Was summer 2017 the craziest transfer window ever? - BBC Sport
What was the biggest shock? Who was the biggest bargain? And biggest risk? BBC pundits assess the signings in a topsy-turvy transfer window.
Last updated on .From the section Football

After two months of mind-boggling spending, miles of social media speculation, smoke, mirrors and silly signing announcements, the transfer window has finally closed.

Amid all the noise, which are the bargains, bloopers and just plain bonkers signings of a roller-coaster transfer window?

Stoke midfielder Charlie Adam, ex-England winger Trevor Sinclair, former Everton winger Kevin Kilbane and Andy Townsend, once of Aston Villa, Chelsea and Republic of Ireland's midfields, were in the BBC Sport centre for transfer deadline day.

Amid all the breaking late news, they gave their perspectives on a topsy-turvy transfer window.
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What was the biggest surprise?

Andy Townsend: I was really surprised at Chelsea's decision to sell Nemanja Matic - such a key part of their title-winning squad - to Manchester United - such a key rival. That seemed peculiar and I bet that Jose [Mourinho] could not believe it when he was told it was possible.

That brought in £40m which was pretty much what Chelsea had spent on Monaco's Tiemoue Bakayoko. But then they were reportedly after Danny Drinkwater at Leicester as well. All very strange.

Trevor Sinclair: One of the biggest surprises for me was the lack of planning at Arsenal. They were not able to react to Manchester City's interest in Alexis Sanchez. There was no contingency plan in place.

I thought they would have [Paris St-Germain winger] Julian Draxler lined up given the French side have brought in Neymar and Kylian Mbappe at such expense.

Draxler is 24 years old still, a player that Arsene Wenger is believed to have been interested in in the past and has a ton of experience.

The rush for [Monaco midfielder] Thomas Lemar - after Wenger had said any deal for him was dead - was just too late.

Charlie Adam: That Manchester City could not get a deal done for Jonny Evans was surprising to me.

He has got the experience of playing at a big club in the same city having been at Manchester United, he has won trophies and he plays the game the way that Pep Guardiola likes.

That would have been a great bit of business for both the player and City.

Kevin Kilbane: The sheer size of Neymar's £198m deal to go from Barcelona to Paris St-Germain has got to be the biggest surprise.

When Paul Pogba joined Manchester United for a world record £89m last year, it felt like we were already seeing the record shift dramatically. Now, it has more than doubled. It really is remarkable.

Trevor Sinclair: The deal to sign Neymar got people talking, but he is already established as a star of the club and international game.

But, the deal that has been set up to take Kylian Mbappe from Monaco to Paris St-Germain is extraordinary.

He obviously looks like an exceptional prospect, but he is still only 18 and his value is based on one outstanding season.

He scored 24 goals in 41 appearances for Monaco last season and he looks the real deal, but £165.7m is a huge amount for someone who is still a little bit of an unknown quantity.

Andy Townsend: I think that £45m is a lot for Everton to have spent bringing in Gylfi Sigurdsson from Swansea. He has the ability to score goals and create, but he is nearly 28. I don't think he would have improved any of the clubs above Everton.

I can understand why Everton wanted him and how well he fits into Ronald Koeman's plans, but at £45m it seemed like a lot of money.

Trevor Sinclair: I think if Liverpool can keep Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain fit I think they have got a matchwinner on their hands. He has explosive power, balance, the agility and trickery to go past people and, at his best, takes games by the scruff of the neck.

At 24, he is at a good stage of his career, he has a heap of experience and I think Liverpool's narrower shape will suit him.

If they can get him on the pitch 80% of the time, I think that £35m is a bargain.

Charlie Adam: Swansea's loan deal to take Renato Sanches from Bayern Munich for the season is not cheap - there is talk of a £4m loan fee and the Welsh club having to pick up most of his wages.

But if they stay in the league it is going to be small change and he will be committed to the cause. Paul Clement will put an arm round him, tell him to express himself and get the best from him. I think that is a good move for Swansea.

Andy Townsend: I think that Tottenham have done very good business in bringing in right-back Serge Aurier from Paris St-Germain for £23m.

I have seen a lot of him and he is an incredible athlete, very quick, a real beast of a player. He has actually got more facets to his game than Kyle Walker I think.

He has had issues off the pitch, but if he knuckles down, he is a proper player.

Who much would you have been worth in your prime?:

Trevor Sinclair: When Ray Wilkins first came in at QPR in 1994 he put a £10m pricetag on my head, which would have been a British record at the time.

There were a few inquiries about me around that time. It was only a few years later that I found out that when Bobby Robson became manager of Barcelona in 1996, he asked about me.

That was the time that they had Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Hristo Stoichkov. If I had known about that at the time, I would have swum there!

Andy Townsend: I went to Chelsea for just over £1m in 1990, when some of the really top deals were around £1.5m to £2m. Dennis Wise joined the same summer for £1.6m.

When I left for Aston Villa in 1993, I cost around £2.5m and there were deals around the £3m mark.

I don't know what that equates to in today's money, but I'm very happy to have played in the era that I did.

There are a lot of obvious reasons why being a young footballer nowadays is tempting but there are a lot of downsides as well.

Their privacy is seriously invaded, everywhere they go they are scrutinised and any mistakes are pounced on.