DEADLINE DAY has come and gone – and now the season really begins.
Premier League clubs have done all they can to fully equip themselves for the coming campaign by signing players they think can make a difference.
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With £1.2BILLION spent in the top flight alone you would think each side is now prepared with a full squad of superstars.
But that is far from the case.
Here, SunSport analyses the winners and losers of the transfer window.
WINNERS
In: Lewis Cook (Leeds, £10m), Jordon Ibe (Liverpool, £15m), Brad Smith, (Liverpool, £6m), Emerson Hyndman (Fulham, free), Nathan Ake (Chelsea, loan), Lys Mousset (Le Harve, undisclosed), Mikael Ndjoli (Millwall, undisclosed), Mark Travers (Millwall, signed), Marc Wilson (Bournemouth £2m), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal, loan)
Out: Matt Ritchie (Newcastle, undisclosed), Lee Tomlin (Bristol City, undisclosed), Sylvain Distin (released), Jayden Stockley (Aberdeen, free), Tommy Elphick (Aston Villa, undisclosed), Glenn Murray (Brighton, loan) Stephane Zubar (released), Josh Carmichael (released), Josh Wakefield (released), Mason Walsh (released), Jon Muleba (released), Joe Quigly (Gillingham, loan), Harry Cornick (Leyton Orient, loan) Shaun Macdonald (Wigan Athletic, undisclosed)
EDDIE HOWE deserves full credit for the outstanding business his club has done this summer.
His shrewd and competent dealings in the market brought in the likes of Jack Wilshere, Jordon Ibe, Brad Smith and Lewis Cook.
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Obviously Wilshere stands out as the stellar name and, provided he stays injury-free, could really shine for the Cherries.
Ibe is an improvement on Matt Ritchie – sold to Newcastle for £12m – while Cook was one of the standout players in the Championship last season and will add pace and energy to the side.
It was a surprise Liverpool agreed to sell Smith for £6m. The young full-back is a sturdy option and is still young at 22.
Importantly too, Howe held on to Callum Wilson and Benik Afobe who, now that they have Prem experience, will be crucial to their campaign.
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In: Andros Townsend (Newcastle, £13m), James Tomkins (West Ham United,£10m), Steve Mandanda (Marseilles, undisclosed), Christian Benteke (Liverpool, £27m), Loic Remy (Crystal Palace, loan)
Out: Dwight Gayle (Newcastle, £10m),David Gregory (Cambridge, free), Emmanuel Adebayor (released), Reise Allassani (released), Andreas Breimyr (released), Marouane Chamakh (released), Connor Drymond (released), Spencer Forte (released), Matthew George (released), David Gregory (released), Brede Hangeland (released), William Hoare (released), Christopher Kettings (released), Adrian Marriapa (released), Patrick McCarthy (released), Oliver Plain (released), Christian Scales (released), Jake Gray (Luton, free), Alex McCarthy (Southampton, undisclosed), Yannick Bolasie (Everton, £25m), Mile Jedinak (Aston Villa, undisclosed)
ALAN PARDEW is playing no games by bringing in solid players who have played in the top flight.
Bar Steve Mandanda – a proven keeper in France after eight years at Marseille – Pards has brought in four players who are more than familiar with the Prem.
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The pick of the bunch is £32m signing Christian Benteke. The burly Belgian striker never got going at Liverpool but scored 42 goals in 82 league appearances for Aston Villa in three seasons.
Loic Remy is another tried and tested player who Pardew trusts, having netted 14 goals in 24 appearances at Newcastle three seasons ago when Pards was in charge.
Andros Townsend has also been drafted in after his late run of form almost saved the Toon from relegation last term.
Palace’s only casualties are Yannick Bolasie for £28m – who has been replaced by an in-form Townsend – and Dwight Gayle for £10m.
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In: Eric Bailly (Villarreal, £30m), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (free), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Borussia Dortmund, £26m), Paul Pogba (Juventus, £89m)
Out: Paddy McNair, Donald Love (both Sunderland £5.5m), Tyler Reid (Swansea, undisclosed), Ashley Fletcher (West Ham, undisclosed), Joe Rothwell (Oxford, undisclosed), George Dorrington (released), Nicholas Powell (released), Victor Valdes (released), Oliver Rathbone (released), Nick Powell (Wigan, free), Oliver Rathbone (Rochdale), Guillermo Varela (Eintracht Frankfurt, loan), Cameron Borthwick-Jackson (Wolves, loan), Adnan Januzaj (Sunderland, Loan)
JOSE MOURINHO pulled out all the stops after being appointed Old Trafford boss.
The Special One became the Spending One as United splurged £169MILLION on Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly.
But what Mourinho has done is resurrected a spine in his new side.
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Ibra is arguably the most experienced striker in world football and wins trophies wherever he goes.
Pogba is a midfield bully who plays on the attack from wherever he is on the pitch, a centre-mid who has it all – and more.
Bailly’s pace, strength and ability to tackle has eased the pressure on David de Gea, and Mkhitaryan’s 11 goals and 15 assists last season for Borussia Dortmund is a record that speaks for itself.
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LOSERS
In: Nathan Redmond (Norwich, £11m), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Bayern Munich, £12m), Alex McCarthy (Crystal Palace, undisclosed), Jeremy Pied (free) Sofiane Boufal (Lille, £16m)
Out: Sadio Mane (Liverpool, £34m), Juanmi (Real Sociedad, undisclosed), Victor Wanyama (Tottenham, £12.5m), Graziano Pelle (Shandong Luneng, £13m), Gaston Ramirez (released), Kelvin Davis (retired), William Britt (released), Joe Lea (Yeovil, free), Jason McCarthy (Walsall, loan), Paulo Gazzaniga (Rayo Vallecano, Loan), Sam Gallagher (Blackburn Rovers, Loan), Jordan Turnbull (Coventry City, Undisclosed), Bevis Mugabi (Yeovil Town, Undisclosed)
SOUTHAMPTON have once again been pillaged of their best players.
Losing Sadio Mane was devastating for the Saints and Victor Wanyama‘s departure was a huge blow.
What is worse is that new boss Claude Puel has hardly replaced them.
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Club record transfer Sofiane Boufal – a £16m buy from Lille – scored 11 goals and assisted four from the No10 role last season for Lille but is a gamble in the Prem.
Bayern Munich reject Pierre-Emile Hojberg is also untested while Alex McCarthy cannot replicate Wanyama’s role in midfield.
However, Saints’ £11m signing of Nathan Redmond could pay dividends.
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In: Leroy Fer (Queens Park Rangers, undisclosed), Mike van der Hoorn (Ajax, undisclosed), Tyler Reid (Manchester United, undisclosed), George Byers (Watford, free), Mark Birighitti (Newcastle Jets, free), Fernando Llorente (Sevilla, undisclosed), Borja Baston (Atletico Madrid, £15.5m)
Out: Eder (Lille, £3.4m), Matthew Grimes (Leeds, loan), Kyle Bartley (Leeds, loan), Alberto Paloschi (Atalanta, undisclosed), Liam Shephard (Yeovil, loan), Ryan Hedges (Yeovil, loan), Daniel Alfei (released), Kyle Copp (released), James Demetriou (released), Stephen Fallon (released), Alexander Gogic (released), Raheem Hanley (released), Henry Jones (released), Lee Lucas (released), Gareth Owen (released), Bafetimbi Gomis (Marseille, loan), Andre Ayew (West Ham, £20.5m), Josh Sheehan (Newport County, Loan)
THE Swans have been torn apart this summer after losing key members of the team.
Long-serving skipper Ashley Williams was sold to Everton and losing last term’s top scorer Andre Ayew has left the rest of the team in disarray.
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Francesco Guidolin compensated by breaking their transfer record to sign 24-year-old striker Borja Gonzalez from Atletico Madrid.
The Spaniard netted 18 in 29 for Eibar last season but first needs time to adjust to English football.
Leroy Fer is a good purchase in midfield and has already bagged two goals but questions remain over the frailties of Swansea’s defence without Williams to hold it together.
Fernando Llorente CAN score goals but has always played in a team with lots of service – Athletic Bilbao, Juventus and Sevilla. And last year he only managed seven in 38 appearances in all competitions.
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In: Granit Xhaka (Borussia Monchengladbach, £30m) Takuma Asano (Sanfrecce Hiroshima, undisclosed), Rob Holding (Bolton, £2.5m), Lucas Perez (Deportivo La Coruna, £16.9m), Shkodran Mustafi (Valencia, £35m)
Out: Mikel Arteta (released), Tomas Rosicky (released), Mathieu Flamini (released), Jon Toral (Granada, Loan), Isaac Hayden (Newcastle, undisclosed), Dan Crowley (Oxford Utd, loan), Wellington Silva (Fluminese, undisclosed), Wojciech Szczesny (Roma, loan) Joel Campbell (Sporting Lisbon, loan), Jack Wilshere (Bournemouth, loan), Serge Gnabry ( Werder Bremen, undisclosed)
ARSENE WENGER managed to get some of his key transfer targets but once again failed to buy a proven striker.
Arsenal fans have cried out for a Karim Benzema or Alexandre Lacazette or Gonzalo Higuain since they lost Robin van Persie in 2012.
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But Wenger has taken a huge risk by signing only £17m Lucas Perez to lead the line for a title charge.
The Gunners boss moved quickly for Granit Xhaka and the Swiss looks like an instant success.
Landing German defender Shkodran Mustafi for £35m from Valencia on Deadline Day was also a coup.
But as legendary Gunners striker Thierry Henry once said: “Sometimes in football you have to score goals.”
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Click here to see ALL the done deals of the summer transfer window
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