Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is a soid signing by Chelsea – but sums up grim state of modern football: Footballblogzz grades the biggest deals from the 2024 summer transfer window

For Leicester: A sadly inevitable consequence of reckless spending. It’s been clear for some time that Leicester would eventually pay a price for falling foul of financial regulations, making the sale of an academy product for pure profit inevitable, but that doesn’t make Dewsbury-Hall’s departure any easier to palate for the fans. There’s something not quite right about the fact that Leicester are back in the Premier League but they’ll arrive without a homegrown hero who played a pivotal part in their return. What’s more, he’s been sold for less than his market value. Grim. Grade: D

For Chelsea: A decent bit of business – with the absolute emphasis on business. Is Dewsbury-Hall an upgrade on Conor Gallagher, who has been pushed ever closer to the exit door at Stamford Bridge by this deal? No, not at all. But he could prove a solid rotational player, given he’s just coming off the best season of his career under Chelsea’s new manager Enzo Maresca, and has arrived for a knockdown fee, with the Blues having taken advantage of another club’s PSR problems for once. Grade: C

For Dewsbury-Hall: An unexpected opportunity to prove he belongs in the Premier League. Dewsbury-Hall is 26 and he’s never been capped at any age group by England, but he’s now put himself in an excellent position to show that he can be a top midfielder. Of course, the endemic chaos at Chelsea could count against him, and there are far more talented players than he in the midfield pecking order, but Dewsbury-Hall’s energy, honesty and fine left foot could end up endearing him to his new club’s notoriously fickle fans. Grade: B+

For Leeds: A bitter blow. As soon as Leeds lost the Championship play-off final to Southampton, it was clear that the club would have to sell one of its most valuable assets to balance the books. With Gray’s sale, Leeds have done precisely that – but it’s still a tougher transfer to take. Gray is still only 18 and, given his lineage, it feels like selling the family silver. The one positive that they’ve managed to agree a far more agreeable deal with Spurs, which includes Wales international Joe Rodon, than the package put forward by Brentford. Grade: C+

For Tottenham: A potential bargain buy. Plenty of Premier League clubs were impressed by Gray’s performances last season, both in the Championship and the FA Cup, so this is a noteworthy deal for Spurs. Liverpool and Chelsea were among those said to be interested in signing the England Under-21 international. It’s also a very reasonable price for a player capable of playing at right-back or in midfield. Ange Postecoglou will be seriously looking forward to working with Gray, who looks ideal for his project. Grade: B+

For Gray: A move that could work out very well indeed. Gray probably would have preferred to stay at Leeds, at least for another season, but their promotion failure made his departure a formality. He’s already shown enough in his fledgling career to suggest that he deserves to be playing regular Premier League football- which is exactly what he should get at Spurs next season. Gray could have got lost at Chelsea and would not have been guaranteed game time at Liverpool, but he should see plenty of game time in north London. Gray is definitely one to watch in 2024-25. Grade: A-

For Aston Villa: A necessary evil. Villa’s PSR problems necessitated the sale of a valuable asset and Luiz rather unfortunately fit the bill as a much-coveted midfielder with two years left on his contract who was acquired for a bargain £15m ($19m). Losing the Brazilian is nonetheless a massive blow. It has been pointed out that his form tailed off a little towards the end of last season, but he still ended up contributing nine goals and five assists to Villa’s fourth-placed finish in the Premier League. Barrenechea is obviously arriving from Juve, along with forward Iling-Junior, but there is no guarantee that the Argentine will adapt to the Premier League after an underwhelming loan spell at Frosinone last season. Indeed, it’s worth noting that the bang-average Weston McKennie was originally meant to be part of the deal! Grade: C-

For Juventus: A timely boost. With Adrien Rabiot’s future still up in the air and no real progress being made in the pursuit of Teun Koopmeiners, Juve’s notoriously weak midfield was crying out for reinforcement. Luiz’s goal threat will be most welcome in Turin and renowned sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli, who joined from Napoli last summer, deserves credit for managing to bring in one of the club’s top targets while simultaneously offloading two reserves. Grade: B+

For Douglas Luiz: The right move at the right time, perhaps. Luiz has been regularly linked with a move away from Villa Park and this feels like a deal that suits everyone involved, albeit for different reasons. From Luiz’s perspective, he gets to play for one of the most famous clubs in Juve – and just as they’re likely to undergo a dramatic (and long overdue) – transformation in playing style under Thiago Motta, who worked wonders at Bologna last season. Indeed, it’s quite easy to see the former Italy midfielder taking Luiz’s game to another level in Turin, making him a key component in a team that will be expected to challenge for major honours next season. This is an exciting time for the 26-year-old and his new club. Grade: B+

For Chelsea: Some of that precious pure profit! Chelsea needed to sell players before the end of June to avoid any potential punishment for breaching financial regulations and they already have a couple of international left-backs on their books, so cashing in on an academy product like Maatsen (signed from PSV as a teenager) was a no-brainer. The fact that the 22-year-old would be a better option at left-back next season than either Marc Cucurella or Ben Chilwell doesn’t even come into the equation. This is strictly business. Grade: C+

For Aston Villa: A possible solution to their left-back problem. Maatsen’s name has obviously featured heavily in several stories on the controversial ‘swap weekend’ embraced by several Premier Leagues hoping to get around Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) before the end of June, but while the fee might be slightly inflated, this deal is different to others involving Villa, Chelsea, Everton and Newcastle in that it also makes sense from a sporting perspective. Maatsen was so good during his six-month loan spell at Borussia Dortmund that he even made it into UEFA’s Champions League Team of the Season before then earning a late call-up to the Netherlands squad for Euro 2024. So, with this transfer, Villa are essentially killing two birds with one stone. Grade: B

For Maatsen: A fine alternative to Dortmund. The Dutchman probably would have been better served by continuing at BVB after making such an instant impact at Signal Iduna Park, but the Germans were understandably put off by Chelsea’s asking price. Still, a move to Villa could work out wonderfully well for Maatsen, given this is a team quite clearly going places under Unai Emery, who has done a sensational job since replacing Steven Gerrard as manager just over 18 months ago. Unlike Chelsea, Villa will be in the Champions League next season, meaning Maatsen will have another, immediate chance to shine on the club game’s grandest stage. Right now, for a player like Maatsen, Villa definitely represent a step up from Chelsea in terms of quality and stability. Grade: B+

For Palmeiras: They’ve done it again! A year after agreeing a €60 million (£51m/$64m) deal with Real Madrid for Endrick, Palmeiras have brokered another bumper deal (which could rise to £52m/$65m) for a teenager with a massive European club – and, once again, they get to hold onto their potential superstar until he turns 18. Of course, it’s sad that such talents leave Brazil so soon, but this is the depressing nature of the transfer market today. Most clubs now rely on their academies to make ends meet. There are also no guarantees that promising players will succeed at the very highest level, so Palmeiras deserve praise for not only developing Estevao and giving him a chance to shine, but also securing such a lofty fee for one so young. Grade: A

For Chelsea: Quite the coup. The club’s recruitment policy isn’t very sophisticated: buy as many highly-rated young players as possible in the hope that at least one of them turns out to be the next Cole Palmer. Estevao, though, looks as close as a club can possibly get to a sure thing, which is why Arsenal, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Bayern Munich were also keen on signing ‘Messinho’. Indeed, World Cup winner Branco says Estevao is the best player born in Brazil since Neymar. He won’t arrive at Stamford Bridge until next summer, but based on everything we’ve seen so far, the winger will prove well worth the wait. Grade: A

For Estevao: An undeniable risk. As already mentioned, Estevao had his pick of Europe’s elite. In that sense, Chelsea is a strange choice. It’s a club in a constant state of chaos in which several young players – Palmer excluded – have almost inevitably failed to justify massive transfer fees. The Blues won’t be in the Champions League next season and, having once again changed manager, there’s no guarantee that they will be when Estevao arrives either. It’s no surprise, then, that the decision to move to Chelsea has bemused many Brazilians, particularly as Estevao said all along that his dream was to join Barcelona. Now, the Catalans’ cash-flow problems obviously made that impossible (for now, at least) and the word coming out of the player’s camp is that they feel he’s more likely to get game time at Stamford Bridge, as opposed to the Etihad, the Emirates, Parc des Princes or the Allianz Arena, but the fear is that Estevao will struggle to break through at Chelsea as much as his compatriot Andrey Santos, who spent all of last season out on loan. Grade: C

For Fulham: A significant but unsurprising blow. As soon as Adarabioyo turned down an offer that would have made him one of the highest-paid players at the club, it was clear that his days at Craven Cottage were numbered. Still, seeing the centre-back leave on a free transfer – and then promptly join Chelsea – will obviously be a tough one for both the club and the fans to take. Grade: F

For Chelsea: Not exactly a signing to set pulses racing at Stamford Bridge. Adarabioyo is hardly going to fill the colossal void left behind by Thiago Silva. On the contrary, his arrival is likely to hasten the departure of academy product Trevoh Chalobah as Chelsea look to balance the books after an unprecedented, two-year spending spree. Adarabioyo is solid, he should prove a decent squad player and, from a purely financial perspective, the Blues will feel this deal makes an awful lot of sense. Grade: C+

For Adarabioyo: The right time to try his luck at a higher level. He’s 26 now and the word is that while Chelsea offered him a better financial package than Newcastle, the main reason he picked west London over Tyneside was the chance to play in continental competition. Adarabioyo certainly won’t go straight into the starting line-up and there’s an obvious risk that comes with joining such a chaotic club, but the familiarity with his surroundings and the lack of pressure on his shoulders should at least make it easier for him to produce his best football. Grade: B

For Paris Saint-Germain: Nasser Al-Khelaifi stated several times that there was no way PSG would allow the best player in the world to leave on a free transfer. Well, it’s happened, so this cannot be portrayed as anything but a sporting and financial disaster for the French champions. Yes, PSG will save a fortune in wages. Yes, Mbappe’s behaviour had become a major problem. But losing him for nothing reflects horribly on those in power at the Parc des Princes. In a way, Mbappe may well have done PSG a favour by exposing the folly of pursuing and indulging “flash, bling-bling” superstars, and there are already signs that the club’s Qatari owners have seen the error of their ways. However, the damage already done to their brand is colossal. PSG really do risk irrelevance without their most marketable player. Mbappe, remember, was PSG’s poster boy, their homegrown hero and the “cornerstone” of their entire project; instead, he’s left it on the verge of complete collapse. Grade: F

For Real Madrid: Pure perfection. Florentino Perez has finally got his man – and without having to pay a transfer fee. Obviously, Madrid are still handing over a king’s ransom to land Mbappe, in terms of his salary and signing on-fee, but this has worked out better than anyone connected to the club could have expected. It may have taken longer than they would have wanted, but the World Cup winner is still only 25, meaning his peak years are still ahead of him. In that sense, it feels a lot like Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival in Madrid all the way back in 2009: an already world-class talent perfectly primed to take his game to a whole other level at the biggest club in the world. Mbappe’s arrogance is obviously off the scale and there are question marks over where exactly he will play – but who better than Carlo Ancelotti, the master of managing egos, to make it work?! Grade: A+

For Mbappe: A dream come true. Mbappe has wanted this since he was a kid. He probably needs it at this stage of his career, too. There were those within French football who believed Mbappe was stagnating in Paris, that he really needed a new challenge away from his hometown. Now, he’s got the biggest one in football: proving his greatness at Real Madrid. Obviously anything other than Champions League glory and a first Ballon d’Or will be deemed failure, but let’s face it, if Mbappe stays fit, he’ll run riot in Spain, no matter what position he plays in. He’s just that good. Grade: A+