The 2025 summer transfer window has just slammed shut in Inglaterra, Italy, Spain, Germany and France – and a crazy couple of months was capped by a suitably insane deadline day that saw Liverpool sign Alexander Isak for a British-record fee while the Reds’ deal for Marc Guehi collapsed at the 11th hour.
Newcastle also finally managed to convince Brentford to part company with Yoane Wissa, Nicolas Jackson’s on-off switch to Bayern Munich eventually went through, while both Manchester United and Manchester City brought in new goalkeepers. Overall, though, there were very few major deals in Europe’s other ‘Big Five’ leagues, which only served to highlight just how powerful the Liga Premier has become thanks to its global popularity and massive TV rights deals.
So, who were the big winners and losers of the window? Which sides are now perfectly placed to challenge for major honours this season? And which players have been left lamenting the collapse of badly-needed moves? BALLGM breaks it all down below…
The 2025 summer transfer window has just slammed shut in England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France – and a crazy couple of months was capped by a suitably insane deadline day that saw Liverpool sign Alexander Isak for a British-record fee while the Reds’ deal for Marc Guehi collapsed at the 11th hour.
Newcastle also finally managed to convince Brentford to part company with Yoane Wissa, Nicolas Jackson’s on-off switch to Bayern Munich eventually went through, while both Manchester United and Manchester City brought in new goalkeepers. Overall, though, there were very few major deals in Europe’s other ‘Big Five’ leagues, which only served to highlight just how powerful the Premier League has become thanks to its global popularity and massive TV rights deals.
So, who were the big winners and losers of the window? Which sides are now perfectly placed to challenge for major honours this season? And which players have been left lamenting the collapse of badly-needed moves? BALLGM breaks it all down below…
This time last year, Liverpool fans were once again cursing the club’s owners for their perceived parsimony, with Fenway Sports Group (FSG) having provided new coach Arne Slot with just one new player in Federico Chiesa. Now, though, John Henry u0026amp; Co. are being lauded for their foresight, as last summer’s prudence paved the way for a club-record spending spree that has rocked English football to its very core.
There are, of course, no guarantees that every single signing will work out, while missing out on Guehi was undoubtedly a blow. However, the #FSGOUT brigade have been stunned into silence – because Liverpool didn’t just spend big, they also sold brilliantly too, recouping almost half of their record-breaking outlay through outgoings, meaning they have zero PSR problems.
Basically, Liverpool are the best team in the Premier League right now – and also arguably its most well-run club.
This was always going to be a trying summer for Bayer Leverkusen. It was inevitable that several members of Xabi Alonso’s 2023-24 domestic double winners would follow the Spaniard out of the door at the Bay Arena. However, nobody could have envisaged just how traumatic the transition would prove to be.
Leverkusen have already sacked Alonso’s successor, Erik ten Hag – and after just two Bundesliga games – while Piero Hincapie and Victor Boniface joined Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Jonathan Tah and Granit Xhaka in becoming the latest big names to depart when they joined Arsenal and Werder Bremen, respectively, on deadline day.
Poor Jarell Quansah must be wondering what he’s let himself in for by leaving Premier League champions Liverpool for Europe’s newest crisis club!
Isak and Wissa were widely castigated for their refusal to play for Newcastle and Brentford, respectively, in order to force through transfers. Guehi, by complete contrast, was championed as a model of professionalism throughout his own transfer saga.
However, whereas Isak and Wissa secured their dream moves, Guehi is still at Crystal Palace, who pulled the plug on his transfer to Liverpool at the 11th hour. One cannot help but fear, then, that a worrying precedent has been set this summer because the rather sad moral of these three stories is that striking works.
The rise of the Premier League’s ‘middle class’ was one of the stories of last season. As Pep Guardiola repeatedly pointed out, it had become more difficult than ever for the biggest clubs to beat brilliantly-coached teams like Brentford and Bournemouth.
However, it’s been a brutal window for the over-achievers. Brentford lost their manager and two best forwards, while Bournemouth’s defence was dismantled.
Furthermore, Aston Villa’s hopes of building on their remarkable recent progress under Unai Emery have been dashed by their failure to qualify for the Liga de Campeones, resulting in the Birmingham-based outfit having to rely on the loan market to bring in new players. Newcastle, meanwhile, were made painfully aware of their place in the pecking order by Isak – and the plethora of players that rejected a move to St. James’ Park.
With the Premier League’s elite having flexed their financial muscles during the summer, it appears as if we might see a re-establishment of the old order this season – which will doubtless spark further debates about the systemic financial inequality in England.
It seems to have been lost amid all of the excitement generated by Liverpool’s assault on the transfer market that Arsenal actually had a bigger net spend than the Merseysiders, after strengthening every area of their squad during the summer.
In Viktor Gyokeres, Arsenal finally have a prolific No.9 at their disposal, Martin Zubimendi looks like the missing piece in midfield, Eberechi Eze is undoubtedly a potential game-changer, while Cristhian Mosquera and Hincapie provide top-class cover in defence.
Indeed, there’s a case to be made that Mikel Arteta now has greater strength in depth than any other manager in the Premier League. The flip side of that, of course, is that injuries can no longer be used as an excuse to explain away a lack of silverware. Arsenal have spent nearly £1 billion pound on players since Arteta took over in December 2019 – failure to repay that extraordinary level of financial faith in him with a major trophy could well cost him his job.
Manchester United managed to clear a lot of dead wood this summer, with Tyrell Malacia the only member of their ‘Bomb Squad’ not to secure a move away from Old Trafford.
Chelsea also fared pretty well in this regard – even if they had to get creative with Ben Chilwell by selling him to sister club Estrasburgo (so themselves, essentially!). However, Raheem Sterling remains on the Blues’ books.
Arsenal sent the former England international back to Stamford Bridge at the end of a dismal loan spell at the Emirates, but the hope was that he would at least find a new club before the window closed. No move materialised, though, meaning the 30-year-old is facing up to the rather ignominious prospect of spending an entire season on the sidelines.
Honestly, it’s hard to think of a player who’s suffered a more dramatic decline. Sterling was arguably Chelsea’s first statement signing of the Boehly-Clearlake era; now he’s looking like their worst-ever bit of business – which is really saying something.
It was clear long before the end of last season that Jack Grealish needed to get out of Manchester City – particularly if he were to have any hope of representing England at the 2026 World Cup.
But while Grealish didn’t make Thomas Tuchel’s first squad of the new season, but the winger can’t be far off a recall after making a scintillating start to his Everton career.
There’s an argument to be made that the 29-year-old has simply found his level – which is a mid-table Premier League team. However, the early indicators are that the maverick attacker has rediscovered the spark that Pep Guardiola extinguished at the Etihad and, while he won’t say it publicly himself, Grealish must be delighted that City appear to be lacking the very kind of joyous freedom of expression that has already made him a fan favourite at the magnificent Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Spare a thought for James Trafford right now. The England international was understandably buzzing after being re-signed by Manchester City during the summer due to the stellar role he played in Burnley’s promotion to the Premier League. With Ederson on the wane, Trafford looked very well placed to become Pep Guardiola’s new No.1.
However, just over a week after dropping a clanger against Tottenham that cast some doubt over the 22-year-old’s world-class potential, Trafford then sat and watched as City went out and signed Gigi Donnarumma, arguably the world’s best shot-stopper.
There are legitimate doubts over the Italian’s suitability to Guardiola’s style of play, which is founded upon building out from the back, but one can be sure that Donnarumma hasn’t been signed to sit on the bench. That’s likely to be Trafford’s role – which would be a bitterly frustrating prospect for the aspiring England international, as a lack of game time was the reason why he left City in the first place.
One of the main reasons why the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus pushed so had to create a European Super League is that their respective presidents were seriously perturbed by the financial might of the Premier League. Their concerns have proven very well-founded, too, because the monetary gap between England’s top-flight and its continental counterparts has only widened over the past couple of years.
The summer window was a startling case in point. La Liga’s 20 clubs spent just over £500m on transfers in total; Liverpool spent more than £400m alone. So, while the European Super League project failed, it’s clear that England has succeeded in creating its own Super League – and there appears to be absolutely nothing that the rest of the continent can do about it.
The path to superstardom rarely runs smoothly. Injuries can suddenly check a player’s progress – but so too can a change of coach, as both Kobbie Mainoo and Rodrygo have discovered to their cost.
Mainoo started for England in the final of Euro 2024 after breaking into Ten Hag’s starting line-up at Manchester United. However, it quickly became clear that the Dutchman’s successor, Ruben Amorim, didn’t feel the midfielder was suited to his preferred 3-4-3 formation, which prompted Mainoo to request a loan move this summer. United refused to let the 20-year-old leave, though, meaning Mainoo is likely to remain a rotation player for the foreseeable future.
Rodrygo’s situation at Santiago Bernabeu is just as frustrating. The winger was a key player for Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid, but he’s slid down the pecking order since the arrival of Alonso. The feeling was that Rodrygo would be allowed to leave for the right price, but the rumoured interest from Premier League clubs such as Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool failed to materialise into a move.
Consequently, the Brazilian is, just like Mainoo, facing a serious fight for regular game time in a World Cup year.
In each of the past two seasons, the three newly-promoted teams in the Premier League have gone straight back down – but might Sunderland buck this worrying trend this season?
The Black Cats went all out in the transfer window, splashing a whopping £180m on new players, including Ajax duo Brian Brobbey and Bertrand Traore, former Brighton winger Simon Adingra and, most notable of all, former Bayer Leverkusen captain Granit Xhaka.
Happily for Sunderland, the gamble is already paying off, with Regis Le Bris’ side having won two of their three games so far. Tougher tests definitely lie ahead but, based on what we’ve seen so far, Sunderland’s revamped squad looks more than capable of continuing to take advantage of a relatively soft set of fixtures for the first couple of months of the season.
Barcelona never intended to splash the cash during the 2025 summer transfer window – primarily because they don’t have very much – but the Blaugrana wanted to make one significant signing and they thought they had a deal for long-term transfer target Nico Williams all wrapped up.
However, the winger dramatically decided against moving to Catalunya because Barca were allegedly unable to offer any guarantees that they would be able to register him with La Liga, so he instead agreed a 10-year extension at Athletic Club.
Williams’ fears proved very well-founded because the Blaugrana only managed to register Joan Garcia and Marcus Rashford due to another very conveniently timed injury to Marc-Andre ter Stegen that freed up some space within their salary cap. The good thing for Barca is that Hansi Flick has a pretty strong squad at his disposal anyway, but this summer offered another painful reminder of the club’s precarious financial position.
