There were some clear winners from the Premier League in the 2026 summer transfer window
The dust has finally settled on an exhilarating 2026 summer transfer window. One that was full of daring hijacks, bargain free deals, massive overspends and last-gasp decisions. The Premier League as a whole spent close to £3.5 billion pounds, with the previous summer’s record smashed once again as the wild inflation of fees continues at a formidable pace.
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It wasn’t all a case of success stories, either. We’ve already had our say on the Premier League clubs who had the worst summer windows this year - Aston Villa merrily handed over their Europa League winning spine almost entirely to Premier League rivals, while Everton faffed about for three months and ended up with the most threadbare squad in the division.
With the window now firmly shut and the key hastily stuffed into a junk drawer until January, clubs will now either be toasting their genius decisions or looking crestfallen around the dressing room, burdened with the troubling reality that they can do nothing about the braying herd of footballing donkeys they’ve somehow accumulated until the first chimes of the 2027 ring out.
As agents count their piles of questionably earned cash and new signings have their people heave luxury furniture from one mansion to another, we’ve taken a look at the five Premier League clubs who smashed the 2026 summer window.
Who had the best summer transfer window?
New Chelsea signing Morgan Rogers has slotted into the side with easeplaceholder image
New Chelsea signing Morgan Rogers has slotted into the side with ease | Getty Images
There are 115 reasons why it’s not exactly a delight to see Manchester City romp another transfer window, but nonetheless, here we are. With Pep Guardiola sailing off into the sunset and replaced with a brand new papa in Enzo Maresca, the Citizens wasted no time cracking on with their latest era, spending a whopping £440m on new players.
It’s just about how much money was spent, however. They navigated the inevitable exit of Rodri with aplomb, rebuilding their entire midfield with an attention to detail akin to a grand châteaux restoration project. Comparatively, Man United’s attempts to do exactly the same thing resembled Homer Simpson’s infamous attempt to build a flatpack barbecue.
Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi were two superb signings, and finally capturing World Cup villain Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea was the icing on the cake. They managed to move on squad players like Nico Gonzalez and Tijjani Reijnders for significant sums of money, and capped things off by snatching Iliman Ndiaye from Spurs’ grasp. All in all, a masterclass.
Down in West London, Chelsea finally abandoned their ludicrous strategy of signing expensive teenagers - seemingly regardless of their position or current ability - hurling them into a massively bloated squad and expecting them to compete in the toughest league in world football. It only took the owners four years to realise the absurdity of their vision.
New manager Xabi Alonso was the first boss under the BlueCo regime to be given any real power when it came to recruitment, and he made it clear that he needed the one thing the squad massively lacked: experience. In came Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace, along with £117m blockbuster signing Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa.
Rivals scoffed at the acquisition of veteran duo Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson, but when you consider that several members of the side genuinely had an on-field fight over who would take a penalty in 2024, you can see why leaders were desperately needed. Other impressive signings arrived in the form Serie A Defender of the Year Marco Palestra, and the data-driven purchase of Real Vallecano’s Pep Chavarria.
Perhaps most importantly, Chelsea finally accepted they had a serious problem in goal - albeit not until Robert Sanchez bowed out with a final disaster-class in the season opener against Fulham. Emi Martinez was almost the perfect replacement, bringing the experience and composure on the ball that the Blues’ ramshackle defence desperately needed.
Spurs, Leeds United and Brentford also impress
Mamadou Sangare has made a sensational start to his Brentford careerplaceholder image
Mamadou Sangare has made a sensational start to his Brentford career | Getty Images
Tottenham, having come so close to relegation - they owe Aston Villa a massive favour for the way they approached that late-season clash - came absolutely flying out of the blocks this summer. They completely overhauled their defence, picking up Andy Robertson and Marco Senesi for bargain free agent deals, before adding Jan Paul van Hecke for £52m.
Defence sorted, and it was on to the midfield. In came statement signing Sandro Tonali for a whopping £100m, alongside a real salt in the wound, £85m purchase of West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes - he was wrenched from their grasp as the Hammers went tumbling into the fiery depths of Championship, while Spurs looked on coyly fanning themselves with wads of cash.
Wingers were needed, and £85m was slapped down on Man City’s table to take Savio, who then went on to score just eleven minutes into his Spurs debut. His teammate Omar Marmoush joined him. Things then did get just a little bit weird on Deadline Day, as Tottenham decided to bring in Chelsea flop defender Tosin Adarabioyi of the aforementioned barn fire defence, and Mykalo Mudryk, who hasn’t played a professional game of football since November 2024.
What’s really notable is how Tottenham had a clear strategy to only sign players from the Premier League - this saw them both weaken their rivals, and bring in talent who’ve already proved they have what it takes to cut it at the highest level. Of course, Spurs have started the season poorly, but once the squad gels, they could be a force to be reckoned with.
Meanwhile, Brentford’s recruitment team appear to have done it again by signing Mamadou Sangare for £39m, who already looks like a sensational bit of business. He’s added some serious dynamism to their midfield, and looks every bit a Premier League player already. Expect a ‘big six’ club to buy him for £100m within the next couple of seasons.
Sangare aside, the busy Bees buzzed their way through the window as they usually do, picking up top talent for sensible prices. Snatching El Hadji Malick Diouf from West Ham looks like another inspired move - why on earth did Arsenal or Manchester United not go for him? Brentford got their business done fast, and held on to their top stars too.
Leeds United also deserve plenty of credit, beating Newcastle United and others to the signing of Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford, who was nothing short of crestfallen when he joined the Citizens as their new number one last year, only for the towering Gianluigi Donnarumma to pinch his gloves just over a month into the job.
They also won the race to sign goal and assist demon Harry Wilson, whose signing continued the Yorkshire club’s intriguing side-quest of seemingly attempting to field the entire Wales national side as a Premier League team. On top of that, they nabbed some quality squad players, plus powerhouse defender Tarik Muharemovic for a highly reasonable £34m.
Read more:Five experiences less painful than watching Chelsea - including warrior wasp stings and flatpack furniture