Transfer Window Takeaway: Did the EPL lose or gain this summer?

By on September 1, 2014

So much that goes on in the transfer window is scrutinized thoroughly – is he worth this; will he move there; is he good enough for this club; where will he fit in at that club.   Every more made by every Premier League club is to some extent all over the papers.  Clubs’ goals and seasons are often defined by their transfer windows.  And though the window has officially shut the opinion in it has hardly ceased to circulate.  Did this club do well? Did that club find everybody they needed?

But there is one question that hardly gains any coverage – did the Premier League gain as a whole over the summer?  Much of the dealings go on between Premier League clubs, but another large portion sees English clubs trading with foreign teams.  The Premier League lost a lot of players, but gained just as many talented ones.

First off, in some of the first major moves of the summer, the Premier League lost two of its best and most valuable players; David Luiz departed from Chelsea to Paris Saint-Germain and Luis Suarez left Liverpool for Barcelona.  Yet for every Suarez there is a Falcao, who moved to Manchester United on loan from Monaco, with an option of a permanent transfer at the end of the season.  And to replace Luiz in comes Toby Alderweireld on loan from Atletico Madrid, plus Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo.   Mario Balotelli also came back to England and joined Liverpool over the summer, though Javier Hernandez left Manchester United on a loan move to Real Madrid.   Yet even more big names joined – Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, Alexis Sanchez and Angel Di Maria all came from Spain into starring roles for Chelsea and Manchester United, respectively.  It was hardly a bad summer for the Premier League.  And those four players perhaps tip the balance in the Premier League’s favor, for hardly any more big name players left.  Perhaps you could call Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona one, or Shinji Kagawa to Borussia Dortmund, but that hardly dents a league that gained Costa, Fabregas, Sanchez, Di Maria, Balotelli, and Falcao, though it may be losses to Arsenal and Manchester United.

Alvaro Negredo and Fernando Torres both left, granted they are still tied to their Premier League clubs as their respective deals to Valencia and AC Milan were both loan moves.  As was Micah Richards move to Fiorentina from Manchester City, and Marko Van Ginkel’s loan to AC Milan.  Yet the league didn’t lose many of their best young prospects although Luke Shaw traded hands between two English clubs, Southampton and Manchester United.  If anything they gained more as Belgian World Cup star Divock Origi moved to Liverpool from French club Lille, United States’ full-back and winger DeAndre Yedlin found himself moving to Tottenham Hotspur after a breakthrough summer in Brazil, and Spanish international Alberto Moreno left Spain for Liverpool.

And while aging giants such as Ashley Cole, Pepe Reina, and Patrice Evra all moved to Italy, but 2006 World Cup winner Esteban Cambiasso went the other way by moving to Leicester City, and Didier Drogba’s return to Chelsea almost offset all those losses by itself anyway.  Niche and star players for mid-table clubs like Swansea City also left, with Michu and Lewis Holtby both leaving the league, for Napoli and Hamburg respectively.  Yet where there is a Suarez there is a Falcao, and Ander Herrera moved to Manchester United from Athletic Bilbao, Alex Song joined West Ham United from Barcelona, Swansea sealed the signing of Colombia World Cup star Jefferson Montero, Enner Valencia, who played alongside Montero this summer, joined West Ham, yet another Colombian, David Ospina, joined Arsenal from Nice, and Filipe Luis moved from Madrid (the Atletico half, that is) to Chelsea.  *…And breath…*  Oh, wait – and Georgios Samaras moved to West Ham from Celtic, while reborn former Barcelona star, still only 23, Bojan Krkic moved to Stoke City, and alongside him Marko Arnautović also joined The Potters.

It is quite clear that the Premier League lost some of its best players.  Yet this summer, it gained even more like Falcao, Di Maria, Sanchez, Costa, and Fabregas in return.  It still remains the most valuable league by more than a billion Euros, according to data published by Transfermarkt.  Now that the transfer window is over and all the deals are done there will be much less whining about the loss to Luiz and commemorating the times of Suarez, rather, looking ahead at that to come.

Key Departures

Luis Suarez – to Barcelona from Liverpool
Pepe Reina – to Bayern Munich from Liverpool
Javier Hernandez – LOAN – to Real Madrid from Manchester United
Shinji Kagawa – to Borussia Dortmund from Manchester United
Patrice Evra – to Juventus from Manchester United
Alvaro Negredo – LOAN – to Valencia from Manchester City
Micah Richards – LOAN – to Fiorentina from Manchester City
David Luiz – to Paris Saint-Germain from Chelsea
Marco Van Ginkel – LOAN – to AC Milan from Chelsea
Fernando Torres – LOAN – to AC Milan from Chelsea
Ashley Cole – to Roma from Chelsea
Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona from Arsenal
Lewis Holtby – LOAN – to Hamburg from Tottenham Hotspur
Michu – LOAN – to Napoli from Swansea City

Key Arrivals

Diego Costa – to Chelsea from Atletico Madrid
Cesc Fabregas – to Chelsea from Barcelona
Filipe Luis – to Chelsea from Atletico Madrid
Didier Drogba – to Chelsea from Galatasaray
Angel Di Maria – to Manchester United from Real Madrid
Falcao – LOAN – to Manchester United from Monaco
Daley Blind – to Manchester United from Ajax
Marcos Rojo – to Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon
Ander Herrera – to Manchester United from Athletic Bilbao
Alexis Sanchez – to Arsenal from Barcelona
David Ospina – to Arsenal from Nice
Mario Balotelli – to Liverpool from AC Milan
Alberto Moreno – to Liverpool from Sevilla
Divock Origi – to Liverpool from Lille
Toby Alderweireld – LOAN – to Southampton from Atletico Madrid
DeAndre Yedlin – to Tottenham Hotspur from Seattle Sounders
Jefferson Montero – to Swansea City from Morelia
Bojan Krkic – to Stoke City from Barcelona
Enner Valencia – to West Ham United from Pachuca
Alex Song – to West Ham United from Barcelona
Esteban Cambiasso – to Leicester City from Internazionale
Georgios Samaras – to West Bromwich Albion from Celtic

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.