This transfer window has arguably been the biggest and busiest in many years. Premier League clubs have spent over a combined £1 billion in an attempt to make sure their squads are ready for the new season. As always, there are clubs who don’t quite reach their targets. These are the teams who have had the worst Premier League summer transfer windows.
10 Worst Transfer Windows
10. West Bromwich Albion
Notable Signings:
- Jay Rodriguez
- Kieran Gibbs
- Ahmed Hegazi
- Zhang Yu’Ning
- Gareth Barry
- Oliver Burke
- Grzegorz Krychowiak (loan)
Key Departures:
- Craig Gardener
- Darren Fletcher
After a very impressive season, Tony Pulis will look to carry the momentum forward into the new campaign.
The Baggies have brought in an abundance of talent and also managed to retain many of their key players from last year. Most notably, they have brought in Polish midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak on loan, who fits perfectly into Pulis’ style of play.
Furthermore, they also signed Arsenal left-back Kieran Gibbs, who will be used to strengthen their defence. Gibbs has Premier League experience and is a solid addition to the squad.
The Baggies appear to not have brought in enough talent to secure a spot in Europe, however with Tony Pulis as manager, anything is possible.
9. Swansea City
Notable Signings:
- Roque Mesa
- Tammy Abraham (loan)
- Sam Clucas
- Erwin Mulder
- Courtney Baker-Richardson
- Renato Sanches (loan)
Key Departures:
- Jack Cork
- Gylfi Sigurdsson
- Borja Baston (loan)
- Jordi Amat (loan)
- Bafatembi Gomis
- Modou Barrow
Having narrowly avoided relegation last season, Swansea needed to bring in a lot of quality this summer.
The likes of Tammy Abraham and Sam Clucas are definitely talented players but are not quite Premier League quality yet.
The Swans lost their key player for the past few seasons, Gylfi Sigurdsson. The Icelandic midfielder has made a move to Everton for £45 million and his presence will be severely missed as he often was the heart and soul of the team.
However, the Swans have managed to secure the loan signing of Renato Sanches who will likely be their new key man. Sanches received tremendous praise during the 2016 European Championships, but was unable to earn consistent playing time at Bayern Munich.
8. Spurs
Notable Signings:
- Davinson Sanchez
- Paulo Gazzaniga
- Serge Aurier
- Juan Foyth
Key Departures:
- Kyle Walker
- Clinton N’Jie
- Federico Fazio
Last season’s runners up have had a very quiet summer, adding just four new additions to their current squad.
Spurs had a great season last year and narrowly missed out on the title. Pochettino was very happy with his side last year and was under no pressure to make new signings.
English international Kyle Walker was a marquee departure this summer. The 27 year-old was a key part of Spurs’s back line and he even earned himself a spot in the PFA Team of the Year. The departure of Walker means that latest signing Serge Aurier will be Pochettino’s first choice right back.
Spurs’ first signing of the window was Colombian centre-back Davinson Sanchez from Ajax. Sanchez will likely be Pochetino’s back up centre-back and may be used as part of a back three. Although he is a good signing for the club, Spurs have not been very successful during this summer.
7. Watford
Notable Signings:
- Andre Gray
- Tom Cleverley
- Will Hughes
- Kiko Femenia
- Daniel Bachmann
- Nathaniel Chalobah
- Richarlison
- Andre Carrillo (loan)
- Orestis Karnezis
- Marvin Zeegelaar
- Molla Wague
Key Departures:
- Steven Berghuis
- Mario Suarez
Another mid-table side, Watford, have had an average transfer window. They were able to retain many of their upper tier players as well as add plenty of foreign and domestic talent.
The Hornets brought in young Englishmen Nathaniel Chalobah and Andre Gray to bolster their attack. Chalobah struggled to get game time at Chelsea and will be able to play regularly and thrive at Watford. Andre Gray has Premier League experience and will be a great replacement for captain Troy Deeney.
They were also able to bring in Brazilian Richarlison and Benfica striker Andre Carillo on loan. Both of these talented individuals will be able to help strengthen the current squad and with new manager Marco Silva, Watford should comfortably retain their spot in England’s top flight.
6. Crystal Palace
Notable Signings:
- Ruben Loftus-Cheek (loan)
- Jairo Riedewald
- Timothy Fosu-Mensah (loan)
Key Departures:
- Steve Mandanda
- Mathieu Flamini
- Joe Ledley
New manager Frank De Boer has not had the best transfer window and that is reflected in Palace’s opening games in the Premier League.
Having only brought in three players, Palace look to be early relegation favourites. The addition of loan signings Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Timothy Fosu-Mensah will definitely strengthen the current team.
However, with the increasing competition of the Premier League it will be a struggle for Crystal Palace this season.
5. Huddersfield Town
Notable Signings:
- Steve Mounie
- Laurent Depoitre
- Mathias Jorgensen
- Jonas Lossl (loan)
- Aaron Mooy
- Tom Ince
- Kasey Palmer (loan)
- Danny Williams
- Scott Malone
- Elias Kachunga
- Abdelhamid Sabir
- Florent Hadergjonaj (loan)
Key Departures
- Ronan Coughlan
- Kyle Dempsey
- Flo Bojaj
- Joe Murphy
- Jordy Hiwula (loan)
- Tareiq Holmes-Dennis (loan)
- Fraser Horsfall (loan)
Newly promoted Huddersfield have not been able to bring in a great deal of Premier League worthy players.
Their best signing has been Aaron Mooy, who joined on a club record deal from Manchester City. They have signed a lot of other players too, the most notable being Tom Ince and Jonas Lossl.
However, they are looking much more prepared than the other two promoted teams, despite being obvious underdogs.
Having got off to a great start, it’ll be interesting to see whether or not they will be able to maintain this form throughout the season.
4. Brighton and Hove Albion
Notable Signings:
- Jose Izquierdo
- Pascal Gross
- Josh Kerr
- Mathew Ryan
- Markus Suttner
- Mathias Normann
- Izzy Brown
- Davy Propper
- Soufyan Ahannach
- Ezequiel Schelotto
- Tim Krul
Key Departures:
- Chris O’Grady
- David Stockdale
- Elvis Manu
- Christian Walton (loan)
Unfortunately, during the course of the summer it doesn’t feel as though Brighton have strengthened since their promotion.
Although they’ve made a lot of signings and broken their transfer record a number of times, they are bringing in largely unknown players with no experience in the Premier League.
Chris Hughton is a good manager thus he may be able to use his expertise and narrowly save them from relegation. However, in reality, it’s going to be a long and difficult season for them.
3. Burnley
Notable Signings:
- Chris Wood
- Jon Walters
- Charlie Taylor
- Jack Cork
- Adam Legzdins
- Nahki Wells
Key Departures:
- Andre Gray
- Michael Keane
- Michael Kightly
- Joey Barton
Another lower team in Burnley have had a mediocre summer. The Clarets lost two of their key players, Andre Gary and Michael Keane. Despite having gained good money for the two, Burnley didn’t quite splash out this summer.
Marquee signing Chris Wood had a great season at Leeds and has already become a favourite amongst the fans as he scored the stoppage time equaliser against Spurs. He does demonstrate a lot of skill and talent but the question remains about whether he and new signing Nahki Wells will be able to carry the team.
2. Newcastle
Notable Signings:
- Christian Atsu
- Florian Lejeune
- Stefan O’Connor
- Josef Yarney
- Jacob Murphy
- Javier Manquillo
- Joselu
Key Departures:
- Florian Thauvin
- Vurnon Anita
- Adam Armstrong
- Sean Longstaff
- Daryl Murphy
Prior to the summer, owner Mike Ashley promised plenty of money for signings. However, he hasn’t delivered.
Newcastle’s best signing has to be Joselu from Stoke.
Currently, they’re still looking like a Championship team rather than Premier League as they have struggled to bring in experienced and proven players. Javier Manquillo was relegated with an awful Sunderland team, so he seems a bit of a strange signing for Newcastle if they’re wanting to remain in the Premier League.
Perhaps their status as a big club will be enough to keep them up, especially with Rafa Benitez in charge, but the squad is looking quite poor compared to previous seasons.
1. Southampton
Notable Signings:
- Jan Bednarek
- Mario Lemina
- Jack Rose
- Wesley Hoedt
Key Departures:
- Jay Rodriguez
- Cuco Martina
- Harrison Reed (loan)
Southampton have been quite successful in the Premier League the last four seasons. However, if they were looking to regain a spot in the Europa League next season, they needed to have made many more additions to their current team.
The Saints were lucky to have kept hold of Virgil Van Dijk, despite having several offers from Liverpool.
Jay Rodriguez is an experienced Premier League player who is very valuable in Southampton’s current team of youngsters. Although they got £15 million for him, experience is something that money can’t buy.
Polish youngster Jan Bednarek was one of Southampton’s few signings this summer. The 21 year-old was given a call up to the Polish U21 squad, where he made three appearances for his country.
Lastly, the Saints also managed to sign Mario Lemina from Juventus, who may be a dark horse in the Premier League this season. Unfortunately, this was a very unsuccessful transfer window for Southampton and they may struggle this season.
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