt Zouma and exhilarating speed of Jese.

11. Huddersfield

Their work in the market reflects their displays in the Premier League so far: progressive and confidence-inspiring, if also economy-defying.

12. Bournemouth

Have brought in a range of different qualities they lacked in the experience of Jermain Defoe and Asmir Begovic and the youth of Nathan Ake, but maybe could still have done with another attacking midfielder.

13. Southampton

They claimed the coup of keeping Virgil van Dijk but, as with Arsenal and Alexis Sanchez, it will now depend on the player whether that is actually the positive it would have seemed a few months ago. At the very least, he is unlike the Chilean in that he cannot leave on a free at the end of the season, and it shouldn’t be overlooked Southampton still did some good deals like Mario Lemina.

14. Burnley

It’s worth remembering that one of the fears at the start of the summer was losing Sean Dyche, and they have kept him while also bolstering the side with the muscle of Jon Walters and - as illustrated against Tottenham last week - the striking thrust of Chris Wood.

15. Arsenal

Had Arsenal been told at the start of the summer that they would definitively keep Alexis Sanchez - as Arsene Wenger had been insisting all along - it would have felt like such a success, but that is now up for considerable debate. The very fact that Wenger was willing to sell him at the end makes those insistences rather hollow, and also reflects the fact that they are now stuck with a player who desperately wants to leave, rather than having been able to bring in someone they could build with. And this is the issue. Have they really built on a squad that finished sixth last season and needed something different? That is not as debatable. They simply haven’t built enough, especially since they didn’t get a midfielder.

They may have got good money for the erratic Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the circumstances and also got in the muscle of Saed Kolasinac and goals of Alexandre Lacazette but, as the opening games have already made clear, it still feels the same old Arsenal.

16. Brighton

Some typically considered buys, and have greatly added to the depth of their squad with 11 signings, but it’s currently difficult to see how any of them will add the goals they need to stay up.

17. Chelsea

Chelsea did actually make some good signings, and have maybe even improved their first XI… but the brutal reality is that, unless they retain the title, none of that will be remembered. What will be remembered is a much more damaging perception: that so many players rejected the champions, and that they struggled to get so much business over the line. Everything they did, right down to the now relatively early signing of Tiemoue Bakayoko, was painstaking in how difficult it was. Little wonder Conte has been so pained about it all, especially since it still looks like Chelsea could struggle for numbers if they suffer injuries from an extended schedule this season. They only got one of the wing-backs he wanted in, and didn’t get the extra forward players. It again raises the question as to why they let so many players like Nemanja Matic go before bringing in replacements, as it meant they couldn’t raise the overall standard of the squad - and that was the main concern. The irony is that one of the players they definitely wanted to get rid of, in Diego Costa, is still there. The bottom line is meanwhile that this summer was supposed to be about Conte finding the solutions to the few remaining problems in the champions’ teams, but has instead only resulted in so, so many questions.

18. West Ham United

A club with a relatively thin squad didn’t do enough business, despite quality signings like Javier Hernandez, and it just seems to reflect the lack of direction around the entire team right now.

19. Crystal Palace

Just as at the very start of the summer, much will depend on the managerial situation, but the under-pressure Frank de Boer hasn’t been able to do much with what he has and they don’t seem to have strengthened enough in any case.

20. Newcastle United

Rafa Benitez’s frustrations say enough, as do displays so far. This is a Championship squad that, bar the odd signing like Mikel Merino, hasn’t really been improved. There are so many questions unanswered.