Top 5 Summer Transfer Winners

Having had a few days to do some studying and weigh all need factors specific to the clubs, I will now present my list of best summer shoppers of 2008...

#5 - Paris St. Germain

Despite not spending nearly as much as many clubs, rebuilding PSG added a strong veteran, winning influence with the arrivals of Ludovic Giuly, Mateja Kezman and Claude Makalele. If only the board had also allowed coach Paul Le Guen to add a center back...

#4 - Atlético Madrid

Los Rojiblancos added a top keeper (Grégory Coupet), a new defense tandem tough enough to play the middle and skilled enough to play wide (Johnny Heitinga & Tomáš Ujfaluši) and a pair of talented midfield traffic directors (Paulo Assunção & Ever Banega). They could have risen a slot or two had any of the hotshot #10's they chased consented to sign on the dotted line.

#3 - Inter Milan

Jose Mourinho failed to get several big names he chased (Drogba, Eto'o, Lampard, etc.), but he did freshen up his midfield with skilled muscle (Sulley Muntari) and nifty passing (Luis Jimenez). He also added a lot of pacy vigor to the attack in the form of Mancini, Victor Obinna and Ricardo Quaresma. Still, one wonders why he didn't pick up a center back for his depleted backline.

#2 - Tottenham

It's hard not to be impressed when a team picks up David Bentley, Vedran Ćorluka, Giovani Dos Santos, Gomes, Luka Modrić and Roman Pavlyuchenko in one window (not to mention teen England hope John Bostock and loan strike phenom Frazier Campbell). What's more, they actually turned a summer profit despite shelling out well over $100 million on new players. Had they also been able to land Andrei Arshavin, they would have retained the top spot, but got passed on deadline day by...

#1 - Manchester City

This could be the start of something good. With bulldog manager Mark Hughes new on board, Citeh's new owner plashed some quick cash to upgrade a damn good transfer session to a phenomenal one. The Citizens now have added a frightening attack triad (Jô, Robinho and rejuvenated returnee Shaun Wright-Phillips), a very capable pivot man (Pablo Zabaleta) and a pair of sturdy center backs (Tal Ben Haim & Vincent Kompany). And supposedly, it's just the beginning.

Honorable mentions: Ajax, Aston Villa, Barcelona, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, Genoa, Getafe, Monaco, Panathinaikos, Real Madrid, Sporting Lisbon, Villarreal

- Greg Seltzer