15 Evaluates Summer Transfer Window of Europe's top Clubs

Man City has dominated the transfer window, while Chelsea’s performance leaves much to be desired! Supersports24 evaluates the summer activities of Europe’s top clubs.

Supersports24 reviews all the movements at the continent’s top clubs over the last two months…

The transfer window closed on Friday, which means managers across Europe will now have to work with the players they have until January.

The standout deal of the summer was undoubtedly Kylian Mbappe’s long-anticipated transfer to Real Madrid, but it was city rivals Atletico who forked out the largest sum to persuade Manchester City to let go of Julian Alvarez. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Paris Saint-Germain also made significant signings, while Chelsea continues to spend and gather players at an extraordinary pace.

So, which clubs will be most pleased with their dealings over the past few months? And who might be frustrated with their management? Below, Supersports24 evaluates the transfer windows of Europe’s 15 biggest clubs.

15 Evaluates Summer Transfer Window of Europe's top Clubs - Joao Felix Chelsea 2024-25

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15. Chelsea | Grade: F

What on earth to make of Chelsea?! It’s been hard to keep track of all of the the comings and goings at Stamford Bridge this summer – and even harder to make sense of their recruitment policy. Obviously, the basic premise is to sell academy products for pure profit, which will fund the recruitment of as many young players as possible, in the hope that they will both increase in value and help the Blues win trophies. However, the way in which Conor Gallagher was forced out of the club did not go over well with supporters, who are just as confused as to why so many wide forwards – including Jadon Sancho – have arrived in west London when Enzo Maresca’s squad clearly needs a reliable No.9. Seriously, why did Chelsea leave it so late to go all-in for Victor Osimhen?!

The Blues have undeniably done well to get rid of high-earners Raheem Sterling and Romelu Lukaku, but of the 10 players they’ve signed this summer, only the injury-prone Pedro Neto will immediately add anything to the starting line-up – and the return of Joao Felix is utterly baffling.

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14Barcelona | Grade: D

It was another turbulent and stressful summer for Barcelona, who had to keep working right until the final week of the window to raise enough money from selling youngsters and releasing veterans to belatedly register their solitary star signing Dani Olmo (although a conveniently-timed injury to Andreas Christensen also helped). The Spain international proved worth the wait by netting on his debut for Hansi Flick’s side, but Ilkay Gundogan had to be sacrificed to make room for Olmo on the Blaugrana’s books, and the German’s experience and winning mentality will be sorely missed.

Not being able to turn Joao Cancelo’s loan move into a permanent transfer is also a blow, as Barca look short at full-back, while it’s no secret that the Catalans were also desperate to sign a left winger, but just couldn’t raise enough money to bring in top target Nico Williams. It also remains to be seen if Pau Victor will prove a worthy understudy for Robert Lewandowski, the veteran striker that Barca remain heavily reliant upon for goals.

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13. Liverpool | Evaluates Summer Transfer Window: Grade: C

Liverpool left it very late, but new sporting director Richard Hughes finally managed to get a couple of deals over the line before the close of the window, signing goalkeeper Girogi Mamardashvili, who will stay at Valencia for another season, and winger Federico Chiesa. Both could easily prove bargain buys – particular the latter – but neither purchase was especially essential.

Liverpool were in far greater need of a specialist No.6. Consequently, Martin Zubimendi’s rejection of a move to Anfield came as a bitter blow. The Reds unquestionably have a strong squad all the same and Hughes deserves credit for getting good money for Fabio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg, but Jurgen Klopp’s successor Arne Slot really could have done with a defensive midfielder, and arguably a left-sided centre-back too.

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12. AC Milan | Grade: C+

Milan finished second in Serie A last season, but Stefano Pioli paid the price for city rivals Inter running away with the league – and clinching the Scudetto at San Siro – and the Rossoneri losing to Roma in the Europa League, after failing to get out of their Champions League group. Consequently, Paulo Fonseca is at the helm now and has been joined at the Giuseppe Meazza by Spain’s Euro 2024-winning captain Alvaro Morata. Of course, the former Atletico Madrid striker has never been a reliable goal-scorer, so it came as no surprise to see Milan also swap Alexis Saelemaekers for Tammy Abraham in the hope that the Englishman can rediscover the scoring touch that abandoned him after a serious injury at Roma.

Elsewhere, Strahinja Pavlovic has already slotted seamlessly into the defence, and Youssouf Fofana has plenty to offer in midfield, but the merits of signing Emerson Royal are questionable – even if he is just there to provide cover. Still, the main thing is that Rafael Leao is still at San Siro!

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11. Borussia Dortmund | Grade: B-

There have been big changes at Signal Iduna Park over the course of the summer, with former fan-favourite Nuri Sahin taking over from Edin Terzic, who parted company with Dortmund despite leading them to the final of last season’s Champions League. Club legend Marco Reus has since moved on, along with Mats Hummels and Niclas Fullkrug, while both Jadon Sancho and Ian Maatsen returned to their parent clubs.

Still, Waldemar Anton should help fill the void left by Hummels, and Serhou Guirassy is even better equipped than Fullkrug to lead an attack that has also been bolstered by the promising Maximilian Beier. So, while Dortmund dearly would have loved to have held onto Sancho and Maatsen, they have made some exciting signings for Sahin.

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10. Inter | Evaluates Summer Transfer Window: Grade: B

Inter have been regularly forced to flog key players in recent years, so the priority this summer was holding onto star players such as Lautaro Martinez, Alessandro Bastoni and Nicola Barella, who were integral to last season’s dominant Serie A success. The fact that there were no enforced exits has, thus, come as a major relief to Scudetto-winning coach Simone Inzaghi.

Furthermore, Beppe Marotta, the master of the transfer market, has managed to increase the depth of the squad without spending any money by moving quickly to snap up Piotr Zielinski and Mehdi Taremi on free transfers. Given their lack of resources, then, this has been a relatively successful summer for the Italian champions. They’ll undoubtedly challenge for Italian title again.

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9Napoli | Grade: B

There was a real risk of Antonio Conte having his earliest ever transfer-market meltdown, with Napoli’s new boss expressing his frustration with the club’s recruitment as the Serie A season got under way. However, Italy defender Alessandro Buongiorno, a really smart signing from Torino, has since been joined at the Maradona by the former Benfica winger David Neres, Manchester United cult hero Scott McTominay, the promising Billy Gilmour and Conte favourite Romelu Lukaku.

Victor Osimhen’s future still needs to be resolved – it still seems likely that he’ll end up in the Saudi Pro League, as its transfer window remains open for a few more days – and Napoli might not have quite enough to challenge for the Scudetto. However, a content Conte is capable of getting this squad back into the Champions League. Grade: B

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8.Paris Saint-Germain | Evaluates Summer Transfer Window: Grade: B

Kylian Mbappe’s departure seems to have signalled the end of the superstar era at Parc des Princes. PSG have shown this summer that they’re still willing to spend big on new players – but the focus now is very clearly on up-and-coming talents.

The French champions paid Benfica €70m (£59m/$78m) for Joao Neves, who is still only 19 years of age, but the midfielder is already showcasing his skills in Ligue 1 – and it’s worth pointing out that the sale of the unwanted Manuel Ugarte covered the majority of the outlay. Willian Pacho is capable of forming a formidable centre-back pairing with Marquinhos, while Desire Doue is a very exciting teenage prospect. So, while Mbappe may be gone, taking all his goals with him, PSG’s new project has serious potential.

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7.Atletico Madrid | Grade: B+

Somewhat surprisingly, Atletico Madrid were one of the summer’s big spenders, with the Rojiblancos stunning the football world by agreeing a deal with Manchester City for Julian Alvarez that could rise to a whopping €95 million (£82m/$108m). The Argentine has yet to get off the mark in Spain, but both he and fellow new signing Alexander Sorloth should end up scoring plenty of goals alongside Antoine Griezmann.

Former Chelsea fan favourite Conor Gallagher also looks a good fit for Diego Simeone’s midfield, while Robin Le Normand is an excellent and much-needed addition to a defence that still looks a tad short on cover. Of course, Atleti’s best bit of business is unquestionably convincing Chelsea to pay £45m for the biggest flop in the Spanish side’s history, Joao Felix.

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6. Manchester United | Evaluates Summer Transfer Window: Grade: B+

Manchester United co-owners INEOS splashed the cash during their first summer window after taking control of sporting operations at Old Trafford – which was essential, really, after last season’s historically-poor eighth-placed finish in the Premier League. The technically-gifted but in-no-way prolific Joshua Zirkzee should prove an excellent forward to play off, while former Bayern Munich duo Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui are definitely upgrades on United’s previous and existing options in defence. Maunel Ugarte is the ball-winner United have needed since Casemiro’s legs went and Leny Yoro will also hopefully show why Real Madrid wanted him when he returns from injury. In terms of sales, United have made good money on Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Scott McTominay, Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood.

Looking at the big picture, it’s never wise to get carried away by United’s transfer dealings – over the past decade, they’ve proven themselves highly adept at wasting money and killing promising careers – but INEOS will be relatively pleased with their business. It just remains to be seen if investing in so many Erik ten Hag targets is really a wise recruitment strategy.

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5. Arsenal | Evaluates Summer Transfer Window: Grade: A-

The window has gone well for Arsenal, who have strengthened their squad with two accomplished internationals in versatile defender Riccardo Calafiori and Spain midfielder Mikel Merino, while at the same time covering their costs with the sales of Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Aaron Ramsdale.

The net result is that Mikel Arteta has even more quality options than last season, particularly in defence. However, while Raheem Sterling represents a low-cost gamble, Arsenal didn’t really require another left winger and the suspicion remains that sporting director Edu has once again erred by deciding against signing an orthodox No.9 with a proven track record of scoring goals.

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4. Bayern Munich | Grade: A-

Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga campaign is under way, but it’s still a little hard to know what to expect from the Bavarians under new coach Vincent Kompany, who was by no means first choice to take over from Thomas Tuchel. What we do know, though, is that Bayern have bought well during the summer.

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Hiroki Ito is coming off a fine season at Stuttgart, Joao Palhinha is one of the best ball-winners in the game today and Michael Olise is a tremendously exciting attacking talent. Bayern have also gone a long way towards paying for these signings by offloading Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui to Manchester United for around €60m.

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3. Real Madrid | Evaluates Summer Transfer Window: Grade: A-

Florentino Perez finally got his man! After the most painfully protracted transfer saga in football history, Kylian Mbappe belatedly made his inevitable move to Madrid, where he has been joined by Brazil’s teenage striking sensation Endrick, meaning Carlo Ancelotti is in possession of one of the most awesome forward lines the game has never seen. The challenge, of course, will be keeping everyone happy, and it can’t be ignored that Mbappe has struggled thus far in La Liga.

Still, the affable Italian coach is a master of man-management and will eventually figure out how to get the best out of his awesome attacking arsenal. Of greater concern is the retirement of Toni Kroos, as there is no like-for-like replacement for one of the great midfielders of the modern era. Still, the Spanish and European champions have very few weaknesses overall.

15 Evaluates Summer Transfer Window of Europe's top Clubs - Teun Koopmeiners Juventus 2024-25

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2. Juventus | Evaluates Summer Transfer Window: Grade: A

Sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli has overseen quite the overhaul at Juventus since the end of last season. The dreadfully dour Massimiliano Allegri has been replaced as coach by the exciting Thiago Motta, who has been well backed in the transfer market. Indeed, the acquisitions of Khephren Thuram, Douglas Luiz and Teun Koopmeiners mean Juve have arguably their strongest midfield line-up for nearly a decade – even accounting for Adrien Rabiot’s frustrating exit on a free transfer – while Nico Gonzalez and Francisco Conceicao should ensure that Federico Chiesa, who ended up at Liverpool after rejecting a contract extension, should not be missed in attack.

Michele Di Gregorio also has the makings of a great goalkeeper, while Giuntoli also deserves praise for finally offloading Moise Kean, and making Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling-Junior part of the Luiz trade. All things considered, Juve could be reborn under Motta.

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1. Manchester City |Evaluates Summer Transfer Window: Grade: A+

Pep Guardiola would have liked to have kept a hold of the very useful Julian Alvarez. but Atletico offered City mad money for a player that wasn’t a guaranteed starter at the Etihad, making his exit both inevitable and acceptable. And besides, by that stage, City had already snapped up Savinho from sister club Troyes for a fee well below market value, and the Brazilian is already looking like a bargain buy at £21m ($28m).

Elsewhere, the Premier League champions have not only re-signed treble-winning captain Ilkay Gundogan for nothing, they’ve also held onto Kevin De Bruyne and Ederson, both of whom were courted by Saudi Pro League clubs. In the end, only the unwanted Joao Cancelo ended up moving to the Middle East – and for the same money City paid for Savinho, making this a pretty perfect window for Pep.

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