08.09.2013 Another transfer window came to an end and we looked at the highlights of the 2013 transfer window and the activities by each club. A grand total of £630 million was spent by Premier League clubs. Here is the overview:
Arsenal
Undoubtedly one of the most impressive transfers of the 2013 summer transfer window was the signing of Mesut Özil. The German international joined the Gunners from Real Madrid for a fee of £42.4 million. In what had looked to be another poor window for the club, with only free transfers coming in, Arsene Wenger left it late to splash the cash in bringing in one of the worlds top players. This window also saw Mathieu Flamini returned to the club after spending 5 years in Milan.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa brought in a number of young talented players this window. Kozak, Luna and Okore are all impressive signings made by the club, however, the major thing Villa did this window was manage to hold on to striker Christian Benteke. At certain points throughout the window it looked as if the Belgium international wanted to leave Villa Park, but the club were able to change his mind and secure him on a new contract until 2017.
Cardiff City
The Premier League new boys didn’t hold back this summer, spending around £30 million pounds to improve their already impressive squad. Big money was spent on players such as Gary Medel, Steven Caulker and Andreas Cornelius. Another key signing was made on deadline day with the acquisition of Peter Odemwingie from West Brom. The Nigerian international will certainly add a greather goal threat to Malkay Mackay’s squad.
Chelsea FC
Chelsea FC brought in 8 new faces this summer. Most notably, Mourinho decided to link up with former front man, Samuel Eto’o. The Cameroon forward played under Mourinho at Inter Milan and was available on a free transfer from Anzhi Makhachkala. The Stamford Bridge club also signed Willian for a fee of around £31m. Despite many successes in this transfer window, Chelsea’s big failure was the attempted signing of Wayne Rooney from Manchester United. It was no secret that the England international wanted away from Old Trafford, but Chelsea were unable to meet Man United valuation for the player. As new faces came in, Mourinho opted to allow Victor Moses and Romelu Lukaku to go out on season long loans.
Crystal Palace
The Play-off winner started the transfer window with the major loss of Wilfred Zaha who had already agreed to join Manchester United. In an attempt to combat, Ian Holloway set about making the most of the window bringing in 15 new players, of which 8 were forwards or wingers. Palace’s most expensive signing was that of Dwight Gayle. The young forward joined the club for an initial fee of £4.6m which could rise to £6m.
Everton
Roberto Martinez brought in 7 new faces this summer with 3 of the signings being made just seconds before the close of the window. Having already brought Kone, Alcaraz and Robles from his years FA Cup winner Wigan Athletic. Wigan also added James McCarthy for around £13m just seconds before the window shut. In addition, Martinez managed to negotiate a season long loan deal for Romelu Lukaku and Gareth Barry. Turning what had looked like a poor deadline day into quite an effective one.
Fulham
Fulham went about their business quitely and efficiently this summer, bringing in 8 new faces. Some of their most notable signings where Scott Parker, Darren Bent and the loan signing of Adel Taarabt from Queens Park Rangers . Fulham FC also brought in Maarten Stekelenburg to replace the outgoing Mark Schwarzer.
Hull City
Steve Bruce had a very successful tranfer window, bringing in a host of new players with the essential Premier League experience. Tom Huddlestone was the clubs most expensive signing who joined from Tottenham for a fee of around £5 million. Bruce also brought in Maynor Figueroa, Steve Harper, Jake Livermore and Danny Graham to bridge the gap after his sides promotion from the Championship. Unfortunately, Hull missed out on the signing of Shane Long on deadline day, a move that would have been very impressive.
Liverpool
One club that is happy this summer is Liverpool. Not only did the club bring in a number of top quality players, they also managed to keep hold of the controversial yet brilliant Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan had looked set to leave Anfield numerous times throughout the window, but the Reds were able to persuade him to stay. In terms of incomings, Liverpools most expensive signing was the £9 million goalkeeper Simon Mingolet. The Belgian goalkeeper replaced the departing Pepe Reina, who moved on a season long loan to Napoli. A couple of other impressive signings were that of Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto before the deadline day loan signing of Victor Moses from Chelsea.
Manchester City
Under the management of Manuel Pellegrini, Manchester City got their business done early in the transfer window. The Premier League big spenders, splashed out close to £100 million on new players with the transfer of Fernandinho from ShaktarDonetsk costing the most at £35 million. City also brought in Negredo and Jovetic for £22m and Jesus Navas for around £17m. In terms of outgoings, one major loss was the sale of Carlos Tevez who finally put an end to his stint in Manchester and joined Juventus Turin for £7 million.
Manchester United
David Moyes’ first transfer window as Manchester United manager was a much about holding onto key players as it was about bringing in new faces.Wayne Rooney looked set to leave Old Trafford this summer with the player once again handing in a transfer request. In terms of incomings, it did appear that the club struggled. However, despite failed attempts to sign Thiago (Bayeren Munich), Fabregas (FC Barcelona) and Baines, Moyes finally got one of his targets when he secured the transfer of Marouane Fellaini from Everton for around £27 million.
Newcastle United
Newcastle was the only club that didn’t spend any money on transfers much to the anger of the Newcastle fans. Despite no permanent signings, Newcastle were able to engineer the loan signing of Loic Remy from QPR. Remy’s ability and potential for goals could provide the firepower that Newcastle United have been missing.
Norwich City
Norwich spent around £26 million this transfer window in an attempt to improve on a squad that came too close to the relegation battle last season. Chris Hughton was able to make a number of significant signings this summer, most notably the £8m transfer of Ricky Van Wolfswinkel and the signing of Celtic front man Gary Hooper. Along with Nathan Redmond and Leory Fer, it makes for an exciting season at Carrow Road. The Norwich fans will have been disappointed to lose Grant Holt who joined Wigan Athletic after 4 years at the club.
Southampton
The Saints spent big this summer on three players –Pablo Osvaldo joined for £13 million, Victor Wanyama joined for £12 million and Dejen Lovren joined for around £8m. This meant that Southampton’s total spend was around £33 million pounds. The fans will be hoping the money spent improves on the sides performances from last year.
Stoke City
Mark Hughes added 6 new players to his Stoke side as he looks to stamp his mark on his new side. Stoke signed Marc Muniesa, who had come through the Barcelona youth system, on a free transfer. Hughes opted to link up with former player Stephen Ireland on loan from Aston Villa and was also able to sign the promising winger Marko Arnautovic from Werder Bremen.
Sunderland
In his first transfer window as Sunderland manager, Paulo Di Canio brought in 14 players for a total spend of £23 million. His most expensive signing was that of Jozy Altidore from AZ Alkmaar for £8.8 million. He also brought in highly rated Emanuele Giaccherini from Juventus and Fabio Borini on loan from Liverpool. However, one major loss was the sale of Simon Mingolet to Liverpool. The goalkeeper was vital to Sunderland last season, but the £9m fee may make the loss a little more bearable.
Swansea City
Swansea spent close to £20 million on new players this summer with £12 million been spent on Wilfred Bony. The figure paid for Bony eclipsed Swansea’s record transfer fee which had previously been £5.5 million. Along with Bony, the Swans also brought in Jonjo Shelvey and Jordi Amat. Michael Laudrup looked to improve his squad as the embark on their first European football campaign.
Tottenham
Tottenham had a bitter-sweet transfer window. They brought in some world class talent, but also lost one of the worlds best players. The longest transfer saga of summer 2013 finally came to an end on deadline day, when the world record transfer of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid was confirmed. The Welshman left White Heart Lane for the impressive fee of £85 million. Although Tottenham will be extremely happy with the fee, they will also be disappointed to lose such a top class player. In order to combat the eventual sale of Bale, Tottenham got lots of business done, spending in the region of £100m throughout the summer. Their biggest outgoing was the signing of Erik Lamela from Roma, the 21 year old Argentinian joined for a fee of £30m. Amongst others, Spurs also brought in Roberto Soldado and Nacer Chadli.
West Bromwich Albion
West Brom made some impressive signings this summer most notably they brought former Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka back to England, after a stint with Juventus. In addition to the French striker, Steve Clarke added Vydra, Sinclair and Amalfitano on loan contracts before the deadline day arrivals of Victor Anichebe and Stephane Sessegnon. The sale of Peter Odemwingie drew a line under a turbulent matter for the club.
West Ham United
West Ham spent £20 million this summer, all of which went to Liverpool for the signatures of England internationals, Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing. The club also brought in defender Razvan Rat and goalkeeper Adrian. In terms of outgoings, Sam Allardyce opted to allow Gary O’neil and Robert Hall to join QPR and Bolton respectively.
