There's one month left of the summer transfer window and the Premier League's top order -- for the most part -- have been extremely busy reshaping their squads in preparation for the 2026-27 campaign.
Let's run a fine-tooth comb over the business they have completed so far and assess the different approaches at play. Is your club splashing the cash or are they holding firm on valuations? Are they preparing for a formation switch, or swapping players like-for-like?
Here's the thinking behind the summer's actions so far.
Jump to: Arsenal | Aston Villa | Chelsea | Liverpool Man City | Man United | Newcastle | Tottenham
Arsenal
Piero Hincapié's loan has rightly been made permanent, but otherwise, all they've done is swap out Leandro Trossard (31) for Christos Tzolis (24) as a depth forward, getting younger and more spritely in that position.
But there are other areas of the squad that need addressing, and so far, the Gunners have simply refused to pay the transfer fees they have been quoted for the players they want. Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa, Bruno Guimarães and Bradley Barcola are, or have all been, on Arsenal's wish list, but Rogers went to Chelsea, and there has been little progress on the latter three so far.
In the age of exorbitant fees, you can't criticize a club for drawing a firm line in terms of what they're willing to pay and refusing to cross it. But as the clock ticks on the transfer window, it will be interesting to see if the approach changes.
Aston Villa
The mammoth £117 million transfer fee Chelsea paid for Rogers has alleviated the financial pressures imposed on Villa following a UEFA settlement agreement that limits the losses they are allowed to make, but it has not given them complete freedom to operate in the market. Instead, they are basically operating on a one-out, one-in basis -- clearly, there's a list of players to turn to each time a departure arises.