Haaland, Jesus, Bella-Kotchap and more: Rating the best and worst of the 2022 summer transfer window
The transfer window is finally closed, clubs have completed £1.9bn worth of incoming deals between them in the Premier League and squads are set for the 2022/23 campaign – at least until January.
From big-money deals for Antony, Darwin Nunez and Wesley Fofana through to a clutch of talented youngsters coming into the English game and already making an impact, the completed transfers look as varied as ever in potential quality and financial cost.
The Independent’s sports writers have now made conclusions on their best, worst and ones-to-watch from the last few weeks – read on for who they think has ‘won’ the window and who will be left regretting their own inactions.
Miguel Delaney: The easy answer is Manchester City, but Southampton have done something much more difficult. At a point when everyone once more expected Ralph Hasenhuttl to fail, and the club were no longer considered a “model”, they have once again unearthed so much promising young talent. And look very good.
Richard Jolly: The league table would suggest it is Arsenal, and it probably is. But considering they lost their best two players, and were largely powerless to keep Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips, Leeds have done well to emerge looking stronger. Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams have started very well, Raphinha’s replacement Luis Sinisterra already has a goal and Jesse Marsch seems to both have players who suit his style of play and more strength in depth. If he could have got Charles De Ketelaere, it might have been the closest thing to a perfect window imaginable given the departures.
Ben Burrows: It’s easy to forget as they did the bulk of their business at the very beginning, but Tottenham had an excellent window. Yves Bissouma is a very Antonio Conte midfielder while Ivan Perisic could scarcely be better suited to the Italian’s system. Djed Spence and Clement Lenglet have plenty of upside once they get some minutes under their belts and Richarlison will be worth the £60m for his social media presence alone. They could have gone bigger but a smart, shrewd summer overall.
Jack Rathborn: Chelsea: Slightly chaotic yet Todd Boehly has done well in difficult circumstances, even if it helps when armed with more than £250m to spend. Each signing (Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana, Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang) either mostly replaces or upgrades the key departures (Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Timo Werner, Romelu Lukaku) and Marc Cucurella provides protection for Ben Chilwell in what may blossom into the best pair of starting full-backs/wing-backs in the league alongside Reece James.
Jamie Braidwood: Manchester City: The impact of Erling Haaland so far speaks for itself and Pep Guardiola’s side got their early business done with little fuss. Since then, they’ve added depth in a couple of positions in Manuel Akanji and Sergio Gomez without paying over the odds. This answer might have been Arsenal until the last couple of weeks. It still feels like Mikel Arteta’s side have gaps.
Michael Jones: Arsenal: Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus have both had an immediate impact for the Gunners to help them win their first five games of the season and Fabio Vieira is a strong option in midfield.
Karl Matchett: Leeds United put a really strong window together to regenerate the team in the manager’s image and a couple of those deals – Tyler Adams, Luis Sinisterra – are steals. If Marc Roca rediscovers his LaLiga form, add him to the list. Spurs’ window is also strong, though maybe not quite enough to get them close to challenging, and although they didn’t add lots of players, Wolves look to have a much stronger first XI now. Sasa Kalajdzic could be the ideal forward who makes the team a lot better than his actual own level offers – he’s a good No9 for the traits of those behind him to play off.
MD: If the transfer window is ultimately supposed to be about changing your squad relative to where you were and the rest of the division, Leicester City have become so much worse. They’ve gone from a team just outside the top six to one who may be fortunate to avoid a fight to escape the bottom three.
RJ: Ask Scott Parker and the answer is probably Bournemouth. Ask Brendan Rodgers and it might be Leicester. But, undiplomatic as Parker’s comments that led to his sacking were, they look accurate. Bournemouth have a far weaker squad than when they were relegated in 2020. And if their limited outlay suggests money is the key factor, some of their rivals have recruited quality players for cut-price fees, for free transfers or on loan. Bournemouth may not have done.
BB: There are a few candidates but only one team’s lack of transfer business got their manager sacked. Scott Parker was so enraged with Bournemouth‘s inactivity he effectively dared them to dismiss him – which they then did. The squad looks paper thin and leaves whoever replaces Parker at the helm with plenty to do to keep the Cherries up.
JR: Leicester City: in terms of losing real quality in Wesley Fofana and a true leader and priceless character in Kasper Schmeichel, although Nottingham Forest could emerge as a candidate depending on their bid to survive due to the risky strategy and environment they’ve now established with 21 new faces, rather than the quality of the players they’ve signed.
JB: Leicester City: They may have made a massive profit from the £70m sale of Wesley Fofana but Brendan Rodgers has been unable to put it back into a squad that badly needs a refresh. Keeping hold of James Maddison is a boost but they missed the chance to sell Youri Tielemans before the midfielder leaves for free next summer. They will be glad the window has closed.
MJ: Frank Lampard’s Everton squad doesn’t look any stronger despite bringing in top-flight quality players like James Tarkowski, Conor Coady, and Dwight McNeil whilst Leicester have only made one signing, Wout Faes from Reims, having lost their captain Kasper Schmeichel and defender Wesley Fofana among others.
KM: Leicester City. Waited so long to sell players they didn’t want to, didn’t offload the players who Brendan Rodgers doesn’t appear to want anymore and haven’t added any notable talent whatsoever. Since Bournemouth can’t sack me, I’ll also point out they don’t have the quality to compete at this level – not one starter signed permanently from any club in Europe’s top five leagues.
MD: As sensational as Erling Haaland has been, City weren’t exactly wanting for goals or dominance before. The real test of his influence will come in the Champions League latter stages. For now, the signing that has had the most dramatic effect on his team is arguably Gabriel Jesus.
RJ: Gabriel Jesus: Partly for the goals and assists that have given him a flying start. But partly also because he seems exactly what Arsenal needed, given how rarely their strikers started last season, and seems to have had a broader impact on the whole side.
