The Premier League transfer window slammed shut yesterday ahead of tonight’s start to the Premier League season and there was plenty of big spending late on Deadline Day as sides battled to boost their squads.
Over £1.2billion was spent in total by Premier League clubs across the transfer window with Liverpool spending the most – £171.3million – on their four summer signings.
The promoted sides were busy with both Wolves and Fulham bringing in 12 players in a bid to boost their survival hopes, however, it was Brighton who added the most with 16 making a summer switch to the Amex.
At the other end of the scale Spurs became the first side to go through the whole transfer window without bring a player through the door while Jose Mourinho was only able to add three players to his Old Trafford squad in a frustrating window for the Red Devils boss.
Two goalkeepers made the top five of most expensive summer signings in the Premier League after Liverpool, and then Chelsea broke the world record transfer fee for a keeper, and here we run through the big transfers to take place this summer in the Premier League.
Kepa Arrizabalaga (£72m) Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea
Chelsea’s goalkeeper transfer saga finally ended when they signed the 23-year-old from Athletic Bilbao, enabling wantaway Thibaut Courtois to complete his move to Real Madrid.
In the end they had to pay a world record fee to prise him away and signed him on a seven-year deal as well, but he certainly has plenty of potential.
During his time in the senior side with Bilbao he racked up 15 clean sheets in 54 appearances, and while he has big boots to fill at Stamford Bridge, it will interesting to see how he adjusts to life in England.
Riyad Mahrez (£61m) Leicester City to Manchester City
Riyad Mahrez’s move to the Etihad Stadium was possibly one of the longest-running transfer sagas, but Pep Guardiola finally got his man this summer.
The 27-year-old wanted to make the move back in January, but Leicester blocked any potential move and the Algerian initially took ‘compassionate leave’ when his dream move didn’t go through in the winter. He finally got his wish this time around though.
Where he fits in to the Guardiola’s system remains to be seen, but he had such a big impact with the Foxes, who signed him for a mere £400k.
Alisson (£56m) Roma to Liverpool
At the time of his arrival at Anfield he was the most expensive goalkeeper in history, but that record only lasted a matter of weeks before Kepa Arrizabalaga joined Chelsea.
He was a much sought-after keeper and even Chelsea were reportedly interested earlier in the summer.
During his time with AS Roma the Brazilian kept 26 clean sheets in 64 games – although he famously conceded seven against his new employees in the Champions League last season.
Despite that, he will almost certainly have a positive impact on a previously unsteady Liverpool defence.
Fred (£53m) Shakthar Donetsk to Manchester United
The one big signing for Jose Mourinho this summer at Old Trafford, Fred will be hoping to justify the fee the Red Devils paid Shakthar Donetsk for his services.
His arrival will potentially free Paul Pogba to play in a more attacking role and that will be a big boost for the World Cup winner, with the Brazilian likely to feature alongside Nemanja Matic in the midfield.
However, Mourinho wasn’t very happy with United’s transfer dealings – something that may rumble on as the season progresses.
Jorginho (£51m) Napoli to Chelsea
This was another transfer which took a little while to get over the line and had been mooted about for weeks ahead of his arrival at Stamford Bridge.
He was finally reunited with his former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri and Jorginho looks to have hit the ground running in pre-season as he produced a number of strong performances.
The Italian will be a welcome boost to the Chelsea ranks, especially if he delivers at the highest level and helps propel them back into title reckoning after a Premier League season to forget last term.
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