Top 10 Impactful Transfers & 5 Potential Busts

All episodes of The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered

Sep 7, 2026

Top 10 Impactful Transfers & 5 Potential Busts

2 wks ago 31:01

Show notes

The 2026 summer transfer window reshaped world football, with record spending, blockbuster moves, surprising bargains and high-risk deals across Europe, Major League Soccer and the English football pyramid. In this episode of The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered , Chris Horwedel looks beyond transfer fees and reputation to identify the moves that could have the biggest impact on the coming season. The focus is on tactical fit, production, value, squad needs, and how individual signings could influence title races, promotion battles and the balance of power across major leagues. The episode also explores several transfers carrying significant downside, examining the combination of price, expectations, role, age and underlying performance that can turn an exciting signing into an expensive mistake. From Premier League giants and Champions League contenders to MLS, the Championship and clubs farther down the English pyramid, this is a wide-ranging look at the most fascinating business of the 2026 transfer window — and the deals that could define the season ahead.

More from The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered

Dan Bolesta and Ruby Heselden Talk Luton Town Ladies

Luton Town Ladies head coach Dan Bolesta and defender Ruby Heselden join The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered for an in-depth conversation about Luton Town, women’s football, player development, coaching and the realities of competing in the English football pyramid. Chris Horwedel talks with Bolesta about his journey from grassroots and community coaching with MK Dons to taking charge of Luton Town…

19 hr ago · 25:20

TomFM on Lincoln City and Being a Full-Time FM Creator

YouTube content creator Tom Kelsey (TomFM) joins The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered for an in-depth conversation about Football Manager, FM26, Lincoln City, YouTube, and the world behind one of football gaming’s most recognizable channels. Chris Horwedel sits down with Tom to trace the relationship between real-world football and Football Manager that has shaped his life and career. The conversation…

1 wk ago · 56:10

Todd Smith on Relegated and Life in the Football Pyramid

Todd Smith, author of Relegated: One American’s Pints and Pies Journey from the Top to the Bottom of the English Football World , joins Chris Horwedel on The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered for a conversation about the culture, communities and people that make English football unlike anything else in sports. Smith explains how a lifelong connection to soccer eventually became an ambitious journey…

3 wks ago · 47:20

Luke Chadwick Talks Manchester United and Mental Health

Former Manchester United midfielder and Premier League champion Luke Chadwick joins The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered for a deeply personal conversation about Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, Roy Keane, Cambridge United, mental health, the Football Fun Factory , and his autobiography, Not Just a Pretty Face: The Luke Chadwick Story . Chadwick retraces a football journey that took him from a…

4 wks ago · 50:32