Premier League 2017-18: Ranking the transfer windows of all 20 teams
By James Dudko
Ranking every summer transfer window for all 20 Premier League teams. Find out which clubs performed the best.
Now the dust has settled on another summer transfer window, it’s time to ask which Premier League clubs performed the best and which clubs made a mess of things?
Teams are ranked on how effectively they strengthened, what value for money, if any, they achieved and how signings made before deadline day have settled in so far.
Notable signings and sales will be noted, but a reminder of the full business done by each club this summer is available, per Sky Sports.
Here are the rankings:
20. Crystal Palace
Notable Ins: Mamadou Sakho, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Jairo Riedewald, Timothy Fosu-Mensah
Notable Outs: Steve Mandanda, Mathieu Flamini
No team did less to strengthen both its numbers and quality than Crystal Palace. Frank de Boer’s first summer in charge has proved a damp squib.
Palace have brought in two Premier League players on loan in Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Manchester United’s Timothy Fosu-Mensah. Both are young and have the talent to develop, but hardly represent the instant upgrade this squad needs.
Palace already know what to expect from Mamadou Sakho after paying Liverpool £26 million for the defender who was on loan at the club last season, per BBC Sport’s Phil McNulty. Even so, it was a hefty fee for a player who experienced his share of disciplinary issues at Anfield.
Of their losses, the most notable were Steve Mandanda and Mathieu Flamini. The former was a solid and savvy goalkeeper, while Flamini is a veteran terrier with a surprising eye for goal from midfield.
Both have played at a higher level in their careers. They each would have offered the experience De Boer needs around him to make his progressive ideas work at a club too often left fighting relegation in recent seasons.
Riedewald may come good and prove a bargain buy at £7.9 million. He’s only 20 and versatile enough to help at a number of positions.
Yet De Boer has already admitted Riedewald has had “growing pains” adapting to life in England’s top flight, per Lee Wilmot of the Croydon Advertiser.
Palace losing their first three matches to start the season is a reflection of how poorly they engaged the market this summer.