The big question as another eventful transfer window comes to a close, leaving aside why Sky persists with the tiresome habit of presenting the same stories as breaking news that they have been trailing across the bottom of the screen for the previous few hours, is whether Premier League clubs pushing spending past £1bn for the first time is anything to be proud of.
Is the rest of the football world in awe of England’s financial might and reckless bravado, or are we being laughed at for spending money like water and ending up with little but surface decoration? It is tempting to favour the latter conclusion when Manchester United set a new transfer record for a player they had let go for nothing, even before Chelsea confirmed a trend by buying back David Luiz. Yet Paul Pogba is widely regarded as the most impressive midfielder of his generation, a player who could not only rejuvenate United but conceivably be sold on at a profit a few years down the line, and though some embarrassment must have been involved in the club performing such an expensive U-turn the deal was instantly hailed as a rare instance of a peak performer choosing England over Spain.
Even David Luiz makes a certain sort of sense given that Chelsea are close to breaking even on the deal, having paid less than they received when they sold the player to Paris Saint-Germain two years ago. The Brazilian is not quite the type of statement signing Pogba represents at United, though he was popular last time round and undeniably watchable, if occasionally for the wrong reasons. Like his former team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he is an entertainer, and as such he belongs under the bright lights of the Premier League’s entertainment industry rather than the largely overlooked French competition.
The charge of financial imprudence, short-termism – call it what you will – is much harder to resist. Pogba’s agent alone received £20m from a single transaction, so no further questions, m’lud. Manchester City loaned out Eliaquim Mangala, a player who cost them £32m two years ago. According to Deloitte’s figures, gross transfer fees to overseas clubs from England this summer totalled around £720m, well over half of the billion headline figure. Whatever foreign clubs think of the Premier League and its runaway television deals, they would undoubtedly be poorer without it. But wait – even this level of profligacy can be given a positive twist. Deloitte reckons the £720m sent abroad represents only 62% of total spending, whereas the figure was 67% last summer. So despite having more money to spend than ever before, English clubs seem to be behaving ever so slightly more sensibly.
Not that the word sensible can be seriously applied to a summer when everyone seemed to be straining to beat their own transfer records, and even the clubs that did not manage it, such as Everton on the last day, ended up disappointed. It was notable how many transfer tales over the summer used that fact as an easy intro, when a combination of inflation and the huge upscaling of television revenues made a higher level of spending almost inevitable. The two Manchester clubs have been at the forefront of the lavish spending but Sunderland and Burnley set records too, suggesting that the bar has been raised for everyone and seeking value in the market is no longer a viable option.
Yet as ever with a summer window, some clubs did better than others. While Manchester United seemed to throw any vestigial concept of value out of the window, they did score style points for doing their business early, decisively and imaginatively. City were not far behind, Pep Guardiola finding it as easy as José Mourinho to persuade players to join his cause, though so far the story of their season seems to be Raheem Sterling finally finding his feet.
In fact, all the Champions League clubs have strengthened significantly – their spending accounts for around a third of the Premier League total – with Leicester joining Spurs and Arsenal in trying to ensure they retain the same status next season. Perhaps one engine pushing the overall spending higher than ever before is that fact that so many big clubs are now outside the Champions League bracket trying to get in: Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, most notably, though Everton’s level of ambition seems to have been raised with a new owner and manager and West Ham have also spent a significant amount of money.
Further down the table (one supposes), Crystal Palace stand out among the buyers, with Alan Pardew not only spending £50m on Christian Benteke, Andros Townsend and James Tomkins but going around telling everyone how happy he is about his dealing. Yannick Bolasie will be missed, though at least Palace got a good price, and Loïc Rémy on loan from Chelsea is a definite plus.
There are, of course, far too many loans, a regular moan at this time of year. If Jack Wilshere’s move to Bournemouth works out well and the player emerges fit and rejuvenated everyone will agree the system is wonderful; ditto with Adnan Januzaj at Sunderland, though it simply cannot be a healthy situation for Chelsea to have 38 players on loan to other clubs. It has become almost a tradition in early September to note that some club, in this case Burnley, has made a shrewd temporary signing in Patrick Bamford. Like Jason Denayer, now at Sunderland but belonging to Manchester City, Bamford seems to have been around for years without playing a single game for his parent club.
That said, some managers know how to play the system, and after Bournemouth’s windfall in getting Wilshere’s vote Mark Hughes did some excellent loan business on the last day. Please do not write in to complain about this opinion but Wilfried Bony and Bruno Martins Indi are exactly the sort of powerful, physical players that fit the Stoke template. Hughes has more or less said so himself, so any objections about stereotyping can be addressed to him. Bony has already been a success in English football, most teams outside the Champions League bracket would be glad to have a striker of his ability and it is now up to him to show that his perceived failure at City was due to no more than a lack of game-time. Stoke may be languishing at the foot of the table but they are about to become more watchable and possibly a lot more potent.
In terms of teams who may not be more potent and watchable after summer dealings, one probably ought to be worried about Swansea without Ashley Williams and André Ayew, and Southampton without Sadio Mané, Graziano Pellè and Victor Wanyama. West Bromwich Albion with Saido Berahino also may not end happily, and while Middlesbrough, Hull and Watford have done a certain amount of necessary strengthening, Sunderland endured a frustrating window, with David Moyes perhaps paying the penalty for announcing in advance that a relegation battle lay ahead. It is not the can-do attitude prospective transfer targets like to hear.
Sunderland, if Moyes did not know it already, is not the easiest place to persuade players to relocate to, and stories are emerging of bids for players coming in too late and deadlines being missed. The deal for Boavista’s goalkeeper Mika fell through at the last minute and Yann M’Vila can now join only in January. All of which makes the enormous contract Jermain Defoe was offered to bring him back from Canada 18 months ago look the most sensible and far-sighted of decisions.
Premier League concepts of financial prudence can outwarp a hall of mirrors at times but no one can be in any doubt that Defoe’s presence is the main if not the sole reason for Sunderland’s continued survival in the top flight. He has been good value but at 33 he cannot keep delivering indefinitely and Sunderland’s summer priority really ought to have been striking cover. It never arrived and a team starting out on their 10th successive season in the Premier League really ought to know better. If Defoe picks up an injury, Sunderland will be in trouble.
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