Premier League: The 10 Biggest Surprises of the Summer Transfer Window

Over £400 million was spent by Premier League clubs in a hectic summer transfer window.

Many transfers that had long been expected were completed, with Cesc Fabregas finally securing his dream move back to Barcelona and Ashley Young signing for Manchester United.

But which deals wouldn't have been foreseen as clearly at the end of last season? Here I rank the 10 deals that surprised me the most over the summer, and perhaps it says something that seven of these were completed on deadline day (31st August), when clubs became most desperate to add to their squads.

10. Davide Santon to Newcastle United

The 20-year-old Italian is one of the most promising full backs in European football—so for Newcastle to sign him could be a real coup.

He already has seven full international caps and was highly rated by Jose Mourinho when he was in charge at Inter. However, after "The Special One" left the San Siro, his first team opportunities have been limited due to his own injury problems and competition for places.

If his knee problems continue, Santon may never fulfill the great potential that he possesses. However, at such a young age, I was very surprised that Inter let him go. Capable of playing on the left or right of defence, Newcastle may just have found the perfect replacement for Jose Enrique.

9. Scott Dann to Blackburn Rovers

Centre back Scott Dann was in fantastic form for Birmingham last season. An injury that kept him out for most of the last half of the campaign coincided with the Blues' awful run of form that ultimately saw them relegated from the Premier League. If Dann had stayed fit, it may well have been a different story.

The club's relegation saw a number of top division sides interested in securing Dann's signature, including the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool.

Despite this interest from bigger and better sides, the final day of the transfer window saw Dann move to Blackburn for a fee rumoured to be worth up to £8 million.

Since the club was taken over by Venky's, the owners have been criticised for pursuing unrealistic targets (the likes of Ronaldinho and Raul), but to spend this amount of money on a proven Premier League player shows that they have got some sense of how they can improve the squad, or at least that they are finally allowing manager Steve Kean to sign the players that he wants.

8. Yossi Benayoun to Arsenal

Chelsea's lack of creativity has been repeatedly pointed out by fans and pundits ever since the likes of Deco and Joe Cole left following the Blues' double-winning season of 2009/10.

It seems strange, therefore, to let go of Yossi Benayoun, a player that provided the key to unlocking defences in his Liverpool days. Although he has failed to reproduce that form with Chelsea, he missed the vast majority of last season due to injury. At the age of 31, I wouldn't say he is too old to play like he once did, otherwise why did Chelsea pay around £6 million for him only last summer?

From an Arsenal perspective, it may not be the great signing that their fans craved. The departure of Cesc Fabregas has seen Mikel Arteta brought in—he is certainly a good player but not in the same class as Fabregas. In that position, however, Aaron Ramsey looks like he could step up and have an even better season this campaign alongside Jack Wilshere, so it may not be the biggest worry.

To replace Nasri with Benayoun though is different. Yes, Arsenal have signed Gervinho who is capable of playing on the left wing, but in my opinion neither player is near to Nasri's ability and I would have expected Arsenal to have spent more money on a marquee signing such as Lille's Eden Hazard.

For both clubs, it looks like a strange move. Chelsea are loaning out a player who may well have proven useful to them this season to one of their rivals for success, whilst Arsenal have brought in a player that will certainly add to the squad, but is not the star name that they needed after two of their best players left the club.

7. Yohan Cabaye to Newcastle United

Newcastle have lost some of their best players this summer. The likes of Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and Jose Enrique have left the club and chairman Mike Ashley has been criticised for failing to spend much of the £35 million transfer fee for Andy Carroll that they received in January.

Despite this, they have, in my opinion, brought in some really good signings. If he stays injury free, Demba Ba has a fantastic goalscoring record, Gabriel Obertan will want to prove why Sir Alex Ferguson was so keen to bring him to Manchester United in 2009, and Davide Santon is one of the most promising full backs around.

The biggest surprise for me though, was to see French international Yohan Cabaye leave Ligue 1 champions Lille to join Alan Pardew's squad.

Cabaye rejected the prospect of playing Champions League football for the club he has been with since academy level, and instead left France for northern England to play for a mid-table Premier League team.

Newcastle may have offered Cabaye higher wages than at Lille, as well as the chance to play in the best league in the world, but I am still surprised that he chose to leave a team enjoying such a successful period, with the potential to reach new heights by keeping hold of young stars such as Eden Hazard.

Once Cabaye has fully settled into life in the north, I'm certain that he will become one of their best players and Newcastle may do better than a lot of people expect this season.

6. Craig Bellamy to Liverpool

To see Craig Bellamy returning to his old club Liverpool is a major surprise, considering he only spent a year there during his last spell, which was relatively unsuccessful.

It is not much of a shock to see him leave Manchester City after being left out of the club's 25 man squad for the Premier League season. It was, however, surprising to see him being allowed to leave the club on a free transfer to one of City's rivals near the top of the league. Whilst City are probably expecting to challenge for the title and Liverpool's aspirations are more realistically a top four finish, the Reds could still be a threat to the Citizens if their new signings gel quickly. Bellamy could also come back to haunt his old side by scoring against them; for this reason I thought City would be more likely to loan him out.

Although Bellamy is likely to play second fiddle to big money signings Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez at Anfield, he could still prove to be a fantastic signing. His nomadic career has seen him score a lot of goals at whichever team he is in, and his pace and skill could make him a dangerous impact substitute.

5. Raul Meireles to Chelsea

The biggest surprise about Meireles' transfer to Chelsea was the timing of it. Sky Sports News received information less than half an hour before the window closed that Meireles had handed in a transfer request, and shortly after the deadline passed we heard the news that he had completed his move to Chelsea in time.

It seems to me that Chelsea have rushed to buy a midfielder after they gave up on Luka Modric.

I am not certain as to where Meireles will fit in; I would be surprised if he replaced any of the current trio of Mikel, Ramires and Lampard in the next few games, even if they haven't been on top form so far. Ramires' energy and box-to-box runs have already been very effective for Chelsea, as we see when he won the penalty against Norwich City in the previous match. Lampard might not be at the top of his game anymore, but he still contributes a great deal of goals and assists whilst also being one of the leaders of the team. Mikel may not be the best player technically, but he is disciplined in his role and none of the other three are natural defensive midfielders.

Promising youngster Josh McEachran has also been promised more game time this season; with four more experienced midfielders apparently ahead of him, his opportunities are likely to be limited once again.

I was also surprised that Liverpool let him go. He had a good first season at Anfield, winning the Premier League Fans' Player of the Year award in the process and, despite his transfer request, I'm sure Meireles would have just got on with it if he was forced to stay once the window had closed.

4. Peter Crouch to Stoke City

To see Stoke bring in another tall player to complement their style is no surprise—to see them spend up to £12 million on a player is very much one.

For chairman Peter Coates to be investing this sort of money into the club is very encouraging; Stoke also signed Wilson Palacios for £8 million and Cameron Jerome for £4 million on deadline day.

Obviously it isn't enough to challenge the top six teams, but Stoke are really making an effort to cement their place amongst the top of the rest of the league.

I must admit, I was sure that if Crouch was to leave Spurs on deadline day, he'd be heading further north to Sunderland who received £24 million for Darren Bent's departure in January. Although, of course they have chosen to put their faith in young striker Connor Wickham and now former Arsenal man Nicklas Bendtner.

Nevertheless, it could be a great signing for Tony Pulis' side. With wingers Jermaine Pennant and Matty Etherington capable of delivering perfect crosses into the box and Rory Delap still around to deliver his trademark throw-ins, Crouch could soon be a familiar name on the score sheet at the Britannia Stadium.

3. Emmanuel Adebayor to Tottenham Hotspur

Adebayor's loan move to Spurs is a major surprise. Only in April, the Togolese forward lined up at White Hart Lane for Real Madrid against his new employers, receiving racist abuse from the home supporters due to his Arsenal connections.

Adebayor voiced his disappointment post-match after hearing this, but this hasn't stopped him from returning to North London to join them.

He is a striker with unquestionable talent, but he has struggled to settle in at previous clubs. So Harry Redknapp has a job on his hands to make Adebayor feel at home, while also convincing the Spurs fans to get behind their new talisman.

2. Joey Barton to Queens Park Rangers

Controversial midfielder Joey Barton was linked with a number of big clubs this summer, including the champions Manchester United and Arsenal. He has instead, however, been snapped up by newly-promoted QPR.

It could be a fantastic signing for Neil Warnock's men. Barton was one of Newcastle's best players last season, and he is a fighter with experience that the new boys need to stay up.

One problem Warnock may have is Barton's discipline. England manager Fabio Capello admitted last month that he couldn't risk selecting the midfielder for his squad as he too often loses his cool and earns himself unnecessary red cards, or disrupts the team's harmony by being involved in dressing room bust-ups.

Either way, QPR's new owner has lived up to his promise of bringing bigger names to the club, as Shaun Wright-Phillips and Anton Ferdinand have also moved to Loftus Road.

1. Owen Hargreaves to Manchester City

Hargreaves' four year spell at Manchester United can only be described as a disaster. He made just five appearances in his last three seasons as his time was ravaged by injuries.

Having been released from United this summer, the Englishman's future was in doubt. A series of YouTube videos posted to prove his fitness were effective, however, and soon Championship side Leicester City expressed an interest, as well as Premier League team West Brom.

To sign for his former club's arch rivals City on deadline day was, in my opinion, the biggest shock of the transfer window. He was widely expected to join a mid-table Premier League side or even drop to the second tier, but Roberto Mancini has shown his faith in the defensive midfielder despite his injury worries.

Although Hargreaves is clearly a good player when fit, City already have Yaya Toure, Nigel De Jong and Gareth Barry who can already play in his role. So I am unsure as to where he will fit in, and if he will even get in. In my opinion, it is a very strange move and I'd be surprised if he played more than a few games this season.