Opinion: Top 4 clubs who had the worst transfer window

#3 Real Madrid

Villarreal CF v Real Madrid CF - La Liga

With over €300m spent on new arrivals over the summer, it seems a bit laughable to suggest that Real Madrid had a poor transfer window, but a deeper incursion reveals that to be exactly the case.

The Los Blancos had a devastating campaign last season, and Zidane was brought in to salvage the sinking ship with the promise of being in charge of transfer dealings, and despite the fact that the 46-year-old could not turn around the club's fortunes last term, his track record in his first spell gave cause for optimism.

Real Madrid made major inroads in the market, bringing in five new players before the middle of July, and all attention then turned to offloading the deadweights who Zidane deemed surplus to requirements.

The Frenchman was explicit in his desire to see some players, particularly Gareth Bale depart the club, stating that the earlier he left, the better it was for everyone.

However, club president Florentino Perez has always been a fan of the former Tottenham man, and went against his earlier premise of giving his manager a free rein by terminating Bale's proposed move to China at the 11th hour.

The failure of Real Madrid to offload players including Bale and Rodriguez had other consequences, as the club failed in its pursuit of another key target namely Paul Pogba, as funds were not readily available.

Real Madrid's midfield remains a weak link, as Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are no longer what they used to be, and Zidane realizes as much, making a midfield acquisition a priority and despite turning their attention to other midfielders including Donny van de Beek and Bruno Fernandes, they failed to land either.

Furthermore, Zidane has shown himself to be a firm loyalist through the course of his managerial career, and has so far shown a distinct distrust in all of his new arrivals (with the exception of the injured Hazard) begging the question as to why such money was spent on acquiring new players if they were not going to play?

Some of the players who departed over the summer are also starring with their new clubs, with Dani Ceballos' with Arsenal particularly impressive.

Real Madrid could be set for another season of struggles, and their failure to sort out their summer window effectively would be a major contributing factor.