The transfer window is drawing to a close and if you are a fan of a team in the Premier League, there will be gaps in the squad that you want to be filled.
But what needs to be done at each club? What might they realistically do? And how has their existing business influenced their thoughts before the window closes on Friday night?
Here, The Athletic’s club experts run you through the state of play at each of the 20 top-flight sides.
After announcing the signing of Mikel Merino on Tuesday (August 27), outgoings are the most pressing issue for Arsenal.
Eddie Nketiah’s £25million ($33.1m) move to Crystal Palace being completed will be the next port of call. Getting clarity on their goalkeeping department will come after on their to-do list, with Aaron Ramsdale’s future and the potential knock-on effects yet to be sorted.
The Athletic’s James McNicholas reported on Tuesday that Espanyol’s Joan Garcia is Arsenal’s ideal replacement for Ramsdale, who has interest from Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers, but that they would want a homegrown goalkeeper as third choice.
Arsenal are interested in Joan Garcia (Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
With the imminent departures of Nketiah and Fabio Vieira to Porto, attention will turn to the front line.
Gabriel Jesus missed Arsenal’s 2-0 away win over Aston Villa with a slight groin injury, which has given Mikel Arteta a taste of what attacking options he would have should the Brazilian sustain another injury during the season.
Another centre-forward may not be necessary, with Kai Havertz first choice and Leandro Trossard able to fill in there, but a forward who provides a goal threat from out wide could help push this squad to compete in another title race.
Art de Roche
Aston Villa
Aston Villa got a lot of their business done early, with eight signings completed before they headed off to the U.S. for their pre-season tour. Villa have since been working on other deals, including Joao Felix before he moved to Chelsea, but will only be active if Unai Emery believes a player — such as a versatile attacker — can serve as an upgrade.
There is a sense among sources, kept anonymous to protect relationships, that Villa want another defender, having expressed an interest in Liverpool’s Joe Gomez and been heavily linked to Feyenoord defender Lutsharel Geertruida. A defender of that ilk — who can play at centre-back or right-back — is much needed. Matty Cash is out for a month and Villa remain light in central defence.
Villa remain in dialogue over a deal for Yeimar Mosquera. His signing would serve as a purchase for later down the line given the Colombian defender is 19.
Villa still need to refine their squad. Leander Dendoncker and players from the under-21s are available, on loan or permanently.
Jacob Tanswell
It has been a busy summer at Bournemouth, but expect the final 72 hours to be a lot calmer. Star striker Dominic Solanke has been sold to Tottenham Hotspur and eight other players have left, but head coach Andoni Iraola has brought in eight new additions.
The marquee signing of Brazilian striker Evanilson from Porto for €47million (£40.3m; $51.7m) should help fill the Solanke gap alongside the permanent arrival of Turkish forward Enes Unal from Getafe after a half-season loan.
Colombian winger Luis Sinisterra completed his move from Leeds United. Forwards Daniel Jebbison (from Sheffield United) and Koby Mottoh (from Portsmouth) joined on free transfers as centre-back Dean Huijsen was signed from Juventus and right-back Julian Araujo joined from Barcelona.
These deals have been bookended by the expected the loan arrival of Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, 29, from Chelsea.
Bournemouth, who opened the season with two 1-1 draws with Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United, are looking among the league’s most settled as the window draws to a close.
Caoimhe O’Neill
It has been two weeks since Brentford received an offer for Ivan Toney from Al Ahli. They rejected the Saudi Pro League side’s initial bid and negotiations have been dragging on as both parties try to find a price everybody is happy with.
The 28-year-old striker has entered the final year of his contract and it is in Brentford’s best interests to sell him. He has been left out of Thomas Frank’s squad for their first two games of the new season because of the potential transfer.
Toney’s situation needs to be resolved (Warren Little/Getty Images)
As the deadline approaches, Brentford will be feeling nervous that any complication might prevent the deal from happening with little time left to find an alternative buyer. If Toney stays at Brentford, he can leave for nothing next summer, which would sting when you consider he has scored 72 goals in 141 appearances. If Brentford offload the England international to Al Ahli, then it should comfortably break their club-record sale — Ollie Watkins’ £33million move to Aston Villa four years ago.
The other key piece of business Brentford need to do is wrap up the signing of Gustavo Nunes from Gremio. The 18-year-old winger has scored three goals in 20 Brazilian top-flight appearances this season. Nunes’ arrival would complement a rich attacking unit that contains Igor Thiago, Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo, Keane Lewis-Potter, Kevin Schade and Fabio Carvalho. Wissa has been the subject of interest from Wolves and Nottingham Forest, but Brentford intend to keep him.
Jay Harris
Brighton have spent more than £200million on nine new signings, the latest the £25million transfer of full-back Ferdi Kadioglu from Fenerbahce.
There are not really any holes left to fill, with the exception of adding another old head to the core group of experienced players in an otherwise young squad.
That was a plan before Adam Lallana rejoined Southampton. They lost Pascal Gross to Borussia Dortmund since Lallana’s departure.
This helps to explain Brighton’s interest in 35-year-old German World Cup winner Mats Hummels, although he has been in advanced talks to join Real Sociedad as a free agent.
If it is a central defender, like Hummels, for extra cover then that would be ideal, but Brighton’s late business will be dominated by loans out to trim an overloaded squad.
Andy Naylor
Chelsea
The focus is outgoings. Chelsea expect as many as seven players to leave permanently, including loans with obligations to buy, and are looking to sanction several regular loan deals.
Kepa is joining Bournemouth on loan and Romelu Lukaku is on the verge of signing for Napoli, but the futures of other high-profile first-team exiles remain unclear. Raheem Sterling wants to resolve his contractual situation before holding talks with interested clubs, while Ben Chilwell does not yet have a destination.
Chilwell does not yet have a destination (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Chelsea remain in the market for another attacker. Victor Osimhen is of interest but only on a loan deal and other options are being considered. Jadon Sancho would need to accept a big pay cut for any deal to be feasible, while Everton’s long-held interest in Armando Broja could make Dominic Calvert-Lewin a real alternative.
Liam Twomey
Crystal Palace
If Eddie Nketiah arrives from Arsenal, as seems likely, then Palace’s most pressing need probably switches to centre-back, especially if Newcastle United’s pursuit of Marc Guehi reaches a successful conclusion.
After selling Joachim Andersen to Fulham for a fee of up to £30million, they are light in defence. Chadi Riad is only 21 and has limited experience at a high level, and was injured early in the Carabao Cup tie against Norwich on Tuesday. It is unclear how long he will be out.
Palace can call upon Chris Richards, while Joel Ward, Nathaniel Clyne and Jefferson Lerma can step in to fill the gap, but none of those three would be ideal if they want to push on across the whole season.
A failure to add another centre-back, possibly even two if Guehi leaves, would leave Palace incredibly short in an important position.
Matt Woosnam
Everton
Midfield is likely to be the priority for Everton before the deadline.
James Garner’s absence through injury for the opening two Premier League games has highlighted just how threadbare they are in a key part of the pitch, with Harrison Armstrong, 17, their only available cover on the bench.
Whether the club are able to strengthen on a shoestring budget, though, remains to be seen. With a takeover process continuing, loans and structured deals are still the order of the day at Goodison. There is loan interest in Lyon midfielder Orel Mangala, who left Nottingham Forest for Ligue 1 last season.
As ever, there is plenty to do elsewhere, too. The future of main striker Calvert-Lewin, now in the final year of his deal, is uncertain. A solution there, one way or another, feels important.
Manager Sean Dyche has admitted that every player in his squad has a price due to the financial uncertainty, but any late sale would leave them minimal time to source a viable replacement.
Everton could do with trimming the squad in certain areas, with striker Neal Maupay and defender Mason Holgate two who could depart.
Patrick Boyland
Fulham
Fulham have committed £95million on new players this summer, but they are not done.
Marco Silva is keen to bring in a winger. The west London club have had an offer accepted for Lyon’s Rayan Cherki, who had seven goal involvements in Ligue 1 last season. Fulham are considering other targets if a move for Cherki does not happen.
Fulham have had an offer accepted for Cherki (Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images)
Fulham recently confirmed the arrivals of Sander Berge, signed for an initial £20million with £5m in add-ons, and Joachim Andersen. They have also brought in Ryan Sessegnon, Emile Smith Rowe and Jorge Cuenca.
They have made one major sale — Joao Palhinha, who joined Bayern Munich. First-team players Willian, Tosin Adarabioyo and Bobby Decordova-Reid left after their contracts expired.
Peter Rutzler
Ipswich have had a comprehensive window, making additions in every position as they aimed to convert a squad built to compete in the Championship into one ready for the Premier League.
However, Kieran McKenna remains light up front following George Hirst’s knee injury. The 25-year-old striker underwent keyhole surgery after sustaining the problem in pre-season, having missed four months of last term with a ruptured hamstring.
Summer signing Liam Delap has led the line during Ipswich’s opening two games with Ali Al-Hamadi acting as his understudy. The 22-year-old former AFC Wimbledon striker has made the jump from League Two to the Premier League in the space of six months.
Chelsea striker Armando Broja had agreed to join on loan with an obligation to buy, but the deal suffered a complication because he sustained a foot injury in training with his parent club.
Ali Rampling
Leicester City need to bring in at least a striker for their survival bid.
With Patson Daka ruled out for several months after ankle surgery following an injury sustained in the final pre-season friendly in Lens, and manager Steve Cooper being unconvinced of young striker Tom Cannon’s Premier League readiness, Leicester only have Jamie Vardy to lead the line.
The 37-year-old has started the first two games after missing most of pre-season with an injury, but will have to be protected.
Jordan Ayew stepped in as a No 9 at Fulham last weekend when Vardy came off. Leicester want to bring in another striker, one with a different profile to the other options, to reduce the reliance on Vardy and provide support.
They would like to bring in another No 10 if possible but — having spent £60million on new signings after selling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea for £30m — they do not have a huge budget left, especially with lingering concerns over profit and sustainability rules.
Rob Tanner
Liverpool
Defensive midfield is the main area of concern for Liverpool, but don’t expect it to be fixed in this transfer window.
When Martin Zubimendi chose to stay at Real Sociedad, the top summer target slipped through the net. It was decided soon after that working with what was in the squad would be better than going for another stop-gap option like Wataru Endo.
If a clever deal can be done in the closing days — and it makes financial sense — then Liverpool are prepared to react. “Opportunistic” is the buzzword at Anfield, so it’s not completely out of the question. The onus will be on Ryan Gravenberch to continue in that role.
The consideration of Juventus forward Federico Chiesa shows that Liverpool feel they still need a little more up top, if only to add another experienced body to the attacking department before the Champions League return.
If Gomez leaves — and there’s plenty of interest — then a replacement is essential. Liverpool are a centre-back down following Joel Matip’s exit this summer and the decision was made to let Sepp van den Berg join Brentford.
It would be unthinkable to sell Gomez and not find a replacement, especially as the club have been looking at options all summer.
Gregg Evans
Being Erling Haaland’s understudy is a tough sell to any striker. You need to be patient, you need to be understanding, you need to take your opportunities as and when they come. Ultimately, you need to be prepared to sit on the bench.
Julian Alvarez had spent two years as Haaland’s support act and — despite making more appearances than any other City player last season — wanted a change. His €95million (£81.8m; $104m) switch to Atletico Madrid has opened up a vacancy.
City looked at Furuhashi (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Whether it will be filled is a different question, though. City looked at 29-year-old Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi and considered a move for Copenhagen teenage centre-forward Orri Oskarsson.
But following Ilkay Gundogan’s return last week, Guardiola has played down the prospect of further additions. Should Atletico act on their interest in Matheus Nunes before Friday’s deadline, that may open the door to a Haaland back-up.
Mark Critchley
The imminent arrival of Manuel Ugarte takes United to five permanent signings this summer and senior figures at the club believe they have significantly strengthened their squad and have addressed all priority positions.
Fans question whether Erik ten Hag has sufficient cover at left-back given the injury status of Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia. Shaw is expected to return from a calf complaint in September, meaning United are likely to have enough bodies in the position, if not specialists.
Those around the club would like additional support at centre-forward, but talk of a move for Toney or Calvert Lewin has quietened.
As such, United’s business in the concluding days may turn to outgoings. Sancho remains an awkward fit for Ten Hag’s tactical demands. As The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported, he has a number of potential suitors, including Chelsea and Juventus.
Laurie Whitwell reported that United are open to offers for Christian Eriksen and they have not yet ruled out an attempt to re-sign Sofyan Amrabat.
Ten Hag has a squad with two players in every position, as his preference. Whether both of those players are of the required quality to return the club to the Champions League places is another matter.
Carl Anka
Newcastle United
The priority? To sign somebody — anybody — that improves Eddie Howe’s first XI, a task which has thus far proved beyond Newcastle’s rejigged hierarchy. After spending what feels like an eternity in discussions with Palace over Guehi, a deal is edging closer (how many times have you read that?) for the right-sided centre-half, a position that has always been the priority.
Newcastle have been looking for a right-winger, but Guehi and his £65million valuation would eat up their budget; Howe said on Tuesday they would “probably not” be able to do both. Mooted outgoings — notably Kieran Trippier and Miguel Almiron — have yet to materialise and, in any case, Howe is now reluctant to lose experienced players without quality replacements. Keeping Anthony Gordon, who has been of interest to Liverpool, has been vital.
There have been more hectic windows post-takeover, but after the mess of Newcastle’s desperate scramble to hit their PSR requirements, it is with good reason that Howe describes this one as “the most difficult I’ve experienced”. It has been unsettling.
George Caulkin
Nottingham Forest
The short answer to this is: sign another forward.
Forest do not need to do a great deal, at least when it comes to incomings, but they do need another striker to provide competition and cover for Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi. Eddie Nketiah was their primary target but, while a package was agreed with Arsenal, terms could not be finalised with the player.
Nketiah was Forest’s primary target (Warren Little/Getty Images)
Forest’s attempts to land Santiago Gimenez from Feyenoord have evolved into a saga. At the time of writing, while they are exploring alternative options, Forest had not completely given up on signing the Mexico international, despite not yet matching the Dutch club’s valuation of the player.
Forest want to find moves for Matt Turner, Emmanuel Dennis, Hwang Ui-jo and Josh Bowler.
Paul Taylor
Southampton
Southampton have approached this window focusing on sensible recruitment, spending shrewdly — in mind of PSR, given they have been sailing close to the wind for 12 months — and trimming a bloated squad.
Despite the expectation Alex McCarthy would be this season’s No 1 goalkeeper, Southampton remain active in this position. Jordan Bijlow from Feyenoord was in advanced talks, but he has publicly said the deal will not happen.
A winger remains a possibility. Ryan Fraser has agreed to join Southampton but is still in talks regarding a contract settlement with Newcastle.
Southampton and Flamengo are continuing talks over a deal that would see Charly Alcaraz join the Brazilian club with Victor Hugo coming the other way, possibly on a loan deal with an obligation to buy.
The futures of Paul Onuachu and Armel Bella-Kotchap remain uncertain, with the former of interest to Trabzonspor. Kyle Walker-Peters is going into the final year of his contract and had been anticipated to depart, though interest — from the likes of West Ham United — has not materialised.
Jacob Tanswell
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham’s technical director Johan Lange can relax heading into the final few days of the transfer window knowing he has already completed their most important piece of business . Spurs spent a club-record fee of £65million including add-ons to sign Solanke from Bournemouth this month. It is frustrating that Solanke picked up an injury on his debut against Leicester, but he should be an integral player for Ange Postecoglou.
Spurs wanted to sign a dynamic, all-action central midfielder in this window, but moves for Conor Gallagher and Jacob Ramsey never materialised. Postecoglou and his coaching staff have been impressed with new recruits Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray, who are 18, which means they are happy to give them chances and stick with their current options instead of pursuing someone who would have been much lower down on their wishlist.
The focus will switch to offloading players who do not fit Postecoglou’s philosophy. Manor Solomon has joined Leeds United on loan while Giovani Lo Celso and Sergio Reguilon are free to find new clubs.
Jay Harris
West Ham United
West Ham have had a busy window, with eight signings for technical director Tim Steidten and head coach Julen Lopetegui’s significant rebuild.
They could add more bodies, but that will depend on outgoings first given they have spent £122million ($159.8m). They are in the hunt for Paris Saint-Germain’s Spain midfielder Carlos Soler, but they are not the only ones keen to bring the 27-year-old to the Premier League. If another player became available that would improve the squad, that has also not been ruled out.
West Ham are in the hunt for Soler (Richard A. Brooks/AFP via Getty Images)
Experienced centre-backs Kurt Zouma, who has seen one move to Saudi Arabia collapse after an issue in a medical, and Nayef Aguerd are likely to leave.
Winger Maxwel Cornet, who has yet to appear in a matchday squad this season, is also available, while James Ward-Prowse’s situation is being monitored by other clubs after he lost his place in the starting XI.
Adam Leventhal
Wolverhampton Wanderers
After a 6-2 defeat in your first home game of the season, how about a defender? Chelsea prised Wolves’ defence apart like pulled pork at Molineux on Sunday, leading to the distinct impression that Yerson Mosquera (aged 23) and Toti Gomes (25) would benefit from an experienced head alongside either of them in Wolves’ rejigged back four.
Wolves’ problem is money. They may have been responsible for two of the top 10 biggest Premier League signings this summer, with Chelsea paying £50million for Pedro Neto and West Ham buying Max Kilman for £40m, but not only have neither of those star players been replaced, but Gary O’Neil hasn’t been given most of that money to reinvest.
Hence they were outbid by Ipswich Town for centre-back Dara O’Shea and have struggled to meet the asking price for young forward Luca Koleosho, also of Burnley.
A commanding, experienced centre-back is a must, as is a forward, while the fact they’ve been sniffing around Aaron Ramsdale suggests Wolves want a goalkeeper, too, with Jose Sa not all that convincing of late. Work to do. Someone give Jorge Mendes a call.
Tim Spiers
(Top photo: Chiesa, left, and Osimhen could be heading for the Premier League. Getty Images)
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