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It’s only been a few weeks since Spain brought down the curtain on the World Cup with a nervy 1-0 win over Argentina in MetLife Stadium, and already attention has turned back to domestic matters. The 2026-27 Premier League season gets underway on August 21st — just 33 days on from La Roja’s finest hour — when defending champions Arsenal welcome newly promoted Coventry City to the Emirates, and they will do so with burning questions as to whether they can retain the title they managed to edge their way to just a few months ago.
Online betting sites certainly think they are up to the task. The latest Bovada soccer odds make the Gunners a clear 6/4 favorite to repeat as champions next season, and if the rumor mill about potential new additions is to be believed, they will certainly take some stopping. Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Junior is currently being linked with a move to North London, while a £75m move for fellow Brazilian, Newcastle captain Bruno Guimarães has also been agreed.
Should the champions ultimately land Vini, then they will have, without question, had the best summer of all Premier League clubs. As of right now, however, the deal is not yet complete, and there’s a very real chance that the explosive winger could pen a new deal to remain in the Spanish capital for years to come. So, if not the Gunners, which clubs have had the best summer transfer window thus far? Let’s take a look.
Spurs
Spurs have endured a couple of miserable years in the Premier League. Two years ago, the club finished down in 17th place in the table, their lowest finish in 48 years. At least former manager Ange Postecoglou managed to lead the club to Europa League glory that term, though, because the same couldn’t be said for what followed. Tottenham once again flirted with relegation, again finishing down in 17th and just two points off the relegation zone, with no European competition able to ease the suffering.
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Related: Arteta: Guimarães Will Take Arsenal To Next Level
But there is a bright new horizon emerging at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer. Highly rated former Brighton and Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi joined the club toward the back end of last season and managed to steer them clear of the drop. Now, he has opened the checkbook to complete a slew of marquee additions as he looks to drag Spurs back toward the top six.
The pick of the new additions is without question midfielder Sandro Tonali, who arrives from Newcastle for a whopping £100m. The Italian is one of the most highly regarded midfielders in Europe right now, with both Manchester United and Arsenal thought to be sniffing around his signature before Spurs completed the deal. West Ham United’s player of the season, Mateus Fernandes, joins him in midfield for a fee of £85m, with both of them joining the likes of Mohamed Kudus, James Maddison, Xavi Simons, and Conor Gallagher to form arguably one of the best central midfield units in the entire league.
But that’s not all. Spurs completed the free transfers of two of the hottest free agents available this summer. The first of those was long-serving Liverpool left back Andrew Robertson, a man who won all there is to win at Anfield before now bringing that experience with him to the capital. Another is former Bournemouth central defender Marcos Senesi, who joins up with Argentinian compatriot Cristian Romero to form a potentially watertight backline. Jan Paul van Hecke has also arrived for £52m from Brighton to provide even more competition for places in the heart of the defense.
The result is that Spurs have transformed from a relegation candidate to a top four contender seemingly overnight. Should all their new signings gel quickly — a recent friendly win against Chelsea suggests they are doing so — then De Zerbi’s side could be a force to contend with in the Premier League next season.
Leeds
While Tottenham have seen a complete overhaul, Leeds United have opted for quiet continuity. The Yorkshire outfit returned to the Premier League last season and performed above expectations, finishing 14th in the table, comfortably clear of the drop zone. Wins at home to Chelsea and away at archrivals Manchester United proved that the Whites were heading in the right direction, and rather than ripping up everything that has been built thus far at Elland Road, once-under-fire manager Daniel Farke has decided to punt for quality over quantity.
The German boss managed to tempt Fulham captain Harry Wilson to West Yorkshire, securing the Welshman on a free transfer following the expiry of his contract at Craven Cottage, beating out the likes of Everton, Aston Villa, and Benfica in the process. The club has forked out a mighty £34m to sign highly rated Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic from Serie A side Torino. And more is yet to come.
Leeds are on the verge of completing a £40m deal to sign England international goalkeeper James Trafford from Manchester City in a move that would smash the club’s transfer record. The Elland Road outfit hasn’t had a truly elite number one goalkeeper for quite some time now, and there are hopes that the Burnley man could prove to be exactly that for the next decade or so.
Rather than looking over their shoulder like they did for much of last term, Farke’s men will now be looking up to the table. They will be aiming to gate-crash the top half next term, perhaps even mounting a shock run for European qualification and potentially ending a near-quarter-century wait to strut their stuff on the continental stage.
