The summer transfer window closes at 6 p.m. ET (11 p.m. BST) on Tuesday, and all of the Premier League’s leading teams still have much to do if they are to close the gap on reigning champions Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta’s side is a strong favorite to retain its title after adding Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimarães, Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa and Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis. The Gunners have also turned defender Piero Hincapié’s season-long loan from Bayer Leverkusen into a permanent transfer.
The Gunners already look formidable and could yet add Atletico Madrid forward Julián Álvarez to their squad before Tuesday’s deadline. Can their most realistic title challengers do enough business and make some tough decisions over the coming days to enable them to push Arteta’s side all the way this season?
With Arsenal already looking much stronger than the rest, here’s what the chasing pack must do to put themselves in a position to wrestle the title away from Arteta & Co.
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Manchester City
Despite spending over £280 million on new signings so far, City have had a relatively low-budget summer due to the club raising £235 million by offloading James Trafford, Tijjani Reijnders, Nico González, Sávio, Omar Marmoush and Rodri, on top of the exits of free agents John Stones and Bernardo Silva.
Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi have arrived at the Etihad as part of the midfield rebuild, and City are still attempting to seal a deal for Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández before the window closes. But as of now, City have two issues to address.
The first is completing the midfield rebuild, and they need to land Enzo in order to get that job done. But perhaps City’s biggest challenge is one that they are unlikely to meet — finding reliable cover for Erling Haaland. With Marmoush leaving on loan for Spurs after less than two years at the club, City’s goal-scoring options have been further diminished, and coach Enzo Maresca has no obvious replacement if Haaland is sidelined due to injury. Only Haaland and Antoine Semenyo, a January signing from Bournemouth, hit double figures for City last season, with Phil Foden (seven) next best in the Premier League.
While Haaland is fit and available, City have nothing to worry about. But they have a very limited insurance policy right now with only Semenyo to fall back on if the Norway striker is unavailable.
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Chelsea
The obvious area in need of reinforcement at Chelsea is in goal, and the club have struck a £7.5 million deal with Aston Villa for Argentina No. 1 Emiliano Martínez. The veteran goalkeeper has come close to leaving Villa on several occasions in recent years — Manchester United and Juventus have both been put off by the wages and fee involved for the 33-year-old — but it looks as if Chelsea will sign the former Arsenal keeper before the deadline.
Chelsea have spent £350 million so far this summer and raised just under £150 million in outgoings, so they will need to balance the books in the final days of the window. That poses another challenge in terms of structuring the best deal for Martinez.
One quick and easy way to recoup a huge fee would be to allow Enzo Fernandez to leave for Manchester City in a deal that could amount to £120 million. But if Chelsea offload Fernandez, they will need to find a replacement, and that will leave coach Xabi Alonso with a limited timeframe in which to do it.
Therefore, in the final days of the window, Chelsea must make a definitive decision on Enzo. If they leave it late and allow him to move in the final hours, a potential title challenge could be derailed by their failure to sign a replacement.
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Manchester United
Despite returning to the Champions League after a two-year absence, United have focused solely on midfield additions so far this window, with a total outlay of £150 million on Carlos Baleba, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos. United had prioritized the signing of a left-sided forward this summer, but the unexpected return of Marcus Rashford following his season-long loan at Barcelona has addressed that issue and left the club with funds to make further signings before the deadline.
But while United have overhauled manager Michael Carrick’s midfield, long-term areas of concern in defense have gone unresolved. United have been keen to recruit a new left back for a number of years, but Luke Shaw continues to be the club’s only senior left-footed option despite his poor long-term fitness record. The former England defender, who arrived at United in 2014, was at fault for one of the goals in the opening day defeat against promoted Hull City, but interest in Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde has yet to progress to the point of United making confirmed bid for the 22-year-old.
United have also monitored Newcastle’s Lewis Hall, and a deal for the former Chelsea youngster remains a possibility despite Newcastle coach Matthias Jaissle wanting to keep the 21-year-old. Similarly, there is a belief at Old Trafford that Arsenal might offload Myles Lewis-Skelly to help balance the books at the Emirates, even though Arteta has ruled out a move for the 19-year-old. But with the clock ticking to the deadline, a left back is a clearly priority for United, and it will be regarded as a recruitment failure if Shaw remains the only option when the window closes.
Liverpool
After reportedly agreeing to a deal to sign Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, Liverpool look set to end their lengthy summer search for a world-class wide player, having missed out on Yan Diomande after his move from RB Leipzig to Real Madrid. But while Barcola will give Andoni Iraola the pace and goal threat he wants on the left side of attack, the France international’s expected arrival will only add to the problem the Liverpool coach has with Florian Wirtz.
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The Germany international, a £116 million signing from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, is the root of the biggest issue that Iraola must solve. Liverpool desperately need a combative, energetic defensive midfielder to protect the back four, but so far, they have failed to add that key player.
As a result, Iraola has used both Wirtz and Dominik Szoboszlai in his team. But Wirtz’s presence as a No. 10 denies Szoboszlai the role in which he excels as a goal-scoring midfielder, forcing the Hungary international to play deeper in a position he’s unsuited to because he lacks the defensive discipline required for the role.
If Iraola moves Szoboszlai to the No. 10 slot, he could then make his team stronger with a more defensive midfielder alongside Ryan Gravenberch — Alexis Mac Allister is the only option, but his poor season last year has raised doubts over his athleticism for the position. But with Szoboszlai in the No. 10 role and Barcola likely to play on the left, Wirtz would have nowhere to go, and Liverpool and Iraola would be left with an expensive flop out of the team.
The new manager has a big decision to make on Wirtz, and how he addresses it over the coming days will have a major bearing on where Liverpool’s season goes from here.
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Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs have been major players in the transfer window by virtue of investing more than £300 million in big signings, including Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Savio. Coach Roberto De Zerbi also now has Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush on a season-long loan with an obligation for a permanent £60 million transfer next summer.
But despite the huge outlay, Spurs still don’t have a reliable scorer. The hole left by Harry Kane’s departure to Bayern Munich in 2023 remains unfilled. Sávio — formerly Savinho — scored just seven Premier League goals in two seasons at City, while Marmoush netted just 16 goals at the Etihad following his arrival from Eintracht Frankfurt in January 2025. Dominic Solanke has scored 23 league goals since arriving at Spurs in 2024 while Richarlison has managed just 33 in over four seasons at the club.
The lack of goals is a major issue De Zerbi must address before the transfer deadline. Where can you find a proven goal scorer between now and the transfer deadline? It’s a big question, but it’s one that Spurs simply have to find an answer for.
