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It’s the day after the night before, and as the dust settles over months of back and forth between clubs, agents and players, there are several wry smiles on the faces of the Premier League figures, as well as a number of expressions of sadness.
The summer transfer window concluded with a busy deadline day as clubs scrambled to get the last of their business done on time.
Some achieved the goals they were looking for, while others opted for Plan B or missed entirely.
Players also eagerly waited on tenterhooks to find out if they made the move they were hoping for or ended up disappointed.
As usual, there were some who did better than the rest, and some were left licking their wounds.
Here are the winners and losers from the 2020 summer transfer window.
Winner: Dean Smith
The Aston Villa manager kept his team in the Premier League by the skin of his teeth last season.
Smith was tagged naive in some quarters before the block as Villa, vulnerable on defense, staggered in the relegation zone, before a new post-block resolution saw them survive.
The transfer window has seen the Villa fan from childhood, working for the first time with a new football director in Johan Lange, get exactly what he wanted, adding more speed and goal threat on attack (Ollie Watkins), athleticism and goal threat from midfield. (Ross Barkley),
a right back (Matty Cash) and a starting goalkeeper with a presence (Emi Martínez). Also, crucially, they have kept Jack Grealish.
All in all, there is more defensive stamina, greater attacking advantage, and greater balance in Villa’s preferred starting lineup; three victories in their first three games, two clean sheets and 11 goals scored, seven against the champions, are proof of this.
For Smith, it has been an outstanding window.
Loser: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
All summer she loved Jadon Sancho.
He made it clear, privately, that the Borussia Dortmund star was the winger he wanted; the right player to further enhance your Manchester United attack.
United reported that Sancho was the number one target, and Solskjaer spoke boldly about attacking the transfer market, at a time when some clubs would be restricted due to Covid-19.
He was dismayed that Ed Woodward wanted to start bidding for just over £ 50 million. He was appalled when United fell short of the £ 108 million Dortmund demanded, both before and after the German club’s August 1 deadline was extended to August 10 and then passed.
But Solskjaer doesn’t have the kind of influence where he can move the ship. He knows. And there was little he could do about it.
Winner: Carlo Ancelotti
The Italian arrived at Goodison Park last December on the condition that Everton would back him, substantially, in the transfer market eventually.
Farhad Moshiri has done just that this summer and now Ancelotti’s statements that Everton are competing for the top six, the top four, the title, basically everything, are no longer so silly.
The midfield has been redesigned with the players that the Italian was looking for, who are hitting or are in their prime: Abdoulaye Doucoure, Allan, James Rodríguez. The last pair is only on Merseyside because of Ancelotti.
Ben Godfrey has also joined in defense, a player with great potential.
Ancelotti now has the tools at his disposal with which Everton can compete. Four wins out of four so far.
Loser: Eric Garcia
Eric García will spend one more year at Manchester City.
The Spanish defender has made no secret of his desire to return to Barcelona’s childhood club, but the Catalans fell short of City’s price.
They felt that the status of their contract would cause the city to lower its valuation, but they did not.
That leaves Garcia at the Etihad, with little prospect of playing after the arrival of Rubén Dias from Benfica.
Winner: Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta was very clear in July.
“I have a very clear plan and the specificity of the players, the positions and the balance of the squad that we need to compete with the rest of the best teams in the country.”
That clear plan involved revamping the defense, adding a high-level central midfielder, bringing a little extra creativity to play in the midfields, and keeping Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on.
Arsenal have done all of those things, with the late capture of Thomas Partey turning a good window into, on paper, a great one.
Loser: Fikayo Tomori / Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Chelsea was looking to get rid of Antonio Rudiger or the young Tomori after bringing in Thiago Silva to strengthen in the center.
Having started last season so well that he earned a call-up from England, Tomori has now slumped down the pecking order and will struggle to get minutes.
He then had the option to go on loan to West Ham just before the window was closed, which Harry Redknapp called “a good move for him.”
But Tomori turned it down in favor of heating up the bench. Wasteful.
Blues teammate Ruben Loftus-Cheek has done the opposite by going in search of regular football.
Sadly for him, he ended up in the basement boys Fulham and may have bitten off more than he can chew.
Winner: Daniel Levy
In every window, the Tottenham owner is maligned by Spurs fans for his persistent dribbling that tends to border on the extreme.
Even after breaking the club’s transfer record last summer, it still had its fair share of critics.
But Levy has triumphed this time around, sealing the return of Gareth Bale, a new striker in Carlos Vinicius, an exciting left-back in Sergio Reguilón, plus a couple more solid acquisitions.
José is a happy bunny.
Loser: Jack Wilshere
It seems a shame to be adding Wilshere to this list after his bad luck with injuries, but the midfielder’s time in the Premier League may well be over after his release by West Ham.
The 28-year-old former England international, once revered as the country’s next big star, only managed eight games in two years for the Hammers.
Things have not gone well for him since he left Arsenal, but we are hopeful that his departure will turn into something positive with a good move elsewhere.
A stint in MLS could be just what you need to show off your great talent and get back to playing.
Winner: Eric Maxim-Choupo Moting
The former Stoke City forward raised his eyebrows when he signed for PSG in 2018. To be fair, that is self-explanatory, given his relationship with Thomas Tuchel (who had him in Mainz) and his need for a reserve striker who was versatile and not want. Don’t move the ship as far as your first-choice attackers are concerned.
Now European champions Bayern Munich, who also need a substitute striker who doesn’t have much playing time, because that Robert Lewandowski guy really is, and who wouldn’t move the boat, has led the Cameroonian international born in Hamburg back to Germany.
Losers: Liverpool trio
Liverpool’s eternal borrower Marko Grujic was unable to get his way out and now appears to be stuck in reserves until January.
The Reds would only approve a permanent deal for the Serb, with no upcoming offers and Hertha Berlin opting to relinquish Matteo Guendouzi.
Now that Liverpool have too many non-local players, Grujic could be left out of their Premier League and Champions League teams, meaning he will be plying his trade in the Under-23s until at least the next window rolls around.
Harry Wilson has also stayed at Anfield, as has Xherdan Shaqiri, who has since tested positive for coronavirus.
I can’t take a break.
Winner: Chris Smalling
Unwanted at Manchester United, for so long it seemed that Chris Smalling would not get the move back to Rome that he and they wanted.
But on the deadline day, Smalling finally sealed his transfer back to the Italian capital.
Winner: Jorge Mendes
Because it is always a good window when you are Jorge Mendes.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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