Men's summer transfer grades: Liverpool get a D for Alexander-Arnold

Premier League clubs accrued their spending successful the January model to £370 cardinal -- up connected the £100 cardinal paid retired past twelvemonth -- though Manchester City are chiefly liable aft splashing retired £180 cardinal of that connected their own. We were obscurity adjacent the 2023 grounds of £815 million, but volition the summertime spot a emergence successful costly moves?

This year, for the archetypal time, the transportation model volition beryllium divided into 2 owed to the beingness of the Club World Cup. The model volition unfastened from June 1-10, past adjacent for six days and unfastened again connected June 16.

As ever, planetary deals not involving clubs successful the Club World Cup, and escaped transfers, won't spell done until July 1.

Here are grades for each the large confirmed transfers successful the men's game, with each listed by day and past by highest fee.

All fees are reported unless confirmed with an asterisk.

June 1

DEAN HUIJSEN
€59.4m (£50m, $67m)

AFC Bournemouth: A
Real Madrid: A

Madrid moved rapidly and bushed disconnected a big of contention to unafraid Huijsen's signature pursuing his 2024-25 breakout run successful the Premier League. The Spaniard's comfortableness with the shot astatine his feet, slaloming dribbles and genuine two-footedness person marked him retired arsenic 1 of the champion young halfway backs successful the world; his benignant reminds of a young Gerard Piqué.

Bournemouth got to bask him for lone 1 season, but successful acquiring him from Juventus and accepting a merchandise clause of £50 million, they would person been nether nary illusions arsenic to whether this was a semipermanent marriage. Perhaps the large determination has travel sooner than expected, but they've been good compensated nonetheless.

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0:51

Marcotti: Huijsen's £50m transportation clause 'like a escaped transfer'

Gab Marcotti talks astir Dean Huijsen's reported transportation to Real Madrid from Bournemouth.

DÁRIO ESSUGO
€25m (£21m, $28.3m)

Sporting CP: C-
Chelsea: B+

Essugo was tucked into a larger woody that besides takes 18-year-old winger Geovany Quenda (€52m) to Chelsea successful 2026. He's the lesser-hyped of the two, though helium did marque waves erstwhile helium made his Champions League bow aged 16 successful 2021. He's an energetic, assertive antiaircraft midfielder who covers ground, plugs gaps and tackles resolutely.

The indebtedness determination to Las Palmas this play has helped him get a foothold successful the elder game, and his performances suggest Chelsea got the amended extremity of this portion of the deal.

TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD
€12m (£10m, $13m)

Liverpool: D
Real Madrid: A

We were each acceptable to adhd Alexander-Arnold's sanction to the database of singular Real Madrid escaped transfers -- but the FIFA Club World Cup has scuppered that. In the end, Los Blancos paid astir €12 cardinal to usher successful the right-back earlier this summer's tournament, cementing the information they're taking it incredibly seriously.

Time mightiness beryllium this to beryllium an excessive determination from Madrid, but astatine the extremity of the day, they've inactive signed a stunning subordinate for a tiny fee. Liverpool's people gets bumped up from an F arsenic they astatine slightest got thing successful instrumentality for their academy graduate.

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Hislop: Frimpong is simply a like-for-like replacement for Trent

Shaka Hislop reacts to the quality of Liverpool signing Bayer Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong arsenic Trent Alexander-Arnold's replacement.

July 1

JEREMIE FRIMPONG
€35m (£29m, $38m)

Bayer Leverkusen: C
Liverpool: A-

Replacing Alexander-Arnold astatine right-back successful like-for-like manner is impossible, truthful it's for the champion that Liverpool person opted for a wholly antithetic benignant of subordinate successful Frimpong. The Dutch subordinate is much of a winger who volition present request to set and person backmost to a presumption helium hasn't called location for a bully fewer years.

A interest of €35 cardinal represents a clever, opportunistic woody for the Reds. But it's pugnacious connected Leverkusen, who are losing an fantabulous player, successful the premier of his career, who was a immense property successful the squad, for beneath marketplace rate.

GIORGI MAMARDASHVILI
€35m (£29m, $38m)

Valencia: B
Liverpool: A-

Liverpool person doubled down connected their argumentation of keeping the goalkeepers country stacked with endowment by bringing successful the champion changeable stopper nether 25 successful Europe. Mamardashvili looks similar the 2nd coming of Gianluigi Donnarumma; his big, burly frame, unthinkable reflexes and aerial dominance each impress. It should beryllium noted, though, that helium shares the Italian's deficiency of finesse erstwhile passing the ball.

The transportation interest looks large for the Reds and atrocious for Valencia. Part of the crushed it's inexpensive is due to the fact that Los Che got to support him for 1 other play connected loan, but past volition read: Mamardashvili for €35 million. And it'll beryllium seen arsenic an implicit bargain.

ESTÊVÃO
€34m (£28.5m, $38.5m)

Palmeiras: A-
Chelsea: A

"I deliberation he's going to beryllium a genius." Neymar's verdict of Estêvão volition beryllium euphony to the ears of Chelsea, who committed erstwhile the subordinate was conscionable 17 years aged to a woody that could emergence to astir €67 cardinal ($76m) if add-ons are met.

He's ridiculously breathtaking to watch, already has tons of first-team acquisition nether his loop and led the Brazilian apical tier with 22 extremity contributions successful 2024. Palmeiras were ne'er going to bent connected to a subordinate nicknamed "Messinho" for long, but they astatine slightest kept him for the Club World Cup.

JONATHAN TAH
Free

Bayer Leverkusen: C-
Bayern Munich: B-

A Leverkusen stalwart, Tah has a vocation trajectory that abruptly changeable upwards successful 2023-24, erstwhile helium expertly marshalled the backmost enactment to an unbeaten Bundesliga rubric run. The relation Xabi Alonso curated for him was precise specific, astatine the bosom of a backmost three, which brought retired his best. It'll wounded to suffer the Germany planetary for free.

Clearly, Bayern are convinced Tah is the plug-and-play reply to their cardinal antiaircraft issues, but they'll person to get much retired of him, implicit a longer period, than Leverkusen did for that to beryllium the case. There's reportedly a large signing-on interest (€15m) and large wages (over €200,000 per week) being committed to this deal, truthful don't beryllium fooled into reasoning Tah has travel peculiarly cheap.

ERIC DIER
Free

Bayern Munich: C
AS Monaco: B+

Eyebrows were raised erstwhile Bayern signed Dier from Tottenham Hotspur successful January 2024. After all, helium couldn't ace Ange Postecoglou's XI, truthful however was helium going to get crippled clip successful Munich? But 18 months and much than 45 appearances later, helium departs good regarded. In fact, fixed the semipermanent injuries Die Röten are dealing with astatine halfway back, they'll astir apt extremity up missing him.

Monaco volition beryllium counting connected Dier's acquisition to usher a squad that is, by design, young and afloat of promise. He looks a bully acceptable for that elder statesman role.