The Best and Worst Signings of the Summer Transfer Window

With the European transfer window slamming shut last night, fans across Europe will no doubt be looking back over the past couple of months and wondering whether the frantic period of buying and selling has actually benefited their club, or whether they are in a worse position than before. And with £1.26 billion being spent in the Premier League alone, this transfer window will surely have its fair share of bargain buys, as well multi-million pound flops never to be seen again after October. It’s time to rank the best and worst transfers of summer 2018 in the Premier League.

Premier League’s Best Buys:

5. Lukas Fabianski   Swansea to West Ham - £7 million

Despite getting relegated with Swansea last season, Polish shot-stopper Fabianski was a shining light in an otherwise grim season for the Swans. In an era where the value of goalkeepers is rapidly increasing, to spend just £7m on a quality keeper is a great piece of business for West Ham, and the arrival of Fabianski should solve the Hammers’ persistent problem between the sticks that saw former manager David Moyes constantly rotate Joe Hart and Adrian last season.

4. Bobby Reid   Bristol City to Cardiff - £10 million

Cardiff’s transfer activity went largely under the radar, with much of their signings coming from the lower tiers of English football, but the acquisition of Bobby Reid is a very smart buy. Reid’s 26 goals and assists were the second-most in the Championship last season, and he could be just the player to kick-start Cardiff’s season after the Bluebirds failed to score in their first 3 Premier League games.

3. James Maddison     Norwich to Leicester City - £24 million

It is very rare for a player from the Championship to be valued so highly by a Premier League club, But Leicester City evidently feel that Maddison is prepared to make the step up after his 15 Championship goals last season helped steer Norwich well clear of relegation. While there will be more than a few sceptics regarding Claude Puel’s faith in a relatively unproven player, the midfielder may be able to provide the creativity that can get the Foxes back into Europe.

2. Naby Keita     RB Leipzig to Liverpool - £52 million

While this transfer was completed last summer, it was not until July 1 that Keita officially became a Liverpool player. The Guinean international is a force to be reckoned with when in possession of the ball, and his 14 goals and 12 assists over the last 2 seasons in the Bundesliga justify his hefty price tag. His discipline may be a worry, with the attacking midfielder receiving 8 yellow cards and 2 red cards last season alone, but manager Jurgen Klopp will be hoping his new signing can control his temper and reach the form of two years ago when Keita guided newly-promoted RB Leipzig to 2nd place behind Bayern Munich.

1. Joao Moutinho   AS Monaco to Wolves - £5 million

It is very rare for a European Championship winner to transfer to a newly promoted side, but Wolves have pulled off the signing of the summer by snapping up Moutinho for an astonishingly cheap price. The work of super-agent Jorge Mendes was undoubtedly a major part in luring the 113-cap Portugal international to Molineux, but the midfielders passing ability and eye for goal could transform an already exciting Wolves side into a unit capable of pushing for European football. He turns 32 next week so his best days are arguably behind him, but Moutinho should still be a valuable asset for years to come, and has already slotted in nicely alongside compatriot Ruben Neves in the centre of midfield. 

   

Premier League’s Worst Buys:

5. Joe Hart   Man City to Burnley - £3.5m

There was a general feeling of surprise when it was announced that Burnley would be signing Joe Hart, considering they already had 2 goalkeepers that had effectively retired Hart from international duty. Admittedly, Nick Pope and Tom Heaton were both out injured at the time of the transfer, but with Heaton already back fit and Pope expected back before Christmas, by 2019 Hart may find himself alienated and struggling even for a place on the bench, and it is hard to see Burnley being the launch pad to help rejuvenate Hart’s declining career.

4. Alireza Jahanbakhsh    AZ Alkmaar to Brighton - £17m

After being touted before the World Cup as the Iranian Messi, Jahanbakhsh had an underwhelming tournament that led to him being dropped from the starting line-up for one of Iran’s group matches. He is a player who could potentially be brilliant but is equally likely to be non-existent for 90 minutes, and to break their transfer record to sign him seems like a risk not worth taking for a club like Brighton, who are yet to secure financial stability within the Premier League.

3. Benik Afobe   Bournemouth to Wolves - £10m

It’s not Wolves signing Afobe that makes this a bad buy, but it’s what the club did with their new striker that seems to render the signing pointless. Just 11 days after signing for Wolves, Afobe was offloaded to Stoke on loan with an obligation for the Championship side to sign the Congolese international permanently in January. It seems a bizarre bit of business that will likely mean Afobe never plays for Wolves, raising the question as to why the Midlands outfit even signed him in the first place.

2. Yerry Mina   Barcelona to Everton - £28m

The fact that Barcelona were so eager to sell Mina only 7 months after they signed him suggests they were not too pleased with the Colombian’s performances over the second half of last season. The centre-back only played 6 times for the Catalan giants, and it is mainly his performances for Colombia at the World Cup that attracted so much interest, with Man Utd reportedly close to signing Mina before Everton swooped in. But while Mina’s 3 headed goals at the tournament certainly warranted praise, it doesn’t seem to justify the bumper price tag that is some £20 million more than what Barcelona paid in January this year. Time will tell whether Mina can live up to the hype, or whether his goal scoring exploits in Russia have made him seem like a much better player than he actually is.

1. Lucas Perez    Arsenal to West Ham - £4m

After a desperately disappointing season at Arsenal, which warranted a single goal in 11 appearances, Lucas Perez’s agent has somehow been able to engineer his client a transfer to another Premier League club, with West Ham signing the Spanish striker on deadline day. At just £4 million, there is the consolation that the forward won’t cause the club any financial damage if he flops like he did at Arsenal. However, it is not the financial loss, but the loss of another youth player, that is the real damage of this transfer. Too often clubs look to sign foreign players rather than utilise what is right in front of them with their youth academy. Young prospects such as Nathan Holland and Marcus Browne, who have consistently performed for the West Ham U23s, will never get a chance to perform on the main stage if clubs continue to sign European players who have had their chance at other clubs and failed to take it. Rather than act as a home for proven failures such as Perez, West Ham should be taking a chance on the talent in their youth set up to propel them up the table. However, the vast contrast in the finances between the Premier League and the Championship make relegation so catastrophic from a business perspective that it is deemed too risky to play young English players. Because of this, club owners will continue to panic-buy players like Perez in the hope of a short-term solution, and the potential players of tomorrow will continue to languish in the reserves, which can only hurt the club in the long-term.