Premier League clubs spent a record £3 billion ($4 billion) in a 2025 summer transfer window that finished with a bang thanks to Liverpool's £125 million ($169 million) signing of Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak. But with a FIFA World Cup in the middle of the window in 2026, will things stay the same?
The window opened on June 15 for the Premier League and July 1 for most of the other major European leagues.
Here are grades for all the major confirmed transfers in the men's game, with each listed by date and then by highest fee.
All fees are reported unless confirmed with an asterisk.
July 6
Sandro Tonali
£92.5m ($125m)
Newcastle United: A+
Tottenham Hotspur: C-
Tottenham have signed Tonali in a deal that could rise to £100 million with achievable add-ons. It's an astonishing deal and, quite frankly, an astonishing use of £100 million, making him one of the 15 most expensive footballers of all time.
Clearly, Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi is convinced he can work miracles with his compatriot, but Newcastle likely can't believe their luck. They got just one consistently strong season out of three from Tonali, before offloading him for twice what they spent to acquire him.
July 5
Denzel Dumfries
€20m ($22.8m)
Inter Milan: C
Real Madrid: A
Dumfries is one of the most prolific goalscoring defenders in world football -- although labelling him a defender may be a stretch. A direct, attacking wing back, who spends more time in the opposition box than his own, he can be a real difference-maker from the flank. Losing him for just €20 million via a release clause in his contract is tough for Inter, although the Dutchman's injury issues last season did force the Nerazzurri to learn how to cope without him.
July 3
Nathaniel Brown
€55m ($64m)
Eintracht Frankfurt: A
Bayern Munich: B
Brown's career is moving fast. He used a sensational 2025-26 season with Frankfurt to not only gatecrash Germany's 2026 World Cup squad, but oust David Raum as first-choice left back.
The 23-year-old defender is athletic, very fast, defends one-on-ones well and combines traditional overlapping runs with modern, inverted runs into the box. Born in Bavaria, his signing for Bayern is both a headline move and a homecoming.
Frankfurt won't be able to replace his quality like-for-like, but they have at least secured a fee that makes Brown one of the top three most expensive left backs of all time.
July 2
Mateus Fernandes
£85m ($112m)
West Ham United: A+
Tottenham Hotspur: C+
Despite consecutive relegations from the Premier League with Southampton and then West Ham, it is clear Fernandes is an excellent player. An all-round midfielder who can pretty much do it all by the age of 21, there is no doubt Tottenham are looking in the right area here as they seek to improve their midfield.
The price, however, is eye-popping. Even Manchester United, who spent last summer shelling out roughly £65 million per attacker, had to dip out of this race for Fernandes because the quoted transfer price was so high. The Portugal midfielder will have to do incredibly well, for a long time, to prove worth this outlay.
July 1
Anthony Gordon
€70m (£60m, $80m)
With legendary goal scorer Robert Lewandowski gone on a free transfer and Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford far from certain to stay permanently, Barcelona needed a big addition to their forward line this summer. Gordon plays both left wing and striker, presses hard and was the fastest player in the Premier League last season, topping 36 km/h, per Gradient Sports. He's a good fit for Hansi Flick's tactical style.
This is about the right price range for any player of this established quality. Newcastle could earn an extra €10 million if add-ons are met, making this potentially even more lucrative for them.
Marco Palestra
€60m (£48m, $68m)
If Chelsea intend to play with fully fledged wing backs under new manager Xabi Alonso, signing Palestra makes a lot of sense. The 21-year-old is tall, fast and loves to knock the ball past an opponent -- but he also has neat footwork in tight spaces. The Blues are once again trusting their talent ID, staking a big transfer fee on a player with just one full season under his belt, which came on loan at Cagliari.
Naturally, Atalanta are the big winners here: They watched a player blossom out on loan, become the subject of a bidding war between Inter Milan and Chelsea, and then accepted the highest bid.
Marc Cucurella
€55m (£47m, $64m)
Chelsea: C-
Real Madrid: A-
When Chelsea's ownership group drew up their transfer strategy, this is surely not what it was supposed to look like. Cucurella is one of the few signings that has unequivocally succeeded, yet here they are losing him for a fairly modest fee, potentially rising to €60m with add-ons.
The Blues' loss is Madrid's gain: Barcelona academy graduate Cucurella returns to Spain as a fully fledged international and trophy winner, shoring up the left-back area in Madrid nicely. José Mourinho will love his blood-and-thunder style.
Ismael Saibari
€55m ($64m)
PSV Eindhoven: A
Bayern Munich: B
Saibari has blossomed over the last two years, contributing 52 goals and assists for PSV in the Champions League and Eredivisie play and securing his place as Morocco's first-choice striker. He scored at the 2026 World Cup to further enhance his reputation.
Bayern will appreciate those scoring numbers, but they will also love his ability to drop deep, receive the ball and create. It's what Harry Kane already does for them to a world class level, and now Bayern have found a very capable backup. It's a good stylistic fit for the German giants, while for PSV, it's a club record departure.
Piero Hincapié
€40m (£34.5m; $46m)
Bayer Leverkusen: C
Arsenal: A
Hincapié's loan to Arsenal has become a permanent move after certain conditions were met. He proved an excellent pickup last summer, ably sharing the left-back role with Riccardo Calafiori and covering at center back too.
Factoring in the initial loan fee of €6 million, this looks to have cost the Gunners just shy of €50 million all in. For a player of this established quality and age (24), it goes down as an absolute bargain.
Emmanuel Emegha
€25m (£22m; $29m)
Strasbourg: B
Chelsea: B
Chelsea struck a deal to sign Emegha in the summer of 2025, but opted to let him stay at sister club Strasbourg and continue developing for another year. It was a good idea, but things didn't go to plan as the Dutchman missed most of last season due to injury.
For a player who stands at 6-foot-5, he is extremely fast, with great movement, but he is unreliable in front of goal and underperformed his xG by three in 2024-25. Emegha has huge potential and is still only 23, but he probably isn't ready to start for Chelsea just yet.
Robert Lewandowski
Free transfer
Barcelona: B
Chicago Fire FC: B+
The Chicago Fire won the race to sign legendary striker Lewandowski, who may be into his late 30s but still scored 14 goals from 17 starts in LaLiga last season. He'll join MLS top scorer Hugo Cuypers (13 goals this term) in what is now a fearsome front two on paper.
It was certainly time for him to depart Barcelona, where he excelled since joining in 2022, but also accounted for a huge portion of the wage bill at a club that's been right up against it financially for some time.
Bernardo Silva
Free
Manchester City: D
Real Madrid: A
Silva, who is one of the most tactically versatile and intelligent players the sport has ever seen, was linked strongly to each of Spain's big three clubs. But Los Blancos will benefit hugely from his presence in a variety of ways.
After nine incredible years at City, there was little need for the club to recoup any sort of fee for him, but this one still really hurts. The Portugal midfielder was a crucial component of the team and the dressing room and a symbol of the Pep Guardiola era.
Ibrahima Konaté
Free
Liverpool: D
Real Madrid: B-
Konaté's athleticism is off the charts, and when he's in good form, he's close to unbeatable at the back. But inconsistency has long troubled his game, and reports in Spain suggest not only has he earned a huge signing bonus of €20 million, but he's more than tripled his weekly wage with this move.
From Madrid's perspective, this is no free transfer. But from Liverpool's perspective it is. They get absolutely nothing in return for a very good player, but have at least covered themselves for this eventuality with new €70 million arrival Jérémy Jacquet (agreed in January).
Antoine Griezmann
Free
Atletico Madrid: B
Orlando City: A
Griezmann's long farewell to Atlético was a tearjerker, and it feels right that the 35-year-old forward opted for a new challenge, on a different continent, rather than moved to another European club. He was a great servant to the club for a long time, negating the need to receive any kind of fee for him.
Orlando have had a poor campaign to date and could use all the help they can get; Griezmann's quality and personality is a great start to turning things around.
June 30
Gonçalo Ramos
€74m ($84m)
PSG: A
AC Milan: C+
First, Milan appointed former Manchester United manager Rúben Amorim as coach. Then they handed him his first new weapon: Ramos, a Champions League winner and a potent goal scorer -- albeit via a bit-part role with PSG these past three years.
This is a gargantuan outlay from the Italian giants, who have smashed their transfer record by more than €20 million for a player who has too often found himself kicking his heels for club and country of late. PSG, meanwhile, have banked €74 million, potentially rising to around €80 million, for a squad player; they'll rightly be delighted with that.
Alejandro Grimaldo
€20m ($22.7m)
Bayer Leverkusen: C
Atlético Madrid: A
Grimaldo will finally play in Spain's top tier, having left Barcelona's academy in 2016 without a first-team appearance to his name. He's blossomed abroad, at both Benfica and Bayer Leverkusen, developing into one of the best attacking fullbacks in the game. At €20 million, this is a steal for Atleti -- even if he is 30 years old.
Leverkusen don't stand a chance of replacing his quality like-for-like with a humble fee, and they've reluctantly said goodbye to one of their best players during that famous unbeaten title run in 2023-24.
June 18
Jan Paul van Hecke
£52m ($70m)
Brighton & Hove Albion: B+
Tottenham: B
Van Hecke has slowly developed into one of the Premier League's best center backs. The Netherlands international has long been one of the best passers and dribblers from the back, and now he's become a sturdier, meaner defender, too.
At 25, he's ready for the next step, and reuniting with manager Roberto De Zerbi at Tottenham feels like a brilliant match. Brighton were resigned to losing him given he had just one year left on his contract and did well to hold out for a fee above £50 million.
VÃctor Muñoz
€40m (£35m; $46m)
Muñoz is an incredibly busy, buzzing winger who tears around the pitch, tries to beat defenders one-on-one and shoots willingly. Stylistically that makes him a good fit for Andoni Iraola, but Liverpool are gambling slightly on the 23-year-old stepping up to the elite level quickly.
For Osasuna, this is a record departure -- but not quite the huge payday it looks like. They only hold 50% of the player's rights, with Real Madrid holding the other half; that means half €40m fee will go to Los Blancos.
June 15
Marcos Senesi
Free
Bournemouth: D
Tottenham: A
Senesi was one of the outstanding center backs in the Premier League last season. A committed defender, a physical presence and a brilliant passer from the back, he stood out as one of the best free agents heading into the summer, and Spurs have won the race for his signature.
His signing does raise some questions for the club to answer. Will captain Cristian Romero be departing? Is the plan to play with two left-footers (Senesi and Micky van de Ven), or will it be a back three? Though none of that detracts from the fact this deal is a coup.
Andy Robertson
Free
Liverpool: B
Tottenham: B
Tottenham came close to signing Robertson in January and have now finally sealed the deal. The 32-year-old defender's time at Liverpool had come to a natural end as he passed his peak and Milos Kerkez replaced him in the XI.
Roberto De Zerbi will value the Scotland international's passing ability and the Spurs squad badly need his leadership qualities -- although they have reportedly paid a premium in wages for a player who won't necessarily be first choice.
June 29
Rasmus Højlund
€44m (£38m; $51m)
Manchester United: B+
Napoli: B+
Højlund's loan to Napoli was made permanent the moment the Italian giants qualified for the Champions League. The Denmark striker led the attacking line all season long, contributing 16 goals in total, and rebounded well from his disappointing spell at Man United.
It's a good deal for both clubs, as €44 million (plus a €6 million loan fee last season) for a reliable goal scorer represents strong value for Napoli, while United will be pleased to make a fair chunk of their money back on a signing that cost them an initial €75 million and simply did not work out.
