The summer transfer window has closed across Europe, with a record-breaking £3.5billion going on sales in the Premier League alone. The spending was driven by the biggest clubs in England and Spain, several of which engaged in ambitious rebuilds.
Continent-wide, six players moved for fees in excess of €100million (£86m; $116.2m) and, according to Transfermarkt, there were 262 signings for €10m (£8.6m; $11.6m) or more.
But which of these moves have stood out? We asked some of our experts to pick their favourite transfers of the past three months, and to explain their choice.
Mamadou Sangare (Brentford)
Mamadou Sangare has to be up there, not just because of the player he is already and is expected to become but also because of the top job Brentford did in convincing him to join them from Lens over other suitors.
Brentford’s recruiting of Mamadou Sangare was impressive (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
It’s not the first time I’ve heard it, either: I hear the detailed presentation by technical director Lee Dykes and head coach Keith Andrews, the level of insight they had about the Mali international and how he could improve ultimately made Brentford the top choice for Sangare and his camp. They felt he would develop best with a club who knew his game inside out.
David Ornstein
Christos Tzolis (Arsenal)
When I heard Arsenal were interested in signing Christos Tzolis, the name hit a certain location in my memory. I knew that Tzolis had played in the Premier League before but had no recollection of his face, physique or playing style.
Tzolis had to reroute through FC Twente, Fortuna Dusseldorf and Club Brugge after his brief spell with relegation-bound Norwich City, who he joined in summer 2021, before making it back in the Premier League with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. Despite putting in a subpar performance against Aston Villa on Monday, he was impressive in the 3-0 victories against Manchester City in the Community Shield and Coventry City in the opening game of the Premier League season.
Tzolis’ profile is exciting, with his cleverness and smart off-ball movement, but it’s very early days so the jury is still out on him.
In a Premier League which has been dominated by intra-league transfers since the summer of 2025, a couple of unrecognised new faces parachuting in give it a breath of fresh air.
Ahmed Walid
Fabio Vieira (Hamburg)
Vieira was the creative heart of Hamburg’s survival in the Bundesliga last season, their first back in the top tier after promotion. The club had been away since relegation in 2018 and during that period had to adjust to fielding much more mundane talent.
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So for someone of Vieira’s class to arrive on loan from Arsenal and play with such elegance and thrust really was a treat for the supporters, all of whom spent the summer longing for him to return in a permanent deal.
And he finally did on deadline day, with a lovely unveiling video to confirm it. It’s rare that single seasons create cult heroes, but Vieira might already be in that territory.
Seb Stafford-Bloor
Robbie Ure (Sevilla)
Times are tough for Sevilla, on and off the pitch. This has been another summer of multiple key players being sold to help balance the books, with incomings focused on free agents and loans.
The seven-time UEFA Cup/Europa League winners did make one exception, however.
Scottish striker Ure joined in a deal that could rise to €9million (£7.7m; $10.4m) — a relative fortune for the Spanish club — from current Swedish league leaders IK Sirius, where he scored 31 goals in 50 games over two seasons.
A graduate of Rangers’ youth system, 22-year-old Ure played just three games for the Glasgow club and has taken the path less travelled, going to Sweden via a stint at Belgian club Anderlecht, and now Sevilla. He made an immediate impact in Seville, winning the last-minute penalty in the opening-weekend 2-1 win against Rayo Vallecano.
Colin Millar
Yan Diomande (Real Madrid)
Still just 19 years old, Diomande was a breakout star at this summer’s World Cup. His dribbling and pace on the wing stood out during Ivory Coast’s run to the knockout phase. Real Madrid pounced, and for several weeks, it appeared Diomande would replace Vinicius Junior, who Arsenal were trying to sign.
Instead, Madrid added another attacking weapon to new manager Jose Mourinho’s squad.
What I like about this transfer, though, is the intention behind the signing.
In a squad that features Kylian Mbappe, Brahim Diaz, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr, Diomande can work his way into the first XI rather than arrive with the responsibility of solving a glaring problem.
Their attack is just fine. So Mourinho will have time to mould Diomande into a game-changing player during what could be a trophy-filled year for his new club.
Felipe Cardenas
Malick Fofana (Sunderland)
From the Enzo Fernandez saga to Folarin Balogun turning down Everton, deadline day had bigger names attached to it, but Sunderland’s club-record €35million (£30,1m; $40.7m) deal for Malick Fofana produced some of its best theatre.
Crystal Palace made a late move for the winger, with new manager Pierre Sage hoping to reunite with the player he previously coached at Lyon. Palace matched Sunderland’s agreement with the French side and, at one stage, both clubs had a plane waiting at Lyon’s airport to bring Fofana to England.
The 21-year-old ultimately chose Sunderland and completed his move to the Stadium of Light, having scored 19 goals in 84 appearances for Lyon and after attracting interest from Premier League title holders Arsenal.
For a club only promoted last season after an eight-year EFL exile to fend off an established top-flight side for one of Europe’s most sought-after young attackers makes Fofana among the standout signings of the summer.
Amelie Claydon
Jeremy Jacquet (Liverpool)
It’s unfashionable to pick a defender, but hear me out. Last season, Liverpool conceded more goals than ever before in a 38-game Premier League campaign, so changes to the back line were inevitable this summer.
Now, while Jacquet’s arrival may not have tightened things up immediately, it’s fair to say the long-term future with the Frenchman around looks bright.
When researching this article on Jacquet’s upbringing, The Athletic discovered exactly why Liverpool were so keen to bring the 21-year-old to Anfield after a rapid rise through the ranks at Rennes.
Jeremy Jacquet’s passing is elite for a central defender (Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
He’s strong, quick and reads the game superbly, but his best quality may be his passing after learning how to control the tempo of a match following his early years as a midfielder.
Liverpool have a real star on their hands, and the Premier League will be better with him around.
Expect to see a calm and composed figure in the heart of defence alongside Virgil van Dijk this season; and if Liverpool begin motoring towards the top positions, Jacquet will surely be a big part of it.
Gregg Evans
Troy Parrott (Real Betis)
Personally speaking, Troy Parrott joining Real Betis was the best transfer news of the summer.
Parrott went viral with his five goals in two World Cup qualifying wins against Portugal and Hungary last November, securing national-hero status in the Republic of Ireland (even if we still missed out on actually qualifying for the tournament, losing to the Czech Republic on penalties in the semi-finals of the UEFA play-offs).
The former Tottenham Hotspur starlet has developed excellently over three seasons in the Eredivisie, contributing 31 goals and 12 assists last season at AZ, and at age 24, he looked prime for a big move.
It’s a big surprise that no Premier League team moved seriously for him, allowing Spain’s Betis to swoop in and get him for what could be a bargain €16million (£13.8m; $18.6m).
It looks a great fit too, and not just because of Betis’ green and white colours. He opened his account for the Seville club in style on Friday, scoring the only goal as they beat Real Madrid. If Parrott can bring his razor-sharp finishing to the Champions League this season, against more big-name opponents including Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, he’ll be making more headlines everywhere.
Dermot Corrigan
Emiliano Martinez (Chelsea)
Look, there’s nothing big or clever about suggesting this — but it was the one transfer where I first heard the links and thought, ‘Oh boy’.
Chelsea have had an overriding weakness in goal for some time and it was a jarring factor in their season-opening win against Fulham. As for Emiliano Martinez, an Aston Villa exit in this window looked inevitable.
It just never occurred to me that the two scenarios would meet, or that Villa would sanction it.
Martinez is an ideal fit for Chelsea (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
Chelsea have looked fluid with the ball, and with Martinez in goal, they instantly become a force without it. His ability to agitate and grate on the pitch will mix nicely with how their supporters want to see them play and the stylish elements new manager Xabi Alonso will instil.
Martinez is the signing that makes the biggest difference — and it now feels like it should have been obvious.
Michael Bailey
Mateus Fernandes (Tottenham)
Midfield has been a problem position for Tottenham Hotspur for years. They have been crying out for a player who can pass the ball forwards through the middle of the pitch, and with James Maddison missing almost all of last season with an ACL knee injury, they looked desperately short of quality and creativity in the middle. But by spending £85million on Mateus Fernandes, Spurs look to have solved that.
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Fernandes is a perfect signing: only 22 years old, with two seasons of Premier League experience at Southampton and West Ham United behind him already, a brilliant all-round midfielder, both technical and physical, and on top of all of that a popular member of the dressing room, someone coach Roberto De Zerbi feels he can build around.
He should play hundreds of times for Tottenham in the years ahead.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
Sergio Canales (Racing Santander)
For pure sentimentality, it has to be Sergio Canales’ return to his boyhood club Racing Santander, 16 years after he last played for them.
Back then, Canales was a fresh-faced teenager who was seen as the future of Spanish football. He was signed by Real Madrid in 2010 at the start of Jose Mourinho’s first spell in charge but played just 15 times before leaving for Valencia a year later in a loan deal that was then made permanent. He recently told the We Are Brave podcast he was “light years” from the rhythm of star team-mates Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria at the Bernabeu.
Three serious knee injuries changed Canales’ game, and there have been further spells at Real Sociedad, Real Betis and in Mexico with Monterrey. But he was always happiest at Racing, who have returned to La Liga this season after 14 years away — and it just made sense when the 35-year-old midfielder’s signing was announced in June.
Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero
Jack Grealish (Everton)
One of the great joys of last season was the sight of Jack Grealish getting approximately 75 per cent of his groove back on loan at Everton. After drifting to the fringes at Manchester City, he needed that kind of platform. So did the holdout Grealish tragics; those of us who still cling to the memories of his raffish breakout years.
Grealish is probably never going to be that player again. Some of the rough edges have been sanded off. He is 31 next week. Chances are that he is already on the downslope of his career. Yet he showed in that loan spell that plenty of the old magic remains. He still floats across the turf like he’s got a discount code on gravity, still sees angles and passes others do not.
I waited all summer for him to move somewhere interesting. When the Premier League season started and he was on the City bench, I feared the worst. Then, at the last, he checked in for a second loan stint at the David Moyes career rehabilitation centre. Here’s to another season of fragile beauty.
Jack Lang
El Hadji Malick Diouf (Brentford)
When Senegal beat England in a friendly last summer, the standout player was their rangy left-back, who seemed to spend the entire game ploughing up and down that flank and whipping in deadly crosses.
The heart sank, therefore, when El Hadji Malick Diouf was sucked into the gaping maw of pain and unhappiness that was/is West Ham United, and perhaps inevitably, he produced a patchy debut season as they were relegated from the Premier League.
El Hadji Malick Diouf in action for Senegal during the World Cup (Al Bello/Getty Images)
Now he has a do-over, remaining in the top flight, and London, after he was purchased by Brentford, which, if you will excuse some minor self-indulgence, is personally gratifying: when you see a player and think “This kid looks great” and then the big data-mining brains at Brentford agree with you, it makes you feel just a little bit smarter.
Nick Miller
Tariq Lamptey (Queens Park Rangers)
One of several eye-catching signings at Queens Park Rangers this summer.
Tariq Lamptey joins on a free transfer from Fiorentina, a year on from moving to Italy from Brighton & Hove Albion for €6million (£5.2m/$7m at the current rates). He ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) just 22 minutes into his second game for the Florence side, and subsequently agreed to terminate his contract with them by mutual consent in May.
The former England youth and then 10-time senior Ghana international is still only 25 and has over 100 games of Premier League experience with Chelsea and Brighton.
A risk? Without a doubt. He wouldn’t be playing at Championship level now but for his lengthy injury record.
But if he can stay fit, Lamptey is a speedy full-back who could play a big role in helping QPR have a successful season.
Andrew Pigott
Julio Enciso (Ipswich)
Amid significant injuries and a dramatic transfer U-turn involving Chelsea, the general consensus on Julio Enciso’s ability seems to have been clouded. But for my money, few players bring a more impactful set of skills to a club scrapping to stay in the Premier League.
Still just 22, Enciso presses hard from the front. He is a talented dribbler, and seems to have bulked up since his last stint in the side at Brighton approaching two years ago, helping him to bounce from challenge to challenge and lead the line effectively for Paraguay at the World Cup.
Most excitingly of all, he can hit through the ball with reliable power and accuracy from distance, having already scored the Premier League’s goal of the season for 2022-23, and striking twice more from over 30 yards on English soil.
Enciso can be the bustling out-ball, the tenacious, front-footed defender and provide the moments of individual brilliance to get Ipswich out of the relegation trouble many anticipate. If that tricky left knee of his can hold up. I’m excited to see him given another chance.
Thom Harris