Arsenal
Players Departed : 5
Players Loaned Out : 12
Total Spent : £10million
Total Sold : £1.8million
Net Spend : £8.2million
We start with Arsenal. Having finished 3rd last season and won the FA Cup for the second year in succession, there was a lot of optimism about this season from the fans and players alike. Many people were tipping Arsenal to win the league this year and with Arsene Wenger signing experienced goalkeeper Petr Cech from Chelsea early on in the summer, many Arsenal fans including me believed that Wenger would then go and purchase a proven striker and defensive midfielder in order to help lower the pressure on Olivier Giroud and strengthen the midfield pairing in front of the back-line. The Gunners were linked with Benzema, Cavani and Lewandowski in particular and due to being linked with these strikers so early on, many fans believed that we would sign one of these players however as the clock ticked down, Arsene Wenger didn't manage to bring in anyone. As disappointed as I was yesterday with not bringing in a striker and a CDM, I think if clubs were reluctant to sell their big players to Arsenal then it's probably better to wait to sign these high quality players then to just splash the cash on a random player. Wenger will no doubt get some stick from a portion of fans for only bringing in Cech however the best thing for Arsenal fans to do is to trust that he will bring in the players in the near future. Most of the players Arsenal have sent out on loan seems relatively good business due to it giving players a great chance to prove themselves and the players Arsenal have sold or released are reasonable. In offloading players whether it be selling or loaning, Arsenal have done very well and signing a keeper as great as Petr Cech was remarkable business however by not signing a striker and a CDM, Arsenal may have hurt their chances for the title this campaign if they're hit by many injuries however if these injuries are avoided then they could still find themselves winning the league this year.
Woody's rating - 6/10
Aston Villa
Players Loaned In : 1
Players Departed : 10
Players Loaned Out : 5
Total Spent : £54.3million
Total Sold : £45million
Net Spend : £8.3million
I think that Aston Villa fans can be happy with the majority of signings Tim Sherwood has made this summer however, they will be disappointed to see arguably their two best players last season Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph leave the club. The departure of those two saw Villa make a massive £40.5 million + bonuses and this money was relatively well spent by Sherwood. Scott Sinclair was very impressive on loan last season so managing to sign him on a permanent deal was a fantastic purchase especially for only £2.5 million. The Villa manager has put his faith in young foreign talent such as: Jordan Ayew, Jordan Amavi, Jordan Veretout, Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore which cost him a combined £41.1 million therefore Sherwood will be hoping that these players can adjust to the Premier League quickly. The youngsters will be helped by the signings of the experienced players Joleon Lescott and Micah Richards who will have to help out the young lads who have just joined this league. Due to their experience, I would argue that these two players are Villa's best signings as they will lead by example on and off the pitch. Due to the high number of departures from Villa Park this summer, we can clearly see that Tim Sherwood has been given the opportunity to remake the Villa squad and replace them with players which suit his philosophy. Villa have done good business in bringing in so many players in order to replace the two main men that departed in the summer and as long as these youngsters can quickly adapt to the Premier League, Villa should comfortably stay up this year. I think it'll be 2 years before we see most of these youngsters reach their full potential so until then, their fans will probably see their club in the mid-table fight.
Woody's Rating - 7/10
Bournemouth
Players Loaned In : 4
Players Departed : 7
Players Loaned Out : 4
Total Spent : £21.5million
Total Sold : £0
Net Spend : £21.5million
Premier League new-boys Bournemouth have performed well in their maiden season so far and have looked promising going forward, which is a testament to the good signings which Eddie Howe has made. The young manager is doing the right thing in sticking by the majority of players that won them the Championship last season which will keep squad morale high however if these players struggle then Howe has this covered by the great signings that he has made. Bournemouth fans can be happy with the mix of experience and youth they have in their squad and also with how cheap they've got most of their players for. The attacking signings of Gradel, Murray, Tomlin and King show real promise to bring goals in partnership with Callum Wilson who already has 4 goals. Defensively they have also made some great signings in getting Tyrone Mings who unfortunately suffered an horrific injury against Leicester and getting Sylvain Distin in on a free transfer was a remarkable piece of business as he can help lead from the back and can really help the younger players settle in at the club due to his experience. The loanees that they have are pretty decent, the best of which being Atsu from Chelsea who could potentially be one of the most effective players at this club with how quick he is causing him to be a nightmare for defenders. The other loanees however are probably more likely to be back-up for the first team and we'll probably only see them play if there are injuries. The majority of the players they've permanently let go or loaned I can agree with however I would have liked to see them hold on to Brett Pitman and Ryan Fraser as I feel like they would have a lot to offer in the Premier League so hopefully when Fraser comes back from his loan at Ipswich, he will play a part in the Bournemouth's campaign. Other than this I think their business has been relatively good and will set them up for a successful campaign.
Woody's rating - 7/10
Chelsea
Players Loaned In : 1
Players Departed : 6
Players Loaned Out : 33
Total Spent : £66.15million
Total Sold : £34.05million
Net Spend : £32.10million
Next we discuss last years champions Chelsea have done in this window. I usually expect Mourinho to make great signings but other than the signing of Pedro and Begovic, I wasn't actually too impressed by the Champions' business in this window. Signing Pedro for just over £20million was a fantastic buy on Chelsea's part especially as everyone thought he'd be on his way to Manchester United. He proved his worth on his debut as he scored and set up Costa in Chelsea's win away at West Brom. Begovic is too good of a keeper to be a number 2 in my opinion and I was disappointed to see him leave Stoke and he proved his worth against Man City when he made 3 world class saves in the first 20 minutes however they did end up losing that game 3-0. Hopefully Begovic's performance in that game will prove to Mourinho that he deserves a place in the first team and that he can be just as good as Courtois on his day. Chelsea's defence has been poor so far this season and I expected to see them sign a world class centre-back however they failed to get John Stones and Marquinhos so ended up signing Djilobodgi and Hector, the latter has gone back to Reading on loan for the rest of the season. Djilobodgi won the 2nd most aerial duels in Ligue 1 last season however I'm not sure how he'll deal with the pressure that comes with being at the reigning champions. Michael Hector is great for Reading, he's quick and strong and good in the air but does that make him good enough for Chelsea's defence next season, I'm really not sure. Signing these two players came as a complete surprise to me and with all due respect to the two players I don't expect them to feature much in the Chelsea first team as I believe that they are 'panic buys'. They needed centre-backs and these were two that they could get on the cheap so they went for it. Baba Rahman was signed for £17.7million and if he has a similar start to his Premier League career as Darmian for United, he should be a good signing. Nathan and Danilo Pantic signed for £4.5million and £1.25million respectively are on loan at Vitesse so you won't see them this season and I also wouldn't expect £6.3million signing Kennedy to feature in the first team much other than the odd league game and the cup. They also bought in Radamel Falcao, a player who is extremely lacking confidence and for a striker that is not what you want. I would have liked to see Chelsea bring in a world-class consistent striker to challenge Costa for the first-team place rather than a Falcao who has struggled to find form since his bad injury at the end of his Atletico Madrid career. They have loaned out a huge number of players some of which will not be playing for the club again as they will have an option to buy at the end of their loan. Cech was inevitably going to leave Chelsea as like Begovic, he is too good to be a second choice keeper. Overall, Chelsea fans may be questionable of their defensive signings but will be happy with the acquisitions of Pedro and Begovic and in all honesty, they'll mainly be relying on the players that won them the league last season to lead them to it again in my opinion.
Woody's Rating - 6/10
Crystal Palace
Players Loaned In : 1
Players Departed : 9
Players Loaned Out : 5
Total Spent : £25.5million
Total Sold : £4million
Net Spend : £21.5million
To finish Part One, I talk about one of the few sides who have taken the Premier League by surprise this season. This team has already earned my praise due to the way they play and with the signings that they've made this season, Palace haven't failed to impress again. In one of the signings of the summer, Crystal Palace made the signing of Yohan Cabaye from PSG as Pardew finds himself reunited with his player from Newcastle. £13million is a steal for what Cabaye brings to the Palace side and he's showed his worth by performing to a high standard in every game he's played so far. As Pardew and many other have said, Yohan is a quality player that could get into any of the top teams so for Palace to persuade the Frenchman to join them was fantastic business and they're starting to get their value for money with his performances so far. They made 3 acquisitions in the striker department as well with the purchases of Bakary Sako, Connor Wickham and the loaning of Patrick Bamford. Bakary Sako has already become a fan favourite at Palace after scoring on his full debut at home to Aston Villa and then more impressively picking up a goal and setting up the winner as Palace shocked the last years champions and became only the second team to beat Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge. If he continues like this, I'm sure he'll be leading the line at Palace for years to come. Wickham came close to helping Palace upset one of the giants in the Premier League when during the game at home to Arsenal his shot hit the post when the score was 1-1 and if that went in, maybe Palace would have won the game. If he continues performing like this then there is no doubt that like Sako he will become a fan favourite in no time. Patrick Bamford was very impressive on loan at Middlesbrough last year and was voted the best player in the Championship and has been rewarded by Pardew as the manager has given Bamford the chance to prove himself at the highest level. I think Bamford won't feature as much as he did last season however I'd expect to see him in the cup and he'll get the odd Premier League fixture and if he starts finding the net consistently then who knows, this could be the year that Patrick Bamford makes a name for himself. Finally goalkeeper Alex McCarthy was signed for £4.5million after he proved his worth when making a few appearances for QPR last year and for their U-21's. He's started every Premier League game so far this season for Palace and is in inspired form having made some incredible saves against the top teams so far and if he continues playing as well as he is Palace may have an incredible keeper on their hands who could prove to be invaluable to them. With the attacking players that they have signed it is unsurprising to see Glenn Murray leave and to get £4million for him was good business by Pardew. Other than that, all other departures are understandable and I think it shows Pardew's intent to make this club his own and if you're a Palace fan I think you have a lot to look forward to in the future of your club as it seems like Steve Parish and Alan Pardew have formed a great respect for each other meaning that you could be signing more players with the quality of Cabaye in the future.
Woody's Rating - 9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment