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After a summer of wheeling and dealing, football’s transfer window closed for English clubs on Friday. Throughout the window, The Athletic 500 assessed each permanent transfer in the Premier League (plus a smattering of loan deals) using five parameters: their performance last season, a gaming rating, financial value, tactical fit and the risk and reward balance. Advertisement For the tactical fit, we enlisted the help of Sentient Sports, which has created a model to evaluate how well a player should slot into a new team by simulating their future performance. Its model focuses on two aspects: the player’s familiarity with the team’s playing style (eg, high press, possession-based, low block) and their experience in the formations and positions favoured by their new manager. Using these categories, we can get a better idea of whether a new signing may need to adapt to their new team if the transfer is to be a success. So, after reviewing every rating we published, here are the highest and lowest tactical fits from The Athletic 500. Omari Hutchinson and Taylor Harwood-Bellis (91) were given the highest tactical fit scores of all players signed in this window, which makes sense given they spent last season on loan at their respective clubs before joining them permanently this summer. Harwood-Bellis is the ideal centre-back for Russell Martin’s possession-heavy Southampton team. Across the past 12 months, the Manchester City academy graduate ranks in the 99th percentile for passes attempted (96. 1 per 90) and pass completion (92. 1 per cent) among his peers. Often, those are the numbers of a player who does not take many risks in possession but Harwood-Bellis also ranks in the 89th percentile of central defenders playing progressive passes (4. 9), indicating an elite ability to complete potentially risky passes. As can be seen from this graphic, which illustrates the passes he most frequently made last season, Harwood-Bellis is not afraid to pass forward to his midfield team-mates. It has been a tough top-flight return for Southampton, losing all three of their Premier League matches, but Harwood-Bellis suits Martin’s unwavering desire to build from the back. Should Martin set up his side differently in search of better results, it will be interesting to see whether the 22-year-old retains his position in the team. Advertisement Like Harwood-Bellis, Hutchinson, 20, has remained integral to his manager’s plans after signing permanently. Hutchinson has started all three of Ipswich Town’s opening games and played the full 90 as Ipswich picked up their first Premier League point of the season against Fulham last weekend. Hutchinson suits Kieran Mc Kenna’s tactical system at Ipswich, which often transitions between a 3-4-2-1 and a 4-2-3-1. When attacking, Ipswich’s left-back Leif Davis advances high and wide, allowing left-winger Hutchinson to move inside. This movement creates central overloads, which Hutchinson can exploit with his ball-carrying skills. Hutchinson’s ability to attract defenders centrally opens up space for team-mates and his unpredictability when receiving the ball centrally — whether dribbling, passing wide, or shooting — makes Ipswich’s attack more exciting and challenging to defend against. Of the “true” newcomers, French defensive prospect Leny Yoro (88) at Manchester United had the highest tactical rating. The 18-year-old often hangs back and allows his defensive partner to engage with attackers high up the pitch and play on the front foot. He makes complete sense as a partner for Lisandro Martinez, who can win ground duels high up the pitch or Harry Maguire, who excels in aerial duels. Yoro is a generally conservative passer, preferring to play sideways to other defenders rather than play risky forward passes or send the ball long. However, this may not matter much if he is paired with a more expansive centre-back like the left-footed Martinez or Matthijs de Ligt, whose 5. 5 progressive passes per 90 minutes over the past year rank in the top nine per cent of his positional peers. There was considerable excitement about Yoro’s signing but a foot injury in a pre-season game against Arsenal has ruled him out of first-team contention for at least three months. The model was not too hot on Tottenham Hotspur’s signing of Wilson Odobert from Burnley. Odobert became a regular last season under Vincent Kompany during Burnley’s disappointing season in the Premier League. Despite finishing in the relegation zone, the 19-year-old impressed, making 25 league starts, scoring three goals, providing three assists and recording decent underlying attacking numbers. Advertisement Per FBref. com, Odobert ranks in the top two per cent of his peers in progressive carries (4. 5), successful take-ons (2. 2) and touches in the attacking penalty area (4. 4). He is also in the top six per cent of wingers for progressive passes (5. 5) and shot volume (2. 2). Those numbers are not too dissimilar to Son Heung-min’s but he is quite different to Dejan Kulusevski, who does not take as many touches in the opposition area and completes take-ons at a significantly lower rate. The doubt was whether such an inexperienced player could step up to a club of Tottenham’s size and whether Ange Postecoglou would throw him straight into the side. So far, the answer to both those questions seems to be ‘yes’. Another player who ranked relatively poorly was Emile Smith Rowe, but he has also adapted well to life at his new club. As Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta closed the gap to Manchester City in the Premier League, he made several key tactical adjustments and Smith Rowe proved to be among the casualties. Arteta moved from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3, with Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard moving ahead of him as the starting left-winger. While he did not have a clear fit within Arteta’s system, he appears a good match for Marco Silva’s evolving team at Fulham, where he can play as a No 10 or from the left wing. Despite Manchester United’s inconsistent start to the season, they have signed several players who suit Erik ten Hag’s system well, according to Sentient Sports’ model. They have the highest average tactical fit score in the Premier League, with 78. Yoro was their highest-rated player, while Noussair Mazraoui (80) and De Ligt (80), who played under Ten Hag at Ajax before moving to Bayern Munich, also scored highly. Manuel Ugarte, United’s newest recruit, brings the average down slightly with a tactical fit score of 65, reflecting his differing style to Casemiro, who has played in the defensive midfield position at Old Trafford in recent seasons. What this model does not predict is whether a team needs to adjust their approach — and after United lost 3-0 to Liverpool, Ten Hag will be considering changes. Ugarte, when fit enough to contribute, will surely play a big role. Ipswich have also recruited well, with Hutchinson and Liam Delap (78) contributing to an overall score of 74. West Ham United (73) and Southampton (72) also had strong summers statistically. An overall average score of 71 indicates a generally strong performance by Premier League clubs in this window when it came to identifying suitable players. While predicting a player’s future performance at a new club can never be an exact science, identifying and signing players who have operated effectively in a similar system is the bedrock of modern recruitment. (Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images) Get all-access to exclusive stories. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us. Elias Burke is a staff writer covering European football and transfers. He has previously covered U. S. soccer, West Bromwich Albion and Derby County for The Athletic. He is based in London. Follow Elias on Twitter @eliasburke