Rebuilding For The New Season: Which Premier League Transfer Window Has Been Better?

Rebuilding For The New Season: Which Premier League Transfer Window Has Been Better?

Chandler Milligan

After a lacklustre 2024/25 campaign for every team but Liverpool, it’s all hands on deck as England’s finest prepare to do it all again in the new season.

For Liverpool, the goal is to defend their crown. For Arsenal, they need to break a treble of second-place finishes, and for Manchester City, it’s time to return to the top of the food chain.

Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest will all be contesting a place in Europe, while Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are looking to rise again after two of the worst Premier League campaigns in their history.

The seven biggest clubs in England have been busy rebuilding ahead of the 2025/26 season: here’s how we’re ranking their transfer windows so far.

7. Newcastle United

It’s been a painful window for Newcastle United, who, despite wanting to improve after their fifth-place finish last season, have instead been plundered during the transfer window.

Sean Longstaff, Callum Wilson, and Lloyd Kelly have all departed the club, while star striker Alexander Isak has publicly declared his desire to leave amidst rumours of a move to Liverpool.

Aaron Ramsdale joined on loan in a move that won’t excite many, and for Newcastle fans, the only cause for excitement has been the recruitment of Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest.

Newcastle are eying Benjamin Sesko as a replacement for Isak, but it looks more likely that the Leipzig forward will favour a move to Manchester United instead.

6. Tottenham Hotspur

Ange Postecoglou out the door, and now Son Heung-min to follow, and somehow, 17th-place Spurs look worse than last season.

Their Europa League trophy sounded the end of a trophy drought that lasted from 2008 to 2025, and with Champions League football (somehow) secured for this season, they will want to make sure they are challenging for those European places again.

Sergio Reguilon and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg depart, with Timo Werner’s loan ending too, but it isn’t all doom & gloom. Spurs have made some mature signings so far.

Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso both joined on permanent deals after short-term loans last season. A defender and a winger who will both add balance to the squad.

The loan signing of Joao Palhinha from Bayern Munich should fortify their midfield while providing cover for their often-under-pressure defence, and while they missed out on Morgan Gibbs-White, they successfully landed Mohammed Kudus from West Ham. A future fan-favourite, for sure.

Still, without a reliable striker and with their talisman out the door, it’s hard to picture them making any major progress next season.

5. Manchester United

If there’s one team in Europe in desperate need of a good transfer window, it’s Manchester United.

While questions are still humming around the futures of Antony, Jadon Sancho, and Alejandro Garnacho, they have managed to offload Marcus Rashford for a year, while clearing out space with Christian Eriksen, Jonny Evans, and Victor Lindelof all departing the club.

Their strikers aren’t striking, and they haven’t signed a proper nine yet, but Bryan Mbeumo represents potentially their first reliable winger after signing from Brentford with great numbers.

Matheus Cunha, who operates primarily as an attacking midfielder, will add firepower in the final third as the Red Devils look to bounce back after one of their worst campaigns in history.

The window is still open, and Manchester United are still a few signings shy of being a competitive top-six side in the 2025/25 season. A true finisher (like Sesko) is a must if they want to bounce back to their former glory.

4. Manchester City

For a side that became synonymous with spending big under Pep Guardiola, the Cityzens had a lacklustre 2024/25 window headlined by the return of Ilkay Gundogan from FC Barcelona after just one season.

They followed that ordinary window with an ordinary season that saw them lift nothing but a Community Shield at the start of the season. Now, they’re back to business.

While the departures of club legends Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker signal the end of an era, the signing of Rayan Cherki from Lyon will add fresh ideas to their creative attack.

Rayan Ait Nouri promises flair in the fullback role, while the highly-regarded Tijjani Reijnders joins their powerful midfield from AC Milan. James Trafford brings talent between the sticks, joining Manchester City despite strong competition, and while their window is not over yet, the Sky Blues are on the right track to regaining their Premier League crown.

3. Chelsea

UEFA Conference League winners and FIFA Club World Cup Champions have continued their ruthless spree of signing and discarding players like it’s FIFA Ultimate Team.

Because one can never have too many wingers, Chelsea have reinforced the flanks with Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund. And since the lack of a proper nine (Jackson isn’t that guy, sorry) hindered them last season, the Blues have upgraded with Liam Delap and Joao Pedro.

While offloading some of their dead wood over to Arsenal again, Chelsea fortified their defence with Jorrel Hato from Ajax.

Their roster is still stacked beyond reason, and it’s going to take a few more outgoing transfers for the team to all fit in the same dressing room with enough space. They seem to have recruited well so far this window.

Given their successful end to last season, Chelsea will be eager to up the stakes this season, and with a striker capable of hitting the target, they should be capable of challenging for a place in the top four.

2. Arsenal

After three consecutive second-place finishes, Mikel Arteta finally has his man.

Viktor Gyokeres arrives from Sporting Lisbon, and after years of crying out for a pure striker, Arsenal’s prayers have been answered.

A necessary clearout has taken place, with nine players departing Emirates Stadium. Takehiro Tomiyasu, Nuno Tavares, Raheem Sterling (loan), Kieran Tierney, and Jorginho have all left the club, giving the Gunners room to bolster their squad in key areas.

Martin Zubimendi, a long-term target of the club, joined at last from Real Sociedad, while Noni Madueke signed from Chelsea to improve their attacking depth. The young Christian Mosquera signs from Valencia to provide depth in the centre of defence, and Kepa Arrizabalaga arrives as backup to his fellow countryman, David Raya.

Defensive midfielder Christian Norgaard signs from Brentford, ensuring Arsenal have adequate depth across all areas of the pitch. It’s Phase 7 at Arsenal, and this time they have everything they need to challenge for the title.

1. Liverpool

It’s hard to argue with Liverpool this window.

If there’s one way to show that you mean business on the back of winning the Premier League, it’s this.

Over €300 million spent in a dream transfer window that feels fitting of FIFA Career Mode, and improvements (or reinforcements) in every area of the pitch.

The crown jewel is Florian Wirtz, one of the brightest prospects in Europe, who signs from Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 22 after six seasons at the club and a famous treble under Xabi Alonso.

With eight new additions so far, the Reds didn’t miss a beat in replacing Trent Alexander-Arnold after his move to Real Madrid, signing Jeremie Frimpong.

Giorgi Mamardashvili joins from Valencia as a backup goalkeeper, replacing the outgoing Caoimhin Kelleher, and French sensation Hugo Ekitike joins the Liverpool strike-force in a big-money move from Frankfurt.

Luis Dias departed for Bayern Munich, and with heavy links to Newcastle United’s wantaway Alexander Isak, it’s hard to imagine a more deadly attacking side in Europe this season.