Grading EVERY Premier League Club’s Transfer Window

The summer transfer window is now over. Teams in the Premier League have assembled their squads, but who conducted the best business this time around?

We’ll aim to find this out today, when we grade the performance of every club in England’s top division over the course of the summer. Who do you think should receive top marks and who should be bottom of the class?

Arsenal – C

Honestly, Arsenal didn’t need to register anything more than a ‘C’ grade in the transfer window this summer. Having won the league last season, their squad was not in need of any major overhaul. Still, in bringing Bruno Guimaraes, Christos Tzolis and Ezri Konsa on board, they’ve undoubtedly become stronger.

Aston Villa – D

A troubling window for Aston Villa. Five key players left the club this summer, including Morgan Rogers, who is practically irreplaceable. Sure, they’ve made some decent signings, especially so in the case of Johan Manzambi, but Unai Emery’s men are a weakened outfit in comparison to last season.

Bournemouth – C

Bournemouth enjoyed a great start to the transfer window, signing Antonio Silva for just £26 million, but didn’t do much in the weeks that followed. Furthermore, we must dock them points for losing Marcos Senesi, one of their best players last season, on a free transfer.

Brentford – A

All in all, a brilliant window for Brentford. None of their top players from last season departed the club, while they’ve made some obvious improvements in the interim. Particularly, bringing in Mamadou Sangare looks to be an inspired piece of business.

Brighton – C

There have been some obvious negatives for Brighton to mull over this summer, but most of them have been ameliorated. Jan Paul van Hecke left the club, which was a big blow, but Luka Vuskovic was brought in to soften the impact. Losing Carlos Baleba could prove to be crucial, though – this is one loss that wasn’t accounted for.

Chelsea – B

It’s very hard to grade Chelsea’s summer window, due to the amount of business conducted. With so many players having flown in and out of their doors, we’ll have to see how they all settle in – but, on account of their strong start, we feel emboldened enough to give them a ‘B’.

Coventry City – D

Right now, with two losses from two games in the Premier League thus far, Coventry City look ill-equipped to launch a successful survival campaign. Taiwo Awoniyi may prove to be a good signing, but he hasn’t hit the ground running. Likewise, Carl Rushworth and Gustavo Hamer were also decent additions, but will they be enough?

Crystal Palace – D

Crystal Palace fans are understandably worried after their team was gutted in the summer. Daniel Munoz and Maxence Lacroix both left the club, neither being replaced particularly well. Still, they made a couple of decent free signings – namely Ben Chilwell and Takehiro Tomiyasu, who could prove to be canny pickups.

Everton – F

A desperately poor summer window from Everton. So many false starts, so many shattered dreams. Fair enough, they brought in Jack Grealish on loan again and upgraded upon Dwight McNeil by signing Brennan Johnson, but losing Iliman Ndiaye without a real replacement could be a killer blow for the Toffees.

Fulham – D

Again, it’s hard to rank Fulham’s window, due to the amount of uncertainty around players they’ve signed. We’re going to give them a ‘D’ grade, though – losing Harry Wilson on a free transfer was a bitter pill to swallow. Losing Sasa Lukic wasn’t ideal, either.

Hull City – B

Who would’ve expected this? Hull City have two wins in two Premier League games, despite running on a comparative shoestring. Shrewdness has been the name of the game for the Tigers this summer – to their credit, they’ve spent their limited resources very well. In particular, goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis has been a real highlight thus far.

Ipswich Town – B

Ipswich Town also haven’t had much money to throw around, but have made the best of what they could. We initially questioned the signing of Emersonn, but he’s had a decent start to life at Portman Road. The star of the show is, of course, Julio Enciso, who has looked like a spectacular signing for Gary O’Neil’s men.

Leeds United – A

Leeds United’s transfer market intelligence is becoming more and more evident with each passing season. Not only did they snap up Harry Wilson on a free transfer, they also managed to bag James Trafford and Tarik Muharemovic, both of whom look like brilliant acquisitions.

Liverpool – C

Certainly a mixed window for Liverpool. While not as high-spending as we may have initially thought, the late addition of Bradley Barcola changed that in a flash. Still, key areas of weakness within the squad still remain unaddressed.

Manchester City – C

To describe Manchester City’s first summer window under Enzo Maresca as ‘turbulent’ would be a bit of an understatement. Players such as Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders and Nico Gonzalez all left the club, but on the other hand, a slew of new blood was also brought in. We can’t help but feel that the Sky Blues will run into serious trouble if Erling Haaland picks up an injury, though.

Manchester United – C

Manchester United came into the summer needing a new left-back. Manchester United have now exited the summer, still without a new left-back. This was an almighty risk to take – still, we must give Michael Carrick credit for holding on to Bruno Fernandes and bringing in players to replace Casemiro.

Newcastle United – B

Previously, we might’ve given Newcastle’s transfer window performance a much lower grade, but after two games have been played, they’re looking like possible dark horses. We thought they couldn’t possibly recover from the losses of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon, but they may well have in double quick time.

Nottingham Forest – D

An underwhelming window for a club that often surprises us in the summer. Nottingham Forest certainly made some decent signings this summer, especially so in the case of Daniel Munoz, but the loss of Elliot Anderson wasn’t really accounted for properly.

Sunderland – C

A very low-key window from Sunderland, which was unsurprising, given their spending spree last year. Have they added enough quality to compete in Europe? We shall see, but the fact that none of their key players left (despite interest) was a positive.

Tottenham Hotspur – B

We’re giving Tottenham a tentative ‘B’ for now. For years, the Spurs fanbase have called upon their club to splash the cash – now, they have certainly done just that. But after such a dismal start to the season, is this yet another false dawn for the Lilywhites?