How top-flight clubs fared in the transfer window

Clubs tried to sew up their summer dealings early, but that didn’t stop the clatter of last-ditch signings and loan deals on deadline day

2 Sep 2025

The Guardian

Arsenal

Headline moves for Viktor Gyökeres and Eberechi Eze have given Mikel Arteta the firepower and creativity he asked for, while Martín Zubimendi has added class to midfield. The arrival of Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Nørgaard, Noni Madueke and Kepa Arrizabalaga has also added depth to the squad that is already being called upon after a series of early season injuries, while the late signing of the Ecuador defender Piero Hincapié should prove to be a shrewd addition, too. 

(Ed Aarons)

Key ins 

Eberchi Eze (Crystal Palace, £67.5m), Viktor Gyökeres (Sporting, £64m), Martín Zubimendi (Real Sociedad, £56m)

Key outs 

Oleksandr Zinchenko (Nott’m Forest, loan), Jakub Kiwior (Porto, loan)

***

Aston Villa

Villa retained their talented spine but struggled to enhance their squad until deadline day, with Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho both joining on loan to give Unai Emery’s side much-needed fresh impetus. Both arrive with points to prove. Sancho is seen as a low-risk signing, but it has not been an entirely joined-up window. Evann Guessand made his first Villa start in the collapse against Crystal Palace on Sunday; Villa will hope he evolves into a key threat. 

(Ben Fisher)

Key ins 

Evann Guessand (Nice, £30.5m), Harvey Elliott (Liverpool, loan), Victor Lindelöf (Manchester United, free)

Key outs 

Jacob Ramsey (Newcastle, £39m), Kaine Kesler-Hayden (Coventry, £3.5m)

***

Bournemouth

After losing four of their defensive mainstays from last season, it was hard to envisage Bournemouth emerging from the window in such a position of power. Not only have they generated £215m in sales but they have replaced key parts with minimal fuss. Adrien Truffert and Bafodé Diakité, in particular, have slotted in seamlessly and there is excitement at the promise of Amine Adli, Ben Gannon Doak and Álex Jiménez. Bournemouth consider Djordje Petrovic, a permanent No 1, a significant piece of business. 

(BF)

Key ins 

Bafodé Diakité (Lille, £34.5m), Amine Adli (Bayer Leverkusen, £25.1m), Djordje Petrovic (Chelsea, £25m)

Key outs 

Illia Zabarnyi (PSG, £54.8m), Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid, £50m)

***

Brentford

The departures of Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa brought in more than £120m but have left a huge hole. Signing Reiss Nelson on loan from Arsenal represented an underwhelming end to the window for the new head coach, Keith Andrews, especially after deciding not to follow up a club-record £45m offer for Borussia Dortmund’s Max Beier that was rejected last week. The onus will be Dango Ouattara and Igor Thiago to provide the goals, while Jordan Henderson adds experience in midfield after the loss of Christian Nørgaard. 

(EA)

Key ins 

Dango Ouattara (Bournemouth, £42.5m), Antoni Milambo (Feyenoord, £16m), Caoimhín Kelleher (Liverpool, £12.5m),

Key outs Bryan Mbeumo (Manchester United, £71m), Yoane Wissa (Newcastle, £55m)

***

Brighton

Most of the club’s business was done early, with Maxim De Cuyper the last new arrival in early July, the Belgium defender joining Oliver Boscagli, Charalampos Kostoulas, Diego Coppola and Tommy Watson at the Amex Stadium; Stefanos Tzimas also arrived after signing in January. After seeing off interest in Carlos Baleba from Manchester United and selling João Pedro, it was a busy end to the window in terms of outgoings, with Tariq Lamptey, Abdallah Sima and Pervis Estupiñan among those to have departed. 

(EA)

Key ins 

Charalampos Kostoulas (Olympiakos £29.8m), Maxim De Cuyper (Club Brugge, £17.5m), Tom Watson (Sunderland, £10m)

Key outs 

João Pedro (Chelsea, £60m), Simon Adingra (Sunderland, £21m)

***

Burnley

It was a hectic window for Burnley. The deadline-day arrival of Florentino Luís from Benfica, on loan but with an obligation to buy the midfielder for £20.8m next summer, made it 14 incomings. That includes four of last season’s loanees being signed on a permanent basis. There were 19 departures, with the exits of CJ Egan-Riley, James Trafford and Josh Brownhill a significant blow.

(Andy Hunter)

Key ins 

Lesley Ugochukwu (Chelsea, £23m), Armando Broja (Chelsea, £20m), Loum Tchaouna (Lazio, £13m),

Key outs 

James Trafford (Manchester City, £27m), Han-Noah Massengo (Augsburg, £2.6m)

***

Chelsea

Key business was completed early, with Liam Delap and João Pedro arriving to fire Enzo Maresca’s team to Club World Cup glory. Estêvão Willian is a sparkling addition on the right wing, replacing Noni Madueke. Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens are new arrivals on the opposite flank. Chelsea, who combined the expenditure with a lot of sales, did not pursue a new centre-back despite Levi Colwill’s knee injury, and losing Delap with a hamstring injury led to uncertainty over Nicolas Jackson’s move to Bayern Munich before that was ultimately confirmed. Maresca will hope Facundo Buonanotte, on loan from Brighton, provides depth in attack. 

(Jacob Steinberg)

Key ins 

João Pedro (Chelsea, £60m), Jamie Gittens (Borussia Dortmund, £48.5m), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United, £40m)

Key outs 

Noni Madueke (Arsenal, £48.5m), Christopher Nkunku (Milan, £36m)

***

Crystal Palace

Marc Guéhi’s move to Liverpool was called off at the last minute after they failed to bring in an adequate replacement. It was a major victory for Oliver Glasner having lost Eberechi Eze to Arsenal – while the chairman, Steve Parish, will be counting the cost of turning down £35m for a player with less than 12 months of his contract remaining. Palace were able to add to their squad late on with the French defender Jaydee Canvot joining on deadline day after they snapped up the Spain forward Yéremy Pino from Villarreal. 

(EA) 

Key ins 

Yéremy Pino (Villarreal, £21.5m), Borna Sosa (Ajax, £3m), Walter Benítez (PSV, free)

Key outs 

Eberechi Eze (Arsenal, £67.5m), Malcolm Ebiowei (Blackpool, £1m)

***

Everton

David Moyes said from the outset that his mission to rebuild Everton could not be achieved in one window and he failed to hide his frustration at times as numerous targets rejected a move. Ultimately, though, the club delivered. The squad remains light at full-back and in attack, but Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tyler Dibling represent a significant uplift in quality. The deadline-day signing of the central midfielder Merlin Röhl from Freiburg addressed another problem area. 

(AH)

Key ins 

Tyler Dibling (Southampton, £42m), Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Chelsea, £28m), Jack Grealish (Manchester City, loan)

Key outs 

Neal Maupay (Marseille, £6m), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds, free)

***

Fulham

Fulham’s only piece of business going into deadline day was for a No 2 keeper – Benjamin Lecomte. Marco Silva did not exactly hide his frustration. He received a boost on deadline day, however, after Fulham completed the £34.5m signing of Brazilian winger Kevin from Shakhtar Donetsk after also agreeing a loan deal for Milan’s Samuel Chukwueze. Fulham also kept their tight-knit squad together. Andreas Pereira, who joined Palmeiras, was the only big-name player to depart. 

(JS)

Key ins 

Kevin (Shakhtar Donetsk, £34.5m). Samuel Chukwueze (Milan, loan), Benjamin Lecomte (Montpellier, £430k)

Key outs 

Andreas Pereira (Palmeiras, £10m), Lemor Gordon (Leyton Orient, undisclosed)

***

Leeds

Daniel Farke has remodelled Leeds along taller and more powerful lines, but whether that translates into Premier League survival remains to be seen. Much hinges on the fitness of the key attacking signings Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha. Only time will tell if Patrick Bamford’s attacking skills were jettisoned too quickly. Midfield seems to have been fortified sensibly by the addition of Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach, while Lucas Perri promises to prove the reliable goalkeeper Farke has long craved and Jaka Bijol offers competition in central defence. 

(Louise Taylor)

Key ins 

Noah Okafor (Milan, £18m), Anton Stach (Hoffenheim, £17m), Jaka Bijol (Udinese, £15m),

Key outs 

Rasmus Kristensen (Eintracht Frankfurt, £5.2m), Sam Greenwood (Pogon Szczecin, £3.4m)

***

Liverpool

An outstanding window before deadline day was upgraded to sensational by close of play. The champions had clear, ambitious priorities from the start and acquired almost every one to leave Arne Slot with a more formidable squad than he had last season. Having played Newcastle all summer, Liverpool finally landed Alexander Isak for a British record fee of £125m – £25m below Newcastle’s valuation – but a £35m move for Marc Guéhi was thwarted late on. The sale of squad players for high price helped to fund an outlay in excess of £440m. 

(AH)

Key ins 

Alexander Isak (Newcastle, £125m), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen, £116m), Hugo Ekitiké (Eintracht Frankfurt, £79m)

Key outs 

Luis Díaz (Bayern Munich, £65.5m), Darwin Núñez (Al-Hilal, £46m)

***

Manchester City

Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Aït-Nouri and Marcus Bettinelli arrived early, with the first three involved in a start to the season that has seen City lose two of their opening three fixtures. This suggests the club’s recruitment may be going awry. Their arrivals were followed by the £30m signing of Gianluigi Donnarumma on deadline day. 

(Jamie Jackson)

Key ins 

Tijjani Reijnders (Milan, £46.6m), Rayan Aït-Nouri (Wolves, £31m), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain, £30m)

Key outs 

James McAtee (Nottingham Forest, £30m), Yan Couto (Borussia Dortmund, £25.1m)

***

Manchester United

The club entered the window needing one No 10 and ended up with two – Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo. They needed at least one midfielder, a No 6, and ended up with none. They also needed an élite goalkeeper and signed a 23-year-old future prospect in Belgium Under-21 goalkeeper Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp. United did secure the No 9 they wanted in Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig but, overall, this has undoubtedly been an odd window for the 20-time champions. 

(JJ)

Key ins 

Benjamin Sesko (RB Leipzig, £73.7m), Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford, £71m), Matheus Cunha (Wolves, 62£.5m),

Key outs 

Alejandro Garnacho (Chelsea, £40m), Antony (Real Betis, £21.6m)

***

Newcastle

A turbulent, unedifying summer on Tyneside dominated by Alexander Isak’s ultimately satisfied desperation to leave for Liverpool has, on paper, actually ended rather well for Newcastle. Nick Woltemade – aka “the two-metre Messi” – and Yoane Wissa may yet turn out to be a better attacking duo than Isak and Callum Wilson. Similarly, Aaron Ramsdale’s loan arrival offers Nick Pope real goalkeeping competition, Malick Thiaw strengthens the central defensive department, Jacob Ramsey adds midfield quality and Anthony Elanga is a high-calibre winger. 

(LT)

Key ins 

Nick Woltemade (Stuttgart, £69m), Yoane Wissa (Brentford, £55m), Anthony Elanga (Nottingham Forest, £55m)

Key outs 

Alexander Isak (Liverpool, £125m), Lloyd Kelly (Juventus, £20m)

***

Nottingham Forest

There is so much to like about Forest’s business but recruitment, overseen by Edu, the global head of football for Evangelos Marinakis’s stable of clubs, is also behind the friction with Nuno Espírito Santo. Only one of Forest’s new faces, Dan Ndoye, a £34m buy from Bologna, started with defeat on Sunday against West Ham and Nuno would have preferred all 11 signings to have been embedded during pre-season. No fewer than four signings arrived from Botafogo, including the left-back Cuiabano and the goalkeeper John Victor. Nuno counts last summer’s preparations as a driver behind their historic season. 

(BF)

Key ins 

Omari Hutchinson (Ipswich, £37.5m), Dan Ndoye (Bologna, £34m), James McAtee (Manchester City, £30m),

Key outs 

Anthony Elanga (Newcastle, £55m), Danilo (Botofogo, £20m)

***

Sunderland

Sunderland have not quite eclipsed Nottingham Forest’s record of signing 21 new players in a single window but Régis Le Bris’s squad has certainly been refreshed. If turning Enzo Le Fée’s January loan from Roma into a formal transfer was a triumph, the arrival of the impressive Netherlands Under21 goalkeeper Robin Roefs, the Switzerland captain and the former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka and the former Strasbourg midfielder Habib Diarra look three more terrific deals. At the last count, Le Bris had overseen the arrival of 14 new faces for a combined £141.5m this summer. Retaining squad harmony amid such wholesale change is vital but, if Sunderland stay up, the investments will have proven shrewd. 

(LT)

Key ins 

Habib Diarra (Strasbourg, £30m), Simon Adingra (Brighton, £21m), Enzo Le Fée (Roma, £20m)

Key outs 

Jobe Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund, £27m), Tom Watson (Brighton, £10m)

***

Tottenham

When James Maddison ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in pre-season against Newcastle on 3 August, Tottenham’s need for a new playmaker became desperate. Dejan Kulusevski was already a long-term injury casualty. So there was anxiety when the club failed with moves for Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze. The signing of Xavi Simons, then, brought relief as well as excitement. Mohammed Kudus had arrived earlier to plug the gap left by Son Heung-min’s departure, while João Paulhinha reinforces the base of the midfield. Randal Kolo Muani will provide a needed extra option up front as the club prepare for the demands of a Champions League return. 

(David Hytner)

Key ins 

Mohammed Kudus (West Ham, £54.5m), Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig, £51.8m), Randal Kolo Muani (Paris Saint-Germain, loan)

Key outs 

Son Heung-min (Los Angeles FC, £19.5m), Pierre-Émile Højbjerg (Marseille, £17m)

***

West Ham

Forced to sell in order to buy, West Ham were unable to do anything before Mohammed Kudus joined Tottenham for £54.5m. The attacker’s departure heaped the pressure on the club’s unpopular board. There was cautious optimism when deals for Mads Hermansen, Callum Wilson, Kyle Walker-Peters and El Hadji Malick Diouf went through, but the pressure rose when a dreadful start to the season exposed gaps in midfield. Then the mood lifted, Edson Álvarez’s exit making room for West Ham to sign Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa. However, they encountered frustration with their attempts to sign a centre-back on loan to replace Nayef Aguerd, who followed Emerson Palmieri to Marseille on deadline day. 

(JS)

Key ins 

Mateus Fernandes (Southampton, £38m), Jean-Clair Todibo (Nice, £32.8m), El Hadji Malick Diouf (Slavia Prague, £22m) 

Key outs 

Mohammed Kudus (Tottenham, £54.5m), Emerson (Lyon, £860k)

***

Wolves

Retaining Jørgen Strand Larsen amid sustained interest from Newcastle was a victory for the chairman, Jeff Shi, a target for criticism among supporters. Shi personally informed Strand Larsen, who only joined permanently in July, that he would be staying put despite Newcastle’s interest. Better still, Wolves finally have another forward option after a £24m deal for Genk’s Tolu Arokodare. Offloading Fábio Silva and Gonçalo Guedes was also a significant step, but it is difficult to argue Wolves have done sufficient business to avoid another season of struggle after the sales of Matheus Cunha and Rayan Aït-Nouri. Vítor Pereira wanted three signings before the deadline and there is only one piece missing – a midfielder. 

(BF)

Key ins 

Tolu Arokodare (Genk, 24m), Jørgen Strand Larsen (Celta Vigo, £23m), Fer López (Celta Vigo, £19m),

Key outs 

Matheus Cunha (Manchester United, £62.5m), Rayan Aït-Nouri (Manchester City, £31m)