Grading Each Premier League Team's Transfer Window So Far

Taking a look at all the major Premier League incomings and outgoings and how they affect each squad

All Transfer Prices from Transfermarkt.com

Arsenal - A

Major Incomings:

Marquinhos, £4m from Sao Paolo

Fabio Vieira, £30m from Porto

Matt Turner, £7m from New England Revolution

Gabriel Jesus, £57m from Manchester City

Oleksander Zinchenko, £38.5m from Manchester City

Major Outgoings:

Alexandre Lacazette, Free to Lyon

Arsenal have spent big this summer, but they're sticking to the plan of signing promising players on the younger side. The highlight of this window has been picking up those uncut gems from Manchester City in Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus. Based on preseason alone, Gabriel Jesus looks like he could be one of the signings of the summer, scoring four goals in 4 games, two of which were against Premier League opponents in their 2-0 win over Everton and their impressive 4-0 win over Chelsea this past weekend. Brazilian winger Marquinhos and American goalkeeper Matt Turner have also made appearances this preseason, with both looking like they will be viable rotation players for the squad. Viera and Zinchenko are two shrewd signings mainly due to their versatility, with Viera able to play on the left, right, or centrally in attack while Zinchenko can play as a full-back or central midfielder. Zinchenko made his Arsenal debut in their win against Chelsea, while Viera has yet to play as he recovers from an injury. Arteta maintains he should be fit by the start of the season. Arsenal have significantly improved their squad and look like they will be a formidable team next season in both the Premier League and Europa League.

Aston Villa - B

Major Incomings:

Phillipe Coutinho, £22m from Barcelona

Boubacar Kamara, Free from Marseille

Diego Carlos, £34m from Sevilla

Robin Olsen, £4m from Roma

Rory Wilson, undisclosed from Rangers

Ludwig Augustinsson, loan from Sevilla.

Major Outgoings:

Matt Targett, £15m to Newcastle

Conor Hourihane, free to Derby

Trezeguet, £3.4m to Trabzonpor

Villa had a disappointing season last year. The first season of the post-Grealish era ended with the club finishing in fourteenth months after many had tipped them to challenge the top 10 after signing Danny Ings, Emiliano Buendia, and Leon Bailey in the summer, then going on to bring in Lucas Digne and Phillipe Coutinho in January. But the squad still struggled defensively with all this money spent on recruitment. Signings like Leon Bailey, meant to replace some of the creativity lost with the departure of Jack Grealish, didn't exactly hit the ground running. This year, with an entire Gerrard preseason under their belts, along with some decent signings, Villa will be expecting that they can challenge the other clubs in and around them to be the 'best of the rest'. Getting Coutinho locked down on a permanent deal, prying the beloved Diego Carlos away from Sevilla, and signing promising young defensive midfielder Boubacar Kamara are all good deals that should improve their squad overall. Villa should be happy with their transfer window so far, but for a team that finished 14th last year with so much talent already in their ranks, adding Diego Carlos and Boubacar Camara should improve them but won't have them challenging the big boys on their own. Villa has a good squad, but they also had a good one last year. Whether a full preseason and these additions will have Gerrard getting the best out of his team remains to be seen.

Bournemouth - F

Major Incomings:

Ryan Fredericks, Free from West Ham

Joe Rothwell, Free from Blackburn

Major outgoings:

Gary Cahill, released.

Not great for Bournemouth. They haven't lost anyone big, but they haven't signed anyone yet who you'd say will significantly improve the team. Rothwell and Fredericks are solid players and add some depth to the squad but don't make them all that much better. If this is their only business, I doubt they could be particularly competitive and are likely looking at a short stint back in Premier League.

Brentford - B+

Major Incomings:

Aaron Hickey - £20m from Bologna

Keane Lewis-Potter - £18m from Hull City

Thomas Strakosha, Free from Lazio

Ben Mee, Free from Burnley

Major Outgoings:

Christian Eriksen, Free to Manchester United

Brentford had a great season last year, but as we all know, if you don't improve in the Premier League, you have little chance of repeating a good campaign. The most significant loss for Brentford is Christian Eriksen. The Dane was a brilliant addition to their squad and helped keep them away from a relegation fight in the second half of the season. But Brentford are doing what Brentford have always done when they lose a big player, sign young players with the potential to become star talents. Aaron Hickey and Keane Lewis-Potter are just that. Versatile winger Keane Lewis Potter is one of England's most exciting young players. Though questions have been raised over whether he'll start immediately as he moves up a division from the Championship, securing his signature is an excellent move for Brentford. Aaron Hickey is a similar prospect, one of the several Scottish players to make a move abroad. Hickey finished last season at Bologna with five goals and one assist, impressive numbers for a left-back. Both players will offer Brentford an attacking threat from areas other than Ivan Toney, who the club remain determined to hang onto. Adding the Premier League experience of Ben Mee on a free transfer is another great bit of business for the Bees. If I were a Brentford fan, I'd be quietly confident about next season despite losing their big-name star.

Brighton - C-

Major Incomings:

Julio Enciso, £12.7m from Libertad

Simon Andingra, £8.8m from Nordsjaelland

Out:

Yves Bissouma, £26m to Tottenham

Giving Brighton a C- is a bit harsh, as they are simply following a transfer model, which they often try to stick to, but I also don't feel I could give anything higher. The Brighton way is to sell their best players for a premium and buy young cheap players who are low risk. If the players make it to the first team, great. If they don't, Brighton will quickly sell them for a minimal loss. This approach is financially safe for a club like Brighton but does mean their transfer windows can look underwhelming, this being one of them. Bissouma leaving for less than 30m is probably less than Brighton would have hoped, but it was better to get that money for him now as he enters the final 12 months of his contract than let him go for free next summer or cheap in January. Now the spotlight is on Cucurella, who Brighton will not let go of easily, as they shouldn't. This week they rejected a £50m bid from Manchester City for the full-back. Players are expensive, so you can't blame Brighton for taking the buy low sell high approach, even if they are coming off their best ever finish in the Premier League. While maybe there's an argument that if they spent big and didn't let Bissouma leave, they could possibly have "gone for it" a little more this season, but if that didn't work out as they hoped, it likely wouldn't have ended well a few years down the line, so the financially safe approach is likely best for a relatively new Premier League club like Brighton.

Chelsea - C

Major Incomings:

Raheem Sterling, £61m from Manchester City

Kalidou Koulibaly, £41m from Napoli

Major Outgoings:

Antonio Rudiger, Free to Real Madrid

Andreas Christensen, Free to Barcelona

Romelu Lukaku, Loan to Inter

If looking at Chelsea's business optimistically, they've signed two quality players. Koulibaly and Sterling are two excellent players, with the latter being Premier League proven. The problem is that everything else that's been going on with their transfer window outweighs these good signings, and after Chelsea were soundly beaten by Arsenal 4-0 last weekend, Chelsea fans are starting to sweat. Losing Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen left gaps in the Chelsea defence that was already a bit thin. Signing Koulibaly was a start, but with long-term target Jules Kounde heading to Barcelona, they will have to keep searching. Not to mention that the latest chapter in the Romelu Lukaku saga has him being loaned back to Inter Milan, arguably making him one of the worst signings financially of all time (a 100-million-pound loan). The Lukaku departure means that, as of right now, Chelsea looks like they'll enter the season without a proper striker. Unless some business is done quickly, Chelsea faces the risk of a highly disappointing season.

Crystal Palace - B+

Major Incomings:

Malcolm Ebiowei, Free undisclosed from Derby

Sam Johnstone, Free from West Brom

Chris Richards, £13m from Bayern Munich

Cheick Doucoure, £25m from Lens

Major Outgoings:

Cheick Kouyate, released

Besides the loss of Conor Gallagher, the highlight of Crystal Palace's summer window has been holding on to all their best assets. They've also supplemented the squad with some solid additions. Sam Johnstone is a reliable Premier League proven goalkeeper. Cheick Doucoure can play a more offensive role but is mainly being brought in to replace departing Kouyate in the holding midfielder role. Chris Richards adds depth to their defensive options. While Malcolm Ebiowei has impressed Viera so much in preseason that they are no longer looking to loan him out, meaning he will provide another attacking option for Crystal Palace. While they will feel the loss of their player of the season Conor Gallagher, who returns from his loan to his parent club Chelsea, having Eberiche Eze back fit will help fill that loss, as he proved he could provide from that number 8 position at the end of last season. If they can bring in one or two more solid squad players, that would round off a solid window for Patrick Viera's side and should allow them to kick on next season and push further into the top half of the table.

Everton - C+

Major Incomings:

Ruben Vinagre, Loan from Sporting Lisbon

James Tarkowski, Free from Burnley

Dwight McNeil, £20m from Burnley

Major Outgoings:

Jonjoe Kenny, Free to Hertha Berlin

Richarlison, £60m to Tottenham

The gears have just begun to turn for Everton this transfer window as they completed the signings of two players after only bringing in James Tarkowski on the free until this week. James Tarkowski is an excellent signing and has slotted well into their back three so far this preseason, which is the formation Frank Lampard is favouring for next season. Ruben Vinagre will provide good over at the left-back position. Everton Director of Football Kevin Thelwell, who previously signed Vinagre while he was at Wolves, is a big fan. On a low-salary loan deal with a non-obligatory option to buy, it's a decent bit of business. The signing of Dwight McNeil for 20 million is another interesting one, as he has shown signs of great talent over his 133 appearances in the Premier League but has never had the stats to back that up. For £20 million and at the age of 22, this could be a good signing for the Toffees, and his ability to cross the ball should provide some great chances for striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The biggest fear for Everton is the lack of a Richarlison replacement, £60 million for a player of his quality is probably fair. Still, you'd say that the club valued him higher than that, considering the contributions he has made compared to the rest of their current squad. They'll be sad to see him leave, but needs must. Everton must look to replace those goals before the end of the transfer window for this to be classed as a decent summer.

Fulham - B-

Major Incomings

Joao Palhinha, £22m from Sporting Lisbon

Andreas Pereira, £10m from Manchester United

Kevin Mbabu, £6m from VFL Wolfsburg

Manor Solomon, Loan from Shaktar

Major Outgoings

Andre Zambo Anguissa, £15m to Napoli

Fabio Carvalho, £5.9m to Liverpool

Jean Michael Seri, Free to Hull City

While Fulham still have work to do, mainly in adding to their central defence, where only Tim Ream and Tosin Adarabioyo are reliable options, the signings they've made so far all make sense and improve their squad. Joao Palhinha and Andreas Pereira have already shown their worth in pre-season. Pereira has already provided two assists from set pieces, an area of the game Fulham struggled in their last Premier League campaign. While Joao Palhinha recently scored a great goal from distance and is slotting nicely into central midfield. Kevin Mbabu is a brilliant signing for Fulham. In his position, the right-back has some of the best stats in Europe, ranking high in all defensive areas while also in the 84th percentile for progressive passes and the 99th percentile for dribbles completed. Manor Solomon adds further depth to their attacking options. There's still work to be done, but personally, I think Fulham will do quite well this season, even though many tip them to go straight back down.

Leeds - C+

Major Incomings:

Brenden Aaronson, £32 million from RB Salzburg

Luis Sinisterra, £25 million from Feyenoord

Tyler Adams, £20m from RB Leipzig

Rasmus Kristensen, £13m from RB Salzburg

Marc Roca, £12m from Bayern Munich

Major Outgoings:

Raphinha, £58m to Barcelona

Kalvin Phillips, £48m to Manchester City

One thing you have to say about Leeds is that they've certainly been busy. My issue with their business is that it's risky. They scraped to the finish line by the skin of their teeth last season and have lost their two best players by some margin. While they got a significant amount of money for these players, replacing that kind of talent will always be challenging. Spending a combined 50 million on players from the Austrian league is risky. You don't know how they will adapt. Signing players from the Eredivisie is also risky, not to mention Luis Sinisterra went down with a hamstring injury in Leed's preseason match against Crystal Palace. Tyler Adams is the most proven of the bunch and should be a good stand-in for Kalvin Phillips, but still, that's a big jump in responsibility for the young midfielder. This isn't to say these players won't work out, but when signing more unknown quantities, you can't expect that all of them will hit the ground running. After losing your two best players, you need players who will hit the ground running because a slow start to the season after nearly being relegated will see heads drop. For Leeds's sake, I hope I'm wrong, but these signings do not convince me.

Leicester - F? or N/A?

Major Incomings...

Major Outgoings...

There's not much to say about this as they haven't done anything. Leicester were fine last year, and I don't think they're at any risk of going down or anything like that, but it would be pretty underwhelming as a Leicester supporter to see this complete lack of activity. Maybe they'll step it up in August, but there aren't many signs as of right now. The good news is there haven't been too many rumblings linking their better players away from the club, so their squad hasn't gotten any worse.

Liverpool - B+

Major Incomings:

Darwin Nunez, £75m from Benfica

Fabi Carvalho, £6m from Fulham

Calvin Ramsay, £5m from Aberdeen

Major Outgoings:

Sadio Mane, £32m to Bayern Munich

Neco Williams, £20m to Nottingham Forest

Takumi Minamino, £15m to Monaco

Marko Grujic, £9m to Porto

Ben Davies, £4.7m to Rangers

Divock Origi, Free to AC Milan

It's hard to rate a transfer window when the focus is almost entirely on one player. Nunez looked the part against RB Leipzig, scoring four goals, but also looked isolated when playing against RB Salzburg on Wednesday. Nevertheless, the Uruguayan striker looks like he'll be a great addition to Liverpool's front three. The fact of the matter is Jurgen Klopp doesn't really make bad signings. The more significant question mark around Liverpool is how they will feel the loss of Sadio Mane. Even if Luis Diaz has a great season, it will always be hard to replicate what Mane was able to produce for Liverpool. Nunez may struggle slightly if left isolated, so Liverpool will rely on their creative wingers to provide for him. Overall, the acquisition of Darwin Nunez is highly positive in the long run, but whether or not Klopp's side will be better next season than they were last, I don't think so.

Manchester City - A+

Major Incomings:

Erling Haaland, £60m from Borussia Dortmund

Kalvin Phillips, £48.75m from Leeds

Major Outgoings:

Raheem Sterling, £56m to Chelsea

Gabriel Jesus, £57m to Arsenal

Oleksander Zinchenko, £38.5m to Arsenal

Fernandinho, Free to Athletico PR

For a team that is constantly criticized for the amount of money they spend, the fact that Manchester City have signed the most promising striker in the world and one of the best Premier League players from outside the top 6 while still logging a net profit (a quarter of which is from selling players who never made a first-team appearance) is very impressive. Kalvin Phillips is a perfect replacement for Fernadinho, and along with Rodri, will be a great option in that defensive midfield. While people like to pick holes in the signing of Erling Haaland, the only thing I think you could criticize is his injury record; he has been prone to missing games, but other than that, the stats don't lie. 79 goals in 89 games for Borussia Dortmund is unbelievable, and his size and physicality will help him immensely in the Premier League. However, the most significant thing he will provide for City is that x-factor in Champions League games, that ability to drag the team over the line, similar to how Kareem Benzema led Real Madrid to the Champions League title last year. Even without Haaland, City would still be the favourites to win the Premier League; with him, I can't see how they can be stopped.

Manchester United - B

Major Incomings:

Lisandro Martinez, £57m from Ajax

Tyrell Malacia, £15m from Feyenoord

Christian Eriksen, Free from Brentford

Major Outgoings:

Andreas Perreiria, £9.5m to Fulham

Paul Pogba, Free to Juventus

Jesse Lingard, Free to Nottingham Forest

Nemanja Matic, Free to AS Roma

I think this is a good start for Manchester United, partly because I think they need to take it slow. If you read my article released in June about realistic expectations for all Premier League clubs, I wrote that I think United just need to spend a year out of the headlines and avoid embarrassment. With this window so far, and especially if they get Frankie De Jong, I think they'll be able to do that. Do I think they'll get top four? No, but I don't think that should be the goal anyway. The team was abysmal last year, and every summer in recent memory, United has just thrown loads of money at big-name players to try to turn an underachieving squad into a challenger. That's not going to happen, so I like that as it stands, it looks like United are giving Ten Hag time to implement his system and build this squad. If you're a United fan who expects top four because your 'Manchester United', it's time to move on. I think this window generally bodes well for the future, but as I mentioned earlier in this article, signing players from leagues like the Dutch league, no matter how good they look, is always a bit risky (Donny Van De Beek and Memphis Depay being perfect examples).

Newcastle United - B+

Major Incomings:

Matt Targett, £17.5m from Aston Villa

Nick Pope, £11m from Burnley

Sven Botman, £37m from Lille,

Major Outgoings:

None

Similar to Manchester United, I said in my pre-transfer window expectations article that Newcastle should try and be sensible about their signings, which they have been. Obviously, a team that comes into the kind of money Newcastle have will be linked with every player under the sun. Similarly to Everton a few years ago, teams will try to make Newcastle overpay simply because they know they can. Newcastle are not falling for these traps. Their three permanent signings are all sensible and improve the team. Matt Targett was a great addition on loan last season, so a permanent move makes sense. Nick Pope is a proven Premier League quantity, while Sven Botman is a talented young defender they most likely haven't overpaid for. More importantly, Newcastle haven't lost any crucial players, meaning their squad has most likely bought into the project. I don't think Newcastle will be pushing for Europe this season like some of their fans want them to, but I think building up a good spine and developing the squad to push into the top half of the table this season will set them up very nicely to go for Europe in the 23/24 season.

Nottingham Forest - A-

Major Incomings:

Taiwo Awoniyi, £18m from Union Berlin

Neco Williams, £18m from Liverpool

Moussa Niakhate, £9m from FSV Mainz

Giulian Biancone, £9m from Troy

Omar Richards, £7.6m from Bayern Munich

Lewis O'Brien, £5.3m from Huddersfield

Harry Toffolo, £5.3m from Huddersfield

Dean Henderson, Loan from Manchester United

Major Outgoings:

Brice Samba, £4.5m to Lens.

Forest had a lot of players on loan during their promotion campaign last season, and because of this, lots of people have written them off this season. Steve Cooper and his men needed to make some moves this summer, and that's what they've done. They've spent a lot of money cumulatively, but it's spread out well over many players in many positions. While there's always an adaptation period for new signings, these players have a lot of potential, and their ability to get the business done early so their new signings can participate in pre-season will help them immensely come the first match of the season. Taiwo Awoniyi has loads of potential as a striker, as Union Berlin's all-time top Bundesliga scorer at 24 years old, after scoring 17 with two assists in all competitions last year. Neco Williams was a great asset to Fulham in their Championship-winning campaign when on loan there during the second half of the season, and for a player of his potential, 18 million pounds is a good deal. Moussa Niakhate, Omar Richards, Giulian Bancone and Harry Toffolo all add strength and depth to their defence, critical factors in building a squad that can stay in the Premier League. While Lewis O'Brien and Bran Aguilera are both young midfielders with lots of potential. Is there a chance these signings flop? Always, but personally, I like this group of signings for Nottingham Forest.

Southampton - C-

Major Incomings:

Gavin Bazanu, £14m from Manchester City

Sekou Mara, £12m from Bordeauz

Romeo Lavia, £12.3m from Manchester City

Armel Bella-Kotchap, £10m from VFL Bochum

Major Outgoings:

Fraser Forster, Free to Tottenham

If Southampton had a better squad, this might be an OK window. They've signed four young players for cheap, all of whom have the potential to impress in the future, but I wouldn't bet on any of them to light it up next year. But, of course, I could be wrong. For instance, I think Armel Bella-Kotchap could be an excellent player in the future but might perform excellently immediately. While Sekou Mara, who I'd be lying if I said I'd heard of until this move, did score six goals in Ligue 1 last year and is only 19. The problem is Southampton were close to getting dragged into a relegation fight last year, and while I do think signing young players and looking to rebuild is a good move for them, they need to balance that off with some signings that make them better right now. In my opinion, these signings have the potential to be good but are a little too raw for a team that at this rate looks like they might be heading for a relegation scrap.

Tottenham - A+

Major Incomings:

Ivan Perisic, Free from Inter

Fraser Forster, Free from Southampton

Yves Bissouma, £26m from Brighton

Richarlison, £52m from Everton

Djed Spence, £13m from Middlesbrough

Clement Lenglet, Loan from Barcelona

Major Outgoings:

Steven Bergwijn, £28m to Ajax

Cameron Carter-Vickers, £6m to Celtic

Tottenham appear to be giving it a serious go, and they might have a shot at achieving something big (finally). They've surrounded the best partnership in the Premier League with one of the hardest working forwards in Richarlison and veteran ability in Perisic, not to mention they already have Kulusevski. While in midfield, they've picked up one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the League, Yves Bissouma, who is a great deal for only £26 million. In defence, they have given themselves options with loanee Clement Lenglet and up-and-comer Djed Spence. This is a serious squad, which they need as they'll be competing in the Champions League and the Premier League. With Conte at the helm, I think Tottenham have a serious chance of challenging Manchester City and Liverpool, or at the least, they should be taking home silverware.

West Ham - A-

Major Incomings:

Gianluca Scamacca, £32m from Sassuolo.

Nayef Aguerd, £31m from Stade Rennais

Flynn Downes, £10m from Swansea

Alphonse Areola, £8m from PSG

Major Outgoings:

Andriy Yarmolenko, Free to Al-Ain FC

Ryan Fredericks, Free to Bournemouth.

West Ham had a brilliant season last year, highlighted by the individual performances of players like Jarrod Bowen and Declan Rice. The number one thing for them if they wanted to improve this year was to keep hold of these prized assets, which they look set to do as of right now. Along with keeping these players, they needed to add a few new faces to the squad for rotation and improvement, which they've done. 23-year-old Gianluca Scamacca is one of the more promising young strikers in Europe and should lift some of the goal-scoring pressure off Mikel Antonio and allow both of them to flourish. At the same time, Nayef Aguerd adds depth to a solid core of central defenders. Locking down Alphonse Areola on a permanent from PSG is good business, as is bringing in the young and promising central-midfielder and lifelong Hammers fan, Flynn Downes. The number one thing for West Ham is they've made themselves better, which was a challenging task after such a good season and with all the vultures looming over stars like Declan Rice.

Wolverhampton Wanderers - C+

Major Incomings:

Nathan Collins, £21m from Burnley

Hwang Hee-Chan, £15m from RB Leipzig.

Major Outgoings:

Romain Saiss, Free to Besiktas.

It's been a pretty quiet window for Wolves, but considering they already have a decent squad, this isn't the end of the world for them. Bringing in Nathan Collins from Burnley is an upgrade on the departing Roman Saiss. He's a Premier League proven player, so they won't have to worry about integrating him into the League. Making the deal for Hwang Hee-Chan permanent is also a good move, as he has proven he can score goals in the Premier League. Have they made their squad MUCH better? No, is it a bit better? Yes.

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