Ranking European Clubs on Their Transfer Activity Through July 19 Deals
The transfer madness is in full swing. The striker merry-go-round is in full force and millions of pounds are being dropped every week on new players. It's been entertaining to say the least.
But who has done the best business? Who is "winning" the transfer window? We've ranked Europe's teams based on their activity in the market (both in and out) and formed a top 15.
For a deal to be counted and eligible, some agreement must have been reached by July 19.
11-15
1 of 11
15. Liverpool
The Reds are yet to make a bad move in the transfer market, but what they've done isn't enough to keep them inside our top 10.
Mohamed Salah and Dominic Solanke are good acquisitions, no doubt, but Jurgen Klopp seems to be losing his chase for Naby Keita and Virgil van Dijk, and Andy Roberson is a bit of an underwhelming potential acquisition at left-back. Paul Joyce of the Times reported that Robertson will be undergoing a medical on Thursday.
14. Juventus
Last week Juventus' transfer window took a serious turn for the worse. Yes, Douglas Costa has arrived and Juan Cuadrado's been signed permanently, but exactly half of their starting defensive line disappeared.
But this week things have taken on a positive shine. Dani Alves is set to be replaced swiftly, to their credit, with Mattia De Sciglio coming in as a sort of rebuild job. The club confirmed the full-back had a medical on Wednesday. He's not at his best now, though he most certainly was when Allegri was in charge of Milan and threw him in. Wojciech Szczesny has joined and becomes arguably the best back-up goalkeeper in the world, too.
The problem is, Leonardo Bonucci is irreplaceable. Some fans will embrace the new era and pin their hopes on Daniele Rugani, which is fine, but there is an undoubted, undeniable drop-off in quality in the short term.
13. AFC Bournemouth
The Cherries haven't signed any new players in the past week, so we're left admiring what they've already done. Jermain Defoe, Nathan Ake and Asmir Begovic are three new starters, and that's all you can really ask of Eddie Howe.
12. Inter
So far Inter have lost no first-team players (unless you count Ever Banega, but his season at the San Siro wasn't smooth) and signed good young centre-back Milan Skriniar plus a veteran, quality midfielder in Borja Valero.
11. RB Leipzig
None of RB Leipzig's transfers have been particularly high profile, but they all make sense. Bruma's an exciting addition to the forward line, they were right to sell Davie Selke and Yvon Mvogo is the new No. 1 they really needed.
10. Barcelona
2 of 11
In: Nelson Semedo, Gerard Deulofeu
Out: Cristian Tello, Jeremy Mathieu
We are right in the middle of a certain star forward's transfer drama, and the outcome could change everything. Were Barcelona to lose Neymar they'd immediately lose stock in this ranking, but they then could well bounce straight back with a number of quality signings.
We can only judge clubs on what's been completed, though, and, so far, Ernesto Valverde has made two good moves. Deulofeu has been called home and could have a role to play, while Nelson Semedo is the right-back they've been searching for.
The Portuguese will be measured against the mighty yardstick of Dani Alves, but he's taken to new challenges throughout his career and should settle quickly here.
9. Arsenal
3 of 11
In: Sead Kolasinac, Alexandre Lacazette
Out: Yaya Sanogo, Wojciech Szczesny
Arsenal secured two first-teamers early in the summer and have been bedding them in on their pre-season tour. For once, the club are giving off a passable impression of being proactive and on the ball in the market.
The sale of Szczesny will be disheartening to many fans, as in their minds they might well have earmarked him as a soon-to-be successor to Petr Cech. The Pole had a brilliant 2016-17 with Roma...but has opted to back up Gianluigi Buffon at Juventus in a deal worth circa £10 million.
Goalkeepers are always undervalued in this market, but that still feels kind of cheap.
8. Real Madrid
4 of 11
In: Theo Hernandez, Dani Ceballos
Out: Mariano, Diego Llorente, Pepe, Fabio Coentrao (loan), James Rodriguez (loan)
Real Madrid don't need a lot, but that sometimes makes things harder. No manager wants to run the risk of standing still—particularly when they're reigning European champions—but how do you re-shape the squad without ripping up a winning formula?
Pepe's exit is a blow, but Jesus Vallejo returns from loan to take up his spot. He's joined by Theo Hernandez, who had a brilliant 2016-17 with Alaves and is better than Coentrao, and Ceballos, who takes the spot of James as the third choice in attacking midfield.
Zinedine Zidane has added two excellent young Spanish players to an elite team, and has only lost one first-team option, who, at 34, wasn't going to last too much longer anyway.
7. Chelsea
5 of 11
In: Willy Caballero, Antonio Rudiger, Tiemoue Bakayoko
Out: Juan Cuadrado, Bertrand Traore, Asmir Begovic, Christian Atsu, Nathaniel Chalobah, Ola Aina (loan), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (loan)
According to the BBC, Chelsea have agreed a fee for Real Madrid's Alvaro Morata...but the deal isn't done, so he can't count toward the Blues' haul just yet.
What they can point toward is Bakayoko, who finally signed last weekend and likely assumes a starting spot in central midfield alongside N'Golo Kante. The depth in that position is a serious concern, though, with Chalobah sold and Loftus-Cheek loaned out—though the latter really needed to happen.
Antonio Conte still has plenty of pieces to acquire, but he's made a decent start.
6. Borussia Dortmund
6 of 11
In: Maximilian Philipp, Omer Toprak, Mahmoud Dahoud, Dan-Axel Zagadou
Out: Adrian Ramos, Matthias Ginter, Sven Bender
It's difficult to work out which is more impressive: Borussia Dortmund's in column, or their out version.
Philipp seems a good fit for the club, while Toprak is a defender they've long admired and chased after. Zagadou can sit and learn from him initially then prosper later, while Dahoud replaces the midfield drive they lost when Ilkay Gundogan left.
Ramos, Ginter and Bender have been sold, each for either a good or very good fee. Ginter and Bender have brought in about £30 million combined, and it's probable Philipp, Dahoud and Zagadou's wages combined wouldn't even match up to what Bender was on.
5. Manchester United
7 of 11
In: Victor Lindelof, Romelu Lukaku
Out: Wayne Rooney, Adnan Januzaj
The acquisitions of Lindelof and Lukaku are very good and fill two of Manchester United's three serious needs this summer. The only one left is a holding midfielder that can unleash Paul Pogba a little more, but no progress appears to have been made.
In terms of outgoings, Rooney's painful, difficult exit has been handled about as well as possible, and Jose Mourinho's even managed to extract around £7 million from Real Sociedad for Adnan Januzaj. There's a talented player in there somewhere, but it seemed unlikely it would emerge at Old Trafford.
4. Manchester City
8 of 11
In: Bernardo Silva, Ederson Moraes, Kyle Walker
Out: Enes Unal, Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Jesus Navas, Aaron Mooy, Ruben Sobrino, Nolito
Things probably still aren't moving at the pace Manchester City fans would like, but there is plenty of time to pass in this transfer window, and the club have secured the services of three excellent players.
Kyle Walker is the latest to join. He's cost a small fortune, but Pep Guardiola has loads of money to spend and Walker fits the squad profile very well. He's in his prime, fills a problem position and had a superb 2016-17 season with Tottenham.
Add him to Bernardo Silva and Ederson Moraes and you've got a very good window so far. More is required, though, and quickly. Danilo might be the next in, per the Manchester Evening News.
3. Everton
9 of 11
In: Jordan Pickford, Davy Klaassen, Michael Keane, Henry Onyekuru, Sandro Ramirez, Wayne Rooney, Cuco Martina
Out: Romelu Lukaku, Gerard Deulofeu, Tom Cleverley, Aiden McGeady, Henry Onyekuru (loan)
Since we last checked in on Everton, they've signed Martina on a free transfer and sold McGeady to Championship side Sunderland. So, in summary, they've done very little of note.
Martina is a Ronald Koeman soldier, having played under him at Southampton, and will now re-join the man who initally brought him to England. He's the worst signing the club have made this summer—even if he's been acquired for free—because he is, in truth, barely Premier League quality.
But let's not let that distract from the stellar early work the Toffees have done this summer. It's enough to keep them in our top three.
2. Bayern Munich
10 of 11
In: Corentin Tolisso, Niklas Sule, Sebastian Rudy, Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman (permanent), James Rodriguez
Out: Medhi Benatia, Serge Gnabry (loan)
Last week's top dogs have been knocked off their perch!
If you'd have told us before the summer we wouldn't have believed you, but it turns out the above haul can be beaten. Shocking indeed.
Bayern's loaning out of Gnabry to Champions League side Hoffenheim seems smart, as there isn't an obvious role for him to play at the club in the short term. If he can continue to leap forward and perhaps take up Franck Ribery's baton in a year's time, that'd be ideal.
1. Milan
11 of 11
In: Andre Silva, Franck Kessie, Ricardo Rodriguez, Mateo Musacchio, Hakan Calhanoglu, Fabio Borini, Andrea Conti, Antonio Donnarumma, Lucas Biglia, Leonardo Bonucci
Out: Keisuke Honda, Diego Lopez, Andrea Poli, Gianluca Lapadula (loan)
In the two previous editions of this ranking we've produced, Milan and Bayern have contested very closely for the No. 1 spot. Milan were crowned first, then the capture of James Rodriguez swung things in favour of Bayern the following week, and now we see another flip-flop.
The reason? Bonucci. Milan pulled off the coup of all coups last Friday when they secured a €40 million deal for arguably the world's best centre-back, ripping him from Juventus' grasp and weakening a fierce rival in the process.
Almost every single one of Milan's signings this summer improves the team in an obvious way, but Bonucci takes them on several levels. It's even possible he transforms them into Scudetto contenders.
Days later they secured a deal for Biglia, who cost a fair bit, but represents a serious upgrade on Riccardo Montolivo in holding midfield and can help Bonucci change the mentality at the club.
All fees via Transfermarkt.co.uk
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