LONDON - When the window closed, some £1.4 billion had gone out of it. Last summer was the second most expensive ever in the transfer market for Premier League clubs.
Paradoxically, the dynamic of the division will be altered by stability. Next season will be contested by similar teams. It will be a test of creativity, constancy and strategy, not spending power, to do more with the same. Even the wealthier may have to prioritise: if they can make only one major signing, then where? If, for instance, Manchester City can buy only a centre-back or a left-back, some shortcomings will have to be camouflaged.
If improvement must come from within, and it is a test of tactics and coaching, it may also offer the intellectual challenge of reimagining players to fill gaps in the squad; that part may appeal to Pep Guardiola. But man management matters more: can coaches repair relations with those deemed misfits? Mourinho and Tanguy Ndombele are cases in point when clubs can't write off past mistakes.