Football clubs love to take advantage of the final hours in the transfer market. After many spectacular deals having already been completed this summer transfer window, a final 24 hours still put on a show. Clubs have hastily plugged holes in their squad, beefed up the depth within their teams, and a select few have just astonishingly shocked the footballing world. This has arguably been the craziest football window despite rumours it would be quiet with it being constantly labelled a ‘Covid market’ with funds in clubs running at an all-time low. Aside from the super announcement of *Insert article Mancheser United and Cristiano Ronaldo together again* there have been some pretty lucrative deals in the past 24 hours.
Let’s take a look at a few of the bigger deals that transpired on transfer deadline day.
Emerson Royal
Tottenham swooped in on Barcelona’s right back Emerson Royal for £25m. Emerson joined Barcelona in 2019 from Atletico Mineiro. The Brazilian then moved to Real Betis but returned to Nou Camp this summer when Barcelona exercised a buy-back clause, only to ship out to London in favour of Premier League club Spurs.
Jerome Boateng
The German of Ghanaian heritage, Jerome Boateng, found himself without a club at the end of the season. The soon to be 33-year-old garnered much success over his illustrious career and was in no doubt of finding a home, but leaving it till deadline day was the shock. The ex-Bayern Munich centre-half joins Olympique Lyon on a free transfer after a decade of success with Bayern securing 21 trophies.
Daniel James
After finding a little success in the first two games of the season, the Welsh national Daniel James leaves Manchester United on a reported £25m for Leeds United. Leeds was in position to sign him back in 2019 before United came calling. This is surely a move influenced by the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford which shuffles the pecking order. Daniel James is a quality attack minded player with loads of experience and will surely fit the playing style of Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds.
Nikola Vlasic
With West Ham having made some strides over recent years they now find themselves pushing again with European football on their schedule. This has marked the arrival of another Croatian Nikola Vlasic from CSKA Moscow for £25.7m. David Moyes obviously wanted Jesse Lingard for the job, but it seemed more and more unlikely that would be the case and set his eyes on ex-Everton play Vlasic.
Willian
With most transfer talk focusing on the incoming of players, one outgoing that stands out is Brazilian Willian who leaves arsenal and £20m behind for boy hood club Corinthians. After much criticism over money chasing by the media and things admittedly not working out on the field for the player, Willian mutually terminated his contract with the Gunners which had him earning just under £20m on the remainder of his contract. In a stamen posted via social media, he made it clear he was never there for the money and for the project that Arsenal were building and proved it in his actions with the transfer deadline day decision.
Moise Kean
On loan to Paris Saint-Germain and back to parent club Everton, now Moise Kean re-joins Juventus on two-year loan with £24m obligation to buy. A void left by Cristiano Ronaldo; Kean will have to up his game to bring the attacking threat that the Portuguese superstar possessed in Turin. The Italian national joined the Toffees in 2019 but has failed to feature with Dominic Calvert-Lewin being the main centre forward at Goodison Park.
Marcel Sabitzer
Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann secures ex-player Marcel Sabitzer on £13.7m. Sabitzer joined RB Leipzig from Rapid Vienna in 2014, playing 229 times for the club in all competitions and scoring 52 goals. Bayern CEO and former Germany international Oliver Kahn said Sabitzer ‘offers everything that an FC Bayern player needs’ coupled with the fact Nagelsmann has a liking to the midfielder but he will have to compete with the likes of Jamal Musiala, Leon Goretzka, Corentin Tolisso, as well as Thomas Muller who tends to play a similar role on occasion.
Kurt Zouma
Chelsea sold Kurt Zouma to London rivals West Ham on a £29.8m deal to West Ham in trying to make room for their target Jules Kounde from Sevilla which was however not completed. Zoua sent out heart-warming message to Blues fans in conjunction with his move saying, “It has been a huge honour to be part of the success of this amazing club! The journey has been full of emotions… I’ll never be thankful enough Chelsea FC see you soon!”
Saul Niguez
With an already stacked squad, Chelsea added to their ranks with Spanish international Saul Niguez on a season long loan from LaLiga Champions Atletico Madrid and have an option to make the deal permanent for £30m this summer. Saul is no stranger to playing at the highest level and will compete with Ballon d’Or contenders Jorginho and N’Golo Kante as well as Matteo Kovacic for a midfield position in Thomas Tuchel’s UEFA Champions League winning squad.
Antoine Griezmann
Atletico Madrid moved in for World Cup winner and ex-player Antoinne Grizmann after the Rojiblancos completed a season-long loan move for the Barcelona forward with a mandatory £34m option to buy. The Frenchman heads back to where he crafted his name after a two-year hiatus. Griezmann made 257 appearances, scored 133 goals and assisted 50 times in his first time at Atletico and will look to extend his helping hand to the club yet again.
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Arsenal agree £19.8m deal for Bologna defender to fill the gap Hector Bellerin leaves after moving to Real Betis on a season long loan. The 22-year-old Japan national has always dreamed of playing in the Premier League and with interest from Tottenham and other unnamed clubs the big defender has decided to sign a reported four-year deal with the Gunners. Tomiyasu has made 61 appearances in the Serie A scoring three and assisting three.
Odsonne Edouard
The Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard joins Crystal Palace for a reported £14m. Palace’ first choice was Arsenal striker and England under 21 captain Eddie Nketiah which they could not find an agreement with. The 23-year-old’s former club Paris Saint-Germain are due a significant sell-on clause in the deal. The forward had received interest from the likes of Arsenal and Leicester early on in the window, but nothing came of the rumours. His arrival at Palace would top off a busy transfer window, with Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen, Conor Gallagher, Michael Olise and Will Hughes all new additions to Patrick Vieira’s squad.
Eduardo Camavinga
Real Madrid have signed highly sought-after midfielder Eduardo Camavinga from Rennes for a reported £34.4m. The French national had interest from the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United, and Paris Saint Germain to name a few. Real see the 18-year-old as a potential long-term replacement for 35-year-old Luka Modric, who in May signed a one-year extension to stay at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The transfer deadline day was one of the busiest to date, and with clubs unfortunately missing out on targets at the same time. Only time will tell if the players will excel in their new respective colours and football fans will be watching closely for their success.
Written by Joshua Gaillard