Clinton Morrison looks back on the chaos of transfer deadline day, gives his view on the best signing of the summer, and also turns his attention to Sunday’s huge Premier League meeting between Arsenal and Chelsea.
The obvious place to begin this week is with the summer transfer window. Deadline day was absolute madness, and the deal that stood out more than any other was Enzo Fernandez’s £125 million switch from Chelsea to Manchester City.
Whatever anyone wants to say about Fernandez, he is still a very good footballer, and Chelsea will be hugely disappointed to have lost him. He is not a replacement for Rodri because he is not a number six — I see him as a number eight, or as someone who can play further forward, break on and score goals for you.
They have also signed Ayyoub Bouaddi, who is a terrific young player. And everybody already knows what Elliot Anderson brings in the middle of the park.
That leaves Manchester City with a very strong squad, especially when you think about the fact they will have either Rayan Cherki or Phil Foden operating in the number 10 role. There is serious competition for places, and it will be really interesting to see how Enzo Maresca manages to fit them all into his side.
On the other hand, deadline day was disappointing for Chelsea, even though they have had a very good window overall.
They will be gutted not to have brought in a replacement for Fernandez, because I know they were trying to sign Manu Kone from Roma and his manager did not want to let him leave.
Then you look at Lamine Camara, who is a good player at Monaco. It felt as though they only wanted to sell one out of Folarin Balogun or Camara, and in the end both players stayed where they were.
Chelsea still have Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson available in that role, but I do feel they have left themselves one player short in that area of the pitch.
Someone like Camara would have given them the energy they need in midfield. They are all good footballers, but he would have offered that box-to-box drive and intensity.
Elsewhere, the whole situation involving Malick Fofana was crazy. I know Sunderland’s owner travelled to Lyon to persuade the player to sign. In that kind of situation, I would not say he was forced into choosing Sunderland ahead of Crystal Palace, but I do think it became inevitable that he would go that way given the circumstances.
But I also think that if Palace really wanted him, why did they not move earlier? Why wait until the final moment? That is what frustrates me about clubs. If you want a player and you believe he is your number one target, then go and get him earlier in the window. It is mad how clubs keep leaving things until the very end.
Fofana is a player I have watched a lot at Lyon. He is exciting and he is a good signing for Sunderland. It is what it is — it was a crazy situation to watch unfold.
If I am picking who I think has been the best signing of the summer in the Premier League overall, I would go for Bruno Guimaraes’ £75 million move to Arsenal. I think he will be a fantastic signing. Just behind that is Youri Tielemans’ £35 million move to Manchester United, which feels like the price of a cup of tea in transfer terms these days!
But I still think Manchester United have left themselves short after this window, and in the end they failed to sign a left-back. Crystal Palace brought in Ben Chilwell, and he would have been a very good option. But he is only a couple of years younger than Luke Shaw, and they probably wanted a left-back who was young and hungry.
The one they really wanted was Lewis Hall at Newcastle United, and they were desperate to get him, so that was a major disappointment for Manchester United.
I still believe they need to improve right across that back line with a new right-back, a new left-back, and probably a new centre-back as well.
In previous windows they have focused first on attacking players, and this time they looked at midfield. I think their priority in the next window has to be the defensive positions.
Those weaknesses at the back are probably the reason why they will not challenge to win the Premier League at this point in time.
But the transfer window will quickly fade into the background now as attention returns to matters on the pitch.
The standout Premier League fixture this weekend has to be Arsenal against Chelsea, and it will be the first major test for Mikel Arteta’s team this season.
It is going to be a huge match because Chelsea’s front three will give Arsenal’s defenders plenty to think about, but Arsenal’s attackers will also trouble Chelsea’s back line. So it makes for a very interesting contest.
If I am not working, I will be sitting in front of the television, taking it easy and watching the game. I think it will be a fantastic match.
We will find out where Chelsea really stand against the champions, and whether they are ready to mount a title challenge this season.
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