Winners and losers from transfer deadline day: Tottenham signed how many players?

Winner: Chelsea

The Blues started the window slowly as they delayed getting rid of Antonio Conte even though it was obvious they had Maurizio Sarri lined up as his replacement. Sarri had limited time to learn about his squad and  implement his methods, but had a handful of preseason games to see which players were suited to his system.

There was also speculation around the future of some of his key players. Willian, Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante all appear to have decided to stay. However, Thibaut Courtois has moved on to Real Madrid. Chelsea’s hard bargaining has seen them receive Mateo Kovacic on loan as well as £35 million. They’ve also brought in Kepa Arrizabalaga for £71 million, a world record fee for a goalkeeper.

Kepa is an excellent long-term prospect and should fit in to the Premier League comfortably due to his infallible composure in everything he does. Kovacic is key in the short-term because he has the skill set to quickly adapt to Sarri’s style. It will take a while for the team to successfully put his ideas into action, so having a game-changer in the creative midfield role is important. He’ll also take some of the responsibility off Hazard.

Sarri has also brought in his midfield general from Napoli, Jorginho. He breaks down opposition teams through his passing and ensures that play is always moving. There are few players who could keep coming up with solutions for build-up problems in order to provide service for the forwards, so he’s key. He’s also able to set a high tempo without it coming at the expense of his passing accuracy, which ensures he can create and exploit openings.

Aside from that, the rest of their business has been sorting out loan deals for the vast amount of players they have on their books. Keeping key players was the priority in order to ease the transition from Conte to Sarri, although the other leagues are still able to sign players which presents issues; they won’t miss Courtois for long with the arrival of Kepa. The signings are not only talented individuals but also great fits stylistically, so this was an excellent window.