Newcastle, Manchester United, Barcelona? The Losers of the Transfer Window

The home stretch is near and the start of the season is a week away. This period will see clubs scramble to bring in new players before a ball is kicked. Some clubs will be more than satisfied with their business thus far, but it’s important to look at the teams that will want to forget this window:

Bayer Leverkusen

It’s been a painful summer for Leverkusen. The window started with what seemed inevitable: head coach Xabi Alonso left the club after two seasons for Real Madrid. The Spanish coach made history with the club after going undefeated in the Bundesliga in his first season. It seemed as though Alonso was set to take over at Liverpool last season after Jurgen Klopp retired, but he stayed with the German club for one more season. Former Manchester United and Ajax boss Erik Ten Hag replaced Xabi Alonso; the Dutchman will want to show the world that his mediocre spell at United was not all that he can offer. It only got worse for Leverkusen as star players Jeremie Frimpong, Granit Xhaka and Florian Wirtz moved to the Premier League. The upside to these departures for Leverkusen is that they now have a lot of money to spend, but as of right now, the transfers have been alright. The best transfer so far has been Jarrel Quansah who showed potential in pre-season. Their performance in the transfer market doesn’t mean Leverkusen is set for a rough season, however, it’s not looking good. 

Barcelona

Barcelona’s transfer window has not been bad but it certainly hasn’t been great. After winning La Liga and just missing out on the Champions League final, Barcelona came into this window with a solid squad that needed more depth in certain positions. The window started off well with goalkeeper Joan Garcia coming in from Espanyol for the future with Marc-André ter Stegen and Wojciech Szczęsny not getting any younger. The window nearly got better for Barcelona with Nico Williams nearing a big move to the Catalans. However, a breakdown in contract negotiations saw the Spanish winger snub Barcelona for the second season and sign a new long-term contract at Atletico Bilbao. It was a disappointing outcome but Barcelona switched their interest towards Liverpool winger Luis Diaz who was keen on the move. However, Liverpool rejected Barcelona’s approaches and the Colombian ended up signing for Bayern Munich. With two failed attempts, Barcelona settled on bringing in Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United. It’s not the worst ending for Barcelona but Rashford is not at the same level as Williams and Diaz and seems to be a quick fix for the season. Luckily for Barcelona, they have Raphinha and Yamal who will hopefully keep up their impressive form from last season and push for more glory next season. 

Aston Villa 

Aston Villa’s transfer window is not talked about enough. First of all, a controversial call in the final game against Manchester United cost the side a spot in the Champions League and the funds that come with qualification. Because of this, Villa need to build up their funds in order to not get in trouble with Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). Unless the club sells to buy, they can’t make any noteworthy signings. The potential outgoings could be star keeper Emi Martinez and forward Ollie Watkins. Both players have been key to Aston Villa’s recent success but their market value could help Villa bring in signings. Watkins has been the top scorer and top assister for Villa in the last two seasons and Martinez is one of the best keepers in the Premier League. While the sales have not happened yet, it seems inevitable if Villa wants to stay in PSR’s good graces and improve the squad.

Tottenham 

Tottenham had the weirdest season in their history. They had a horrid time in the Premier League, finishing in 17th place. However, a win in the Europa League final earned them Champions League football for next season. Despite a heroic ending to their season, head coach Ange Postecoglou was sacked and replaced by Brentford’s Thomas Frank. With all the Champions League qualification money, the club went into this window desperate to never have to repeat last season. However, the transfers have been slow. The only significant signings have been Mohamed Kudus from West Ham and João Palhinha from Bayern Munich. The biggest story of Spurs' window was paying Morgan Gibbs-White’s 60 million euro release clause but after protesting the validity of the transfer, Nottingham Forest blocked the move from happening. Worst of all, club captain and legend Heung Min-Son leaving the club for LAFC. If the club fails to make any other signings, Thomas Frank is set for a rocky first season at Spurs. 

Manchester United

I’ll keep this short but not so sweet. Manchester United are horrible in the transfer window; they cannot sell players and signings take weeks. After finishing 15th and missing out on the UCL after losing to Tottenham in the Europa League, the side needed to put their transfer business woes aside this year and really improve their squad. It was understood that the primary positions were striker and goalkeeper. As of right now, they have not sold a single player and have missed out on the signing of Liam Delap, Victor Gyokeres, and Hugo Ekitike and they have made no advances in signing a keeper. On a positive note, the Red Devils have signed Premier League stars Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbuemo, along with Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig; these three will certainly improve the attack but without a solid midfield and a consistent goalkeeper, the club will continue to struggle. The window has been mediocre and unless they make huge moves in the next few weeks, the season ahead will be tough.

Newcastle

Last but not least, there is Newcastle. The Mapgies have been in for an unfortunate summer of getting used. Let’s break it down: Bryan Mbuemo was one of their targets and he would have excelled at Newcastle but the Cameroonian snubbed them for Manchester United. The club moved on to Brentford forward Yoane Wissa but their interest in the forward triggered United to finalize the Mbuemo deal, making it hard to sign Wissa because Brentford does not want to lose both Wissa and Mbuemo in one window. Newcastle also spoke to James Trafford and was nearing that signing until Manchester City came in and signed him. Then there was Hugo Ekitike who was meant to replace Alexander Isak if the Swedish forward went to Liverpool. Liverpool then went in for Ekitike, signed him, and are now pushing to bring in Alexander Isak who wants to go to Liverpool. Next, Newcastle went in for Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig but unsurprisingly Newcastle lost the race. There has been some success after Newcastle closed the deal for defender Malick Thiaw from Milan. However, it’s easy to say it’s been a frustrating summer for Newcastle.