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Summer transfer window 2026: Manchester United&Tottenham Hotspur fluff their lines

The Premier League gravy train showed no sign of slowing down this summer, with clubs continuing to spend extravagantly during the transfer window.

However, some of the biggest spenders will be concerned that their huge outlay on new players has failed to deliver the desired results early in the season.

With that in mind, read on as we look at the top signings made this summer before assessing some of the biggest hits and misses.

**Player**

**From**

**To**

**Fee**

Enzo Fernandez

Chelsea

Manchester City

€145.00m

Morgan Rogers

Aston Villa

Chelsea

€138.00m

Elliot Anderson

Nottingham Forest

Manchester City

€135.00m

Bradley Barcola

Paris Saint-Germain

Liverpool

€125.00m

Sandro Tonali

Newcastle United

Tottenham Hotspur

€108.00m

Mateus Fernandes

West Ham United

Tottenham Hotspur

€99.00m

Ayyoub Bouaddi

Lille

Manchester City

€95.00m

Savio

Manchester City

Tottenham Hotspur

€87.70m

Bruno Guimaraes

Newcastle United

Arsenal

€87.50m

Carlos Baleba

Brighton & Hove Albion

Manchester United

€75.90m

Iliman Ndiaye

Everton

Manchester City

€70.00m

Jeremy Jacquet

Stade Rennais

Liverpool

€63.60m

Maxence Lacroix

Crystal Palace

Chelsea

€60.70m

Jan Paul van Hecke

Brighton & Hove Albion

Tottenham Hotspur

€60.00m

Johan Manzambi

Freiburg

Aston Villa

€60.00m

Matias Fernandez-Pardo

Lille

Newcastle United

€60.00m

Ezri Konsa

Aston Villa

Arsenal

€59.60m

Marco Palestra

Atalanta

Chelsea

€57.00m

Andrey Santos

Chelsea

Manchester United

€56.30m

Nico Gonzalez

Manchester City

Newcastle United

€56.00m

Nicolas Jackson

Chelsea

Aston Villa

€55.50m

Ibrahim Mbaye

Paris Saint-Germain

Aston Villa

€55.00m

Luka Vuskovic

Tottenham Hotspur

Brighton & Hove Albion

€54.00m

Liam Delap

Chelsea

Nottingham Forest

€52.50m

Geovany Quenda

Sporting CP

Chelsea

€50.00m

Bazoumana Toure

Hoffenheim

Newcastle United

€50.00m

Mamadou Sangare

RC Lens

Brentford

€48.00m

James Trafford

Manchester City

Leeds United

€46.70m

Youri Tielemans

Aston Villa

Manchester United

€41.00m

El Hadji Malick Diouf

West Ham United

Brentford

€40.80m

The Red Devils finally embarked on their long-awaited midfield rebuild this summer, but the early signs have not been promising.

Youri Tielemans has failed to live up to expectations since moving from Aston Villa, while Carlos Baleba has yet to make his debut due to an ankle injury.

Brazil international [Andrey Santos](https://footballtoday.com/2026/07/08/manchester-united-agree-50m-deal-for-chelsea-midfielder-andrey-santos/) also joined the club from Chelsea as a long-term replacement for compatriot Casemiro. He has been woeful.

The 22-year-old started in defeats against Hull City and Brighton & Hove Albion, and has been restricted to just 42 minutes in his other appearances combined.

There is still time for United’s new midfield to click, but they need it to happen sooner rather than later after an underwhelming start to the campaign.

United’s early struggles have been overshadowed by [Tottenham](https://footballtoday.com/2026/08/18/tottenham-hotspur-2026-27-premier-league-preview-spending-spree-may-not-deliver-the-desired-results/), who are bottom of the table after five games (D2, L3).

After spending more than €200 million on midfielders Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, Tottenham were touted as potential top-four contenders by some pundits.

Manager Roberto De Zerbi has yet to get a tune out of the duo, and they need to improve massively over the next few months.

The same point applies to Jan Paul van Hecke, who has struggled to get to grips with the demands of playing for a so-called ‘Big Six’ club.

His defensive reading of the game has been extremely poor, and Spurs may ultimately regret sacrificing Luka Vuskovic to sign him.

Brighton & Hove Albion capitalised on Tottenham’s questionable transfer strategy by replacing Van Hecke with Croatian defender Luka Vuskovic.

Vuskovic never made a first-team appearance at Tottenham, but showcased his talent during an excellent loan spell with Hamburg in the Bundesliga.

The 19-year-old has been a regular starter for the Seagulls since joining them this summer. His form has helped Brighton climb to third in the Premier League.

He has adapted well to different systems and is another shrewd acquisition for a club that rarely makes mistakes in the transfer market.

That point also applies to Brentford, whose ability to identify talented players they can sell on for a significant profit is uncanny.

Mamadou Sangare is the latest work in progress for the Bees following his summer move from Ligue 1 club Lens. The Mali international looks destined for big things.

His all-action display on the opening weekend left Tottenham’s new-look midfield chasing shadows, and he has continued to impress since then.

Based on their early-season form, a strong argument can be made for suggesting that Man United missed a trick by overlooking Sangare this summer.

James Trafford (Leeds United) and Jeremy Jacquet (Liverpool) are other summer signings who have made a strong start with their respective clubs.

Trafford has conceded just three goals in five league games for Leeds, while Jacquet has added stability to a Liverpool defence which floundered last season.

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