Arsenal
It remains to be seen whether Arsenal will rue failing to add numbers in midfield or out wide. They could not tempt Aston Villa to part with Douglas Luiz on deadline day and inquiries about several wingers were not followed up. Their earlier work in the window was admirable: Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko have made instant impacts for the league leaders and Fábio Vieira brims with promise. Perhaps the young wide man Marquinhos, signed from São Paulo, will now get his chance. Arsenal come out looking stronger but questions about their depth remain. Nick Ames
Aston Villa
What seemed a promising window at the beginning of July when Villa had five new faces through the door in time for their pre-season tour of Australia suddenly does not feel quite so satisfying. Diego Carlos’s long-term injury left Villa scrambling on deadline day for a centre-back in Jan Bednarek, who fell out of favour at Southampton. The arrival of Leander Dendoncker from their rivals Wolves will strengthen their midfield but the early evidence suggests they have not made as much progress as first thought. Ben Fisher
Bournemouth
A testing and low-key summer resulted in Scott Parker losing his job but the interim head coach, Gary O’Neil – even if he was hardly going to repeat Parker’s insistence that the squad is inadequate – claims Bournemouth are good enough to scrap for survival. “I think we have enough to be competitive at this level,” O’Neil said. Marcus Tavernier looks a smart addition but it remains to be seen whether Marcos Senesi and Jack Stephens help tighten a defence that has been torn to pieces on occasions, notably in defeat at Anfield. BF
Brentford
The Bees tried until the very last day to complete an ambitious move for the Shakhtar Donetsk forward Mykhaylo Mudryk, a long-term target, but could not tempt the Ukrainian club to part with him. But that would have been the icing on the cake of a window featuring some brisk business, with Keane Lewis-Potter and Mikkel Damsgaard looking handy additions to the attack. Ben Mee and Aaron Hickey have strengthened problem areas in defence and, while losing Christian Eriksen was a disappointment, Thomas Frank feels his squad has emerged with a good balance. NA
Brighton
A testing window in which three starters from the side that did so well last season departed might be a cause for concern for most managers but not for Graham Potter. Brighton acquired the Ecuador left-back Pervis Estupiñán from Villarreal to replace Marc Cucurella and made a late move for Chelsea’s Billy Gilmour, but the loss of Yves Bissouma and Neal Maupay is likely to be covered by existing players from the squad. Ed Aarons
Chelsea
Todd Boehly’s whirlwind first summer as Chelsea owner/head of recruitment/chief executive has been quite a ride, although how much they have improved after spending the best part of £260m remains open to debate. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s return to London will at least provide Thomas Tuchel with a proven goalscorer, while the seven-year contract awarded to Wesley Fofana showed both his and Boehly’s commitment for the long haul. EA
Crystal Palace
That Wilfried Zaha remains part of Patrick Vieira’s squad until at least January is the major victory of the window, although the forward’s future after that remains in doubt given his contract status. Attempts to sign Conor Gallagher were always unlikely to materialise given his ties to Chelsea and there will be some frustration among supporters that Vieira has not strengthened his midfield more after the arrival of Cheick Doucouré. EA
Everton
Farhad Moshiri asked to be judged at the end of the window in the owner’s open letter to fans on 14 July, when Everton had sold Richarlison and signed James Tarkowski on a free. Seven players subsequently arrived, several high earners went and Chelsea’s lucrative pursuit of Anthony Gordon was resisted. A positive first window for Kevin Thelwell as director of football overall, then, albeit with concerns remaining over the strength of Everton’s attack. Andy Hunter
Fulham
Marco Silva had promised deadline-day additions and Fulham managed four. Willian and Carlos Vinícius signed permanently while Layvin Kurzawa and Dan James arrived on loan; all add depth but Silva must ensure a bright start by his existing crop is not disrupted. Of Fulham’s earlier signings, João Palhinha has made an instant impact in midfield and Andreas Pereira shows signs of realising his potential. Bernd Leno will be a solid acquisition in goal. The capture of James, after efforts to sign Justin Kluivert fell through, came because Manor Solomon sustained an injury after arriving on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk. NA
Leeds
The jury may still be out on Jesse Marsch but the Leeds manager has bought himself invaluable time in which to confound the doubters courtesy of some stellar signings. The United States attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson has invested that department with added quality and Colombia’s Luis Sinisterra is an exciting winger capable of filling Elland Road’s Raphinha-sized hole. Rasmus Kristensen, Marc Roca and Tyler Adams are three further decent additions. Despite Bamba Dieng’s mooted move from Marseille to provide attacking cover for Patrick Bamford falling through at the 11th hour, Marsch’s squad looks much better balanced. Victor Orta, the Leeds director of football, has made good use of his extensive contacts book … even if they could have done with another forward. Louise Taylor
Leicester
On the final day of the window Leicester made their first and only outfield signing in the Reims centre-back Wout Faes, a replacement for Wesley Fofana. It has been a painful few months for Brendan Rodgers and Leicester, who appear to have been left behind by rivals who have enhanced their squads. Perhaps the biggest frustration was Leicester’s failure to offload a raft of fringe players who inadvertently hampered Rodgers hopes of strengthening. Rodgers had targets lined up and wanted a healthy shake-up but ended up with nothing of the sort. BF
Liverpool
The first challenge of the summer – Sadio Mané’s desire to leave – was met with decisive action in the form of a potential club-record deal for Darwin Núñez. Liverpool believed their incoming business was done before pre-season training had started. Then injuries, many concentrated in midfield, forced Jürgen Klopp to U-turn on the need for reinforcement. The summer’s second challenge proved far more complicated until Arthur Melo arrived from Juventus on deadline day. AH
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola has signed a serious goal glutton in Erling Haaland, a first-choice England midfielder in Kalvin Phillips who even before his current injury could not make the XI, a contender for best unheralded arrival in Julián Álvarez, a World Cup Under-17 silver ball winner in Sergio Gómez, and a 41-cap centre-back in Manuel Akanji: all making this the champions’ latest supremely successful transfer window. Jamie Jackson
Manchester United
This was the summer of Frenkie de Jong joining Manchester United that never was: Erik ten Hag’s No 1 target was tracked for four months-plus but to no avail. Factor in an abandoned pursuit of Marko Arnautovic, a failed bid for Adrien Rabiot and Jurrien Timber’s preference to stay at Ajax, and the Dutch manager’s first window diced with farce. But Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martínez, Antony, Casemiro, Tyrell Malacia and Martin Dubravka arrived. All’s well that ends well? The coming months will tell. JJ
Newcastle
Newcastle have morphed into a sensible and highly competent team under Eddie Howe with this transformation accelerated by the calibre of the signings. So far, Nick Pope has shone in goal, Sven Botman exudes central defensive efficiency and potential, Matt Targett is proving an excellent left-back and almost £60m invested in buying the Sweden striker Alexander Isak seems money well spent. They could certainly have done with another high-grade central midfielder but Dan Ashworth, Newcastle’s sporting director, should be satisfied with his first window on Tyneside. LT
Nottingham Forest
It all started quite sensibly with carefully targeted players to fit Steve Cooper’s style and ended – remarkably – with 21 signings. Serge Aurier, a free agent, could yet take the figure to 22. Jesse Lingard arrived out of the blue but was seen by everyone as a deal worth doing. The opening-day loss to Newcastle changed the dynamic and a plethora of experience was sought, but at the same time Cooper got his way with Morgan Gibbs-White to leave the squad brimming with youthful promise – which had been the original plan in mid-June. Will Unwin
Southampton
The early signs suggest the Saints have done some of the best business in the division. The 20-year-old Armel Bella-Kotchap, one of 10 new faces, has made a big first impression. Southampton’s new head of recruitment, Joe Shields, turned to his former club Manchester City to bring in four youngsters: Roméo Lavia, Gavin Bazunu and – on deadline day – Sam Edozie and Juan Larios. Southampton’s faith in youth is not a gimmick but genuine, hence why Jan Bednarek was allowed to depart to Aston Villa and the long-serving Jack Stephens, Oriol Romeu and Shane Long were moved on. Duje Caleta-Car arrives from Marseille with a big reputation and Ainsley Maitland-Niles will be determined to enhance his after joining on loan. At the start of the window another striker seemed logical but Ché Adams and Adam Armstrong have hit the ground running. BF
Tottenham
Spurs were unusually quiet on deadline day but it was because they had moved with rare speed for their targets, wrapping up their key deals by the middle of July. The new boys have brought quality, physicality and plenty of experience – with only Djed Spence being considered one for the future; a club signing rather than one pushed by Antonio Conte. It has been a window to fire optimism. David Hytner
West Ham
A lavish window in terms of outlay. David Moyes finally has competition up front for Michail Antonio in the shape of Gianluca Scamacca while the addition of the playmaker Lucas Paquetá is one to set the pulses racing. Although the manager did not get the extra midfielder he wanted, he was able to keep Declan Rice and his squad has a stronger look. DH
Wolves
It was a slow-burn window for Wolves and the onus is on Bruno Lage to make sure his new toys gel after a summer of change. The captain, Conor Coady, was allowed to leave for Everton after Lage switched to a four-man defence and although Nathan Collins has settled none of Gonçalo Guedes, Matheus Nunes and Sasa Kalajdzic, signed at a combined cost of about £80m, arrived for the start of the season. The package for Morgan Gibbs-White, who was sold in a £42.5m deal, was too good to turn down. Lage is adamant his team will start to blossom. BF
