Ranking European Clubs on Their Transfer Activity Through July 11 Deals
The transfer window is officially open, and clubs have been completing deals for months. June was full of high-profile moves, while teams such as Juventus have been securing players as early as March.
Two weeks ago we ranked Europe's clubs on their transfer activities (ins and outs), and now we're back to take stock of what's happened since. Hint: absolutely loads.
Once again it's a top 15, but this time with several new faces and and hundreds of millions more spent.
15-11
1 of 11
15. AS Monaco
Les Monegasques' recruitment has been on-point so far, but they've lost Bernardo Silva, so anything they do is counter-balanced against that. It could get worse for them this summer, too, as a long list of stars are still constantly being linked away.
14. Villarreal
Enes Unal is an interesting acquisition, and that Manchester City retained a buy-back clause for him is representative of how highly he's thought of. Ruben Semedo is a great signing, too.
13. Bournemouth
Jermain Defoe, Asmir Begovic and and Nathan Ake all upgrade the first team immediately. The only slight concern is the amount of money they've poured into Ake and Defoe in particular.
12. Juventus
Juan Cuadrado is fully a Juventus player and that's great, while Medhi Benatia's permanent signing is also a positive. That's just a case of securing loanees from last season, though; they haven't got any stronger yet.
11. Real Betis
Real Betis have been busy, and they're building a serious team. Victor Camarasa, Cristian Tello and Andres Guardado are all very good signings, and Dani Ceballos hasn't left...yet.
10. Liverpool
2 of 11
In: Mohamed Salah, Dominic Solanke
Out: Andre Wisdom
Liverpool were ranked fifth two weeks ago, but they have now slipped to 10th. They've seen no ins and no outs—just the official confirmation of Solanke, who had already agreed to sign following the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
There's still plenty of time to secure more players, but they appear to have spent the last two weeks chasing Naby Keita and trying to convince RB Leipzig to sell.
A quick check on Liverpool-centric social media channels reveals thousands of fans simply tapping their feet and waiting impatiently for something to happen on that front.
Salah and Solanke still represents a top-10 haul, but the Reds need to get a move on in the next two weeks with regard to securing more first-team upgrades.
9. RB Leipzig
3 of 11
In: Yvon Mvogo, Bruma, Jean-Kevin Augustin, Konrad Laimer
Out: Davie Selke
Sneakily, very sneakily, RB Leipzig have pulled off an exceptional deal.
Augustin is one of the most lethal one-on-one finishers in football, but Paris Saint-Germain neglected to give him a shot in the first team for any length of time.
Sure, Edinson Cavani was on fire all season, but leaving Augustin aside completely has resulted in them losing a big talent.
He's similar stylistically to Timo Werner, so Leipzig now have two strikers cut from the same cloth, able to rotate as the team take on domestic and European challenges.
Their previous signings, Mvogo and Bruma, are first-teamers, while Laimer represents the latest Red Bull Salzburg star to cross the divide.
8. Chelsea
4 of 11
In: Willy Caballero, Antonio Rudiger
Out: Juan Cuadrado, Bertrand Traore, Asmir Begovic, Christian Atsu
Two weeks ago, when we last ranked the teams on transfer activity, this writer was concerned Tiemoue Bakayoko would sign for Chelsea on the day the article went out, ruining the ranking.
And yet we're still waiting for him to sign.
Troublingly for the Blues, the Daily Mail's Matt Barlow reported Manchester United have decided to enter the bidding war for Bakayoko and attempt to beat Chelsea to another player this summer (the first being Romelu Lukaku).
But at least they've got Antonio Rudiger in the bag. He's a great fit for Antonio Conte's system and can play on the left or right of a three-man defence, bringing solidity and robustness to the line.
7. Arsenal
5 of 11
In: Sead Kolasinac, Alexandre Lacazette
Out: Yaya Sanogo
The legend of Yaya Sanogo at Arsenal has come to an end. His bizarre, borderline-cult hero stay was full of disappointments and illuminated by few good moments, and he's gone to Toulouse to try to prove everyone wrong. Good luck to him.
In far more important news, Arsenal have moved aggressively to secure themselves two first-team players ahead of next season—one of which has cost north of £50 million.
Lacazette's a great fit for the Gunners stylistically, and it feels like they've bought him at the right time, allowing him to develop into a reliable No. 9 who can score 20 a season without qualms.
Kolasinac can play in three positions and probably signals the end to Kieran Gibbs' time at the Emirates Stadium; that in itself is as much of a sign of change as anything else is.
6. Borussia Dortmund
6 of 11
In: Maximilian Philipp, Omer Toprak, Mahmoud Dahoud, Dan-Axel Zagadou
Out: Adrian Ramos, Matthias Ginter
The only development in Borussia Dortmund's transfer activity over the last two weeks has been the sale of Matthias Ginter to Borussia Monchengladbach. To be frank, it feels like BVB got the better end of that deal.
Ginter has been a decent role player for the club, but his versatility has also been his downfall. Unable to nail a consistent position for an entire season, it doesn't feel like he's got that much better in the last three years.
That BVB made a profit on him, potentially netting up to €20 million, is great. With Toprak, Dahoud and Philipp already in the bag as first-team signings, things continue to look good for the Black and Yellows.
5. Manchester United
7 of 11
In: Victor Lindelof, Romelu Lukaku
Out: Wayne Rooney
Manchester United have finally dealt with their Wayne Rooney "problem." It's the end to a long-running saga of how to address his decline with respect—sending him to Everton feels like the perfect ending.
That only made the striking corps lighter, of course, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic released earlier in the summer. So bringing in Lukaku right from under Chelsea's noses is a big win for the Red Devils, and he makes them a fearsome prospect once again.
Lindelof was acquired weeks ago, but now that he no longer stands as United's only summer signing, he and Lukaku combine to lift United into our top five.
4. Manchester City
8 of 11
In: Bernardo Silva, Ederson Moraes
Out: Enes Unal, Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Jesus Navas, Aaron Mooy, Ruben Sobrino
Manchester City fans must be slightly concerned. Where is the gargantuan influx of star players the club were seemingly on the verge of?
Bernardo Silva and Ederson represent a terrific start, make no mistake about it, but how long is this Benjamin Mendy medical taking? And where is Dani Alves?
The Manchester Evening News' James Robson reported Alves has set a deadline on his own mini-transfer saga, with Paris Saint-Germain looking to spoil Pep Guardiola's party. Interest in the £12 million-rated Fabian Delph is also picking up, per The Telegraph's John Percy. Things are bubbling away, but nothing concrete is happening.
It was hard to split Man City and Man United for the ranking, but the reasoning for City being ahead is this: If you compare the hauls side-by-side, Ederson and Lindelof cancel each other out, and Silva is a superior deal to Lukaku both from a price- and talent-level perspective.
3. Everton
9 of 11
In: Jordan Pickford, Davy Klaassen, Michael Keane, Henry Onyekuru, Sandro Ramirez, Wayne Rooney
Out: Romelu Lukaku, Gerard Deulofeu, Tom Cleverley
Everton have made approximately £100 million off three players and used it to quickly improve the overall quality of the team.
Keane is a perfect player for Ronald Koeman and strengthens the defensive line, Pickford ends the 2016-17 goalkeeping nightmare, while Klaassen brings drive from deep to a midfield which is lacking exactly that.
The key question is whether any of this matters given that Lukaku has gone. That £75 million is a phenomenal price for him, sure, but Rooney's going to have to remember a lot of old tricks and Sandro's going to have to perform out of his skin to replicate the Belgian's production up top.
2. AC Milan
10 of 11
In: Andre Silva, Franck Kessie, Ricardo Rodriguez, Mateo Musacchio, Hakan Calhanoglu, Fabio Borini, Andrea Conti
Out: Keisuke Honda, Diego Lopez, Andrea Poli
It just gets better and better for AC Milan fans. They've already made seven first-team signings, adding three—Calhanoglu, Borini and Conti—to their haul since we last took stock of what Europe's clubs have done.
Calhanoglu's had some time out of football due to a suspension, but the set-piece majesty he brings to teams is borderline unrivalled. Once he works off the rust, he'll be a fine addition.
Conti was one of the finest young defenders in Serie A last season (with Atalanta) and boosts the Rossoneri's Italian contingent, while compatriot Borini has escaped the Championship via a loan to the San Siro and can add depth in three positions.
They've been knocked off top spot in our rankings, but don't let that take away from what a stellar job they're doing this summer.
1. Bayern Munich
11 of 11
In: Corentin Tolisso, Niklas Sule, Sebastian Rudy, Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman (permanent), James Rodriguez
Out: Medhi Benatia
There's one rather notable addition to Bayern Munich's squad since we last took stock of things: James Rodriguez has joined them on a two-year loan from Real Madrid with an option to buy, per the club's official website.
This is an incredibly smart move from the German giants, who reunite James with the manager who he really flew under in the Spanish capital, Carlo Ancelotti. Presumably there's an exit from Bayern to follow—likely Douglas Costa, who has been heavily linked to Juventus, per ESPN FC's Ben Gladwell—but that doesn't harm the team much.
Elsewhere, the previous haul of Rudy, Sule, Tolisso, Gnabry and Coman (permanently) still stands impressive, and combined with James, it's enough to nick top spot in our rankings off Milan.
All statistics via Transfermarkt.co.uk
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