ALEX CROOK’S SUMMER TRANSFER WINDOW TAKEAWAYS

After a hectic Deadline Day, Star Sports football ambassador ALEX CROOK is back to discuss his main takeaways from the Premier League summer transfer window…

⭐ STARSPORTS.BET PREMIER LEAGUE OUTRIGHT AND SPECIAL MARKETS ⭐

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🏆 CITY SLICKERS NOW ARSENAL’S BIGGEST THREAT

It’s been a summer of change at the Etihad with a legendary manager and a host of key players departing.

Enzo Maresca already seems to have got his feet under the table judging by City’s 4-1 rout of Crystal Palace last weekend.

They had to wait until the last day of the window, but Maresca finally got his man as Enzo Fernandez completed his £125m from Chelsea.

The signing of Iliman Ndiaye from Everton for £60m also looks like a masterstroke while Moroccan teenager Ayoub Bouadi already looks like a superstar in the making.

Thanks to those additions, City will be a lot closer to Arsenal than many predicted when Pep Guardiola left.

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🔵 NO BALOGUN LEAVES MOYES SHORT

I would not have wanted to be in the same room as David Moyes when potential new recruit Flo Balogun walked out on his £40m deadline day move from Monaco.

The Toffees had already announced the exits of star man Ndiaye to City and Beto to Fiorentina with Balogun coming in to replace the latter.

With no Balogun, the inconsistent Thierno Barry is Everton’s only senior striker, and they also only have two full-backs, one of whom in Ainsley Maitland-Niles prefers to play in midfield. having offloaded Nathan Paterson to Torino.

I’m told Moyes was already seething after owners the Friedkin group tried to sell academy starlet Harrison Armstrong to Nottingham Forest for £40m. He has every right to be raging now.

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🔴 UNITED NO SHAW THING FOR TOP FOUR

It was interim boss Ralf Ragnick who said in 2020 that Manchester United needed to replace Luke Shaw.

Yet six years later, Shaw is still the Red Devils’ first choice left-back at least until the end of the season after United failed to strengthen a defence that has already shipped four goals in two opening games against newly promoted teams.

The Old Trafford recruitment team will say they tried to convince Newcastle to sell Lewis Hall, but they didn’t try hard enough.

Making a deadline day approach to arch-rivals City for Rayan Ait-Nouri, no more than a bench-warmer at the Etihad, smells of desperation.

Michael Carrick publicly says he is happy with the club’s summer recruitment having brought in three new midfielders in Andre Santos, Youri Tielemans and long-term target Carlos Baleba.

But Carrick surely knows they needed to bolster at the back and failure to do so means that a top five finish is far from a formality in my eyes.

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🙌 NEWCASTLE FANS SHOULD BE EXCITED BY JAISSLE REBUILD

There was trepidation in the air in the North East following Eddie Howe’s shock resignation and the exodus of star trio Anthony Gordon, Sandro Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali.

Eight new signings and more than £250m spent later, the Magpies look in decent shape under their likeable new boss Matthias Jaissle and not just because they picked up four points from first two games.

Goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek and right-back Nico Gonzalez already look right at home in the Premier League and Nico Gonzalez can be a revelation at St James’ Park.

Toon officials are also excited about £51m deadline day arrival Matias Fernandez-Pardo and there is a freshness about the team, epitomised by the rejuvenation of both Yoane Wissa and in-form Anthony Elanga.

Newcastle have managed to turn despair into hope.

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🐯 ALL OWNERS SHOULD BE AS UP FRONT AS HULL CHIEF

One of the best challenges of the summer was trying to solve the clues offered up on Hull’s eccentric owner Acun Ilicali as to the identity of their transfer targets.

The Turkish TV tycoon would regularly get fans guessing by posting flag emojis of various countries with a percentage chance of signing a mystery player from that nation.

Ilicali also made himself regularly available for radio and TV interviews to keep supporters’ abreast of his plans to sign as many as 15 new players.

‘I failed’, posed Ilicali on X 24 hours after the window closed. ‘I promised I would bring in 15 new players. We brought 18’. If only all club owners were as open and transparent!

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Views of authors do not necessarily represent views of Star Sports Bookmakers.

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