Scanning The Guardian's team-by-team synopsis ("Buy, Bye") of Premier-League summer player transfers, a theme sticks out: the big teams are behaving selectively.
Arsenal
have not added much -- nor would they need to.
Villa
added Patrik Berger and Kevin Phillips, while losing Hitzlsperger to Stuttgart.
Birmingham
picked up Mikael Forssell from Chelsea, lose loaner, Salif Diao, back to Liverpool.
Bolton
finally secure the head-case, El-Hadji Diouf, from Liverpool and lose Spanish great, Fernando Hierro to retirement. They need some youth.
Chelsea
have reeled Hernan Crespo back from loan to AC Milan, and have lost Scott Parker to Newcastle.
Everton's
let go of Allesandro Pistone but secured Welshman, Simon Davies, from Spurs for a reasonable 3.5 million quid and Per Kroldrup from Udinese (5 million). That should do.
Fulham
have brought in some low-key low-cost figures from Europe plus -- the sleeper of the summer transfer list -- Icelandic international, Heidar Helguson, who scored 20 for Watford last puff. Van der Sar may well be missed.
Newcastle
have done very well, off-loading several head-cases in Bellamy and Robert -- and will soon have Lee Bowyer off the books too. Now with Scott Parker to bolster their midfield, they still have much work to do to shore up the defense as well as bring in a replacement -- if that's conceivable -- for Alan Shearer.
Manchester United
have off-loaded much dead weight, including Roy Carroll, and have secured a fine first team keeper in Edwin van der Sar (coming from Fulham). South Korean international Park Ji-Sung also makes his way to Old Trafford which is sure to spark good shirt sales on the Peninsula, whatever happens on the field. Much here depends on the freshness of Scholes and Giggs and whether or not Cristiano Ronaldo can give up the tendentious, dead-end step-over moves. (Look also for foccachio sandwiches, pate', latte's & wine coolers to show up in the concession stands, along with a loud new stadium sponsorship.)
Liverpool
have added much and well, on the heals of victory in Istanbul. Securing Zenden (from Middlesbrough), Carragher and Gerrard provides a base for confidence to flourish; now if Figo comes in, things look really compelling. Pellegrino has gone back to Spain, Diao is back in from loan and Sissoko is now moving into the midfield. He is a young and strong player, someone Rafa Benitez knows well from Valencia, although he is untried in the Premiership. Depth of quality is here and, given the Reds' bad experience with injury last year, which hurt their League performance, they now have the large enough squad to be successful in several concurrent competitions come spring. Rafa Benitz now has Mourinho's early problem of keeping many world-class players happy while on the bench. That takes honesty as well as charm and hard work; it would make me a bit nervous if I were him -- but that's why he's Rafa Benitez. Reds have lost Smicer (Bordeaux), Berger (Villa) and Diouf, thank God!, among others like Bruno Cheyrou on loan to Bordeaux.
Manchester City
have got the dynamic and creative Kiki Musampa in again on loan from Athletico Madrid, while losing Steve McManaman (released) and Paul Bosvelt back to Holland (Heerenveen). Pearce may have more to spend if Chelsea picks up Simon Wright-Phillips, but that will be a severe loss at any price. City will be interesting to watch as Stuart Pearce's charisma sinks in further this year.
Transfer interest will be sustained as the final player moves sift themselves out before the August restart. Nothing too shocking expected, unless it involves Ronaldinho.
