Arsenal – lacking proper backup for Martin Odegaard
The choice to transfer Emile Smith Rowe was right, and Arsenal managed to negotiate unusually well with Fulham. Fabio Vieira’s return on loan to FC Porto was a bit less rational, yet there was considerable reasoning supporting the choice.
Vieira has been greatly disappointing since Arsenal invested £34million in his talents in July 2022. During his last season at Porto, he recorded 14 assists and six goals in the Portuguese league; considering his limited starts this season, his performance has not approached that level in the initial months since his return.
The Gunners will wish that the loan move can revitalize the Portuguese playmaker’s career, but they may find themselves regretting the choice to return him to his previous club – and not due to any lack of improvement in his performance.
Arsenal’s skipper Martin Odegaard sustained an ankle injury during international play with Norway in September and was sidelined for 11 club fixtures, putting Mikel Arteta in a tough situation. Vieira’s performance in the Premier League has fallen short, yet he was the exact substitute Arteta required in Odegaard’s absence. The decline might have been equally substantial, yet we would have avoided a botched Leandro Trossard trial.
In a different circumstance, Arteta could have simply relied on Ethan Nwaneri.
Aston Villa – failing to acquire a right-back
Inquire of any Aston Villa supporter about their vulnerability, and 99% will mention Matty Cash. The Villans made targeted investments during the summer transfer window, yet Unai Emery couldn’t enhance the right-back position, relying on Cash to progress following an uneven 2023/24 season.
Rather than enhancing their squad with the previous Nottingham Forest defender, Villa acquired a different left-back, engaged in some dubious dealings with Juventus, re-signed three ex-players (transferring one of them) and secured the reliable signing of Amadou Onana. It was considered a favorable summer, but they certainly could have accomplished more, and acquiring a new right-back would have been very beneficial.
Up to this point in the season, Emery has relied on Kosta Nedeljkovic and Ezri Konsa to substitute for Cash during his injury, which is suboptimal. Konsa is significantly more effective as a centre-back, whereas Nedeljkovic has yet to prove himself. Whom should they have recruited? God knows, we are merely here to judge with the benefit of hindsight.
Bournemouth – believing Julian Araujo was an improvement over Adam Smith
Continuing our interest in right-backs, we turn to one who was acquired by a Premier League team during the summer transfer window. Acquiring players from Barcelona seems appealing, yet it seldom succeeds for clubs in the middle of the table. Look at: Bojan Krkic, Philippe Coutinho, Ansu Fati, and Emerson Royal.
Araujo performed well at LA Galaxy, leading Barcelona to sign him in January 2023; however, he never played for the Catalan team and was loaned to Las Palmas six months after his arrival. The Mexican was underwhelming, yet Los Amarillos performed poorly in the latter half of the previous season, suffering eight consecutive defeats from March to May, with their last league victory occurring on February 10 against Valencia.
Bournemouth were gambling on Araujo succeeding in England, but at least he cost only £8.5m and they were genuinely focusing on the right-back spot, unlike our claret and blue companions.
It appears that 33-year-old Adam Smith is superior, while Araujo is simply the Mexican version of Max Aarons. It’s time to give it another shot in January, guys.
Brentford – beginning their Eddie Howe phase at Bournemouth
Certain clubs shouldn’t be spending over £25m on players, and Brentford is among them. They flourish with their constrained resources yet had ample funds available during the summer, considering David Raya’s departure and the intended sale of Ivan Toney. The Bees managed to secure good fees for both players in the last year of their contracts, but the reinvestment fell short of expectations.
Acquiring Liverpool players Sepp van den Berg and Fabio Carvalho resembles the previous strategy of Eddie Howe at Bournemouth, investing nearly £50m on these unneeded additions. An additional £20m was spent on Jayden Meghoma and Gustavo Nunes. The latter has not participated in 2024/25, while the former has only played in the Carabao Cup. Both teams are young, yet Brentford has invested a lot of money with no results to demonstrate.
Brighton – failing to acquire a centre-back
The Seagulls executed a range of signings during the summer, most of which were quite intelligent, yet we are somewhat surprised they didn’t strengthen by bringing in a new central defender.
Lewis Dunk is now 33 years old and has been sidelined for various Premier League games due to injury, whereas Igor has been quite unremarkable since his arrival last summer. Jan Paul van Hecke appears promising and has the potential to improve, but he requires a new long-term defensive partner, and Brighton must establish a strategy. They appeared not to regard it during the summer, but they need to enhance that position by 2025.
Chelsea – acquiring Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
This is quite an unusual transfer. Chelsea no longer required him, and this has become very evident after just four months. Dewsbury-Hall has played 44 minutes across four substitute appearances in the Premier League this season and doesn’t hold a regular spot in Enzo Maresca’s match-day lineup.
It’s truly unfortunate as Dewsbury-Hall is a good player. At just 26, he ought to have embraced a transfer that could elevate him during his peak years. That won’t occur at Stamford Bridge. He ranks below two midfielders valued at over £100m, along with the talented and younger Romeo Lavia.
Crystal Palace – offloading Joachim Andersen rather than Marc Guehi
It is likely generally agreed that Palace messed up by not accepting Newcastle United’s £65m offer for Marc Guehi. They became excited following his Euro 2024 performances and were even less willing to let go of their star defender after selling Joachim Andersen to his old club Fulham.
Palace are struggling to thrive following their defensive overhaul and may encounter an unforeseen relegation struggle. This concerning setback might lead Guehi to attempt to leave more actively, potentially leading to a transfer valued lower than Newcastle’s summer offer.
The Eagles received a beneficial £30m for Andersen, but it left them with virtually no option when Newcastle sought Guehi, and it would have been wiser to sell Guehi for an additional £35m.
Everton – relying on two right-backs with a total age of 75
Ashley Young and Seamus Coleman, in case you weren’t aware.
Everton must have immense confidence in Nathan Patterson (yes, he is still around) to forgo adding a new right-back this summer. Our fixation persists.
Young has been remarkably impressive – despite being in a poor team – this season and merits great respect for his durability, adaptability, and versatility; however, Coleman has made only one league appearance this term, leaving Everton in a concerning situation.
Fulham – choosing passion over reason with Ryan Sessegnon
It’s challenging to fault some of these clubs, yet we needed to identify an issue, and for Fulham, the acquisition of a past youth player at no cost highlights the impressive performance of the Cottagers.
We wished for Sessegnon to succeed at Fulham after he didn’t fulfill his great potential at Tottenham, but it has swiftly shown to be a decision driven by emotion rather than reason. The 24-year-old made his initial Premier League appearances this season during Sunday’s match against his old club, and additional playing time is expected on the left side because of Antonee Robinson’s remarkable reliability.
Ipswich – relying on Kalvin Phillips to repeat his performance
Following an unfortunate loan period at West Ham, many of us anticipated that a season with newly promoted Ipswich Town would serve as the ideal spark for a Kalvin Phillips comeback. Actually, it seems not.
Phillips excelled for Leeds in the Premier League and secured a transfer to Man City, which ultimately became the worst decision for his career. Interestingly, his limited playing time did not prevent England manager Gareth Southgate from selecting him, but after joining West Ham to gain match experience before Euro 2024, he lost his position due to his dreadful performances.
Ipswich took a risk on Phillips, but it seemed like an excellent deal for them – a real win, in fact. The faith placed in him to return to his former self has proven fruitless, yet there is much ahead, and it’s hard to dismiss the notion that the old Phillips can come back to life.
Leicester – depending on a 37-year-old Jamie Vardy
The Foxes have put themselves in a tough spot with their lack of strikers, necessitating a return of 37-year-old Jamie Vardy. Jordan Ayew and Odsonne Edouard clearly indicate relegation, and although Leicester possesses a few useful wingers in Stephy Mavididi and Abdul Fatawu, who is sidelined for the season, their attacking capabilities are insufficient, especially after losing significant creativity due to Dewsbury-Hall’s foolish transfer to Chelsea.
Patson Daka at least made his comeback from an ankle injury in the match against Chelsea, yet he has not displayed anything to instill confidence in the King Power supporters that he can net sufficient goals to assist them in evading the feared descent back to the Championship.
Vardy is undoubtedly Leicester’s key player, which is somewhat absurd. Five goals this season is quite commendable for the Foxes icon, but there aren’t sufficient Red Bulls to enable Vardy to play 90 minutes weekly and score 15 or more goals in the league this season.
There is a degree of sympathy for Leicester, however. We are not naive enough to believe that it’s simple for a newly-promoted team to just go out and acquire a goalscoring machine. These teams typically require a brilliant move in the transfer market or an extraordinary talent in their youth academy to endure. Raphinha was crucial in keeping Leeds in the Premier League, but Leicester lacks a player like Raphinha and also doesn’t have a top Kalvin Phillips stabilizing the midfield; they only have Tottenham castoffs Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp.
Liverpool – allowing Van Dijk, Salah, and Trent to approach the final weeks of 2024 without renewed contracts
How does a reputable club find themselves in this predicament? Liverpool’s top three players will be free agents at the season’s conclusion, and seldom are there reports of negotiations happening. Virgil van Dijk would definitely be the simplest of the three to discuss, but the Reds couldn’t allocate the time in a transitional summer to meet with him, Mohamed Salah, or Trent Alexander-Arnold.
This is not formally a transfer decision, but it carries transfer consequences. According to the regulations, all three can start negotiating a pre-contract with overseas clubs beginning January 1. It is genuinely astonishing that Liverpool has arrived at this point. Salah has expressed his worries, Trent mentions past extensions were not made public and another possible one won’t be either, while Van Dijk is taking it in stride.
Real Madrid’s interest in Trent is authentic, and that ought to alarm Liverpool. Of course, he developed in the youth academy, which could suggest his desire to be a one-club player and his deep affection for the club, making leaving seem unthinkable, yet it’s Real Madrid. Trent has accomplished everything at Anfield and he could depart on the highest note imaginable with the Reds excelling in every competition under Arne Slot.
Liverpool are shrewd in the transfer market, yet they are offering the chance for clubs across Europe to execute some astute transfers here. If all three depart for no reason…amazing.
Manchester City – not filling the spot of Julian Alvarez
The city has been extremely cautious this year. The only summer acquisition that involved a fee was the dubious and remarkably undervalued signing of Savinho from their sister club Troyes following an outstanding loan season at their affiliate Girona. Yes, it still smells.
The champions generated more than £97m in profit during the summer transfer window and currently sit 11th in the five-year Premier League net spend rankings, which may be unexpected considering the origins of their success in the 21st century. Julian Alvarez’s £64m transfer to Atletico Madrid constituted the majority of City’s transfer earnings and created a gap in Pep Guardiola’s team as a result.
Guardiola did not fill that gap, becoming increasingly dependent on Erling Haaland and losing a player who appeared 54 times in all competitions during 23/24.
City obviously had ample funds available and chose to remain cautious, which made the choice to sell Alvarez even more regrettable. It’s truly anyone’s speculation as to why they didn’t substitute him, and now they are facing consequences.
Manchester United – acquiring Joshua Zirkzee
The story that no one – not even their supervisor – is aware of where a player can perform is rather careless and certainly frustrates players. Kai Havertz represents a footballer tired of answering all the inquiries. He is a striker but would take on the role of goalkeeper if Mikel Arteta requested it – something we wouldn’t find surprising from the Spaniard.
However, it seems that Zirkzee’s optimal spot is on the bench. He has demonstrated a deficiency in nearly all aspects needed to be the centerpiece of Manchester United, and Ruben Amorim faces a significant challenge in maximizing the potential of the young Dutchman. We’re not deceived by a brace against Everton.
So far, it has been disappointing for Zirkzee, whose debut goal against Fulham seems like ages past. It was an ideal beginning and a sign that he would immediately excel, unlike Rasmus Hojlund, who struggled, but somehow he has been even more disappointing than his Danish colleague.
United arranged a fee exceeding Zirkzee’s £34m release clause for ‘more advantageous’ payment conditions. A summer transfer window that appeared quite promising in September now seems somewhat uncertain.
Newcastle – their chaotic summer
How much time do you have? From the Marc Guehi situation to effectively transferring Elliot Anderson for £15m while agreeing to pay £20m for third-choice goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos after offloading the young forward to Nottingham Forest for £35m, it was a chaotic summer transfer window for Newcastle.
The right-wing disaster is more severe than either. They were unable to push Miguel Almiron out of the club even with solid offers. The Paraguayan was reluctant to depart, yet this is a harsh business where players reluctantly switch teams continually. Not managing to transfer Almiron while in talks with Crystal Palace for Guehi meant the Magpies couldn’t strengthen two crucial spots.
Harvey Barnes, Anthony Gordon, Jacob Murphy, and Almiron have all featured on the right wing this season, and lacking a clear first-choice player in that spot has significantly affected Eddie Howe.
The situation with the centre-backs is complicated as well. A suspension for Fabian Schar on matchday one ought to have served as the wake-up call for the Newcastle management, yet the Guehi transfer never materialized. And Newcastle always appeared to lack a backup plan.
After missing out on European qualification, Newcastle had the chance to strengthen their chances of matching their fourth-place finish from 2022/23, but their summer transfer activities have made it significantly harder to secure a spot in the Champions League. At the very least, they managed to retain Gordon, Alexander Isak, and Bruno Guimaraes.
Nottingham Forest – peculiar summer signings
It’s difficult to criticize a team like Nottingham Forest that is surpassing expectations, but we require a change. Their fixation on acquiring goalkeepers captured our attention. Carlos Miguel was signed to challenge Matz Sels, but he has only played in their Carabao Cup loss to Newcastle. Every team requires a substitute, to be honest, and with Odysseas and Matt Turner unavailable, they had limited options.
Although there is reasoning behind the acquisition, there is also a significant amount of curiosity. Numerous people anticipated Miguel to begin instead of Sels, but the Belgian has been Nuno Espirito Santo’s clear No. 1, and the Brazilian is the eighth goalkeeper Forest has acquired since their return to the top division in 2022.
Supporters of Forest will certainly be passionate in advocating for their summer acquisitions, yet many of these are perplexing. Marko Stamenic and David Carmo were both acquired to be loaned to Olympiacos, while Ramon Sosa, Eric da Silva Moreira, and Morato have hardly featured, and Jota Silva has appeared 12 times in the Premier League but has just one start. With Miguel included, the total is £43m.
There were notable signings like James Ward-Prowse and Nikola Milenkovic, yet many others left us puzzled, often at a hefty cost.
Southampton – failing to secure sufficient Premier League players
It’s simpler to talk about than to accomplish, as it’s challenging for a club to rise through the play-offs and recruit numerous Premier League-experienced players who aren’t nearing retirement, yet Southampton opted for a nostalgic Adam Lallana comeback, acquired Championship winger Ryan Fraser, and signed former Burnley left-back Charlie Taylor on free transfers. They don’t inspire much confidence, but at least they are free.
Regarding summer transfers, Southampton secured a fantastic goalkeeper in Aaron Ramsdale and wisely finalized the permanent transfer of Taylor Harwood-Bellis. Aside from that, it was a summer marked by unpersuasive additions that have had difficulty demonstrating their value in the initial months of the season.
Remaining in the Premier League was always bound to be a challenging endeavor for Southampton, and their summer activities did not help their cause. Counting on Adam Armstrong for scoring in the Premier League and facing the Ben Brereton Diaz jinx were two daring choices. Cameron Archer has arrived and demonstrated some potential, yet it falls short of being sufficient for survival.
Tottenham – leaving Big Ange lacking at the defense
No team has netted more goals in the Premier League than Tottenham this season, which is rather surprising given that Dominic Solanke hasn’t been scoring reliably and they sit in mid-table. This leads you to believe that offensively, Spurs are doing well. Although Solanke is adjusting quite well, we remain skeptical. They likely ought to have brought in another forward. They certainly ought to have acquired at least one additional defender.
Young dog Archie Gray has been tossed around here, there, and everywhere during his initial months at the club, demonstrating his remarkable adaptability, but undoubtedly impeding his development. Depending on him in both full-back roles so soon highlights the poor decision-making of Spurs during the summer transfer window. They have left Destiny Udogie without adequate support, lack another centre-back similar to Micky van de Ven, and truly lack the depth.
Ange Postecoglou has been left in a disastrous position defensively, and depending on Van de Ven and his unreliable hamstrings was unwise. Cristian Romero has faced injury issues this season as well, along with the ongoing worry that he might get a foolish suspension for breaking an opposing striker in two.
The Londoners invested a significant amount in Radu Dragusin in January, and he has been utilized in the initial phases of 24/25, to the disadvantage of Spurs. He has been terrible, but it’s simple to overlook that he is just 22. Tough paper route, that is. His performance has worsened the implications of the decision not to sign a defender.
West Ham – acquiring the most ‘two goals in 30 matches for West Ham’ forward ever
West Ham has an unfortunate connection with strikers. They simply don’t perform well there and will sit out in favor of Michail Antonio after two months. As expected, the Hammers made a significant investment in German international Niclas Fullkrug, who netted 12 Bundesliga goals for Borussia Dortmund in the last season.
Certain West Ham strikers were bound to fail, while others just did not meet expectations, and although Fullkrug was valued at Dortmund, this was a transfer that never seemed promising but was very much characteristic of West Ham. It’s reminiscent of Gianluca Scamacca once more. Fullkrug is certain to net two goals this season before heading back to Germany, likely for Stuttgart or Wolfsburg.
Wolves – poor defensive signings
Gary O’Neil’s team has managed just seven victories in the Premier League during 2024 and currently sits in 18th place after 13 matches this season. After a promising beginning following Julen Lopetegui’s arrival, they have been very disappointing, and instead of progressing, Wolves have gone backwards.
They have grown significantly dependent on Matheus Cunha, who is truly doing all he can to restore Wolves’ performance. Regrettably, he is unable to help himself or reliably generate something from nothing. He has that capability, but consistently achieving it every week is something we can only anticipate from generational talents.
Although creativity, objectives, and the need not to replace Pedro Neto are concerns for Wolves, we believe their defensive depth is concerningly weak, and failing to replace Max Kilman was utterly foolish.
