The summer transfer window doesn’t officially slam shut until September 1. Still, with the opening weekend of the 2023-24 Premier League season rapidly approaching, most clubs would like to have the bulk of their business done before the start of the new campaign.
It promises to be another thrilling renewal of the English top flight. Manchester City are the Premier League winner betting favourites as Pep Guardiola’s men seek a record-breaking fourth-successive title, but Arsenal and co. will hopefully apply the pressure, while the fight for the European spots and relegation are as wide open as ever.
How well or how badly a side will do in the coming season can all depend on their summer transfer business, so let’s take a look at some of the Premier League outfits that have been the busiest in the window thus far and assess if their spending will work in their favour.
Brighton and Hove Albion – Six
Brighton have made a tidy sum of money from sales in recent years, with the big six often raiding the south coast outfit of their talent. That’s been the case again this summer, as World Cup Alexis Mac Allister joined Liverpool for £35 million while Moises Caicedo and Roberto Sanchez could still be on their way to Chelsea.
But owner Tony Bloom and manager Roberto De Zerbi have also been busy bringing in players, with six new arrivals this summer. Joao Pedro was brought in from Watford for a club-record fee of £30m, while young Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen set them back roughly £16m. Defenders Igor (£14.5m) and Adrian Mazilu (£2.5m) also moved to the Amex Stadium.
Veteran James Milner and Mahmoud Dahoud were both brought in to add some quality to the midfield as that’s a key area that has been weakened this summer.
Luton Town – Six
Luton Town’s rags-to-riches story is one of the best narratives in English football we have seen in recent memory, as the Hatters have climbed from the Conference to the Premier League on a shoe-string budget in just 10 years — becoming the first ever club to complete that feat.
But the Hatters are being given little hope of survival by both pundits and fans alike. Rob Edwards has been busy looking for good deals in the market, however, and has added six fresh faces to his ranks. Left-back Ryan Giles is the most expensive of those, arriving from Wolves for £5m, while Tahith Chong was a £4m purchase from Birmingham City.
Defender Mads Andersen and midfielder Marvelous Nakamba, who helped the Hatters win the play-offs while on loan from Aston Villa, cost roughly £5m combined, while Chiedozie Ogbene and Issa Kabore were free.
Tottenham Hotspur – Six
The potential departure of Harry Kane is once again looming over the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The North London side’s club captain and talisman is heavily linked with a move to Bayern Munich and chairman Daniel Levy has met with the German giants on numerous occasions to try and thrash out a deal.
As the start of the season approaches, it’s still not clear how that’s going to pan out. But that hasn’t stopped new boss Ange Postecoglou from being optimistic and the recent arrival of Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg was the Australian’s sixth summer signing.
James Maddison from relegated Leicester City for £40m tops their spending, while former Spurs loanees Pedro Porro and Dejan Kulusevski signed permanently for £40m and £26m respectively. Guglielmo Vicario (£17.2m) is being trusted to fix their goalkeeper issues and young winger Manor Solomon was brought in for free.
Bournemouth and Chelsea have both made five signings at the time of writing, while Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United are currently on four.
