Were there any real winners in the Premier League's chaotic summer transfer window?

Record-breaking men 

The headline story from this summer's window was the vast amount of cash spent in singular deals, where twice the British record was broken, and in the dying embers on deadline day, the all-time Premier League record was matched. 

Elliot Anderson got the ball rolling with his £116m move to Manchester City, becoming the most expensive British player in history, but within weeks was usurped by Morgan Rogers' £117m move to Chelsea. 

City then went all in on a midfield rebuild by matching the Premier League record fee of £125m to sign Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea, bizarrely the second time the Argentine has been part of a record deal. 
 

That deal was part of a £458m spend by City, the most ever in one window, although they did recoup £304m in sales, as the club looks to refresh after the end of the Pep Guardiola era.

Chelsea were the next biggest spenders, forking out £349m, but finished the window in the black after selling £382m worth of players. 

On the other side of London, Spurs went early with their £100m move for Sandro Tonali - a club record fee - and continued to spend £320m to try and turn their fortunes around. 

Even promoted Ipswich went on a spree, spending more than Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid and PSG, with an £148m outlay. 

In fact, 11 of the 20 Premier League clubs broke their record this summer, with many of them doing it multiple times over. 

Premier League pals 

One of the most interesting factors of this window is just how much business was done between Premier League clubs. 

In what seems to be a conscious trend, 33% of all the deals across the window involved transactions between clubs in England's top flight. That figure increases to 41% when you add in Football League clubs, too.
 

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There could be several factors to this. The desire to sign proven Premier League players, after seeing recent big names from abroad fail to acclimatise quickly to English football, has therefore placed a bigger onus on clubs to 'know what you're getting.'

Moves between fellow English clubs also mean price tags - believe it or not - may not be as high as when dealing with European clubs, who look to cash in on the riches Premier League names have at their disposal. 

Then there's the accounts to look after, and there's definitely been a whiff of teams balancing the books by dealing with English teams, most notably between Chelsea and Aston Villa, who worked together on several deals. 

Did anyone win the window? 

But despite the incredible amount of money spent in 2026, now the dust has settled on the Premier League squads, has any team really managed to solve all their issues? And the quick answer is, probably, no. 

Manchester City have rebuilt a midfield, which in time may function, but consists of three players in different stages of their careers, as they look to fill the void left by Rodri. While in attack, a serious injury to Erling Haaland could leave the club woefully short upfront. 

Liverpool may have eventually got Bradley Barcola to add to their attack, but there are still glaring spaces on the right flank, while questions are still being asked about their defence - especially at full-back. 

Even champions Arsenal, who have added some quality in midfield and attack, feel like they are still short in the final third, especially after selling a trio of frontmen. Will that come back to haunt them? 
 

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And it's the same up and down the league. Manchester United have a new midfield, but they are still crying out for full-backs and someone to challenge Benjamin Sesko as the focal point of attack, while Chelsea are now short in midfield, having run out of time to replace Fernandez on deadline day. 

Then there's Aston Villa, who've gone under the mother of all rebuilds - one no one really saw coming - and it's hard to say if they'll be a better or worse team than last season. 

Everton are another, too, who have ended the summer with a more depleted squad than when they started. With late collapses and failed bids, they are down to just one full-back on each side and only Thierno Barry as a striker. 

In fact, it's hard to name one Premier League club that, despite a record-breaking window, doesn't need more additions. How, with the amount of money that has been spent, has this been allowed to happen? 

For fans, it may make for another enthralling season, as teams that look far from perfect look to navigate until January with expensively assembled squads that still have some flaws that need to be addressed. 

Then, once the winter window opens, we can do it all over again. 

How to watch the Premier League in Canada

Soccer fans in Canada can watch every Premier League match during the 2026-27 season on DAZN.

With Fubo Sports on DAZN, Canadians can catch Premier League action as well as Serie A. Additionally, DAZN is the home of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Bundesliga and more.

For pricing information and to sign up to watch, click here.