Premier League 2024 Summer Transfer Window: Who closed the best deals this summer?

The excitement surrounding the final hours of the 2024 Premier League summer transfer window paid off as 20 players were signed by Premier League teams. In a last-ditch effort to maintain financial equilibrium, many more players were forced to move.

Close to deadline day, prominent players like James Ward-Prowse, Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling, Aaron Ramsdale, Eddie Nketiah, and Manuel Ugarte found new hurdles. The greatest clubs in English football were among those who continued to throw their nets in catch for necessary players for their team.

However, the final knocks of summer did not quite match the previous seasons. By the lavish standards of the Premier League, this window was modest, with a cumulative spend 16% less than that of the record-breaking 2023. The final expenditure of £1.98 billion ($2.08 billion) was broadly in line with that of summer 2022 albeit reliant on the self-serving business orchestrated around the June 30 deadline in getting that far.

Chelsea and Manchester United did their bit, together committing close to £400million to signing new players, but several leading rivals preferred to sit on their hands. Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal were among those who didn’t do much in the window.

Premier League clubs spent £2.08bn on 118 permanent signings for disclosed fees during transfer window. Chelsea spent a league-high £220m on new signings; Blues also couped a league-high £153.3m from sales.

Who spent the most?

Chelsea led the way for spending with an outlay of £219.6m, with nearly half of that spent on Pedro Neto (£54m) and Joao Felix (£46.3m). Manchester United (£205.9m), Brighton (£192m), Tottenham (£133.5m), West Ham (£132.5m), Aston Villa (£129.5m), Ipswich (£124m), Southampton (£108.3m) and Arsenal (£101.5m) all splurged nine-figure sums on recruits. From the down end of the scale, Manchester City (£33.6m), Liverpool (£41.5m), Newcastle (£43m), Everton (£46m) and Wolves (£53.3m) spent less during the window.

Top 5 clubs that made the best out of the window

Arsenal made two significant additions in Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori, and they also skillfully reduced their roster. To make this a very good window, they needed one more attacking player, and their late acquisition of Raheem Sterling might turn out to be a brilliant choice. In addition to having a great deal of experience and knowing Sterling well, he offers something completely different to their other attackers. Last season, he played well for a Chelsea team that was inconsistent. The Arsenal team has obviously  improved from the previous campaign.

Brighton and Hove Albion had a successful summer by wisely investing Caicedo and MacAllister funds in Fabian Hurzeler’s initiative. Big time. Minteh, Wieffer, Gruda, Rutter, O’Riley, and Kadioglu spent about $260 million on Brighton this summer, and the club now seems poised to compete in Europe. After selling off their best players for so long, they made an excellent recruiting. The Seagulls have a clear strategy and are a model club in terms of player recruitment.

West Ham United is right up there with one of the greatest businesses in this transfer window. Fullkrug, Wan-Bissaka, Kilman, Summerville, Guilherme, Rodriguez, Soler, and Todibo are all significant improvements, and Julen Lopetegui now has the type of players he enjoys working with. Hammers roster is presently more stronger than last season. One year later, they’ve waited to spend the Declan Rice money carefully.

Brentford: The loss of Ivan Toney was unavoidable, but the additions of Fabio Carvalho, Igor Thiago, and Sepp van den Berg strengthen the team’s overall performance. Despite Thiago’s preseason injury, the Bees had a rather successful transfer window.

At the other end, there are clubs that didn’t do much in the transfer summer due to different  reasons, the major being financial restriction or incapability.

Leicester City: Due to their financial position, the Foxes traded star player Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea, and the new owners have reinvested a minimal sum to strengthen their squad. Oliver Skipp will be a strong addition, and adding Abdul Fatawu on a permanent basis was essential. Nonetheless, their squad may be weaker than previous season, when they won the Championship.

Liverpool: It is a quiet summer for the Reds and Arne Slot will be fine with that. He has so much quality in this Liverpool squad and adding Federico Chiesa late in the window for a bargain fee was great business to add an extra layer to their attack. Not adding a central midfielder was the only negative as Zubimendi turned them down, but they didn’t panic. Seems like they have enough quality in that area for now. The lingering contract situations around Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold will now become the priority to figure out.

Ipswich Town: A busy summer for the new boys and they added depth to their squad, but not much top-flight experience as they struggled to get some deals over the line late on. They will be solid and tough to beat with Sammie Szmodics, Kalvin Phillips and Omari Hutchinson the standout additions.

Wolverhampton Wanderers: It is overall a bad summer for Wolves. Similar to Everton and Leicester City, they have been hampered by financial restrictions placed on them by their owners. Wolves sold star player Pedro Neto and captain Max Kilman and they haven’t been able to reinvest with experienced players, but their late signings of Forbs and Andre are intriguing. However, Gary O’Neil’s squad was thin last season and it still is, as well as losing key players.