The deadline day of summer 2018 produced the usual frantic dash for clubs to strengthen their squads prior to the kick-off the Premier League campaign. However, some clubs enjoyed better luck on deadline day than others.
Here in my view are the winners and the losers of the transfer window in our opinion:
Winners
The big stories of the transfer deadline day were at Everton and Fulham who were both very active on transfer deadline. The pair strengthened their squads with some big signings.
Everton completed some massive deals in the dying embers of the transfer window. The Toffees finally completed a £28.5million deal for Barcelona centre-back Yerry Mina. The 23-year-old is highly-rated and was one of the star players for Colombia at the World Cup.
Mina was not the only new arrival at Goodison Park from Barcelona, as Portuguese midfielder Angel Gomes completed a season-long loan deal, which has cost the Toffees a reported loan fee of around £1.7million.
Brazilian playmaker Bernard also joined the men from Merseysiders on a free transfer, after leaving Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk as a free agent in the summer. The 25-year-old had previously been linked with moves to likes of Chelsea and Liverpool. The Toffees are also awaiting confirmation on the loan signing of Kurt Zouma from Chelsea.
Fulham were even more active on the final day of the summer transfer window. The pick of the signings were goalkeeper Sergio Rico from Sevilla on loan and striker Luciano Vietto who also joined on loan from Atletico Madrid.
The Cottagers biggest reported outlay on deadline day was the £22.3million spent on Marseille’s Cameroon central midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, subject to medical. The Cottagers were not finished there though, as full-back Joe Bryan also arrived from Bristol City for £6million and Timothy Fosu-Mensah joined on loan from Manchester United.
While the new players could take time to settle in their new surroundings, both clubs look to have brought in players that have significantly strengthened their squads. Fulham are now odds of 2/1 to suffer relegation following their last-minute trolley dash. However, the late additions will aid their chances of beating the drop this season.
Losers
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has been walking around with a face like a wet weekend for most of pre-season. I doubt the failure to sign a new centre-back in the summer transfer window will have improved his mood.
Toby Alderweireld, Jerome Boateng, Harry Maguire, Yerry Mina and Raphael Varane are just a few of the names linked with moves to Old Trafford in the transfer window. However, despite major speculation of a deadline day move, United were frustrated in their attempts to sign a new centre-back.
Tottenham were another of the losers on transfer deadline day, in fact for the whole window. The north London club became the first Premier League club since 2003 not to sign a player during a summer transfer window.
Spurs have been strong in previous seasons, but a restrictive transfer policy, and the clubs expensive new stadium has no doubt contributed to the north London club failing to strengthen their squad. Mauricio Pochettino’s side look unlikely to mount a realistic title challenge this season, as they failed to mount a challenge last season.
Deadline day signings can have a big effect on seasons
Why teams wait until the last minute to sign players is beyond comprehension. However, the last-gasp deals made on deadline day can be pivotal to some team’s seasons.
One big example would be Everton and the signing of Mina and the potential signing of Zouma. The Toffees had poor central defensive options prior to the window, proven by some torrid displays in pre-season.
In Mina and Zouma, the Merseysiders have signed two strong highly-rated centre-backs. Another example is Fulham with the signing of Vietto, as the Cottagers lacked forward options, despite signing Aleksandr Mitrovic earlier this summer.
It remains to be seen if Everton and Fulham really are the winners of transfer deadline day. Everton’s transfer business in last season’s transfer window also received praise. However, this summer’s signings look far less scattergun this time around, so the signs are positive for Marco Silva’s team for the new season.
Who were your winners and losers from deadline day?
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