Winners and Losers of the 2022 Summer transfer window

The Summer 2022 transfer window closed shut earlier this week and as ever, there’s plenty to talk about. There were some shock moves as the Premier League sides broke the transfer record with over £1.9 billion spent before the deadline.

In Europe, we also saw some big moves, but who are the biggest winners and losers from the transfer window?

Winner – Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest have been the busiest club in history in the Summer 2022 window. When clubs are promoted from the Championship, they typically fall into one of two categories, but the Tricky Trees have broken those models.

Forest have signed a scarcely-believable 21 players, almost two full starting XI’s. The Reds’ total business stands at around £136m, according to most estimates.

How these new players will gel into the new side is yet to be seen, but you can’t knock the commitment to staying in the Premier League. The stand-out signings are England goalkeeper Dean Henderson (on loan from Manchester United), Willy Boly from Wolves, Neco Williams from Liverpool and the club’s record signing, Morgan Gibbs-White.

Loser – Leicester City

It’s early days in the season, but Leicester City are already cut adrift at the bottom of the Premier League season. At the time of writing, the Foxes have lost all but one match and all of the previous four. For a club that won the FA Cup a couple seasons ago and competed in Europe last campaign, this is a severe drop in performance.

It’s little wonder why though, as Leicester have sold both star defender Wesley Fofana and long-term goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. Who have they replaced them with? Alex Smithies and Wout Faes… That’s a solid downgrade.

To stand still in football is to move backwards and Leicester can forget about challenging for Europe. The Foxes will need to perform soon, otherwise they could be down by Christmas. Who would’ve predicted that so soon after winning the title in 2016?

Winner – Barcelona

We’ll start this one with a disclaimer, as this will likely tweak a few eyebrows. FC Barcelona’s transfer dealings have been controversial, as their short-term gain could turn into long-term pain over the next few decades.

However, we’re taking this transfer window in isolation, and Barca’s transfer dealings have been impressive.

9 signings for a grand total of €158m (£136m) will only help the Catalan’s attempts to retake the La Liga crown from their great rivals Real Madrid.

Robert Lewandowski is the standout of the bunch, as the Pole has arguably been the best out-and-out striker in the world over the past five years. Additionally, acquisitions such as Raphinha and Franck Kessie will further bolster their attacking options, while Andreas Christensen and Marcos Alonso joining from Chelsea will help solidify them at the back.

How far they’ll go in the Champions League will be the ultimate gauge of their progress, as the Blaugrana will be aiming for the knockouts as a minimum.

Loser – Juventus

There was a time when Juventus were unstoppable in Italy, but that already feels like a long time ago. Juve have slowly faded, as the likes of Inter Milan, AC Milan and Roma have arisen as challengers to the Old Lady.

Juve have lost Giorgio Chiellini, Alvaro Morata, Aaron Ramsey, Paulo Dybala and Matthijs de Ligt all in this window alone. While some are ageing and some others haven’t lived up to expectations, that’s not encouraging.

As for those coming in, Paul Pogba was a flop for Manchester United but admittedly could return to form in Italy. Aside from that, the only real signing of note is Angel Di Maria, who is probably past his best at 34. So, don’t expect the Scudetto to return to Turin in 2023.

Winner – Manchester City

Spending big in order to improve the side has been something we’d traditionally associated with Manchester City. However, the Citizens have been surprisingly shrewd, making a £60m profit on transfers.

That’s despite signing the sensational Erling Haaland, who could well become the best striker in the world, if he isn’t already! Kalvin Phillips, Sergio Gomez and Manuel Akanji will also add further depth into what’s already a stacked squad available to Pep Guardiola.

Liverpool and City are the favourites for the Premier League title and it’s safe to say that the Sky Blues have had the better window, which is reflected in their better start to the campaign.