Some of the shrewdest moves of the summer transfer season took place on deadline day, shining the spotlight on a few clubs who seem to excel at playing the market.
The most high-profile deals involved the big name teams, but teams like West Ham and Sevilla have also positioned themselves for special seasons with their moves. The Hammers added two strong international quality midfielders, while Sevilla held on to 22-year-old defender Jules Kounde and offloaded an older bench player in 31-year-old Luuk de Jong to Barcelona.
In addition to those two clubs, here’s a look at some of the winners and losers from deadline day:
Winner: Lionel Messi
With all the pressure he’s under to help deliver silverware after his high-profile move, Lionel Messi will privately celebrate the fact that he’ll have Kylian Mbappe by his side for his first year with PSG. And even though there are reports of bad blood with Mauro Icardi, the fact that the sought-after forward will also stay, is a major bonus.
Not only did the stars stick around, but PSG added left back Nuno Mendes to its all-star squad. And there’s always the winter window to address any injuries or other problem areas before the matches with the highest stakes take place next spring.
Loser: Barcelona
Barcelona was literally a loser on transfer deadline day, eating a near $100 million loss on forward Antoine Griezmann, who joined Atletico Madrid on loan with a mandatory transfer fee. That figure is set at $47 million when Barcelona paid Atletico $142 million for the forward in the 2019 summer window. By the same token, Atletico arguably came away as the biggest winner of deadline day. Griezmann should help them be more goal dangerous.
Not only did they lose a player who fell way short of superstar expectations — 35 goals in 102 appearances — but they also replaced him with a bench player for another team: 31-year-old forward Luuk de Jong. When you combine this with their inability to offload Miralem Pjanic and the loss of prospect Ilaix Moriba, it compounds into a summer to forget for a financially ailing Messi-less Barcelona.
Winner: Matthew Hoppe
Following a breakout performance in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, up-and-coming American forward Matthew Hoppe swapped the German second division for a spot on a La Liga club. Not bad, right? Well he’s also moving from Gelsenkirchen, Germany to the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, playing for a club that is mainly owned by Americans.
Other American internationals fared well on deadline day. Cameron Carter-Vickers moved closer to getting a clean start and getting off the annual loan carousel at Tottenham Hotspur. His loan at Scottish giant Celtic comes with a purchase option. Chris Richards’s World Cup hopes got a boost with the playing time he’s about to receive at Hoffenheim.
Losers: Lazio & Eintracht Frankfurt
There’s egg all over the faces of both these clubs for what transpired in their dealings for winger Filip Kostic, as well as the aftermath which has proven embarrassing for both clubs.
Lazio wanted to acquire Eintracht’s Kostic, only for an email address snafu or a missing letter on the contract to blame, depending on which side you believe. Lazio say that Eintracht provided an erroneous email address, while Eintracht claim that Lazio forgot the “K” in Kostic on the contract. The 28-year-old Kostic is the biggest loser in this mess, missing out on a transfer he was keen to land.
Winner: Chelsea
There is some serious depth on Thomas Tuchel’s squad with the loan addition of midfielder Saul Niguez (above). The Blues are a better squad this year than they were during their UEFA Champions League-winning season. That roster will include the talented Callum Hudson-Odoi, who did not move on deadline day.
The pursuit of 22-year-old Sevilla defender Jules Kounde did not come to fruition, but it was not an urgent need for such a strong defensive side. Finding homes for a few of the players on the fringes — Ethan Ampadu, Danny Drinkwater and Tiemoué Bakayoko — was a plus.
Losers: Arsenal
It feels like the Gunners have spent the transfer season overpaying for talent and spending over $21 million for Takehiro Tomiyasu fits the bill. The Japan international showed himself to be a versatile and committed defender in his time with Bologna, but is the 22-year-old Premier League quality? He played for a mid-table Bologna team that gave up the sixth most goals in Serie A last season.
Arsenal don’t get the benefit of the doubt based on some of the decisions made only recently. The club had to rescind Willian’s contract in the 24 hours before the deadline after that acquisition failed to bear fruits. Management also had to convince one of its academy products, 24-year-old Ainsley Maitland-Niles, to stick around after he made a very public display of his desire to get a fresh start elsewhere.
With the Tomiyasu transfer fee, that’s a total of well over $200 million spent on young, unproven names that are not about to change the face of the club overnight: Ben White ($69 million), Martin Odegaard ($47 million), Aaron Ramsdale ($41 million), Albert Sambi Lokonga ($21 million) and Nuno Tavares ($11 million). If this transfer campaign fails and Mikel Arteta can't get the ship heading in the right direction, it could set the club back years.
