This summer’s Premier League transfer window has not quite overseen the kind of activity it has in the past.
Nonetheless, valuable signings have been made that will influence the eventual outcome of football’s most popular league and with two weeks of the window remaining, many more big signings will be made.
From those that have been confirmed so far, we have compiled a list of the top five…
Tanguy Ndombélé
Spurs fans had waited since January 31, 2018 for a new addition to their squad, enduring two transfer windows in which no players were signed.
The excuse from the club’s hierarchy appeared to be that their new stadium was taking up a large portion of the club’s available finances and that their star-studded squad was difficult to add to.
In spite of this, a lack of depth—notably in the midfield area—cost them dearly at times last season with the departure of club legend, Mousa Dembélé and injuries to Harry Winks, Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier.
Now, following an 18 month transfer drought, sought-after box-to-box midfielder,Tanguy Ndombélé has signed for the North London outfit for a club record fee of £53.8m from Olympique Lyonnais.
With reported interest from some of the world’s biggest clubs (Real Madrid, Manchester City, PSG), it came as a surprise to many that Spurs were able to land the French midfielder.
However, following their impressive Champions League run in the previous campaign, they have gained top-club status and with a manager reputed for his work with young talents, they are now able to attract big names.
Ndombélé will help fill the gap left by Mousa Dembélé as a midfield general who is comfortable on the ball and physically imposing.
He is aware that his numbers will have to improve with regards to goal involvements, but working with Pochettino will surely bring the best out of his potential going forward.
With numerous links to other players, this may spark a new era for Spurs, who now have a wonderful stadium, funds, a great squad and a manager players want to work under. They have become an attractive club and they needed reinforcements to truly establish themselves as one.
This is another step in the right direction that the club needed to take in their continuing pursuit of silverware.
Sébastien Haller
West Ham United have longed for a striker with great goalscoring prowess for years. They briefly thought they had found just that when Arnautovic made the switch from winger to striker and started scoring freely.
However, the relationship between him and fans soon turned sour as he tried to force a move out of the club during the January transfer window.
First game with @WestHamUtd good feelings #coyi pic.twitter.com/TW6vjcxmm7
— Sébastien Haller (@HallerSeb) July 27, 2019
Haller joins the Hammers in a club-record deal of £45m as a replacement for Arnautovic and could be the missing piece in the project they have been working on ever since Pellegrini took charge.
Playing for Europa League semi-finalists, Eintracht Frankfurt, Haller enjoyed a successful campaign, forming a formidable forward line alongside World Cup star, Ante Rebic and new Real Madrid man, Luka Jovic.
The three scored an impressive combined total of 41 goals in the Bundesliga, making up more than 2/3 of Eintracht’s goals, despite none of them starting every game.
Jovic may have made the bigger headlines with his move to Real Madrid, but the new West Ham forward amassed more direct goal involvements, displaying not only a keen eye for goal, but an aptitude for making the final pass, with 9 assists and 15 goals.
On WhoScored?com—a website that takes a comprehensive overview of all players’ statistics to give them an average score out of 10 for every game—Haller averaged a rating of 7.55 over the whole season, making him the fifth highest-ranking Bundesliga player from the 2018/19 campaign.
At 6’3” he poses a significant aerial threat and his goals and assists tallies were mightily impressive, suggesting that he may well be the man to guide West Ham United closer to European football. Partnerships with Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini and new signing Pablo Fornals could prove deadly and help push West Ham to a new level.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Undoubtedly the best defensive full-back in the Premier League last season, Solskjaer made Aaron Wan-Bissaka his number one priority to replace the much-maligned Ashley Young.
A hefty fee of £45m was enough to secure the lifelong United fan who has impressed early on in pre-season.
United’s backline was in need of surgery and performances so far, carrying on from last season’s form suggest that he can be a valuable asset in helping mend the defence that was so heavily criticised last season.
His defensive stats were unparalleled last season, as he had the highest success rate for tackle completion (92.8%), most clearances (129) and most interceptions (84) of any Premier League full-back during the 2018/19 season; his first full season of senior football.
His lack of experience and his attacking abilities are the only real question marks being placed over his transfer, but his inexperience has yet to truly affect him, as he has shown great maturity up until now, while his attacking threat is difficult to judge given his primarily defensive role at Palace.
However, he has registered a few assists in the Premier League and assisted Mason greenwood’s opener against Leeds in pre-season and having started off as a winger, he may just surprise fans as he is given greater freedom going forward.
The player has seemingly unlimited potential and while he will not single handedly fix their defensive problems, one more defensive signing and United could be ready to compete at the top level again.
This is definitely a step in the right direction for the club that has been poorly run these past few years.
Matt Targett
It feels like Matt Targett has been on the verge of breaking through into a starting role at a Premier League club for many years now.
Having made his first-team debut for Southampton in 2014, he has been in the squad for a number of years, always promising to break through, but never quite doing so.
Following an impressive loan spell at Fulham during the 2017/18 campaign, which saw him help them to promotion, many expected him to go on to establish himself in Southampton’s first team.
Unfortunately, facing competition from Ryan Bertrand proved difficult and he only started 13 times.
However, he registered an average of one direct goal involvement every 300 minutes (approximately); attacking returns any full-back ought to be proud of. He is very much a modern full-back, with a good delivery and end product.
This would suggest that Dean Smith has made an astute signing and for just £11m Villa now have a Premier League quality left-back who is free to make that position his own, ahead of Neil Taylor who received a lot of criticism for his performances in the Championship last season.
Aston Villa have made a number of valuable signings this summer – more than any other Premier League club.
Wesley Moraes has been brought in to fill the void left by last season’s top goalscorer, Tammy Abraham, while Tyrone Mings – among Villa’s best players last season – has been signed on a permanent basis and Trezeguet has also joined following an impressive campaign in the Turkish top flight.
Villa have strengthened in many areas, but the most important of all the signings they have made looks to be Matt Targett, who will bring Premier League ability and experience to a team vying for survival in the top flight.
Rodri
Pep Guardiola has always spoken highly of Fernandinho, who has been pivotal in Manchester City’s two consecutive title wins.
When City fell to consecutive defeats at home to Crystal Palace, then away to Leicester City last season and their title hopes seemed bleak, a lot emphasis was placed on the holding midfielder’s absence during those games, with many calling him “irreplaceable”.
However, the player is approaching the end of his playing career and Pep has been looking for a long-term replacement over the past two seasons. Jorginho, Fred and Ndombélé were all linked with City, but joined other Premier League clubs.
It was Rodri the champions eventually turned to, the standout midfielder in Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid side in the season just gone.
At 6’3” the Spanish international will bring height and physicality to a midfield currently lacking in those areas. He also excelled in a defensive sense, registering more successful tackles than any other La Liga midfielder.
Comparisons with Sergio Busquets show a more subtle side to his game. His quality distribution is certainly an asset that will be valued in a Guardiola team and he is confident that he can be more than just a Fernandinho replacement, hinting that he may be able to play in a more advanced midfield role alongside the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva.
With both Fernandinho and Rodri now able to deputise in that midfield position, City are looking even stronger than they did in the past two seasons; a frightening thought for all those wishing to challenge their throne.
