a season-defining summer market?

another transfer deadline, although for the EPL it was anything but routine. quite a blockbuster i would say. for some revolutionary, for others fiddly, but significant for all.

the following are for me the English clubs that mattered this window.

Chelsea

some media have highlighted them as somehow sneaking under the radar, and it is true, we need to pay attention. Eden Hazard was all the talk for a while, but as the Blues did most of their business some time back, people ignored them.

at your own risk though. Chelsea have probably come off this summer with the most valuable harvest. Belgian prodigy Hazard is making everyone excited with his performances, but while he is the only new name in the starting lineup, the club has also acquired the talented Marko Marin, who played for Germany at World Cup 2010, and another playmaking wonderkid Oscar.

Oscar, partner-in-crime to Neymar.

imagine the offence this side can put together over the next few years.

elsewhere, Victor Moses looks ordinary in comparison, while Chelsea also managed to steal ex Osasuna and Marseille rightback Cesar Azpilicueta, tipped for the Spanish national team soon.

all these inflow are after all to fill big shoes. perennial bogeyman Salomon Kalou switched teams with Hazard after six years and injury-ravaged powerhouse Michael Essien is loaned out. fringe player Jose Bosingwa has left too, but the biggest shoes are those of club legend Didier Drogba, who's quit after eight years.

"Nico, what am I doing in China?"

up-and-coming star Josh McEachran stays out on loan while Yossi Benayoun finally departs.

Manchester United

another championship lost, another reaction. easily United's heaviest expenditure in years, the last time we spent big was the £30m in 2008 for Dimitar Berbatov, who has incidentally just left for Fulham. for the last time we poured out £50m in one window was way back in 2003, then including a boy from Madeira.

Guess who?

over the years a lot of our income have been used to cover the owners' debt, as Sir Alex Ferguson pursued a buy-youth-for-less policy.

much of this summer's £50m have gone towards securing Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa, in moves perceived as the dawn of a new age at Old Trafford. Kagawa arrived in the aftermath of Hazard's rejection, but at half the price is good value as the Red Devils' latest playmaker. the acquisition to flaunt though is league top scorer van Persie. he may be 29, but £24m for guaranteed goals, no need to acclimatise, and moreover emptying rivals Arsenal, is unbelievable business.

Robin van Persie has struck four goals from just 12 shots.

with a refreshed attacking model, pushing even Javier Hernandez down the pecking order, it was no surprise former top scorers Berbatov and Michael Owen have been released. Fabio is loaned out to get him back to his best, but a tinge of sadness accompanies the departures of an old and a young -- Asia's hero Park Ji Sung and the talented Paul Pogba.

Arsenal

it's just fitting we go from the raider to the raided. like previous seasons, North London just got a few more mansions for sale. following van Persie out the Emirates door is another first-teamer Alex Song. not the most illustrious around, yet Song created 13 goals for the Gunners last season. Barcelona the suitor is puzzling though.

the arrivals are exciting any other time, especially compared to the panic buys of Mikel Arteta and Per Mertesacker, but it's dampened by the departures. i had commented i didn't know how Arsene Wenger would deploy them together, but a triumvirate of Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and RVP still sounded scary. that's not possible now, and suddenly Arsenal need Pods and Giroud to step up, always too much to ask from them.

they do however possess Santi Cazorla now, a squad member for Spain at both triumphant Euros, an achievement in itself. i had thought Santi wouldn't be game-changing, but he's been given a key role now and seems to relish it.

Santi Cazorla's joining a bigger club soon, just so you know.

Italian giants Juventus see something in delusional joke Nicklas Bendtner and have ended his England charade.

Nicklas Bendtner will soon fulfill his potential as the planet's best footballer.

Manchester City

snubbed over and over again, the champions finally stamped their oil-rich authority on deadline day. Jack Rodwell and Scott Sinclair are underwhelming for the defending champions, but then Javi Garcia, Maicon and Matija Nastasic happened. the latter is one for the future but already touted as the new Vidic. Maicon was after all one of the world's best rightbacks while Garcia has rejuvenated his career at Benfica.

the foremost question for City round the clock is how to keep a vast squad happy. the key departures are Nigel de Jong, Adam Johnson and banished frontman Emmanuel Adebayor. Garcia fits into de Jong's role, a position Roberto Mancini ludicrously calls 'desperately lacking', but Maicon has to challenge Micah Richards and Pablo Zabaleta, Rodwell may not be a guaranteed starter and Sinclair should be happy to make the bench.

Maicon joined Man City to be third-choice rightback.

Tottenham

Spurs are a bigger club than Liverpool, period. hahaha.

having got that out of the way, one worries if Andre Villas-Boas is again trying too hard to revamp a team. the former Chelsea boss shipped out Rafael van der Vaart, Niko Kranjcar, Vedran Corluka, Louis Saha, Steven Pienaar and Giovani dos Santos after only 180 minutes of this 2012-13 season. mind you, every of the above is still capable of peaking.

less to do with AVB's wishes, star player Luka Modric finally got a dream move to Real Madrid, while captain Ledley King retired.

end of an era for Luka Modric and Ledley King.

on the bright side for fans still reeling from idol Harry Redknapp's sacking, AVB's buys have been eye-catching. there is promise -- the exciting Belgian duo Moussa Dembele and Eredivisie player of the year Jan Vertonghen, and Gylfi Sigurdson. there is France number one Hugh Lloris. most of all and most surprising of all, there is Clint Dempsey guaranteeing goals from deep.

Redknapp's work is bearing fruit and Tottenham are attracting star names.

Liverpool

Spice Boys did better than Luis Suarez and his £100m mates.

what can get worse for the Kop? they will point to the start of Roy Hodgson's reign. then now a mixed emotion towards club legend Kenny Dalglish. then 8th in the league. currently, except for a creditable 2-2 draw with Man City, they've sucked bad and are lying in the relegation zone.

Brendan Rodgers tried. immediately Andy Carroll was publicly deemed surplus. other previous horrors Charlie Adam, Alberto Aquilani and Maxi Rodriguez were sold.

the grand plan to turn Liverpool into Swansea (what?) could start nowhere but by bringing Joe Allen and Fabio Borini with him. then, maybe if Real Madrid could upend Barcelona using Mesut Oezil and Sami Khedira, Rodgers could do with his own pair of Turkish-Germans -- Nuri Sahin and the prolific teenager Samed Yesil.

let's see. the transfer window already hasn't been kind. key members Dirk Kuyt and Craig Bellamy are gone. Jay Spearing is also deemed not needed for at least a year.

Everton

across town, after finishing above rivals Liverpool, the Toffees are having their version of a revamp. biggest stars Tim Cahill and Rodwell are gone, longtime servant Joseph Yobo finally leaves.

but David Moyes is always dependable and their start to the campaign has been alright. the highly-acclaimed Kevin Mirallas looks set to be a hit, while Rangers star Steven Naismith represents a major coup after the Scottish club folded.

Swansea

lower down the table, one club worth noticing is the Swans. i mean, who doesn't, since they play some of the most attractive ball in this country. but Rodgers is out and Michael Laudrup is in. no one needs tissue for that.

some say the former merely continued a style implemented by Roberto Martinez, who continues to thrill at Wigan. but here we have Laudrup, a legendary player, a Barcelona alumnus, a coach roundly admired.

he's lost Allen and Sinclair, from the class of 2011-12, but that wasn't within his control. in come experienced Spaniards Michu, Chico and Pablo Hernandez. Jonathan de Guzman is also a fantastic addition to a team like Swansea, while Korean star Ki Sung Yeung brings a style similar to the team's.

already four goals in first three games for Michu.

these are exciting times for Swansea fans.

West Ham

if there's one lesser light busy this window, it's the newly-promoted Hammers. nothing new to the Premier League where teams buy to avoid instant relegation.

West Ham lost former England number one Robert Green, went out to purchase a bunch of goalkeepers, and now they have Jussi Jaaskelainen. but they have indeed considerably strengthened the squad. Liverpool flop Carroll seems to excel in a smaller club, joined up front now by ex Sochaux star Modibo Maiga. key Wolves winger Matt Jarvis headed here after his team's relegation, while James Collins returned.

the coup though might be Alou Diarra, a former France captain who's been to two World Cups and most recently Euro 2012.
 

West Ham now have someone who played alongside Zinedine Zidane.

key players released free in the summer include John Carew, Abdoulaye Faye, Julien Faubert and Papa Bouba Diop.

QPR

this piece would not be complete without the madness at Loftus. if Rangers couldn't compete with the most expensive signings, they did it with the most signings.

Spain's colonisation of England continues here, Esteban Granero becoming Mark Hughes' marquee acquisition from Real Madrid. the talented Junior Hoilett finally leaves Blackburn although QPR are expected to struggle equally, while Stephane Mbia adds quality as well.

a lot of experience gathered too. the decorated Park possesses the full set of medals there are available, Green and former Ballon d'Or nominee Julio Cesar replace number one Paddy Kenny in goal, then there are Ryan Nelsen, Andy Johnson and Jose Bosingwa, who add 95 years to the squad.

...while QPR's goalie once ranked behind only Iker Casillas and Gigi Buffon.

Hughes gets Fabio on loan in another friendship deal involving Fergie and a former player.

out the door go skipper Joey Barton, a class but problematic player, as well as top scorer Heidar Helguson. veteran Welsh international Danny Gabbidon has been released.

we'll miss you, Joey.