How has the transfer window shaped the title race? 

How has the transfer window shaped the title race?
Chelsea and Arsenal missed out, but Man Utd got who they wanted

The maths…

Bookmakers have framed the betting market in line with net spend, so Manchester City are a best-price 7-5 to win the title after investing £130.9m, Manchester United are next (9-4 second-favourites after parting with £127m), with Chelsea third on the list at 11-2, following a net lay-out of £74.5m. But there is no dramatic change in the odds there, and the spending obsession can now cease. The emphasis shifts to the pitch, where a range of criteria apply.

Problems solved…

City now sport an abundance of attacking full-backs - Pep Guardiola’s dream - and two international midfields. A new goalkeeper (Ederson) puts paid to the doomed Claudio Bravo experiment. Chelsea have added strength at centre-back and replaced Nemanja Matic with two good central midfielders - Tiemoue Bakayoko and Danny Drinkwater. United worked chiefly on their spine, with Matic, Victor Lindelof and Romelu Lukaku. Liverpool gained at left-back (Andrew Robertson), midfield (Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain) and especially the wide attacking areas, with Mohammed Salah, who could make himself an Anfield idol. Spurs found a dependable striker to support Harry Kane with Fernando Llorente’s late signing. With Kyle Walker sold, they also now have two fine right-backs: Serge Aurier and Kieran Trippier. Clever. Even Arsenal made one significant addition, in attack. Alexandre Lacazette is no slouch.

Problems not solved...

Liverpool’s central defence is no stronger. The same could be said of City. Arsenal are no steelier or more coherent and face a diplomatic challenge to bring Alexis Sanchex back onside. Morale in Arsene Wenger’s team is snake’s-belly low, and no-one in the dressing-room will feel lifted by the summer’s trading. Morata is probably a title-winning class striker but will have to fill the gap left by Diego Costa, the ghost in Chelsea’s machine. Antonio Conte has no grounds for complaining about the thinness of his squad.

Mohamed Salah is already one of Liverpool's most expensive signings, he has the potential to become and Anfield idol
Mohamed Salah is already one of Liverpool's most expensive signings, he has the potential to become and Anfield idol Credit: Phil Noble /Reuters

Painful losses...

Almost none. On the contrary, the culling was impressive, with Guardiola dispensing with a swarm of players who had passed their peak: Gael Clichy, Nolito, Pablo Zabaleta, Jesus Navas, Samir Nasri, Bacary Sagna, Joe Hart, Wilfried Bony, Alexsandr Kolarov and Fernando. Nobody could dispute any of those ejections. Similarly Wayne Rooney’s time was up at United and Spurs replaced Walker well. Kieran Gibbs and Wojcech Szczesny were no great loss to Arsenal but Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gabriel would have been worth keeping.

Pep Guardiola has the team he wants, can he now go and get the title Manchester City demand? 
No more pointing the finger for Pep Guardiola. He has the team he wants, can he now go and get the title Manchester City demand?  Credit: Stu Forster/Getty Images

Coaching…

A big test now, and barely spoken about on the transfer trading moneygoround. The Premier League has its most famous set of top-six managers, and each has his challenges. City’s aura will crack if their central defence falls apart. So now comes the biggest test of Guardiola’s coaching career. He has the tools: can he do the job? Placating the four top-class midfielders Guardiola will have to leave on the bench each week is another conundrum. But a nice one to have.

Jose Mourinho has raised United’s confidence and quickened United’s play. Lukaku has added dynamism and thrust - and the whole team has followed his lead. But Mourinho’s willingness to “let the horses run” will be tested against fellow top-six opponents, where the quality of his squad will be more severely stretched. Pochettino hates talking about Wembley, but plainly his biggest task is psychological: settling his team in that curiously enervating rented mansion beside the North Circular Road. Surely Conte has only to drop the turbulent priest routine and keep his team’s spirits high, while moving on from Costa? Liverpool could do with more set-piece nous in their own penalty box and learn to close-down games rather than chasing cricket scores.

 At Arsenal, meanwhile, Wenger’s whole late-career credibility as a coach and problem-solver will be tested as never before.

Dealing with the stranded Alexis Sanchez is just one of a multitude of problems facing Arsene Wenger 
Dealing with the stranded Alexis Sanchez is just one of a multitude of problems facing Arsene Wenger  Credit: Michael Regan/Getty Images

Fan unrest...

Only Arsenal supporters are within their rights to howl at the moon, after the failure to correct long-standing flaws and the farce of the Sanchez-Thomas Lemar deadline day duet. Can any of the other top six tribes really complain about their club’s comings and goings? Chelsea’s fans might feel aggrieved that Lukaku and Llorente were among those who went elsewhere, but they will hardly mind that Ross Barkley backed out of the stalls on a move from Everton. That last minute need for more time exemplified Barkley’s problems with decision making.

Entertainment…

Even more intensity has been added to the title race, but more excitement too, especially at City, with their marvellous midfield orchestra, United back on the good foot and Salah running free at Liverpool. Tactical fluidity should also lend itself to enjoyable chaos as managers switch formations, sometimes riskily. If August was a provisional month in the Premier League, with transfer uncertainty everywhere, business now falls away, leaving no place to hide.

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