2024 Summer Transfer Window Round-Up: Who made the best deals?
The summer transfer period has now ended, with spending plunging across the big European leagues and even Saudi Arabia – with one notable exception…
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00:00Another summer of Chancer business has come to an end. There's been a notable
00:04drop-off in spending, but there's still some exciting deals to look back on. So
00:09let's take a look through some of the biggest stories of the summer window.
00:18Hello and welcome to Football Now. One of the most exciting parts about football
00:23in the summer is the closely watched Chancer window. As the optimism begins to
00:28build ahead of the new campaign, this can be bolstered massively by your club
00:32adding a couple of fresh faces to the squad. Now for the most part that has
00:36been the same this year, but spending across Europe is actually down by an
00:41average of 14%. So what's changed? There's a few factors for Premier League
00:48teams certainly. The Premier League rules and regulations around profit
00:52sustainability, PSR have been shown to have some teeth for many clubs. That
00:56105 million figure over a three-year period has kind of remained in situ for
01:01more than a decade now. It's not really moving, yet we have inflation and the
01:05cost of things goes up. Also there are a couple of other factors. The fact that we've
01:08had disruption this summer because of the European Championships and maybe
01:12some of the deals may not have been done. It requires everyone to partake in
01:16reality. So across Europe you need active participants in the market. So you need
01:20people in Italy and France and Spain to spend big to allow the kind of the flow
01:25of money to keep on going around. I think it's the start of maybe a little
01:28bit more austerity in the transfer market.
01:312024's summer transfer window is now officially closed and despite less cash
01:36being spent, there are still some completed deals that could spice things
01:40up this season. Let's take a look at some of the best ones.
01:44In the most high-profile move of the summer, Kylian Mbappe joined Real Madrid on a
01:49free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain. He had been linked with a move to Los
01:53Blancos for many years and it's finally become a reality. He was unveiled to
01:57more than 80,000 fans at the Bernabeu in July. An emotional moment for a player
02:01who's dreamed of wearing the white shirt of Madrid since he was young.
02:06It's huge news, obviously not only for Real Madrid but also for Spanish football and for La Liga.
02:10To have now the best player in the world in my opinion or at least the most
02:14decisive one. To see the Bernabeu full of people for just a player unveiling, it's
02:19something that you don't get to see every day. This means a lot for him but
02:23not only playing for Real Madrid but having Zidane by his side in his
02:27unveiling at the Bernabeu, having the chance to match what his idol Cristiano
02:31Ronaldo did also in Madrid. He was so happy, he had all this positive energy
02:36you know. You could see that he was a fan not only from Ronaldo but also for Real Madrid.
02:43It's pretty difficult to replace Mbappe but PSG will attempt to do just that
02:47with the signing of Desiree Due from Stade Rennes. The 19-year-old arrives with a
02:5250 million euro price tag after making 31 appearances for Rennes last season.
02:57Elsewhere in Europe it was a summer where attackers were in the highest
03:01demand. Julian Alvarez, Dominic Solanke, Pedro Neto, Michael Alisse and Romelu
03:06Lukaku have all joined new clubs. Spain star Dani Almo played an integral role
03:11in Los Rocos winning the European Championships in July and his
03:14performance earned him a move to Barcelona. His contract has a substantial
03:19500 million euro release clause and it's fair to say one of the busiest
03:23clubs in Europe has once again been Chelsea. Another 11 players through the
03:27door and 241 million euros spent. They have now signed over 40 players since
03:32American business tycoon Todd Boley bought the club in 2022. It's a bold
03:37strategy but how likely is it to pay off? I think anyone who watches football will
03:42look at Chelsea's squad and go there is immense talent here. Yes it lacks
03:46experience, yes it lacks a certain maturity but the amount of people
03:50technical and creative players especially we have in the squad is
03:53impeccable. So when I look at the Wolves game for example, Neto, I think that's a
03:57fabulous signing for us. I think one of the issues Chelsea faced last season is
04:00we were rubbish against low blocks and having players like Neto, Felix and of
04:04course Jadon Sancho, ball carriers who can just out of nowhere create magic and
04:09get us in the box against a lower block, they're gonna be really helpful signings.
04:12So there's been some really strong decisions made. I would love to have a
04:16more senior striker at the club. I'd also love to have a world-class goalkeeper
04:19at the club. As much as I'm happy with those signings there's still a lot more
04:23positions in the squad I'd like to see filled for the money that we've spent.
04:26Now of course the transfer period isn't just about what's happening in Europe.
04:30One of the biggest stories last summer was the new spending power of the Saudi
04:34Pro League. This year it hasn't been quite as prolific. In fact their spending
04:39is down by around 77% but their transfer activity has still proven that no player
04:45is safe. So what is the season shaping up to be like in Saudi? I think only time
04:51will tell but I think from the first few matches in the season you can tell that
04:55some teams are coming in with sharp teeth just wanting to take it all. I
04:59think last season of course Al-Hilal remains king, remains one of the most
05:03competitive teams in Saudi but there was also the disappointment of Saudi teams
05:07not performing as they were expected in the Asian Champions League in particular.
05:11Last season I think the fans were very happy with just having these stars and
05:14having these players that actually contributed a lot to their teams and to
05:17the league but of course it depends on the transfer. Some transfers were well
05:21received, some transfers were looked back on as something that maybe was not fully
05:25utilised or did not come into fruition the way that fans or the way that team
05:29management expected. I think that's why this season they've looked back and
05:33they're trying to be more and more strategic with who they sign to the
05:37teams and why they bring them on board. Another season is well and truly underway.
05:41Let us know which signing do you think will have the most impact using the
05:45hashtag football now summer transfers. That's all we've got time for from our
05:50studio here in Doha, we'll see you next time. Bye for now.