RATED AND SLATED! Every Premier League club's transfer window graded as Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal assessed after bumper summer sales

The biggest summer transfer window in Premier League history has reached its conclusion. A rollercoaster window packed with long transfer sagas, sudden departures and shock U-turns saw top-flight clubs smash the transfer spending record for a single window.

The combined £3.48billion expenditure surpassed the previous £3.14bn record set last year. Clubs also recouped £2.17bn from player sales, contributing to a combined net spend of £1.3bn. Playing a key part in that were big spenders Manchester City (£440.3m), Chelsea (£342.4m) and Tottenham (£334m), and it is no surprise that they enjoyed the best windows across the big clubs.

Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United signed some crucial players for large sums too, but ultimately ended the window somewhat disappointed for various reasons. The other clubs have been busy too, meaning we can expect an even more competitive league season, with the battle for Europe to be tighter than ever.

Here, Mirror Football examines the transfer business conducted by every Premier League club this summer and grades them based on whether they have addressed key areas and ultimately improved.

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The champions added considerable depth this summer which has undoubtedly strengthened Mikel Arteta’s squad. Ezri Konsa and Bruno Guimaraes add another layer of elite quality and flexibility to the Gunners’ defence and midfield, respectively, while Illan Meslier is a respectable back-up option to David Raya. Christos Tzolis gives Arteta another option out wide, bringing Arsenal’s total spending to around £200m, including the permanent signing of Piero Hincapie which was agreed last year.

But there is understandably concern that Arsenal failed to address their biggest need - elevating their attack by signing a world-class forward - having ultimately fallen short in their pursuits of Morgan Rogers, Kenan Yildiz, Vinicius Junior and Julian Alvarez. With fine margins often deciding the title, failing to secure a top hitman could prove critical.

Sporting director Andrea Berta was successful in moving on Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Fabio Vieira, Christian Norgaard, Reiss Nelson and Ethan Nwaneri, but there are question marks over how Arsenal could lose so many forwards and only bring in Tzolis.

Villa have undergone quite the rebuild, with Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson, Ibrahim Mbaye and Joao Gomes among a very expensive group of arrivals, while Leon Goretzka on a free could prove particularly shrewd. Plenty more quality has been added too with the likes of Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Zion Suzuki, Matteo Ruggeri, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Alejandro Garnacho, giving Unai Emery options across the pitch.

But there is little escaping the fact that such an overhaul was triggered by a mass exodus of players joining bigger clubs - Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans and Emi Martinez all joined traditional ‘big six’ teams, while Ollie Watkins left for Saudi Arabia. It will take a monumental task for Emery to integrate all of his new players and still challenge in the Premier League and the Champions League this season. The biggest credit to Villa is that, while they had little control over key players wanting to leave, they at least seem to have done a stellar job in replacing them.

Defender Antonio Silva is the standout addition and could prove excellent value if he develops as hoped under Marco Rose, while Alvaro Rodriguez and Juanlu Sanchez add further upside and Michele Di Gregorio strengthens the goalkeeping options. Just as importantly, the Cherries resisted interest in Alex Scott and Eli Junior Kroupi and have not ripped apart a side now facing the additional demands of European football.

Marcos Senesi leaving for Tottenham was a clear blow, while Luis Sinisterra, Enes Unal and Hamed Traore have also moved on. It was by no means a remarkable window for Bournemouth and injuries may leave the squad a little light across four competitions, but key pieces were largely protected and the recruitment again looks coherent.

Mamadou Sangare and El Hadji Malick Diouf are exactly the sort of ambitious yet shrewd signings Brentford have built their model around, even at relatively substantial fees, while Jaidon Anthony and Jannik Schuster strengthen the depth. Callum Wilson is also a low-risk free transfer who offers an experienced option in attack.

Ethan Pinnock, Frank Onyeka and Jordan Henderson would have been tough to lose but none of the departures are the sort of damaging ‘stripping of the squad’ Brentford have experienced in previous summers. They have retained their most important assets while strengthening several areas, making this one of the most complete individual windows in the Premier League.

Brighton very rarely disappoint when it comes to finding creative options in the transfer window and they didn’t disappoint this summer either. Luka Vuskovic is an eye-catching £50m addition and the Seagulls have also added Pascal Struijk, Chema Andres, Jaouen Hadjam and Costinha to their ranks. There are enough first-team-ready additions among the usual assortment of young prospects to suggest there was clear succession planning behind their business.

They certainly needed it, because Carlos Baleba and Jan Paul van Hecke were two huge departures and Danny Welbeck’s move to Chelsea removes another experienced and influential figure. Brighton have once again managed to generate big money while backing themselves to replace their best players before their value peaks. However, losing that much established quality prevents them from receiving a higher grade.

Morgan Rogers was one of the outstanding players in the Premier League last season and gives Chelsea another elite attacking option, while Maxence Lacroix addresses the defence and Emiliano Martinez finally offers capable hands in goal. Those deals alone dramatically improve the spine of Xabi Alonso’s team. Meanwhile, Geovany Quenda, Marco Palestra, Emmanuel Emegha and Valentin Barco continue the club’s investment in younger talent, with Welbeck and Henderson adding some much-needed experience in the dressing room.

Chelsea’s ability to extract enormous fees was just as impressive, with Enzo Fernandez sold to Manchester City for £125m and significant money being raised through Nicolas Jackson, Marc Cucurella, Liam Delap, Andrey Santos, Trevoh Chalobah and Tyrique George’s exits. The Blues continue to pursue a bizarre model that constantly has a high player turnover. Though, financially at least, it seems to work. Missing out on a final midfield target takes some shine off their window but it was not for want of trying, having agreed a deadline day transfer for Lamine Camara only for Monaco to pull out of the deal. Alonso will hope his current midfielders can stay injury free until January.

You have to spend to have a fighting chance of staying in the top flight and Coventry can’t be accused of not doing that, breaking their transfer record more than once. But while the likes of Sunderland have seen it pay off, it feels like Coventry are still significantly lacking.

There’s no room for sentiment at the top table - would other clubs in the survival scrap have signed Carl Rushworth and Gus Hamer? No. Frank Lampard would be within his rights to feel like Doug King could’ve backed him more and he’ll have to work his magic to have a glimmer of hope to not be playing Championship football again next season.

Palace struggled to juggle their domestic and European commitments last season. They’re now playing in the Europa League rather than the Conference League with a worse squad, and the players they didn’t sell still want out anyway.

Their incomings are a worrying read. Ben Chilwell and Takehiro Tomiyasu both joined on a free, which feels very 2023. Anan Khalaili has big shoes to fill after Daniel Munoz departed, and Quinten Timber and Zavier Gozo are the only other signings with a fee.

And that’s before you get to perhaps the worst swap deal in the history of swap deals, Dwight McNeil for Brennan Johnson. Steve Parish was lucky to have Oliver Glasner - he'd better hope Pierre Sage is as good at pulling off minor miracles.

Jack Grealish returning for another loan spell is the obvious headline and Tyrique George, Hayden Hackney and Merlin Rohl are useful long-term additions, with Christian Norgaard bringing experience in midfield and Brennan Johnson another attacking option. In isolation there is plenty to like about several of those deals, with the squad looking far healthier before the final hours of deadline day.

But selling Iliman Ndiaye to Manchester City for £65m and allowing Beto to leave would only have made sense if Everton had completed the striker signing they were after. However, the failed move for Folarin Balogun was borderline farcical, with the American pulling the plug on the deal. Dwight McNeil, Tim Iroegbunam and Nathan Patterson also left, leaving Everton short of numbers and, most damagingly, short of a recognised striker after weakening the attack at the last possible moment.

It’s always a red flag when a club’s recruitment strategy is 95% signing players from the manager’s former club(s). See Exhibit A: Erik ten Hag at Manchester United. As if the inexperience of Alvaro Arbeloa wasn’t a concern enough, making his side the Cottagers Castilla really does set the alarm bells ringing.

Arbeloa signed three youngsters from Real Madrid in Gonzalo Garcia, Cesar Palacios and Manuel Angel. Signing from Real Madrid usually get fans excited. Those names do not.

About 40% of Fulham's Premier League goals were scored by Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez last season but they both departed. There’s going to have to be some serious stepping up and contributions from across the pitch.

It’s never easy being the play-off promoted team and already being a couple of weeks behind in terms of preparing for the step up. Football’s played on grass, yes, but Hull were also massive overperformers when looking at the data last season. And then they had financial regulation fears to contend with after winning at Wembley.

With all that factored in, the Tigers have done pretty well this summer. They’ve leaned into the quantity over quality approach, Nottingham Forest-esque.

The signing of Christos Mouzakitis, dubbed 'the next Luka Modric' and attracting attention from Europe's top teams, is particularly eye-catching. Konstantinos Tzolakis, Tim Iroegbunam and Nobel Mendy all arrived in £20m-plus deals, while striker Robinio Vaz looks to be a potentially exciting deadline day addition on loan from Roma.

Now it’s on Sergej Jakirovic to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

If the Tractor Boys are going to stay up, they’re probably going to have to do so with the “we’ll score one more than you” mentality. The signings of Julio Enciso, Emersonn, Daizen Maeda, Zian Flemming and Abdul Fatawu give Gary O’Neil plenty to work with in attack.

The question is can their defence handle the onslaught they’re going to face between now and May? They might well end up regretting the top-heavy recruitment.

James Trafford gives Leeds a long-term No.1 with serious pedigree, Tarik Muharemovic was an ambitious defensive addition and Nico Elvedi brings experience at a low cost. Harry Wilson may also prove to be one of the smarter free transfers of the window, while Jean-Matteo Bahoya and Melvin Bard provide additional options without forcing Leeds into major permanent spending.

Pascal Struijk is the biggest loss, while Wilfried Gnonto and Joel Piroe have gone on loan and several goalkeepers have been moved out as that department was reshaped. Leeds have on the whole replaced what they lost with younger or higher-ceiling alternatives and addressed obvious weaknesses.

The priority at Liverpool was clearly to bolster their defence and options on the wing this summer. They tried to address the former by bringing in the experienced Ronald Araujo on loan, but it remains to be seen whether the Uruguayan and Jeremy Jacquet can convincingly fill Ibrahima Konate’s shoes at centre-back. Andoni Iraola’s lack of options at full-back are also concerning, given Conor Bradley’s injury and Andy Robertson leaving on a free transfer.

On a positive note, Bradley Barcola is a blockbuster acquisition who immediately gives Liverpool a new elite threat from the left, while Victor Munoz adds further attacking talent. But, for all the money spent by the Reds, there are still questions over the balance of the midfield.

It seems as if Manchester City somehow manage to undergo a squad rebuild every transfer window. The departure of Rodri was a huge loss, but City responded as best as they possibly could, adding £125m star Enzo Fernandez, £116m Elliot Anderson and £86m Ayyoub Bouaddi to bolster Enzo Maresca’s options. Iliman Ndiaye’s late addition hands the Etihad side another talented forward and Allan Elias adds further potential, making it difficult to criticise City’s window.

Meanwhile, Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders, Nico Gonzalez, Savio, John Stones, Bernardo Silva, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji have all departed, either permanently or on loan. City raised huge money and refreshed an ageing group in one attempt, showing they are still England’s most capable club when it comes to transfers.

New signings Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans transformed the profile of a midfield which desperately needed more athleticism, physicality and control. All three are worthy of starting and Baleba in particular addresses a problem Manchester United have carried for several seasons. Yet, failing to add the left-back they were looking for leaves a glaring hole in the squad.

Rasmus Hojlund’s sale and Casemiro’s departure continued the rebuild, while Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir were moved out on loan. Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia finally left at the end of their contracts. There has been a useful removal of deadwood and the midfield is undeniably better, but no back-up striker and no new left-back means United ended another expensive window with two obvious jobs unfinished.

"It ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." - Rocky Balboa, 2006. Newcastle looked like they’d gone 12 rounds in a 2v1 handicap bout against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua after losing Gordon, Tonali, Bruno and Eddie Howe. Not a bad idea that actually, someone get Eddie Hearn on the phone.

Nico Gonzalez looked a great like-for-like Tonali replacement in the win at Spurs last weekend. Matias Fernandez-Pardo could prove to be quite the coup in time and Lukas Hornicek appears to be the upgrade needed on Nick Pope. A total outlay of £300m is quite the haymaker response.

But mass exoduses rarely do turn out as bad as first feared. Recruitment continues to be forward-thinking at St James’ and Matthias Jaissle now has a hungry bunch of players who want to play for the club, which goes a long way. A rebuild takes time, so the Geordies are going to have to be patient.

Oliver Glasner wanted to be properly backed in the transfer market for a change. Just his luck that Forest decided not to reach double figures of signings for the first time in years!

Joking aside, they’ve done some smart business, reuniting Glasner with some of his favourites and avoiding any further notable exits after Elliot Anderson. Went about their business quietly.

The verdict's out on Liam Delap, especially at £45m, but if anyone can get him firing again it's Glasner. He's been reunited with old favourites Daniel Munoz and Xaver Schlager. Forest have a knack when it comes to rock-solid centre-backs and Ousmane Diomande looks the part.

Second season syndrome can be a cripping condition at the best of times, let alone when you’ve got Thursday night football on the agenda too. If Sunderland wanted to continue progressing, they needed a window like they had 12 months ago. They didn’t.

Regis Le Bris will have to pick his battles and play his cards smartly this season. They’ve done well, just not well enough for the position they find themselves in - and that’s to their credit after going above and beyond expectations.

Beating Arsenal and Palace to the buzzer-beater £30m signing of Malick Fofana was quite the statement. Thomas Meunier on a free is savvy business and Kevin Danso reinforces an already assured backline.

It is the history of the Tottenham, Giorgio Chiellini once wisely said. Even after breaking their transfer record twice for two of the Premier League’s best midfielders in Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, and snapping up some savvy free signings early doors with Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson, they still had the trademark Spursy finish to the window.

From competing with Man City for Cody Gakpo and Iliman Ndiaye to signing their outcasts and loaning Mykhailo Mudryk, who was linked with *checks notes* Coventry and Chelsea B, aka Strasbourg. Deary me. A combined £135m on Savio and Omar Marmoush, once the latter's obligation to buy is activated, feels very steep, as did the £52m on Jan Paul van Hecke.

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