Winners and losers of the Premier League transfer window
Now that another Premier League transfer window has come and gone, it's time to analyze what transpired. Here, we pick out the winners and losers from the summer market in England.
Winners: Arsenal
The suggestion that Arsenal only had £45 million to operate with this summer was likely simple posturing, but regardless of the club's financial situation, the Gunners look revitalized heading into the season.
More attacking firepower was perhaps not 100 percent necessary given the makeup of the squad, but the club-record signing of Nicolas Pepe gives Unai Emery one of the game's most exciting young wingers, and strikes the ideal balance between a ready-made addition and a future superstar.
Reinforcements in defense were critical, however, and the deadline-day additions of Kieran Tierney and David Luiz check that glaring box.
The shock signing of the latter, in particular, is a real coup. Luiz, unfairly maligned throughout his career, reportedly cost only £8 million. He'll provide pinpoint distribution from the back, and can tide things over until exciting youngster William Saliba arrives next season.
Don't sleep on the loan move for twinkle-toed midfielder Dani Ceballos, either. The Spaniard, a dazzling dribbler and a proficient creator, will leave plenty of defenders on their backside.
There's still work to be done - will anyone be willing to take the dreadful Shkodran Mustafi off the club's hands? - but Arsenal's new front office did a splendid job of retooling in such a short period of time.
Losers: Manchester United
Only the current iteration of Manchester United could conspire to spend roughly £130 million in a single transfer window and arguably get worse.
Without question, Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka strengthen the Red Devils' backline. The reported world-record fee for a defender makes Maguire's signing less palatable than that of his compatriot, but he's a massive upgrade over the likes of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones.
But that's just about where the positives stop.
Ander Herrera wasn't replaced, which seems downright foolish. Neither was new Inter striker Romelu Lukaku, despite the Belgian's departure feeling like a foregone conclusion since the window opened. Paul Pogba will almost certainly remain with the club now, but after missing out on the likes of Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, and Tanguy Ndombele, his potential partners in midfield don't exactly inspire confidence.
United's decisions have left them woefully thin in critical areas, and they've yet again highlighted the inadequate planning - or the lack thereof - by Ed Woodward.
Winners: Manchester City
Don't be fooled by their relative lack of activity this summer. When you're this good, minor tweaking is all that's needed.
Manchester City, already the class of the Premier League, managed to strengthen a side that racked up an obscene 198 points over the last two seasons. The opulent addition of Rodri should ease any concerns about relying too heavily on the aging legs of Fernandinho in midfield, while electrifying Portuguese international Joao Cancelo gives Pep Guardiola another attacking weapon at full-back - as if he needed more of them.
Triggering the buyback clause in Angelino's contract was quietly shrewd, too.
In what is surely a frustrating proposition for Liverpool, the best team in England got even better over the last couple of months.
Loser: Wilfried Zaha
You have to feel for Wilfried Zaha.
The big-money move he so desperately desired never materialized, as Crystal Palace rejected multiple offers from both Arsenal and Everton. The 26-year-old submitted a transfer request on Wednesday in a bid to force a move away from Selhurst Park, but the Eagles were adamant all summer long that they wouldn't budge on their hefty valuation of the Ivorian winger.
"His beef is with the chairman and owners of the club because he's wanted to leave and they haven't received the offer that they think is sufficient to allow him to leave," manager Roy Hodgson said on Thursday.
"He has to come to terms with that, when you sign long-term contracts you are expected to honor them and we expect him to do that."
So now, instead of linking up with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette at the Emirates, or with Richarlison and Moise Kean at Goodison Park, Zaha will stare across at the likes of ... Jordan Ayew and Christian Benteke.
Winner: Mauricio Pochettino
Daniel Levy finally loosened the purse strings, satiating manager Mauricio Pochettino's not-so-subtle call for reinforcements.
While their moves perhaps fell just short of the impressive business conducted by bitter rivals Arsenal, Tottenham procured two of Europe's most prized midfielders this summer, adding Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso from Lyon and Real Betis, respectively. With the duo's combined explosiveness, guile, and quality on the ball, Spurs now have a legitimate claim to owning the best crop of central midfielders in the Premier League, even if Eriksen departs.
Sure, not replacing Kieran Trippier leaves a hole at right-back - it may be time, again, for the Serge Aurier show to roll into town - but the positives far outweigh the negatives here, and that's before you take into consideration the additions of exciting teenagers Ryan Sessegnon and Jack Clarke.
It's all smiles in north London at the moment.
Losers: Juventus
Fabio Paratici may want to avoid doing business in England for a while.
The Juventus director made the trip over from Italy on multiple occasions this summer, trying, at various points, to sell the likes of Paulo Dybala, Mario Mandzukic, Sami Khedira, Blaise Matuidi, and Daniele Rugani. He returned to Turin having offloaded exactly none of that quintet, instead shipping burgeoning superstar Kean to Everton and swapping buccaneering full-back Cancelo for the unspectacular Danilo.
The club made significant capital gains with each move - perhaps that's all it was looking for - but from a sporting perspective, the Bianconeri got fleeced.
Meanwhile, you can certainly make the argument that failing to jettison Dybala to either Manchester United or Spurs actually worked out in Juve's best interest, but Paratici's inability to shed some of the squad's deadwood could prove costly.
Winners: Mino Raiola and Jorge Mendes
Let's be honest here - these two super-agents are the real winners of every transfer window.