Here Is What The EPL Top Six Clubs Were Up To During The Transfer Window
9th August 2019
The Reds are banking on the stability of retaining the side that posted a club-record 97 points last season and won a sixth European Cup
- Premier League clubs splashed out well over £1 billion ($1.2 billion) in the transfer market arms race ahead of the start of the new season on Friday
- Last season's domestic treble winners have strengthened an enviably deep squad with the signing of Rodri for a club-record £63 million ($77 million) as the long-term successor to Fernandinho in defensive midfield
- Lampard's job has not been made any easier by the loss of the club's best player Eden Hazard to Real Madrid and David Luiz's deadline-day move to Arsenal
LONDON, United Kingdom- Premier League clubs splashed out well over £1 billion ($1.2 billion)
in the transfer market arms race ahead of the start of the new season on
Friday.
The vast majority of
that sum was again spent by 'top six' powerhouses Manchester City, Liverpool,
Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United, but some have strengthened
wisely, while others still look under prepared for the new season.
Here, AFP Sport
looks at how each fared in the transfer window:
Manchester City (2018/19: 1st)
Last season's
domestic treble winners have strengthened an enviably deep squad with the
signing of Rodri for a club-record £63 million ($77 million) as the long-term
successor to Fernandinho in defensive midfield.
The full-back
positions have also been reinforced, with Joao Cancelo competing with Kyle
Walker at right-back, while Angelino has been bought back from PSV Eindhoven to
offer cover at left-back for Oleksandr Zinchenko and the injury-prone Benjamin
Mendy.
However, City have
failed to replace former captain Vincent Kompany after he left to take charge
of Anderlecht.
Kompany's leadership
will be missed and City could be vulnerable in central defence.
Liverpool (2018/19: 2nd)
The European
champions have stepped away from the bidding wars this summer, making just
three low-key signings in teenagers Sepp van den Berg and Harvey Elliott and
reserve goalkeeper Adrian, none of whom are expected to have much impact on the
first team this season.
"You should
never do transfers because other clubs are doing transfers. That makes no sense,
it's not about that," said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. "If you
sit back for a second and have a look at the squad, do we need more
players?"
The Reds are banking
on the stability of retaining the side that posted a club-record 97 points last
season and won a sixth European Cup.
However, the
decision not to build from a position of strength will be questioned if
Liverpool's long wait for a league title stretches beyond 30 years come May.
Chelsea (2018/19: 3rd)
The Blues' ban on
registering new players means the focus of preparation for Frank Lampard's
first season in charge has been on returning loanees such as Mason Mount and
Tammy Abraham, who could finally be given their chance to shine for the Chelsea
first team.
Lampard's job has
not been made any easier by the loss of the club's best player Eden Hazard to
Real Madrid and David Luiz's deadline-day move to Arsenal.
Christian Pulisic,
who was signed in the winter transfer window before being loaned back to Borussia
Dortmund, will add attacking zest and Mateo Kovacic's loan deal from Real
Madrid has been made permanent.
Tottenham (2018/19: 4th)
Tottenham chairman
Daniel Levy again left it late but the signings of Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan
Sessegnon on Thursday, allied to the arrival of Tanguy Ndombele for a
club-record fee earlier in the transfer window, has finally reinforced a Spurs
squad that had gone 18 months without a new recruit.
Spurs, though, still
do not appear to have the depth to rival City or Liverpool for the title.
Right-back Kieran
Trippier has not been replaced since joining Atletico Madrid and a failed
attempt to land Paulo Dybala from Juventus means there remains little back-up
to Harry Kane up front.
Arsenal (2018/19: 5th)
Against
expectations, with budgets tightened by a lack of Champions League football,
Arsenal have strengthened across all areas with the additions of Nicolas Pepe,
Dani Ceballos, Kieran Tierney and Luiz.
Pepe's club-record
£72 million move from Lille adds even more firepower to a frontline already
containing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette. Ceballos, loaned
from Real Madrid, will add guile and goals from midfield.
However, it is at
the back where Arsenal were desperately in need of improvements.
Captain Laurent
Koscielny's acrimonious departure to Bordeaux further weakened a defence that
conceded 51 goals in the Premier League last season, but Luiz will add
experience, while Tierney will prove a substantial upgrade at left-back.
Manchester United (2018/19: 6th)
A change of approach
at Old Trafford to target young, British talent has not come cheap, with around
£145 million spent on Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James.
Maguire's arrival
made the English international the world's most expensive defender at an
eye-watering £80 million, but that fee was a necessary splurge to shore up a
leaky defence in need of leadership.
However, questions
remain over whether enough has been done to improve a side that finished as
close to the relegation zone on points as to champions City last season.
Striker Romelu
Lukaku has departed for Inter Milan and not been replaced, while moves for a
number of midfield targets such as Sporting Lisbon's Bruno Fernandes have not
borne fruit.