The August transfer deadline has once again been like a virgin in a nightclub. The night starts off slowly, full of uncertainty and trepidation, feeling things out. As 2am approaches things get more rash and reckless, hands grabbing whatever it can as the drunk girl who had previously spurned all advances grinds and coyly smiles on the dancefloor.
When the lights come on panic sets in and….well, let’s just say you wake up with an unknown Slovakian on a three-year deal.
These past four weeks have seen nearly 300 deals go from rumour to conclusion with 200 of them seemingly done by QPR. But as always it was all about last night, a last minute horse-trading madness that saw men finally disprove the myth that they cannot multitask as they listened to Jim White on SSN, ogled Natalie Sawyer’s cleavage, refreshed Twitter every few seconds, kept a window open for the BBC, furiously typed out arguments on club forums, and Wikied to find out who the hell that Bulgarian left-back is.
It was chaotic, it was carnage, it was fun, but let’s not do it again for ooo at least another six months.
If it’s still all a bit overwhelming let the Cutter take you by the hand, put the kettle on, and list every in and out, figuring out who the winners and losers were in this summer’s multi-million pound carousel of crazy.
Arsenal
In
Santi Cazorla (Malaga, £16.5m)
Olivier Giroud (Montpellier, £13m)
Lukas Podoloski (Cologne, £11m)
Out
Alex Song (Barcelona, £15m)
Robin van Persie (Manchester United, £24m)
Gavin Hoyte (Dagenham, free)
Manuel Almunia (Watford, free)
Joel Campbell (Real Betis, loan)
Denilson (Sao Paulo, loan)
Ryo Miyaichi (Wigan, loan)
Kyle Bartley (Swansea, £1m)
Henri Lansbury (Nottingham Forest, £1m)
Park Chu-young (Celta Vigo, loan)
Nicklas Bendtner (Juventus, loan)
An early clearing of the decks by Wenger of peripheral talent was an encouraging sign but really this summer a dark cloud has hung ominously over the Emirates throughout with the inevitable departure of RvP. It was almost a blessed relief when the Dutchman finally left and Gooners could place their trust in his two replacements who combined cost the same as last season’s 30 goal man. Cazorla signed and all looked well until the exit of Song. Surely now the parsimonious professor would be forced to splash the cash? Instead yesterday silence descended over one half of North London. The key question here when looking at the two lists above is this – are Arsenal stronger or weaker than at the start of August?
Verdict – Losers
Aston Villa
In
Matthew Lowton (Sheffield United, £3m)
Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord, undisclosed)
Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord, undisclosed)
Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar, free)
Jordan Bowery (Chesterfield, undisclosed)
Joe Bennett (Middlesbrough, £2.5m)
Ashley Westwood (Crewe, £2m)
Christian Benteke (Genk, £7m)
Out
James Collins (West Ham, undisclosed)
Carlos Cuellar (Sunderland, free)
Emile Heskey (released)
Nathan Delfouneso (Blackpool, loan)
For a while yesterday it really looked like Clint Dempsey was on his way to Villa Park. But as exciting as that would have been for Villains it seemed incongruous with Paul Lambert’s policy of recruiting little-known players of potential who were quite obviously on his hit-list for phase two of Norwich’s ‘five year plan’. Vlaar and El Ahmadi already look like astute buys while Benteke is yet another promising Belgian, a country that is evidently enjoying a renaissance of talent.
Lambert is a single-minded figure who needs young players to mould into his vision. Now that he has them Project Villa is go.
Verdict – Winners
Chelsea
In
Eden Hazard (Lille, £32m)
Oscar (Internacional, £25m)
Marko Marin (Werder Bremen, £7m)
Thorgan Hazard (Lens, free)
Victor Moses (Wigan, £9m)
Cesar Azpilicueta (Marseille, £7m)
Essien is reunited with Mourinho.
Out
Didier Drogba (Shanghai Shenhua, free)
Jacob Mellis (Barnsley, free)
Salomon Kalou (Lille, free)
Jose Bosingwa (QPR, free)
Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid, loan)
Romelu Lukaku (West Bromwich Albion, loan)
Kevin De Bruyne (Werder Bremen, loan)
Sam Hutchinson (Nottingham Forest, loan)
Josh McEachran (Middlesbrough, loan)
Nathaniel Chalobah (Watford, loan)
Thorgan Hazard (Zulte-Waregem, loan)
Yossi Benayoun (West Ham, loan)
Michael Essien (Real Madrid, loan)
The summer’s big spenders but by general consensus they needed to be with a new dawn on the horizon and the dominant Chelsea of old an aging force. Hazard is a sensational prospect (with his younger brother Thorgen reputedly even better) and he will light up the Bridge for seasons to come. Oscar meanwhile is a mouth-watering talent while Azpilicueta not only solves a problematic right-back issue but also allows the superb Ivanovic to switch to his preferred centre back role.
The only negatives are that it is questionable just how much say Di Matteo had in these signings whilst the loaning out of Drogba in the making Lukaka is slightly puzzling considering their need for attacking cover.
Yesterday’s departures of Benayoun and Essien were expected and completed a revitalising summer in West London.
Verdict – Winners
Everton
In
Steven Pienaar (Tottenham, £4.5m)
Steven Naismith (Rangers, free)
Kevin Mirallas (Olympiakos, £5.2m)
Bryan Oviedo (FC Copenhagen, undisclosed)
Matthew Kennedy (Kilmarnock, nominal fee)
Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe (Bruges, loan)
Out
Jack Rodwell (Everton, £12m)
Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls, £1m)
Adam Forshaw (Brentford, undisclosed)
James Wallace (Tranmere, undisclosed)
Joao Silva (Levski Sofia, undisclosed)
Joseph Yobo (Fenerbahce, undisclosed)
James McFadden (released)
Marcus Hahnemann (released)
If proof were needed that this was indeed a cracking deadline day it came in the rare and welcome sight of Everton opening its purse strings. A very late swoop for Bruge enforcer Odjidja-Ofoe (a development that came as news to Phil Neville early this morning who tweeted as he woke that Belgians are now taking over Goodison) completed a successful window for the Toffees. Mirallas will take some of the pressure off Jelevic to provide the goals, Oviedo and Kennedy offer options out wide, while Naismith was a typically shrewd move by Moyes. But it was always about securing Pienaar this summer for the blues, their adrenaline shot should they ever flat-line.
They already had a very strong first XI and are experiencing an unheard of decent start: now Everton have a squad to back this up. And all done for a small profit too.
Verdict – Winners
Fulham
In
Hugo Rodallega (Wigan, free)
Mladen Petric (Hamburg, free)
George Williams (MK Dons, free)
Sascha Riether (Cologne, loan)
Kieran Richardson (Sunderland, undisclosed)
Chris David (FC Twente, undisclosed)
Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United, £5m)
Ashkan Dejagah (Wolfsburg, undisclosed)
Out
Mousa Dembele (Tottenham, £15m)
Dickson Etuhu (Blackburn, undisclosed)
Marcel Gecov (AA Gent, undisclosed)
Andrew Johnson (QPR, free)
Danny Murphy (Blackburn, free)
Pavel Pogrebnyak (Reading, free)
Bjorn Helge Riise (released)
Orlando Sa (released)
Clint Dempsey (Tottenham, £7m)
Dempsey and Dembele were inevitable departures so the surprise was how late Fulham left it bringing in winger Dejagah from Germany. Jol got the best out of Berbatov at White Hart Lane so the hope is that he can unlock the insouciant genius that lies within the lazy sod while Richardson and Rodallega are potentially the equal of their predecessors Riise and Pogrebnyak.
There is no question though that the absence of Etuhu and Murphy will leave a hole in the heart of Fulham’s engine room.
Verdict – Losers
Letting Carroll go without replacing him has unnecessarily weakened Liverpool.
Liverpool
In
Nuri Sahin (Real Madrid, loan)
Joe Allen (Swansea, £15m)Fabio Borini (Roma, £10m)
Oussama Assaidi (Heerenveen, £3m)
Samed Yesil (Bayern Leverkusen £1m)
Out
Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbache, £1m)
Craig Bellamy (Cardiff, undisclosed)
Alberto Aquilani (Fiorentina, undisclosed)
Maxi Rodriguez (Newell’s Old Boys, undisclosed)
Fabio Aurelio (Gremio, free)
David Amoo (Preston North End, free)
Stephen Darby (Bradford, free)
Andy Carroll (West Ham, loan)
Jay Spearing (Bolton, loan)
Charlie Adam (Stoke, £4m)
Nathan Eccleston (Blackpool, undisclosed)
Liverpool have moved on Maxi, Kuyt, Bellamy & Carroll who were responsible for 37% of goals in a team that struggled for them last season. So although Sahin and Allen in particular are terrific recruits as Rodgers forges a midfield in his image – to add to an impenetrable back-line that was already in place – yesterday was entirely about the purchase of a front man. The fact that Liverpool were embarrassingly gazumped on Dempsey (a player who desired a move north to Anfield) left reds on Twitter wanting heads to roll, in particular that of Managing Director Ian Ayre.
With the Fulham hit man signing on the dotted line at Spurs there followed two hours of outcry and genuine anger by supporters who demanded a late alternative. Ayre however had already left Melwood a defeated man.
BBC writer Ian McNulty summed it up perfectly by stating that Rodgers has been left paying the tab from Dalglish’s £100m splurge.
Verdict – Losers
Manchester City
In
Jack Rodwell (Everton, £12m)
Scott Sinclair (Swansea, £8m)
Maicon (Inter Milan, £3.8m)
Richard Wright (Preston North End, free)
Matija Nastasic (Fiorentina, £10m)
Javi Garcia (Benfica £16m plus add-ons)
Out
Emmanuel Adebayor (Tottenham, £5m)
Vladimir Weiss (Pescara, undisclosed)
Greg Cunningham (Bristol City, free)
Owen Hargreaves (released)
Gunnar Nielsen (released)
Stuart Taylor (Reading, free)
Wayne Bridge (Brighton, loan)
Adam Johnson (Manchester City £10m)
Nigel de Jong (AC Milan, undisclosed)
Roque Santa Cruz (Malaga, loan)
Dedryck Boyata (FC Twente, loan)
Stefan Savic (Fiorentina, undisclosed)
Ryan McGivern (Hibernian, loan)
So accustomed have we been to City blowing everyone out of the water with a headline-grabbing marquee signing that any window without one, on the surface at least, appears to be a failing. But for City their primary motivation this summer was always to ship out the high-earning deadwood – an aim they have achieved – while tweaking an already imposing squad of options. The early loss of Hazard cannot be under-estimated certainly but in retrospect his decision to opt for Chelsea appears to be a geographical decision; a young single man wanting to experience the London lights. The scramble for RvP meanwhile was a distracting sideshow (did City really need another top class hit man?) as Mancini locked horns with Brain Marwood and demanded the purchase of either Martinez or ideally De Rossi to offer a further upgrade in class to the heart of their midfield. It is here where the disappointment lies. Javi Garcia – cousin of former Liverpool man Luis – will certainly improve their present stock of anchormen but he was very evidently the manager’s third choice. City don’t usually settle for third choice.
Verdict – Losers
Manchester United
In
Angelo Henriquez (Universidad de Chile, undisclosed)
Robin van Persie (Arsenal, £24m)
Shinji Kagawa (Dortmund, £17m)
Nick Powell (Crewe, £4m)
Alexander Buttner (Vitesse Arnhem, £4m)
Out
Park Ji-sung (QPR, undisclosed)
Richie De Laet (Leicester, undisclosed)
Matty James (Leicester, undisclosed)
Paul Pogba (Juventus, free)
Tomasz Kuszczak (Brighton, free)
Michael Owen (released), Fabio (QPR, loan)
Ben Amos (Hull, loan)
Dimitar Berbatov (Fulham, £5m)
There is no question that United have bought well this summer. Henriquez and Powell offer bright promise for the future, Buttner is a clever and cheap purchase, while Kagawa and Van Persie are the two big names the United faithful craved. Should the duo settle – and the likelihood is that they will – then United have attacking options up there with anyone. However once again Ferguson has taken the surprising decision not to strengthen the centre of his midfield, an area that is clearly in need of overhauling. The pursuit of Modric was half-hearted this time out with Spurs demanding a prohibitive £40m for any domestic sale of their schemer yet there are so many quality centre mids across the continent who could have been recruited for the ten million mark. It’s nothing short of baffling.
Verdict – Winners
Anita. The next Clarence Seedorf.
Newcastle United
In
Vurnon Anita (Ajax, £6.7m)
Curtis Good (Melbourne Heart, £400,000)
Gael Bigirimana (Coventry, undisclosed)
Romain Amalfitano (Reims, free)
Out
Leon Best (Blackburn, £3m)
Fraser Forster (Celtic, £2m)
Danny Guthrie (Reading, free)
Peter Lovenkrands (Birmingham, free)
Alan Smith (MK Dons, free)
Ryan Donaldson (released)
Tamas Kadar (Roda JC, free)
It was anticipated that Pardew would spend the close season securing a number of new faces to elevate his defence to a top four standing. Last season the Toon rearguard performed miracles but by its nature such over-achievement cannot be relied upon and the expected arrivals of Pieters, Douglas and Debuchy offered solid bricks on which to build on last year’s foundations. Their no-shows are a source of huge disappointment but at least encouragement can be gained from the excellent purchase of Anita. A midfield trio of Cabaye, Tiotte and ‘the next Clarence Seedorf’ is an intimidating prospect for those venturing to the north-east.
Even so this window represents a huge missed opportunity for a club in the ascendancy.
Verdict – Losers
Norwich City
In
Sebastian Bassong (Tottenham, undisclosed)
Robert Snodgrass (Leeds, £3m)
Michael Turner (Sunderland, undisclosed)
Jacob Butterfield (Barnsley, undisclosed)
Steven Whittaker (Rangers, free)
Javier Garrido (Lazio, loan)
Alexander Tettey (Rennes, undisclosed)
Mark Bunn (Blackburn, undisclosed)
Out
Andrew Crofts (Brighton, undisclosed)
Adam Drury (Leeds, free)
Aaron Wilbraham (Crystal Palace, free)
Zak Whitbread (Leicester, free)
Josh Dawkin (released)
Daniel Ayala (Nottingham Forest, loan)
James Vaughan (Huddersfield, loan)
Away from the screaming headlines of the big guns Chris Hughton has quietly gone about bolstering his defence with two fantastic recruits in the form of Bassong and Turner while Snodgrass is reunited with former Leeds compadres Johnson and Howson and could potentially be one of the gems of the season.
Verdict – Winners
Queen’s Park Rangers
In
Junior Hoilett (Blackburn, tribunal)
Park Ji-sung (Manchester United, undisclosed)
Samba Diakite (Nancy, undisclosed)
Robert Green (West Ham, free)
Ryan Nelsen (Tottenham, free)
Andrew Johnson (Fulham, free)
Fabio (Manchester United, loan)
Jose Bosingwa (Chelsea, free)
Julio Cesar (Inter Milan, undisclosed)
Esteban Granero (Real Madrid, £9m)
Sam Magri (Portsmouth, free)
Stephane Mbia (Marseille, undisclosed)
Stephane Mbia
Out
Tommy Smith (Cardiff, £300,000)
Paddy Kenny (Leeds, £400,000)
Heidar Helguson (Cardiff, undisclosed)
Rowan Vine (St Johnstone, free)
Peter Ramage (Crystal Palace, free)
Danny Gabbidon (released)
Danny Shittu (released)
Fitz Hall (released)
Gary Borrowdale (released)
Lee Cook (released)
Patrick Agyemang (released)
Akos Buzsaky (released)
Joey Barton (Marseilles, loan)
It seems farcical to says so, considering that Mark Hughes has gone on a supermarket sweep that would drain the orange glow from Dale Winton’s face but QPR are still in need of a top quality centre back. Missing out on Dawson will pique, especially in the short-term, as the raft of new faces attempt to find anything resembling cohesion. The experienced Englishman would have been the ideal candidate to help that happen.
That quibble aside it’s quite mind-blowing what Hughes has achieved in such a short space of time. A turnover of 25 players is an extreme makeover by anyone’s standards and somewhere in Cambridgeshire Barry Fry is nodding with admiration.
Granero and Mbia incidentally are cracking buys.
Verdict – Winners
Reading
In
Chris Gunter (Nottingham Forest, £2.5m)
Adrian Mariappa (Watford, £2.5m)
Pierce Sweeney (Bray Wanderers, undisclosed)
Pavel Pogrebnyak (Fulham, free)
Danny Guthrie (Newcastle, free)
Garath McCleary (Nottingham Forest, free)
Nicky Shorey (West Brom, free)
Stuart Taylor (Manchester City, free)
Out
Michail Antonio (Sheffield Wednesday, undisclosed)
Tomasz Cywka (Barnsley, free)
Brian Howard (released)
Andy Griffin (released)
Jack Mills (released)
Joseph Mills (Burnley, loan)
Brian McDermott did his business with time to spare and a couple of shrewd incomings in Mariappa and Gunter were joined by a much-needed match winner in Pogrebnyak. The key to any promoted side’s summer dealings is to find a balance between retaining the core personnel who have all the momentum and confidence whilst sprinkling some added quality into the mix. McDermott has done this well.
Verdict – Winners
Southampton
In
Emmanuel Mayuka (Young Boys Berne, undisclosed)
Jay Rodriguez (Burnley, £6m)
Paulo Gazzaniga (Gillingham, undisclosed)
Steven Davis (Rangers, free)
Nathaniel Clyne (Crystal Palace, tribunal)
Maya Yoshida (VVV-Venlo, undisclosed)
Gaston Ramirez (Bologna, undisclosed)
Cody Cropper (Ipswich, free)
Out
Dan Harding (Nottingham Forest, undisclosed)
Bartosz Bialkowski (Notts County, free)
Lee Holmes (Preston North End, free)
Ryan Doble (Shrewsbury, free)
David Connolly (released)
Radhi Jaidi (retired)
Aaron Martin (Crystal Palace, loan)
Tommy Forecast Gillingham, loan)
Billy Sharp (Nottingham Forest, loan)
Having just espoused a sensible approach with Reading another positive approach for a promoted outfit to take is to sign someone as extravagantly gifted as Gaston Ramirez. The Uruguayan winger has the ability to be a revelation on the south coast and is a major coup for the Saints.
The late departure of Sharp was a surprising decision however. Can Southampton afford to so easily relinquish anyone capable of firing in double figures?
Verdict – Winners
Stoke City
In
Michael Kightly (Wolves, £2m)
Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo, undisclosed)
Jamie Ness (Rangers, free)
Charlie Adam (Liverpool, £4m)
Steven Nzonzi (Blackburn, not completed at time of going to print)
Out
Danny Collins (Nottingham Forest, undisclosed)
Jonathan Woodgate (Middlesbrough, free)
Andrew Davies (Bradford, free)
Salif Diao (released)
Ricardo Fuller (released)
Louis Moult (released)
Tom Soares (released)
Pulis has beefed up a midfield that was outfought on a surprising number of occasions last term and the swoop for Charlie Adam makes perfect sense for all concerned. The Scot clearly prefers to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond and should he rediscover his pomp and majesty from his Blackpool days then four million is a steal.
Kightly too is a clever purchase – a Etherington for the right – while the outgoings
Sunderland
In
Louis Saha (Tottenham, free)
Carlos Cuellar (Aston Villa, free)
Steven Fletcher (Wolves, £15m)
Adam Johnson (Manchester City £10m)
Danny Rose (Tottenham, loan)
Out
Marcos Angeleri (Estudiantes, undisclosed)
Asamoah Gyan (Al-Ain, £6m)
Michael Turner (Norwich, undisclosed)
George McCartney (West Ham, undisclosed)
Michael Liddle (Accrington, undisclosed)
Jordan Cook (Charlton, free)
Craig Gordon (released)
Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull, loan)
Kieran Richardson (Fulham, undisclosed)
You get the impression that Martin O’Neill concluded upon his summer dealings way back at the start of the year and this far-sighted pragmatic manner of assembling a team is entirely in keeping with the Irishman’s approach to the game. While others scramble about signing whoever is available O’Neill knows exactly who he wants and can get the best out of – Fletcher and Johnson being cases in point – and the latter in particular will relish being freed of the shackles Mancini placed him under at City. Under the avuncular guidance of the Sunderland boss expect the England winger to be one of the signings of the season.
Verdict – Winners
Swansea City
In
Michu (Rayo Vallecano, £2m)
Jose Manuel Flores (Genoa, £2m)
Jonathan de Guzman (Villarreal, loan)
Kyle Bartley (Arsenal, £1m)
Jamie Proctor (Preston, undisclosed)
Pablo Hernandez (Valencia, £5.55m)
Out
Joe Allen (Liverpool, £15m)
Ferrie Bodde (released)
Casey Thomas (released)
Joe Walsh (released)
Scott Donnelly (released)
Andrea Orlandi (Brighton, free)
Stephen Dobbie (Brighton, undisclosed)
Fears of a Welsh implosion following Brendan Rodger’s departure have eased considerably with the Jack’s magnificent goal-spree under new boss Laudrup. The Danish immortal (has he aged a day since he mesmerised at the Nou Camp?) has astutely brought in Spanish equivalents for all his major outgoings – De Guzman for Allen, Michu for Sigurdsson, and now Pablo Hernandez for City-bound Sinclair – and, so far at least, the policy is paying off handsomely.
Verdict – Winners
Tottenham Hotspur
In
Mousa Dembele (Fulham, £15m)
Emmanuel Adebayor (Manchester City, £5m)
Jan Vertonghen (Ajax, £10m)
Gylfi Sigurdsson (Hoffenheim, £8m)
Clint Dempsey (Fulham, £7m)
Hugo Lloris (Lyon, £8m)
Out
Sebastian Bassong (Norwich, undisclosed)
Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moscow, £5m)
Steven Pienaar (Everton, £4.5m)
Niko Kranjcar (Dynamo Kiev, £2m)
Ryan Nelsen (QPR, free)
Ben Alnwick (Barnsley, free)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid, £33m)
Louis Saha (Sunderland, free)
Bongani Khumalo (PAOK, loan)
Massimo Luongo (Ipswich, loan)
Ryan Fredericks (Brentford, loan)
Danny Rose (Sunderland, loan)
Giovani dos Santos (Real Mallorca, undisclosed)
Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg, £10.2m)
Despite the last-minute failure to lure Moutinho to the Lane this was a sensational window for Spurs and AVB. The Porto schemer would have been a fantastic replacement for Modric and made it a perfect day’s business but even so Tottenham fans have barely a cause for complaint with six quality arrivals that offer the club an entirely new look for an entirely new dawn. So exhilarated were the supporters that the leaving of Van der Vaart was barely mentioned.
Verdict – Winners
West Brom
In
Ben Foster (Birmingham, undisclosed)
Markus Rosenberg (Werder Bremen, free)
Claudio Yacob (Racing Club de Avellaneda, free)
Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea, loan)
Yassine El Ghanassy (AA Gent, loan)
Goran Popov (Dynamo Kiev, loan)
Out
Keith Andrews (Bolton, free)
Joe Mattock (Sheffield Wednesday, free)
Nicky Shorey (Reading, free)
Marton Fulop (Astera Tripolis, free)
Somen Tchoyi (released)
Paul Scharner (released)
Simon Cox (Nottingham Forest, undisclosed)
As expected Steve Clarke has utilised his extensive connections in the game to bring in bright young prospects on loan. Lukaku has an important season ahead while the arrival of long-term Chelsea target El Ghanassy is an intriguing proposition. The key thing for the Baggies this summer however was to retain their best players, particularly Odenwingie, and the fact they have done so bodes well for the campaign ahead.
Verdict – Winners
Matt Jarvis.
West Ham United
In
Matt Jarvis (Wolves, £10.75m)
Modibo Maiga (Sochaux, £5m)
Alou Diarra (Marseille, £2m)
James Collins (Aston Villa, undisclosed)
Stephen Henderson (Portsmouth, undisclosed)
George McCartney (Sunderland, undisclosed)
Raphael Spiegel (Grasshoppers, undisclosed)
Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton, free)
Mohamed Diame (Wigan, free)
Andy Carroll (Liverpool, loan)
Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea, loan)
Out
Robert Green (QPR, free)
Julien Faubert (Elazigspor, free)
Frank Nouble (Wolves, free)
Freddie Sears (Colchester, free)
Abdoulaye Faye (Hull, free)
John Carew (released)
Papa Bouba Diop (released)
Ravel Morrison (Birmingham, loan)
Sam Baldock (Bristol City, undisclosed)
Allardyce is deserving of credit for the ruthless manner in which he has overhauled the Hammers’ squad despite them getting out of a fiercely competitive Championship. Big reputations have counted for very little as under-achievers have been pruned while Big Sam has looked to bring some proven top flight fare to East London. Granted his targets have been thoroughly predictable but that doesn’t take away from their quality. Collins will shore things up at the back, Diame will do similar in the middle of the park but its going forward where the promise lies. Benayoun’s busy scheming improves West Ham considerably while Matt Jarvis is a criminally under-rated winger who can ping crosses onto a plate. If only he had a powerful international class targetman with a point to prove who revels in being the cult hero to a tribal following to serve up his variety of pinpoint deliveries to. Yup West Ham will be all right.
Verdict – Winners
Wigan Athletic
In
Arouna Kone (Levante, undisclosed)
Ryo Miyaichi (Arsenal, loan)
Ivan Ramis (Real Mallorca, undisclosed)
Fraser Fyvie (Aberdeen, undisclosed)
Out
Chris Kirkland (Sheffield Wednesday, free)
Mohamed Diame (West Ham, free)
Hugo Rodallega (Fulham, free)
Hendry Thomas (released)
Steve Gohouri (released)
Jordan Robinson (released)
Victor Moses (Chelsea, £9m)
The Latics will hope that Kone transfers his Spanish firepower to the Prem while Ramis is a centre-back very much in Roberto Martinez’ vision of how football should be played.
The losses of Rodellega and Moses however are substantial for a club who already struggled for quality up front while Diame will be sorely missed.
Verdict – Losers
