From Barcelona and Arsenal to Ronaldo and Ajax: Winners and losers of the summer transfer window

The summer transfer window has officially shut closed and it was another crazy market, with plenty of surprising deals, frantic deadline surprises, some huge moves, and some unexpected ones. 

Only after the dust settles will the verdict be out, whether the players signed by clubs end up being a hit or miss. That being said, while some clubs had a spectacular time shopping, others didn’t. 

Without further ado, let’s dive into the mix and take a look at the winners and losers of the summer transfer window 2022. 

Winner – Manchester City

Not only did Manchester City solve their striker dilemma by selling Gabriel Jesus, and signing Erling Haaland, as well as Julian Alvarez, but they also added depth in other areas, with Kalvin Philipps expected to fill in the boots of Fernandinho.

Manuel Akanji will provide cover to Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias, while Sergio Gomez and Stefan Ortega will act as valuable backup options across their respective positions. 

All these impressive deals and the Sky Blues can still boast of a positive net spend of nearly +£19.98m as per reports. Do we need to reiterate, just how efficiently this club is run?

Loser – Cristiano Ronaldo

The biggest talking point of the summer perhaps, Cristiano Ronaldo was angling for a move away from Manchester United all summer, but every single club he was linked to, rejected the chance to sign the Portuguese ace. 

A player who has won five Champions League titles, Ronaldo was unwilling to spend the fag end of his career in the Europa League, but partly due to his astronomical salary, and partly down to his age as well, he wasn’t the most attractive proposition in the market. Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich, are just some of the clubs that were linked however, nothing materialised, and in the end, we will have to witness Mr Champions League playing in the Europa League. 

Winner – Barcelona

FC Barcelona pulled off a major heist in the summer. The Blaugrana knee-deep in debt, signed Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Robert Lewandowski, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen and Hector Bellerin. The club had some trouble trying to register all those players, but in the end, they were able to add some serious firepower to their already impressive roster. 

If the Catalans were not among the frontrunners to displace Real Madrid as the La Liga champs, the kind of summer window they had, surely the league title is theirs to lose. 

Loser – Chelsea

For a club of Chelsea’s stature, the signings they’ve made in the summer when compared to the players who’ve left, one can argue that they’re actually weaker after the end of the transfer window. 

First off, the situation surrounding the new ownership and Roman Abramovich’s ban left the club with a lot of ground to make up. 

Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella are good players, but they will need time to settle, and until then Chelsea will have to make do with a new-look back four.

Winner – Arsenal

Five games, five wins, Gabriel Jesus is in red-hot form, and Arsenal sits at the top of the Premier League table. Thanks to some exceptional work in the summer window, fans in North London are already dreaming of going all the way!

Jesus has hit the ground running at Highbury, Oleksandr Zinchenko will give the Gunners some depth at left-back, and Fabio Viera will bring more creativity to the young side. All in all a big thumbs up to Mikel Arteta and the higher-ups at the Emirates. 

Loser – Frenkie de Jong

A prolonged transfer saga that never saw daylight, Manchester United’s pursuit of Frenkie de Jong was again, among the biggest talking points of the summer. 

While Barcelona’s stance was clear in public – they didn’t want to sell the Dutchman, but behind the scenes, they wanted to. In the end, he stays put at Camp Nou, and there have been reports of him having some crunch talks with the club to reduce his salary. 

Sure Champions League football may have played a key role in the former Ajax star’s decision, but one can wonder if he would have been on a much better wage packet at Old Trafford, and a darling of Erik Ten Hag too!

Winner – Nottingham Forest

19- That’s how many signings Nottingham Forest has made in the summer. It’s almost as if they won promotion to the Premier League and the coach was given a blank cheque by the ownership. 

Apart from the quantity of those $170 million spent in an insane shopping spree, there’s a lot of quality as well, which could yet help them stay up at the end of the season. Dean Henderson, Neco Williams, Jesse Lingard, Remo Freuler, and Renan Lodi make up for some shrewd acquisitions, as Forest hopes to prolong their stay in the top flight beyond the ongoing season. 

Loser – Ajax

Another summer window has passed and another season of the rebuild will follow at Ajax.  Antony, Lisandro Martinez, and Sebastian Haller headline the departures, while Steven Bergwijn, Owen Wijndal, and Lucas Ocampos have all joined the Johan Cryuff Arena outfit.

As is the case often, the Dutch club have been raided by the superpowers of world footballing, but one thing is for sure, the never-ending talent factory will churn out many more future superstars soon.