Arsenal broke a trend and Tottenham acted like a serious club for once. Here is every Premier League club’s best transfer decision of 2024.
We also bashed every Premier League club for their worst transfer decision of the year, which was good fun. Read that after this, won’t you?
Arsenal – successful summer selling
From Gabriel Martinelli to William Saliba, the Gunners have been savvy when buying players in the Mikel Arteta era. It’s a wildly different story when it comes to sales.
Konstantinos Mavropanos – now at West Ham – was sold to Stuttgart for peanuts when he was worth at least £15million. In the same summer, they sold Bernd Leno to Fulham for £3m, Lucas Torreira to Galatasaray for £4.5m and Matteo Guendouzi to Marseille for £9m. All three have gone on to be very successful.
Getting a combined £60m for Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah was significant and the sign of a turning tide. Smith Rowe, in particular, was a brilliant piece of business. He is injury-prone, was way down in Arteta’s pecking order and entering the final two years of his Gunners contract. While Fulham have struck gold with the signing, Arteta and Edu Gaspar squeezed just about every possible penny out of their London rivals.
Arsenal have no problem being stingy when bidding for players; finally they have showcased the same approach when their fringe players are attracting interest.
Bournemouth – not resisting the Dominic Solanke sale and getting big money
Bournemouth nailed it in the summer transfer window. They kept Milos Kerkez, Antoine Semenyo and Illia Zabarnyi while extracting a huge fee for Dominic Solanke and swiftly replacing him with a proven goalscorer in Evanilson. Of the many clever sales by mid-table clubs, Bournemouth getting £55m for Solanke from Tottenham was the cleverest.
Solanke’s importance last season is not being taken for granted; he had the best campaign of his career and carried the Cherries on his back at times. It was a blow to lose the England international but it’s been hard to tell as Bournemouth have already triumphed over Arsenal and Manchester City in 2024/25.
The Cherries were reluctant to lose their talisman so they did so on their own terms…amicable negotiations with Spurs resulting in a £55m windfall was textbook for Bournemouth and we already have two cases of win-win transfers after Smith Rowe to Fulham.
Brentford – selling Ivan Toney to a club outside England
The biggest winner from Toney’s transfer to Saudi Arabia was his bank account. After talking about moving to Arsenal, Liverpool and even Real Madrid, Toney ended up at Al-Ahli. His pride took a knock but Brentford won’t care.
The England striker had one year left on his contract and Brentford really did not want to lose him on a free transfer. They were also reluctant to see him join a Premier League rival and initially set a £100m asking price, before it gradually dropped to £40m. Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal were put off by a below-par return from his gambling ban, but the Bees were rescued from financial disaster by Middle Eastern riches.
Brighton – summer upgrades across the board
Brighton appointed the youngest permanent manager in Premier League history and then backed him to the hilt in the transfer market. It was a bold and risky strategy from a club renowned for their eye for a bargain and it looks to have worked out just fine.
Fabian Hurzeler is on course to continue the trend of Brighton managers managing to outdo the work of his predecessor when it really didn’t feel possible. Roberto De Zerbi brought the club their most successful spell after Graham Potter did the same after Chris Hughton did the same, and Hurzeler’s 23 points from 13 games might have the most optimistic Albion fan dreaming of the Champions League.
Tony Bloom was clearly prepared to take Brighton to the next level, making nine signings in total and improving the team in nearly every department. After bolstering the attack with Yankuba Minteh, Hurzeler got Mats Wieffer as his new No. 6, Brajan Gruda and Matt O’Riley to offer incredible midfield depth for the present and future, someone capable of playing anywhere in attack in Georginio Rutter, and real versatility in the outstanding Ferdi Kadioglu, who is a natural at left-back but superb on the right and has already shown his ability further up the pitch.
It is impossible to single out one signing in particular so Brighton’s summer glow-up gets the flowers.
Chelsea – selling Conor Gallagher
We were up in arms at the prospect of Chelsea forcing academy graduate Conor Gallagher out. He only missed games under Mauricio Pochettino when he was suspended and was arguably the Blues’ best player under the Argentine not called Cole Palmer. It turns out the Blues actually made the right call (ignoring the fact Joao Felix went in the opposite direction).
It was always going to be a risk selling Gallagher but Chelsea do not miss him in the slightest. Indeed, they look a lot better without him. Moises Caicedo’s game has finally reached a level resembling a £105m footballer and Romeo Lavia is clearly a better fit and a huge upgrade now he is injury-free.
There really isn’t much more justification needed. We were wrong and Chelsea were right.
Crystal Palace – signing Adam Wharton
When you are Crystal Palace, the unfortunate reality is that the biggest upside when nailing the signing of a young player is their sell-on value. Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi have all been huge successes for Palace but the south London club has stepping-stone status and Olise has now hopped off to Bayern Munich.
Their latest masterstroke is the January signing of Adam Wharton from Blackburn Rovers. The 20-year-old cost around £18m and is already worth at least triple that. His form in the second half of last season was enough to earn a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
There was talk of swift profit for the Eagles with a summer sale but that did not come to fruition and Wharton is still at Selhurst Park to continue his development and hopefully turn the club’s form around.
Everton – signing Iliman Ndiaye
The £50m sale of Amadou Onana was sensible on and off the pitch and being sensible on or off the pitch is not something you associate with Everton. The money received from Aston Villa allowed the Toffees to improve their squad and they have struck a rare bit of gold with the addition of Iliman Ndiaye. He has started the season very well in a terrible team.
Fulham – signing Emile Smith Rowe instead of a Joao Palhinha pretender
Losing Joao Palhinha could have been fatal for Fulham but they have somehow improved since his departure for Bayern Munich. It also felt like a risk not signing a similar player to fill the gigantic gap but what the hell do we know? Marco Silva added more creativity and his side look a lot more free-flowing without losing much of the steel they had in the middle with Palhinha, which has probably been assisted by the signing of Joachim Andersen.
A huge part of their attacking improvement has come thanks to the signing of Emile Smith Rowe, who was desperate for game time having fallen down the pecking order at Arsenal, and has quickly repaid the Cottagers for giving him a chance.
Ipswich – unearthing Liam Delap gem
What a signing Delap has been for Ipswich. He is a serious talent. We apologise for the unnecessary comparison but he is everything that Evan Ferguson was supposed to be.
The 21-year-old has hit the ground running in Our League and is getting better each passing week. Manchester City might even try to re-sign him at this rate.
Leicester – signing Facundo Buonanotte on loan
Clubs destined for a relegation battle need an X-factor in attack to keep their heads above water and Leicester might have it in Brighton loanee Buonanotte.
We might be backing the young Argentine a little too much here but he is a lovely player and has been the Foxes’ best in 2024/25. He is no Matheus Cunha or Raphinha, but he is still Leicester’s best chance of survival.
Liverpool – not panicking after Martin Zubimendi snub
We love the signing of Giorgi Mamardashvili but Liverpool’s best decision has to be putting their faith in Ryan Gravenberch instead of panic-buying a defensive midfielder after failing to sign Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad.
Zubimendi would have been a brilliant addition and maybe Liverpool might be even better with him in the No. 6 role. But what we do know is that they have been near-perfect with Gravenberch at the heart of Arne Slot’s side. The Dutch playmaker has been outstanding after a difficult debut season at the club and is finally becoming reaching the potential we saw at Ajax.
Manchester City – the Savinho sorcery
Savinho’s true market value was not reflected in his £21m transfer from Troyes to City and that is all we will say on the matter. We said a lot more here.
Manchester United – Jadon Sancho’s Borussia Dortmund loan and inevitable Chelsea sale
The shambles that was the Erik ten Hag and Jadon Sancho fallout is thankfully a distant memory now. We all know how it unfolded so we will focus on how it ended – with Sancho going to Chelsea after briefly pretending everything with his manager was hunky-dory.
Sancho’s summer loan to Chelsea would not have happened had Manchester United not loaned him back to Borussia Dortmund. Crucially, he saved his best performances for the Champions League, annihilating the Paris Saint-Germain defence over two legs to help the Germans progress to the final of Europe’s premier competition.
The Dortmund loan might not have been the best financial option for United but they did at least pass some of his wages over to the Bundesliga giants and kick-started the selling process.
Chelsea have signed Sancho on loan but the transfer will become permanent for over £20m should they finish no lower than 14th, or something ridiculous like that. It’s a formality.
Losing around £50m on Sancho is still disastrous for United and any positive performances for the Blues will be greeted with criticism, but getting the 24-year-old off the books – and the training ground – was vital.
Newcastle – keeping the big three
Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak were all strongly linked with transfers away from Newcastle in the summer but they all stayed, which was a huge relief for the club and their fans.
While these profit and sustainability rules (PSR) are in place, the Magpies will keep finding themselves in this situation, especially if they fail to get back into the Champions League. All three players will be the subject of transfer speculation again at the end of the season and maybe even in January as reports of Newcastle needing to balance the books continue to emerge.
Regardless, they managed to keep their three best players despite very strong indications that at least one of them would leave. Guimaraes’ release clause was not triggered, nobody made a bid for Isak due to his £100m-plus valuation, and Gordon had a Liverpool seed planted in his head but he signed a new contract after that transfer failed to materialise.
The pressure is now on Newcastle to qualify for Europe and keeping their key trio makes that very possible.
Nottingham Forest – adding Nikola Milenkovic next to Murillo
Forest’s start this season has surprised nearly everyone. Sorry to dig you out, friends, but Lewis Oldham and Winty had Nuno Espirito Santo as their first manager sacked!
As a result of their strong performances, criticism was difficult to muster. Praise is not. We will single out one of their summer signings and that man is Nikola Milenkovic, who joined for around £11m from Fiorentina.
He complements centre-back partner Murillo incredibly well and is already proving to be a very shrewd piece of business. Forest now have one of the best defensive partnerships in the Premier League now and that brings an outside chance of a top-eight finish.
Southampton – punching above their weight with Aaron Ramsdale signing
We emphasised the need for relegation candidates having an X-factor player in attack. Southampton did not get the memo.
They made a very impressive signing in Aaron Ramsdale but he needs to become Iker Casillas and Gigi Buffon’s lovechild to keep the Saints in the Premier League.
Tottenham – flogging deadwood
Spurs signed young stars Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall and finally replaced Harry Kane but getting Tanguy Ndombele – amongst others – off the books was their best summer achievement.
They got a simply outrageous £25m for Oliver Skipp from Leicester, a year after receiving £10m for Harry Winks. Ange Postecoglou’s side also got cash for Giovani Lo Celso, Emerson Royal and Joe Rodon, while getting rid of Ndombele, Ivan Perisic, Eric Dier, Japhet Tanganga, Ryan Sessegnon and loaning out Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Bryan Gil, Alejo Veliz and Manor Solomon.
These white-wash summers are very important for a club striving for improvement and while Spurs are a bit short in defence, you cannot debate any of their sales.
West Ham – signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Julen Lopetegui made so many new signings in the summer that at least one of them had to be a success. Wan-Bissaka is that one.
Championship player of the year Crysencio Summerville is blowing hot and cold, not bubbles, Niclas Fullkrug can’t get fit and is yet to score, and Carlos Soler, Jean-Clair Todibo, Guido Rodriguez and Luis Guilherme have been largely forgettable.
Wan-Bissaka’s problem has always been that he is very limited going forward but there has only been evidence of the contrary in his early days at the London Stadium. He is a colossal upgrade on Vladimir Coufal and only cost £15m.
Wolves – getting big money for Max Kilman
Getting a large fee for club captain Kilman was significant for Wolves, until they decided not to reinvest in a replacement. They are so scared of PSR that they are essentially giving themselves a dreaded points deduction anyway through their shoddy recruitment.
We shall stay positive to end proceedings and give Wolves a big thumbs-up for getting £40m for the 27-year-old, who is eligible to play for Ukraine and is fluent in Russian, you know?
