The transfer window has closed, and once again the Premier League has flexed its financial muscles, rewriting the record books in the process.
Previous Premier League clubs smashed Record summer spending, with £3.5bn spentwith 155 players completing moves before the 11 p.m. deadline.
Manchester City Topped the spending charts after setting a new club record £458m, capped by blockbuster signing on deadline day. Enzo Fernandezwhile Chelsea Topped the sales chart After receiving 451 million pounds from the departure of players.
here, Athletic mole We take a look at the biggest winners and losers from the 2026 summer transfer window.
Enzo Fernandez (WINNER)
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Enzo Fernandes made history on deadline day, becoming the first player in football history to collect a transfer fee in excess of £100m on two separate occasions.
Manchester City paid a joint British record £125m For the Argentine, breaking the club’s transfer record for the second time this summer following the £116m arrival of Elliot Anderson.
Chelsea had initially set a deadline of August 14 for interested clubs to meet their £120m valuation, before later delaying a fee approaching £135m.
In the end, City put £125m on the table for the 25-year-old and ahead of Chelsea, meaning the Blues walked away with £5m more than their original asking price.
It’s hard to argue with the result from Fernandez’s perspective, too. Now he joins one of the Premier League’s biggest spenders and reunites with Enzo Maresca, the manager who knows exactly how to get the best out of him.
Manchester City (winner)
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After nearly a decade under Pep Guardiola, Manchester City have entered a new era with Maresca at the helm, and the new coach has received huge support to reshape the team in his image.
The scale of the reform was astonishing. Rodri, Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Jack Grealish all left, while Savinho, Omar Marmouche, Nico Gonzalez, James Trafford, Nathan Ake and Tijani Reynders also followed through the exit door.
City responded by breaking their own transfer record twice, bringing in Anderson and Fernandes, while also signing 18-year-old Moroccan Ayoub Bouadi from Lille for £85.6m.
The transition from Guardiola to Maresca could have been messy, but City instead attacked the rebuild head-on. It remains to be seen whether all the pieces fit, but there is no doubt about the scale of its ambition.
Chelsea (winner)
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Chelsea entered the summer with a very different problem: they needed to downsize the squad, especially with no European football on the agenda at Stamford Bridge.
They certainly have not been shy about the task, offloading as many as 20 players, including Fernandes, Andre Santos, Nicholas Jackson and Liam Delap, while netting profits of around £100m.
However, this wasn’t just a summer of sales. The Blues also made one of the biggest statements of the window by signing Morgan Rogers for £117m, with the England international expected to form a formidable attacking trio alongside Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro.
Maxence Lacroix was added to strengthen the defence, while the club also appeared to recognize the need for experience by bringing in veteran players Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck.
Newcastle United (winner)
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It looked bleak for Newcastle United this summer, with the club losing Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães While also bidding farewell to Eddie Howe after a major transformation period at St James’ Park.
However, the Magpies have responded by embracing a new era under Matthias Geisel, and their transfer strategy suggests the club is thinking firmly about the future.
Newcastle have made eight signings this summer, all of the new arrivals aged 25 or under. It is a clear shift towards youth, energy and long-term potential, as the club appear determined to build a team that can grow together under their new manager.
After an unbeaten start to the new season, the early signs are encouraging, and what initially looked like a summer of turmoil could be the start of an exciting new chapter on Tyneside.
Tottenham Hotspur (winner)
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After narrowly securing safety in the Premier League on the final day of last season, Tottenham needed much more than just a few cosmetic changes.
Roberto De Zerbe needed the club to give him the tools to turn Tottenham into a competitive team again, and the response was clear.
Tottenham have spent more than £300m on 10 new players, with Sandro Tonali and Matheus Fernandes among the key arrivals, while De Zerbe has also been reunited with Mykhailo Modric, having previously worked with the Ukrainian at Shakhtar Donetsk.
The big question remains whether that will translate into a significant improvement on the pitch, but after a summer of such significant investment, there can be no complaints that De Zerbe did not get the support he wanted.
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It has been a disastrous transfer window for Everton, who failed to sign Folarin Balogun on deadline day Despite reports that an agreement has been reached between all parties.
The Toffees scored only 47 goals last season Indian education Beto contributed 15 of them, but both strikers departed on final day, leaving the team seriously short of firepower.
Everton have spent just around £77m on new players this summer, while frustration among fans continues to grow. The club’s Supporters’ Advisory Board has called on CEO Angus Kinnear to meet publicly with the FAB and representatives of other supporters’ groups, highlighting the growing disillusionment surrounding the club’s leadership.
Liverpool (loser)
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Liverpool may be trying to put a positive spin on their summer actions, but the reality is that they have failed to provide Andoni Iraola with the full squad he wants.
access Bradley Barkola The Frenchman’s £106m move from Paris Saint-Germain is certain to lift the mood at Anfield, but the Frenchman’s arrival does nothing to mask shortcomings elsewhere in the squad.
Iraola wanted more than one attacking addition before the deadline, but the Reds also failed to address two glaring weaknesses: right-back and defensive midfield. With the season now underway, these omissions could come back to haunt Liverpool.
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The post-Oliver Glasner era has not been enough to provide much excitement at Selhurst Park, with Crystal Palace failing to make the signings required after a successful season last season.
The Eagles lost Maxence Lacroix and Daniel Munoz, while their upcoming actions have done little to inspire confidence that the squad has been sufficiently strengthened.
Keeping Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta was certainly important, but Palace needed more additions to build on their European success and give their new-look squad real momentum.
Manchester United (loser)
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Manchester United needed to strengthen their midfield this summer, and they addressed the area by signing Carlos Baleba, Andre Santos and Youri Tielemans.
However, given the quality of midfield additions made by their rivals Manchester City, as well as Tottenham, there is an understandable feeling that United could have done much better.
The left-back position was another obvious area for improvement, but despite spending 79 days searching for a solution, the Red Devils failed to reach an agreement for anyone.
After another summer of big spending, leaving such an important position unresolved is a major disappointment and could prove costly over the course of the season.
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Having finally won the Premier League title, Arsenal had the opportunity to build on their position of strength and build a team capable of conquering Europe.
Bruno Guimaraes arrived from Newcastle United for £75m, while Christos Tzoulis was brought in from Belgium to replace Leandro Trossard, but Arsenal ultimately failed to deliver what many expected of them.
Arsenal made a lot of noise around Vinicius Junior, only for the Brazilian to sign a new contract with Real Madrid, while they… Strong interest in Julian Alvarez never developed In a tangible display.
Worse still, the Gunners allowed Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus to leave, depleting their attacking depth in the process.
