There were definite winners and losers in this years summer transfer window, and with £600 million spent, it was a record breaking year in sales helped in part by Gareth Bale's estimated £86 million move to Real Madrid.
The saga between Spurs and Los Galacticos had been going on since the end of the 2012/13 season and appeared to only be able to end with Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, reluctantly letting go of the Welsh wizard; like a child having his favourite toy taken away. In May, Levy had placed a £100 million price tag on Bale claiming that was the fee that would buy his services, a clear show of intent by Spurs to Madrid of how much Bale meant to the north London club. With other deals still in the rumour mill is seemed that Bale's move to sunny Madrid might be the catalyst that would act as a domino effect. This was proven when eventually the Bale deal went through and he was presented to the Santiago Bernabeau at midday on deadline day.
Up until midday on deadline day Arsene Wenger had only made one signing, France U-21 striker Yaya Sanogo. Arsenal fans were ready to get up in arms and call for Wenger to leave...when out of the blue the report came through that Arsenal had put in a club record bid of £42.4 million for the Real Madrid midfielder, Mesut Ozil. It could be argued that with the acquisition of Bale, Ozil now felt that his position in the first team was jeopardised, forcing him to consider his future. It was rumoured after the deal was done that Manchester United were also interested but that was all it was, interest. Now this came as a 'real' surprise (excuse the pun) because Mr. Wenger isn't exactly known for splashing the cash, but I don't think Arsenal fans really cared because finally, after a nine year wait, they looked to have a player could inspire the team to a major trophy. I'll be honest, I didn't rate Arsenal at all this season; I thought they would crash and burn out of the Champions League, finish below Spurs in the league, and disappoint they supporters again with a poor showing in the FA Cup. I now believe that with their new German talisman, Arsenal stand a good chance of actually getting to a final if not winning a trophy. For years Arsenal have had the problem of too many average midfielders, all of which were afraid to shoot, however now with a genuinely world class player in the middle of the pitch those average players can leave that job to Ozil and rest at night knowing their jobs have been made so much easier.
At the same time as the Ozil deal was being put to paper in north London, confusion was surrounding the situation in the north west, Manchester to be precise. Stories had been swarming around all summer about the future of Wayne Rooney but this time the story was about player coming into Old Trafford. Reports had linked Athletic Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera and Everon players Marouane Fellani and Leighton Baines with the Red Devils but no one was certain which deals were being finalised. Manchester United's third and final attempt to land both players was a joint bid of £36 million, but even this price wasn't enough for Everton chairman Bill Kenright. However when push came to shove, United were willing to pay the £27 million to release Fellani from his contract. Confusion followed as to the Herrera deal which appeared to have fallen through. It turned out that three of United's lawyers had travelled to Bilbao to pay for the Spaniard however when personal details were being agreed the deal fell through with United claiming to have no knowledge of sending the lawyers and Herrera claiming that they weren't there to represent him. This farce meant that all United have to show for their summer deals was Fellani and Uruguayan Guillermo Varela.
Spurs may also have felt aggrieved because Chelsea managed to secure Brazilian Willian for £30 million. The situation probably wasn't helped by the fact that whilst Willian was having his medical with Spurs, his agents were arranging a deal at Stamford Bridge.
Everton were able to move quickly after losing Fellani by signing Martinez's former player at Wigan, James McCarthy, and the loan of Manchester City mid fielder, Gareth Barry.
Liverpool have been looking very good so far this campaign and they demonstrated their intent by signing; PSG and Sporting Lisbon defenders, Mamadou Sakho and Tiago Ilori respectively, Kolo Toure from Manchester City and Chelsea winger Victor Moses on a season long loan.
Those are the big transfers this time round on deadline day. There were a lot more signings made apart from these but I think you'll agree they simply aren't as game changing as these. 2013 will always be remembered for two key signings, Gareth Bale to Real Madrid and Mesut Ozil to Arsenal, and they may have just turned around the fortunes for all those concerned this season.
