The summer transfer window closed last night with plenty of big-money deals across the Premier League. The Manchester clubs spent heavily early on, while transfer records were broken at Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool. But as the dust settles, some clubs have fared better than others in their wheeling and dealing.
Crystal Palace, Newcastle and West Ham face questions over their windows. Palace's late signing of Mamadou Sakho only papers over cracks, with Frank de Boer's new style not fully backed by the board. Newcastle's penny-pinching under Mike Ashley has left Rafa Benitez with a squad similar to last season's Championship side, risking the manager's future. West Ham overpaid for Marko Arnautovic and failed to fill key holes, leaving their squad weak after three straight defeats.
On the positive side, Brighton invested wisely with new signings like Izquierdo and Ryan, but lack a proven striker. Stoke reinforced their defence heavily with Wimmer, Martins Indi and Zouma, though losing Arnautovic could hurt their goalscoring. Both clubs have work to do to avoid relegation battles.
