The summer transfer window is now shut, and Premier League sides now must make do with what they’ve got until the January window rolls around.
Some teams have spent the last few months perfecting their squads in an attempt to reach new heights, but some have stayed concerningly quiet and allowed those around them to strengthen with very little competition.
Let’s have a look at who won the extended summer of 2020.
20. Burnley
Incomings: Dale Stephens (£1m), Will Norris (undisclosed), Anthony Gomez Mancini (loan).
Outgoings: Jeff Hendrick (free), Joe Hart (free), Aaron Lennon (free), Aiden O’Neill (free), Ben Gibson (loan).
It has been a thoroughly underwhelming summer for Burnley, whose blockbuster addition was a £1m move for Stephens, who was a regular part of a Brighton side who narrowly avoided relegation last season.
Losing Hendrick on a free will have hurt, and the fact that he walked away for free makes it even worse.
19. West Ham United
Incomings: Tomáš Souček (£18m), Vladimír Coufal (£5.4m).
Outgoings: Grady Diangana (£18m), Albian Ajeti (£4.5m), Jordan Hugill (undisclosed), Jack Wilshere (free).
To spend so much of the summer threatening to splash out on a new player only to end up with an emergency right-back (Souček was just a loan-turned-permanent) is more than a little underwhelming.
There was also the mini-scandal of selling Diangana, which left both fans and club captain Mark Noble fuming at the direction of the club. That sounds like a bad summer. Continue reading