The transfer period is finally over as clubs from all over Europe tried to take their squad a notch higher by signing quality names. A deadline day frenzy was experienced in every league as clubs made some last ditch attempts to sign their desired individual.
The transfer deadline day which can be termed as St. Panic Buy Day has always been an important part of every football fan's life.
The clubs who emerged as winners from this window are Italian giants, Juventus. Not only did they sign big players in Gonzalo Higuain, Miralem Pjanic and Dani Alves; they sold Paul Pogba for a whopping £89 million.
Barcelona did some brilliant business although Real Madrid were surprisingly quiet this summer. Let's take a look at how the big clubs from the top five leagues performed in the transfer market and rate their summer business:
Ligue 1
Paris Saint-Germain
The French champions parted ways with Laurent Blanc in the summer and replaced him with the highly rated former Sevilla man, Unai Emery. PSG did not make too many changes as they signed five players, mostly from La Liga, for the new season.
A last day departure of David Luiz might help Marquinhos to play in his favoured position in defence. Jese Rodriguez has emerged as one of the youngsters to watch out for and the Parisians have done well to land him from Real.
Krychowiak and Matuidi will make a solid midfield duo for the 2016-17 season.
In:
Grzegorz Krychowiak - £28 million Jese Rodriguez - £21 millionGiovani Lo Celso - £8.5 millionThomas Meunier - £6 millionHatem Ben Arfa - Free transfer
Out:
Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Free David Luiz - £32 million Lucas Digne - £14 million Benjamin Stambouli - £8 millionGregory Van Der Wiel - Free Salvatore Sirigu - Loan
Grade : B -
Though their net spend has been below £10 million for the 2016-17 season, selling Luiz on the final day may cause some problems in defence; keeping the longevity of the season in mind.
Serie A
Juventus
The Turin side did some of their best business this summer as they have signed players which have taken the squad depth to an altogether different level. The Italian League is going to be a one-horse race for the next couple of years.
Dani Alves and Gonzalo Higuain have a lot of European experience under them, which will help Juventus in the Champions League. Pjaca is another young talented winger to watch out for.
In:
Gonzalo Higuain - £76 millionMarko Pjaca - £19.5 millionMiralem Pjanic - £27 millionMario Lemina - £8 millionMehdi Benatia - LoanJuan Cuadrado - LoanDani Alves - Free
Out:
Paul Pogba - £89 millionAlvaro Morata - £25 millionRoberto Pereyra - £11 millionMauricio Isla - £3.4 millionSimone Zaza - Loan
Grade : A+
Juventus have literally spent nothing and still have made their squad one of the best in Europe. Adding Benatia and Alves to an already solid defense has made Juventus' defence, the best in Europe.
Surely, Allegri's men can be said as one of the favourites for this year's Champions League.
Inter Milan
It was made clear after Frank De Boer's appointment at the club that Inter are going to spend big this summer. They have emerged as Juventus' challengers for the Scudetto as AC Milan has been in decline and Napoli have gotten weaker by the departure of Gonzalo Higuain.
Inter have sold their fringe players this summer and have a solid squad strenghthened by the arrival of Inter’s marquee signing, Joao Mario from Sporting Lisbon.
In:
Joao Mario - £34 millionGabriel Barbosa - £23 million Antonio Candreva - £18 millionDodo - £5.5 millionCristian Ansaldi - £3 millionMarcelo Brozovic - £5 millionGianluca Caprari - £2.5 million
Out:
Cristiano Biraghi - £2 million Diego Laxalt - £2 millionJuan Jesus - Loan
Grade : B+
Inter have broken the bank to sign big players in Joao Mario and Candreva. Signing Gabigol, termed as next big thing to come from Brazil, is going to pay huge dividends for the Nerazzuris in the future. With this squad, Inter must return to the Champions Champions League next year.
Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund
Thomas Tuchel has completed a major overhaul of the club and has signed talented young players with a good resale value. The youngsters signed this summer have huge potential and along with the existing squad, this Dortmund side can give Bayern a run for their money.
Ousmane Dembele has been impressive since pre-season and Emre Mor sparkled for Turkey during the Euros. Andre Schurrle can prove to be another masterstroke from Thomas Tuchel.
In:
Andre Schurrle - £26.9 millionMario Gotze - £18.7 millionRaphael Guerreiro - £9.5 millionOusmane Dembele - £12 million Sebastian Rode - £10.2 millionMarc Batra - £6 millionEmre Mor - £4.5 millionMikel Merino - £2 million
Out:
Henrikh Mkhitaryan - £26.3 millionMats Hummels - £30 millionIlkay Gundogan - £20 millionJakub Blaszczykowski - £2.5 million
Grade : A-
Dortmund have done some brilliant business this summer as this is their best chance to dethrone Bayern Munich to win the German League. Carlo Ancelotti has just won four league titles in his twenty years which gives hope to Thomas Tuchel's men.
Bayern Munich
Bayern did not need many signings as they had a settled squad which needed just a few tweaks. The Bavarians have gone on to sign two world class players which may take them closer to a fourth consecutive Bundesliga title.
Mats Hummels’ signing will weaken Dortmund significantly and Renato Sanchez along with Kingsley Coman, are going to make Munich a formidable force.
In :
Mats Hummels - £30 millionRenato Sanches - £29.7 million
Out :
Mario Gotze - £18.7 millionSebastian Rode : £10.2 millionPierre Hojberg - £12.5 millionMehdi Benatia - Loan
Grade - B+
Bayern Munich have become even stronger now with Hummels in the back four. They have enough depth in their squad to challenge on all fronts.
Ancelotti can win the much desired Champions League at Munich with this squad, but signing a huge star to start this season would have sent a warning to the other teams.
La Liga
Atletico Madrid
In their last season at the Vicente Calderon, Diego Simeone will look to give some happy memories to the supporters in their beloved home ground. Atletico have to play at their best, week in, week out after the international break, if Atletico want to repeat the feat they achieved in 2014.
Summer signings Kevin Gameiro and Nicolas Gaitan will improve their counter attacking style of football this season. Atletico will need to get back to winning ways as they have started this season with two draws.
In:
Kevin Gameiro - £27 millionNicolas Gaitan - £21 millionSime Vrsaljko - £13.6 million Diogo Jota - £6 million
Out:
Borja Baston - £13.2 millionLeo Baptistao - £3 millionLucianno Vietto - Loan
Grade : B -
Simeone needs some luck on his side, as his side has lost two Champions League finals to bitter rivals, Real Madrid. They now have a deadly striker force in Griezmann and Gameiro, but should have signed a commanding midfielder this summer.
Real Madrid
The Los Blancos have been surprisingly silent all summer as they signed just one player. It can be a naïve decision as Real face a two-window transfer ban starting from January. They have a huge task on their hands to challenge on all fronts, but have an ageing squad.
Alvaro Morata will play a huge part this season along with the returning Marco Asensio.
In:
Alvaro Morata - £25 million
Out:
Jese Rodriguez - £21 million Dennis Cheryshev - £5 million
Grade: C
It is commendable that Zidane has trusted his youngsters, but this decision can come back to bite the Los Blancos, as they depend heavily on the front trio. If one of Ronaldo or Bale gets injured, they don't have anyone to look up to.
Barcelona
The Catalans used this summer to build for the future as is evident from the players that they have signed – all below 24 years of age.
Barcelona have signed some exciting Spanish youngsters in Dennis Suarez and Paco Alcacer who are going to play regularly for Spain in the coming years.
In:
Andre Gomes - £35 millionSamuel Umtiti - £22 millionLucas Digne - £14 millionDennis Suarez - £3 million Jasper Cillessen - £12 million Paco Alcacer - £26 million
Out:
Claudio Bravo - £17 millionMarc Bartra - £6 millionAlen Halilovic - £3 millionSergi Samper - LoanThomas Vermaelen - Loan Munir – Loan
Grade: A -
Luis Enrique has been provided with a talented squad that can challenge on all fronts in the foreseeable future. Not inserting a buy back clause in Munir’s contact might haunt the league champions in the future.
Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur
The north Londoners were the busiest club on deadline day, as they signed two players for a significant amount of money. Pochettino’s men have been unbeaten in the league so far and will hope that the new players gel with the squad as early as possible.
Victor Wanyama will be Spurs’ most important player to have signed for the club since Toby Alderweireld deal, abd the Kenyan has alreadt started to make his impact known for Spurs.
In:
Moussa Sissoko - £30 millionVincent Janssen - £18.5 millionVictor Wanyama - £11 million Georges-Kevin N'koudou - £10 million Pau Lopez - Loan
Out:
Ryan Mason - £10 millionNacer Chadli - £13 millionAlex Pritchard - £8 millionDeAndre Yedlin - £5 million
Grade: B+
Pochettino has got players in positions that needed strengthening. But, a move for Sissoko looks like a panic buy as the Lilywhites seem to have overpaid for the Frenchman. £30 million is a bit too much for the inconsistent midfielder.
Arsenal
The Gunners were silent for the entirety of August but made two signings in the last week of transfer season. If Wenger had not made those transfers, it would have been a long helpless season for the manager.
Granit Xhaka’s arrival has made Wilshere to go on loan while Lucas Perez can be an able deputy to Olivier Giroud.
In:
Granit Xhaka - £35 millionRob Holding - £2.5 millionShkodran Mustafi - £35 millionLucas Perez - £17.5 million
Out:
Serge Gnabry - £4.5 millionCalum Chambers - LoanJack Wilshere - LoanTomas Rosicky - Free
Grade: B+
Though Arsenal made the signings that were required, had these deals been completed earlier, they would not have dropped points in the first two games of the season.
Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp made all his signings early in the transfer period and the Reds have been silent for the past two weeks. Fans were hoping for an upgrade on the left back but Klopp has trusted James Milner to do the needful to replace the highly vulnerable Alberto Moreno.
Sadio Mane is proving to be the best signing for Liverpool this summer already.
In:
Sadio Mane - £30 millionGini Wijnaldum - £25 millionRagnar Klavan - £5 millionLoris Karius - £4.7 millionAlex Manninger - FreeJoel Matip - Free
Out:
Christian Benteke - £30 millionJordan Ibe - £15 millionJoe Allen - £13.5 millionBrad Smith - £6 millionMartin Skrtel - £5 millionJerome Sinclair - £4 millionLuis Alberto - £4.3 million
Grade: B -
The Reds have done well financially, as their net spend is in the negative as Klopp was brutal in selling players that were no longer in his plans. A holding midfielder and a left back should have been signed as those two positions needed strenghtening.
Chelsea
Antonio Conte has done well in his first few months and is unbeaten in the league with three wins out of three. The Blues were busy on deadline day as they signed two defenders, which they were trying to do since the start of August.
The return of David Luiz is a risky one, as the Brazilian is inconsistent and error prone, but the plus point in bringing him back is that he has experience of playing in the Premier League.
In:
Michy Batshuayi - £33 millionN'golo Kante - £32 millionMarcos Alonso - £23 millionDavid Luiz - £32 millionEduardo - £2 million
Out:
Mohammed Salah - £16 millionPapy Djilobodji - £8 million
Chelsea have sent 38 players on loan this season.
Grade : A -
The Blues have a strong squad that can challenge the might of both Manchester clubs, as Antonio Conte begins his revolution at the club. But Chelsea left it a little too late to sign defenders and may have overpaid for them.
Manchester United
United had another summer where the Red Devils spent more than £150 million, which included the signing Paul Pogba from Juventus, making him the world's most expensive player. It is the first time since Alan Shearer that the world's most expensive player will play in the Premier League.
The arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba in one window have put United on the map again.
In:
Eric Bailly - £30 millionHenrikh Mkhitaryan - £26 millionZlatan Ibrahimovic - FreePaul Pogba - £89 million
Out:
Donald Love - combined £5.5 millionPaddy Mcnair - combined £5.5 millionWill Keane - £1 millionAdnan Januzaj - LoanAndreas Perreira - Loan
Grade: A+
United have gone on and delivered their targets to Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese is building a very strong team at Old Trafford and are now one of the favorites, along with their ‘noisy neighbours’, to win the title.
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola arrived in England amidst much fanfare and has completed a major overhaul at Etihad. City have spent the most money this summer as they too crossed the £150 million mark this transfer window.
The Spaniard has stamped his authority early on by making tough decisions in his first transfer period like sending Joe Hart and Samir Nasri on loan. Claudio Bravo from Barcelona could be an inspired signing, late in the transfer window. Gabriel Jesus looks like an exciting prospect, judging his exploits at the Rio Olympics.
In:
John Stones - £47.5 millionLeroy Sane - £42 millionGabriel Jesus - £27 millionIlkay Gundogan - £22 millionClaudio Bravo - £17 millionMarlos Moreno - £4.5 millionNolito - £14 millionOleksandr Zinchenko - Undisclosed
Out:
Joe Hart - LoanSamir Nasri - LoanEliaquim Mangala - LoanWilfried Bony - LoanMarlos Moreno - Loan
Grade: A+
Standing toe to toe with United, Pep Guardiola has gone on to make some fantastic signings in his first season in England. In a season or two, City have the potential to go the distance in Europe too.
