Ranking the summer transfer window of every Premier League manager...
The summer transfer window has *slammed* shut so we’ve handed each of the 20 Premier League managers marks out of 10...
Mikel Arteta: 4/10
Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal. It’s always a rollercoaster with that club, especially under Mikel Arteta. Ben White is a good signing in my opinion, as is Martin Odegaard. The Deadline Day signing of Takehiro Tomiyasu may provide at right back also. But they’ve seemed to have overspent on too many players that don’t make them better. Done well to shift deadwood, but letting William Saliba leave on loan is questionable. The drama with Ainsley Maitland-Niles at the end of the window seems ridiculous as well.
Dean Smith: 9/10
Unfortunately for Villa they seemingly had no choice but to let Jack Grealish leave. But Dean Smith has gone about his business smartly and professionally this summer. Bringing Emi Buendia, Danny Ings, and Leon Bailey in, with Ashley Young on a free and Axel Tuanzebe on a loan, which leaves the club in a strong position going forward this season.
Thomas Frank: 7/10
Thomas Frank has brought in Kristoffer Ajer from Celtic to strengthen Brentford’s defence, as well as Frank Onyeka and Yoane Wissa, who have started their time at the club well. They’ve released a few players from their squad, but have their whole promotion winning squad intact.
Graham Potter: 7/10
Brighton are another club who have seemingly done solid business this window. Graham Potter’s done well to get £50m for Ben White, whilst the returning Shane Duffy has filled the gap with a strong start to the season. Marc Cucurella could turn out to be the perfect wing-back partner for Tariq Lamptey, and Enock Mwepu seems a promising buy to fit in with Yves Bissouma.
Sean Dyche: 6/10
Despite their new ownership, Burnley fans haven’t had the window they were potentially hoping for. However, a few late signings in the form of the impressive Maxwell Cornet and Connor Roberts can give them some form of optimism heading into the season.
Thomas Tuchel: 9/10
The European Champions have shifted a lot of deadwood this summer, thanks to the work of Marina Granovskaia. They’ve also brought in Romelu Lukaku, one of the world’s best strikers, to fill the void they had at the top end of the pitch. The late signing of Saul Niguez from Atletico Madrid will provide some quality competition in the middle of the pitch for Chelsea, who may only be left annoyed with missing out on Jules Kounde.
Patrick Vieira: 9/10
I personally think Palace have had a very good window this summer. They’ve transformed their aging squad and moved on a lot of players. The arrival of Patrick Vieira has brought new optimism to the club, and with Odsonne Edouard, Michael Olise, Will Hughes and Conor Gallagher added along with Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen at the back, Palace could be in for an interesting season.
Rafa Benitez: 7/10
The signings of free agent Andros Townsend and Demarai Gray for £1.5m certainly raised eyebrows at the time, but they’ve turned out to be solid bits of recruitment so far. Bringing in experience to pack out the squad, such as his beloved Salomon Rondon, whilst also getting rid of the problematic Moise Kean, has led this to being a solid first transfer window in charge of Everton for Benitez.
Marcelo Bielsa: 7/10
You can imagine Marcelo Bielsa will be happy to get long-term target Dan James in at the club finally. Add that in with Jack Harrison signing permanently, and Barcelona’s Junior Firpo joining, Leeds have had a good solid window.
Brendan Rodgers: 7/10
Patson Daka, Boubakary Soumare, Ademola Lookman, Jannik Vestergaard and Ryan Bertrand. Leicester have once again gone about their business quietly, and had another solid window. Will these players prove to be enough to get them into the Champions League? Only time will tell...
Jurgen Klopp: 5/10
Just the one signing for Liverpool in the form of RB Leipzig’s Ibrahima Konate, who we’re yet to see. Liverpool have managed to shift some fringe players, but still have too many around their squad for my liking. But the likes of Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez returning from injury will prove to be like new signings this season.
Pep Guardiola: 6/10
The Premier League winner got one of his two main targets in Jack Grealish, but missed out on a striker which at times last season Man City desperately lacked. The lack of a striker so far hasn’t impacted them too badly, but you wonder how they’ll fare if they’re struck by a wave of injuries. They’ve managed to move some players out on loan and permanently, but one has to wonder if Pep is annoyed by missing out on Harry Kane.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: 9/10
Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane, and Jadon Sancho. It doesn’t get much better for any club than having those three join your ranks. One thing United may miss out on is a defensive midfielder, a position that has looked shaky for them with the likes of Fred occupying. Managed to shift a couple players out of the club, but I’m sure they would have liked to get rid of the Phil Jones’ of this world as well.
Steve Bruce: 4/10
Joe Willock has come back to the club on a permanent basis, with Newcastle managing to get rid of a few players. You have to wonder as always, what is going on at that club? They have a few exciting players in their midst, but it’s going to be a struggle for them to stay up this season, especially if they get any injuries to key players.
Daniel Farke: 5/10
Norwich will be bitterly disappointed coming back into the league to have lost their creative spark in Emi Buendia. They’ve bulked out their squad more this season, but the quality of their signings remains to be seen. Unfortunately, I can only see one route for Norwich this season, and that’s straight back down to the Championship.
Ralph Hasenhüttl: 6/10
Southampton lost their main goal threat in Danny Ings out of nowhere, and replaced him with Adam Armstrong, who has been prolific at lower levels. The rumours surrounding James Ward-Prowse’s departure have been put to bed with a new contract for the skipper, whilst the signings of Tino Livramento and Thierry Small look to be very promising.
Nuno Espirito Santo: 8/10
Against his will or not, Spurs have kept Harry Kane, which will be their most important signing this summer. Their rebuild has started well, with Bryan Gil, Christian Romero, Emerson Royal, and Pierluigi Gollini all being welcome additions to the squad. They’ve shifted a few older players to give the squad a fresher feel, and it’s certainly paying off so far.
Xisco Munoz: 6/10
An interesting one for Watford. They’ve brought in a fair few players this summer, including Premier League experience in Moussa Sissoko and Danny Rose. Losing Will Hughes so late in the window will leave a sour taste for them, but they’ll be hoping to have enough to get over the line and stay in the league.
David Moyes: 8/10
What a revival this man has had. The fans and the board are firmly behind him at West Ham, and that’s shown with the signings of Kurt Zouma and Nikola Vlasic, who will only add to an impressive starting XI. They’ve gotten rid of a few players in Felipe Anderson, Frederik Alves and Fabian Balbuena, and packed out the squad with a bit more experience and quality, in Alphonse Areola and Craig Dawson.
Bruno Lage: 7/10
Coming into your first transfer window in a new country must be a difficult task, but Bruno Lage has performed respectfully so far. Francisco Trincao looks to be a terrific signing on loan, whilst a deal for Renato Sanches wasn’t able to pull through enough. They’ve managed to get rid of a few players over the summer, but keeping a revitalised Adama Traore may prove to be their best business yet.
