Despite the Premier League kicking off three weeks ago, the summer transfer window — the period during which teams can acquire new players — only closed today. Because of that there a few teams fortunes look a lot different than they did before. Here are the five deals, along with one for next year and one that didn’t happen, that could play have a huge impact on the league table this season.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Liverpool, $51.7 million
How much did Oxlade-Chamberlain want to leave Arsenal? Enough to take what basically amounts to a $80,000 a week pay cut to join Liverpool rather than extend his contract in London. Now Jürgen Klopp has to figure out how to get the most out of the 24-year-old talent, something Arsene Wenger struggled to do.
Davinson Sánchez, Tottenham, $54.3 million
The former Ajax defender is unlikely to displace either of the Premier League’s best center back duo, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, this season, but that’s not the point. Sanchez and the other four players Spurs brought in this month, particularly Paris Saint-Germain’s Serge Aurier, give Spurs something they desperately needed the last two years when their title challenge fizzled out late — depth.
Mamadou Sakho, Crystal Palace, $33.6 million
Maybe the worst team in the league after three weeks, there’s not an area of the pitch where Palace aren’t in dire need of help. Sakho, who fell out with Liverpool after what turned out to be a false-positive on a doping test, might not be enough to save manager Frank de Boer his job, but his ability and tenacity will come in handy for what looks to be a long season spent fighting for Premier League survival.
Renato Sanches, Swansea City, Loan
Last summer, Sanches was widely considered the best young player in European soccer after impressing the previous season at Benfica and helping Portugal win Euro 2016. A big money move to Bayern Munich follow and then … things just ground to a halt. The midfielder now moves, temporarily, to Wales, where he’ll be coached by Paul Clement who worked with him during the first half of last season at Bayern, in hopes of getting his career back on track.
Grzegorz Krychowiak, West Bromwich Albion, Loan
Is Krychowiak, who struggled in his first season at PSG, a flawed player? Yes. Is he still world class? Certainly — if his coach utilizes him wisely. West Brom looked to have suffered a big blow when Darren Fletcher ditched them for Stoke City this summer, but in Krychowiak they’ve actually managed to find a big upgrade. And for cheap, at that.
The deal that won’t kick in until next year…
Naby Keïta, Liverpool, $77.6 million
Liverpool could have waited until next summer, when his $62 million release kicked in, to sign Keita, but rather than risk losing the rising star to another club – namely Bayern Munich – the Reds reached an agreement with RB Leipzig that will see the player become there’s after this season. That might sound like a big gamble on Liverpool’s part, but when a midfielder does everything at an elite level, you do what you have to do.
And the deal that didn’t happen…
Alexis Sánchez, Arsenal
Sanchez doesn’t want to be in London anymore. The Gunners fans don’t want him there, either. Yet he’ll be suiting up for Arsenal for one more season (at the very least until the month-long winter transfer window opens in January), after an expected deal to Manchester City fell apart when Arsenal were unable to find a replacement for the Chilean forward.