The transfer window is shut! And while it’s been another record-breaking summer of moves with yet more huge spending around the Premier League, and we’ve seen some big moves made that could have a big impact on how things play out this season. As a result, we’ve gone through the 155 Premier League signings and picked out our top 5 of the summer window from initial gut-feelings around the players quality, the money involved and the need of the player and club for the move.

Of course with this list nothing has yet been seen of most of these players at their new club, with only an appearance or two played out at time of writing and so we may well be proved right or wrong as things progress, but this is simply our gut feeling choices around these transfers. If you have any thoughts on our 5 selections, or have players of your own you think will be better then let us know over on our Instagram (@NextGoalWin), Bluesky (@NextGoalWinner) or our YouTube page (@NextGoalWinner).

Emiliano Martinez – Chelsea

After their opening games of the season it became clear Chelsea needed a goalkeeper to come in and replace Robert Sanchez, and although it looked like they might miss out with their focus being elsewhere, they made a smart move and brought in a bargain buy among all of the late spending in Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez. The keeper who had been linked with moves away for the last few windows looked destined for Serie A, but this noise quietened as the season got underway, leaving Chelsea with a chance to snap up a player with proven Premier League experience and enough personality to thrive in this new-look Chelsea side filled with inexperience and a lack of cohesion between all the new names. While this isn’t the long-term solution for Chelsea, for the next year or 2 their goalkeeper conundrum has been resolved without having to spend big (for once).

Mamadou Sangare – Brentford

With most midfield targets going for £100million+ this summer, the name Mamadou Sangare had been mentioned as a possible target for most elite clubs across Europe, however Brentford got their man for half the price of most other clubs’ spending. While many of the elite sides were reluctant to move for a player lacking Premier League experience and with a few questions marks over him, he’s already demonstrated himself as a bargain buy, with Sangare bagging 2 assists in his opening 2 games and helping ensure they hold an unbeaten start to the season. While his time at Brentford is already off to a flying start, I can certainly see them at least doubling their money on the midfielder in a year or so when clubs believe he has ‘proven his quality’ even further.

Bruno Guimaraes – Arsenal

As we mentioned with Sangare, most Premier League proven midfielders have been valued at around £100million this summer, but Arsenal took part in the raid on Newcastle this summer with the bargain signing of the lot. At 28 years of age, Guimaraes is at a perfect peak level to slot instantly into Arsenal’s midfield options, and given the long seasons for the likes of Declan Rice last campaign, the question mark over Odegaard and possibly missing piece of their midfield options, Bruno Guimaraes is a player that can slot in easily to the squad, offer terrific rotation and still hold the quality to start many big games when needed. With almost 200 games for Newcastle under his belt, Guimaraes has arguably been the pick of their midfield trio in recent seasons, and Arsenal managing to pick him up for £75million when compared to the £100 paid for Sandro Tonali down the road at Tottenham feels like good business.

Youri Tielemans – Manchester United

Rounding off the midfield signings this summer, Manchester United had arguably the pick of the bunch with meeting the release clause of Youri Tielemans of around £35million, they added proven leadership and experience at the top level to help their midfield re-build, while the unexpected nature of the move meant United weren’t being dragged into transfer saga’s as they have in recent seasons and already we’ve seen the Belgian slot into the midfield and will likely remain a key feature of their season as they return to Champions League action.

Harry Wilson – Leeds United

Finally, the only free transfer on the list for us in this top 5, and definitely a surprise move at the time, Harry Wilson made his decision to leave Fulham with the expectation he would be picked up by the likes of an Aston Villa or club in European competition this season, but the decision to join Leeds is a huge coup for Daniel Farke’s side. Wilson was in top form last season, and to add a player of his quality with 19 goal contributions last season and still only 29 without spending a penny is a real surprise but adds that existing Premier League quality that could arguably put Leeds into the comfortable mid-table conversation rather than a relegation threat.