Summer transfer window: Assessing Man Utd, Liverpool and Chelsea’s transfer business

The 2024-25 summer transfer window officially drew to a close on Friday night with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool making some reinforcements.

For United, they addressed the most susceptible area of their squad where they suffered from last season by making defensive acquisitions.

Chelsea on the other hand continued their bet on youngsters while also focusing primarily on wingers.

Liverpool had a quietly busy summer, with their outgoings making more headlines than the incomings.

Football Talk brings you an assessment of the transfer activities of the three clubs in the recently concluded summer transfer window.

Manchester United

After a season of mixed results, fans who buy Man Utd tickets entered the new campaign with high hopes of improving on domestic and European performances.

They bolstered their squad with a few key signings, yet the start to the season has been poor with losses to Brighton and Liverpool, while their opening day victory against Fulham is their only win in three games.

A major defensive revamp was the priority at Old Trafford this summer. This is evident from the double signings of centre-back Matthijs de Ligt and full-back Noussair Mazraoui, both acquired in a £60m deal from Bayern Munich, along with Leny Yoro’s £58m move from Lille.

Additionally, Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee joined from Bologna, bringing his growing reputation to strengthen Erik Ten Hag’s attacking options.

United also secured two transfers on Deadline Day: Sekou Kone from Guidars FC and Manuel Ugarte, who was signed from Paris Saint-Germain for £51m.

Kone first caught United’s eye during the Under-17 World Cup last November, where the future talent scouting team closely monitored his performances, according to a report from the Athletic.

Following numerous reports highlighting his displays at the tournament, he was recognized as a player of considerable potential

For Ugarte, his addition comes in timely with Casemiro underperforming so far with the loss to Liverpool being the highlight where he gave away the ball twice that led to goal.

With the addition of Ugarte, United have successfully reinforced the three key positions they prioritized at the start of the transfer window: centre-back, centre-forward, and central midfield.

Outgoings

Academy graduates, Mason Greenwood and Willy Kambwala moved to Olympique Marseille and Villarreal respectively with both young talents seeking more playing time and development opportunities.

Additionally, Alvaro Carreras departed for Benfica, and Donny van de Beek ended his chaotic spell at Old Trafford with a permanent transfer to Laliga side, Girona.

Raphael Varane, Anthony Martial, Shola Shoretire, and Brandon Williams all exited the club to make room for new signings.

Sofyan Amrabat’s loan spell concluded, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka departed for West Ham United in a £15m deal after five years at Old Trafford.

In the later stages of the transfer window, Facundo Pellistri joined Panathinaikos, Shola Shoretire moved permanently to PAOK, and Scott McTominay transferred to Napoli.

Chelsea

Chelsea’s summer transfer window was marked by a whirlwind of activity as the club sought to strengthen their squad and address crucial areas. The Blues made several notable signings while also parting ways with some long-serving players.

Their transfer strategy, however, sparked confusion and debate. At one stage, the squad had swelled to over 40 players with nearly half training apart from Enzo Maresca’s main group.

Although the club eventually managed to trim the roster, their unconventional approach left fans divided and many pundits baffled.

While the club’s strategy is not completely agreeable among the fanbase, it is evident that the club’s hierarchy is committed to a strategy centred around acquiring some of the best young talents worldwide, to develop them into top-tier players for the first team or sell them for profit.

This summer has underscored this approach, as Chelsea secured several highly promising players under the age of 21, including Omari Kellyman (18), Aaron Anselmino (19), Renato Veiga (20), Caleb Wiley (19), Marc Guiu (18), Mike Penders (19) and Estevao Willian (17).

To balance the youth influx with experience, 26-year-old Tosin Adarabioyo was brought in on a free transfer from Fulham, offering proven Premier League experience to the defence.

Additionally, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall reunited with his former Leicester manager, Enzo Maresca, in a deal valued at up to £35.4m.

Chelsea also highlighted the need to acquire an efficient ball-playing goalkeeper to provide competition for Robert Sanchez by signing Danish goalkeeper, Filip Jorgensen from Villarreal.

Blues fans woke up to some surprise transfer reports on Monday, August 12, when Pedro Neto when Chelsea struck an agreement with Wolverhampton Wanderers to sign Pedro Neto in a £54m deal.

Chelsea also pulled out from the transfer of Atletico Madrid’s Samu Omorodion despite reaching an agreement with Atletico Madrid. Instead, the club negotiated for the return of Joao Felix to Stamford Bridge on a permanent transfer.

Just when it seemed their transfer window dealings were over, Chelsea secured Jadon Sancho on deadline day with a loan deal that includes an obligation to sign him permanently next summer.

What is deadline day for Chelsea without drama and scuffles? The club’s contingent was locked in negotiations with Victor Osimhen’s camp to agree to a wage structure that would see the Nigerian international earn less than his current salary at Napoli.

However, a move failed to materialize with the 25-year-old remaining at Naples.

Outgoings

Chelsea saw several significant departures during the summer of 2024. Among the most notable was academy graduate Conor Gallagher, who left the club, as did Romelu Lukaku completed a permanent move to Napoli on a permanent deal.

The departure of veteran defender Thiago Silva on a free transfer marked the end of an era at the club where his experience was invaluable in helping the club through daunting times.

Additionally, Chelsea also sold promising youngsters Lewis Hall and Ian Maatsen for a combined fee of over £60 million, signalling their readiness to cash in on their youth talent.

Additionally, Omari Hutchinson, Malang Sarr, and Hakim Ziyech also left the club, while goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga completed a loan move to Bournemouth.

Deadline day at Stamford Bridge was indeed eventful, as Todd Boehly and his team worked to balance Enzo Maresca’s squad by offloading several sidelined players. Raheem Sterling was transferred to Arsenal, and Trevoh Chalobah also joined Crystal Palace both on loan deals.

Meanwhile, Ben Chilwell, David Datro Fofana, and Harvey Vale found themselves in limbo, with their futures uncertain as they remained at Cobham.

Liverpool

The arrival of Arne Slot at Anfield created a puzzle about what the manager would bring to the club after a successful spell under Jürgen Klopp.

The Dutch manager has proven that his unbeaten preseason run was not a mere fluke as he has won all three Premier League matches without conceding any goal.

The Merseyside club had a fairly quiet transfer window which raised some eyebrows at the club but that optimism looks to have died down following a string of impressive performances.

The club lost out on the signature of Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad as the Spaniard opted to remain with the San Sebastián outfit.

Nonetheless, Liverpool did manage to add a few new faces to their squad, while a large part of first-team regulars from last season remained.

Liverpool’s summer transfer activity started with the signing of goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia for £29m. The Georgia international will remain with the Laliga outfit for the rest of the season and is tipped to become Liverpool’s future number-one when Alisson leaves.

They also secured the signing of Federico Chiesa from Juventus for £11m to bolster their attacking ranks and the Italian pace and creativity would make him a menace for opposition defenders.

Outgoings

Liverpool saw some significant outgoings and they made a relatively amount of money from player sales.

Fabio Carvalho was sold to Brentford for £27.5m after an initial £15m offer was rejected, while Sepp van den Berg also moved to Brentford for £25m, surpassing his previous £20m valuation.

Bobby Clark’s transfer to Red Bull Salzburg, influenced by his desire to reunite with Pepijn Lijnders, involved three rejected offers before a £10m deal was finalized. This agreement included a 17.5 per cent sell-on clause reminiscent of the approach taken with Carvalho and Van den Berg.

Liverpool successfully retained Caoimhin Kelleher and Joe Gomez, despite earlier speculation about their departures.

Liverpool bid farewell to significant figures like Thiago Alcantara and Joel Matip – who both left the club after their contracts expired. Thiago retired from football and shifted to coaching, while Matip became a free agent.

Calvin Ramsay was loaned out to Wigan Athletic, and backup goalkeeper Adrian departed to rejoin Real Betis.