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The BEST and WORST transfers this summer
Sep 8, 2025
Ranking this ridiculous transfer window. With all the money spent over the course of the summer, PapaPincus is back with us to give his ruling over the best and worst of the 3.1 BILLION pounds spent in the Premier League! Was Isak worth it for Liverpool? Which team has had their pants pulled down? And who will be the best signing?
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155 Premier League transfers, 3.1 billion pounds spent
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Here are my thoughts on the best and worst of it all. Papa Pink is here with 442. Let's talk about it
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Let's start off with the biggest steals of the summer in my opinion. And number three is Christian Mascara to Arsenal for 13 million pounds
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As brilliant as William Saliba is and as central he's become to Mikel Arteta's project
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the truth is there's a lingering inevitability that Real Madrid will eventually come calling
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History tells us that when Madrid truly want a player, particularly a Frenchman in his prime
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they usually get what they want and Arsenal may one day have to face the difficult reality of losing him
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In that context, the signing of Christian Mascara feels almost like forward thinking of the highest order
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Stylistically, he's the closest thing Arsenal could realistically find to Saliba, a right-sided central defender, elegant on the ball, physical, so composed under pressure
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and doesn't mind an adventure or two forward. By bringing him in at just 21 years of age
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Arsenal could allow him to develop in Saliba's shadow for a little bit, learn the Premier League
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without the immediate weight of expectation. Although saying that, I think he was absolutely
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immense at Anfield the other week. There was a lot of pressure on him to hold his own
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and we know that Gabriel and Saliba feed off each other, but he stepped in and showed
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that he ain't looking to be a backup for much longer. £13 million in today's market is unbelievable business
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Granted, he did have less than a year on his contract, but we've seen deals like that
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and how difficult they can be to get done. Brilliant work from Arsenal's new man, Andrea Berta
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Coming in at number two, we've got Granit Xhaka to Sunderland for £17 million
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And let's have it right, There isn't a single football fan outside of Tyne and Weir that didn't love this move
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It's one of them that's so random, but it just makes so much sense
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Sunderland are back in the Premier League and their main priority is, of course, survival
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Anything more than that is a bonus. And in order to do that, you need a certain level of leadership, experience and sheer grit in the heart of the side
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Granit Xhaka brings all of that and more. He was nominated for the 2024 Ballon d'Or, for God's sake
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Xhaka is the perfect player to manage the intensity of a 38 game grind
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Through all the highs and the lows, he will be that anchor
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He'll steady that midfield, he'll set the tone for the entire team
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Sunderland have got that commander in the middle who can drag them through tough moments In a relegation scrap that is priceless And I think it something a lot of relegated teams in the past have lacked
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I think he will be instrumental in keeping them up. And coming in at number one
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the biggest steal this transfer window for me is Jack Grealish to Everton
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Yes, I know it's a loan, but oh my word, it's just so beautiful to see
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In the past few weeks, as a football fan, it's honestly been so heartwarming
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to see Jack Grealish get the love and appreciation for the wonderful footballer and human being that he is
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And I'm not saying that he didn't get that at City, but he didn't really get enough opportunities to actually show it
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David Moyes came out and said the other day, and I quote, the biggest compliment I can say about Jack is that he's even better than I thought he was
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Wow. Four assists in his first three games. He looks electric. He looks like he's starving to impress
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He looks like he is genuinely enjoying playing football again. And I think it is fair to say that Everton fans have become victim of falling in love with a lone player
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That being said, if life at Everton for Grealish continues like this, I think it's fairly obvious they'll pull the trigger on that £50 million buy option
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You're the man, Jack. Steal of the summer for me. Along with some very clever steals, there have been a fair few signings that make little to no sense to me
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Let me talk you through a few. Coming in at number three is Johan Visser to Newcastle. It might sound
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harsh as Visser is a great player, but Brentford have quite literally pulled Newcastle's pants down
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Visser, 29 years old, one year left on his contract, and Newcastle go and chuck £55 million at him
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Panic buy if I've ever seen one. And he could very well end up being a backup
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up. Volta Mardy literally walked through the doors the other day for £69 million. Talk about blowing
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the ESAC money. It just doesn't really make much sense to me from Wiss's perspective as well. The
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main man at Brentford, the fans adore him, guaranteed to start every single week and he's
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thrown all of it away to potentially sit on the bench up north. What is he doing
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Coming in at number two, I think Jamie Gittins to Chelsea. Now, I was watching Chelsea versus
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Fulham the other day. Liam De Laat was forced to come off in the 14th minute after pulling his
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hamstring. We wish him a speedy recovery. Two attackers on the bench to replace him. The new man
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Gittins himself, and Tyreek George. Who does Maresca tell to take their bib off? The teenager
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that they were actively looking to sell at the time. I was sat there and I thought
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if I Gittins I handing in a transfer request Why on earth would Chelsea chuck 53 million quid at someone who is second choice to a kid that they wanted to sell
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And on top of that, Estaval, Pedro Neto, Buena Notte, Garnaccio they just signed
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and Tyreek Jorges to Fulham ended up falling through. So on paper, Gittins is arguably their sixth choice
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wide forward. Maybe I'm being naive, and maybe there is a proper plan in place for Gittins
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But for now, it just seems like a waste of money for Chelsea and a waste of a move for Gittins
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And number one, a transfer that I cannot wrap my head around is James Trafford to Man City
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Why? Why Man City? Why chuck £27 million, which is a huge fee for a goalkeeper
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at someone who has fully established himself as a top end Premier League keeper
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with hopes and dreams of one day becoming England's number one, promise him this, promise him that, and then on deadline day, you sign Donnarumma and stick him
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on the bench. Kills his chances of overtaking Pickford anytime soon. Kills his confidence
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Kills his upward trajectory. And what upsets me about this is you can see how hungry Trafford is
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to cement that number one spot. He is desperate to be a citizen. I really do hope this doesn't
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affect him too much and he hasn't given up on that chance to make that spot his. Donnarumma's
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contract is running until, I think, 2030, so he's got some time to battle it out. But this move
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makes zero sense to me. City, Pep, Trafford's agents, what were you thinking? Away from the
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individuals, let's move on to some club matters. Who had the worst window? It's harsh, but probably
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true, Brentford have had an absolute nightmare of a summer. On the surface, it doesn't look
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catastrophic. Kelleher, arguably the best number two in the world, in my opinion. Watar from
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Bournemouth is a big move. Jordan Henderson to anchor the midfield and bring some experience
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And on deadline day, they've got Rhys Nelson, adds that bit of flair and unpredictability
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But beneath the surface, dig a little deeper and you realise that they have been completely
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stripped of their identity. No Thomas Frank, no Johan Visser, no Brian Mbwemo. Ouch
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When I think of Brentford, I think of those three. I think of a 3pm kick-off on a Saturday at the GTEC
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Visser and Mbwemo on the score sheet. Thomas Frank's full-time dressing room speech on Twitter
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I worry that they might be one or two down in some games
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Think to themselves, ah, it's fine. Whistle will nick a goal. Maybe Brian with a near post finish
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Oh wait, they're gone. So which club had the best window Well it fairly obvious isn it Liverpool Jeremy Frimponk Florian Verts Milos Kerkhez Giovanni Leone Hugo Eketike
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And the Holy Grail. Freddie Woodman. I'm joking. And they signed Isak as well
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For f***'s sake. A record-breaking £446.5 million spent. Arnie Slott is absolutely licking his lips
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In one window. they have attained one of the best right backs on the planet, one of the best left backs on the
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planet, one of the most exciting talents in decades in Virts, a seemingly goal scoring machine in
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Eketike and to top it all off as if that wasn't enough, one of, if not the best number nine in
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world football. They did it, they finally did it after months, millions and millions of man hours
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spent talking, typing, thinking about this man in the Liverpool shirt. He's here and he's absolutely
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terrifying. On deadline day, Liverpool Football Club broke the British transfer fee for the second
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time this window for Alexander Isak. 125 million great British pounds, but who actually cares what
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the fee is? If you've got the money for a player like Isak, who is arguably priceless, you pay it
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simple 44 Premier League goals in his last two seasons. Again, we really do not need to do much
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explaining as to who he is and what he can do. It kills me to say it as an Arsenal fan, but I'm not
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quite sure I see a world where they don't win the league. It would be arguably an embarrassment if
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they don't. Salah, Isak, Eketike up top. Sorry? That gives Messi no more Suarez a run for their
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money. Well, I'm being a bit silly now, but Liverpool, fair enough. I am petrified as the
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rest of the league are, I'm expecting goals. Lots and lots of goals. It is an absolutely absurd
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window. It's petrifying for the rest of the Premier League. Having won the title last season
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by 10 clear points to go on and bolster your squad in this fashion is unlike anything I've
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ever seen. Additions that will potentially set them up to dominate the Premier League for the
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next three, four, five years. There isn't a single weakness in Liverpool's team. I mean
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there wasn't really last season, but now, Jesus Christ, Slott can play a 4-3-3, he can
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play a 3-5-2, he can play a 3-2-5, 4-2-3-1, any system he wants, he can play a double striker
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system if he wants. And my question to you lot is, which clubs do you think had the best and worst windows
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And what a window it was, by the way, almost impossible to keep up with it all
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Thank you all for watching, till next week
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