Football News

Pre-Season Transfer Madness — Here’s What You Need to Know

We take a look at the latest happenings in the world of football transfers.

Published

9 years ago

July 27, 2016

Elan Solomon

The transfer window is busy entering its final stretch, but before August arrives and the European leagues resume, quite a few more moves are likely to happen among Europe’s elite and the aspiring challengers.

The biggest news of the past while is that Chelsea has bolstered its midfield with N’Golo Kante, the French dynamo that helped tackle and pass Leicester City to the Premier League title. Juventus have also smashed their transfer record by paying a bloated £75m to Napoli for Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain. The continuing saga around Paul Pogba may have also come closer to a conclusion, but the jury is still out on whether a move will materialise in this window. It’s almost certain considering Juventus have just paid over the odds for Higuain, and will need to recoup some of the investment they laid out on him.

First up we’ll have a look at the biggest deals that have already been signed off on.

Done Deals:

Gonzalo Higuain: SSC Napoli -> Juventus FC
N’Golo Kante: Leicester City FC -> Chelsea FC (£30m)
Martin Skrtel: Liverpool FC -> Fenerbahce SK (£5.5m)
Jordan Ibe: Liverpool FC -> Bournemouth FC (£15m)
Ahmed Musa: CSKA Moscow -> Leicester City FC (£16m)
Vincent Janssen: AZ Alkmaar -> Tottenham Hotspur FC (£17m)
Miralem Pjanic: AS Roma -> Juventus FC (£25m)
Luis Nani: Fenerbahce SK -> Valencia CF (£7m)
Georginio Wijnaldum: Newcastle United FC -> Liverpool FC (£25m)
Joe Allen: Liverpool FC -> Stoke City FC (£13m)
Ragnar Klavan: FC Augsburg -> Liverpool FC (£4m)

Antonio Conte’s rejuvenation of the Chelsea squad has continued with the addition of the aforementioned N’Golo Kante, while Juan Cuadrado has returned from his loan spell at Juventus. Cuadrado is capable of playing as a wing-back as well as a winger so he should be well suited to Conte’s inclination to use a 3-5-2 formation periodically. Liverpool have concluded a number of deals this week, the biggest of which is the signing of attacking midfielder Gini Wijnaldum from Newcastle. The Dutchman enjoyed a decent start to his season in 2015 but trailed off a little as
Newcastle failed to remain in the top flight, but Jurgen Klopp is likely to be able to deploy him successfully this coming season.

N’Golo Kante

Speculation:

Axel Witsel: Zenit St. Petersburg -> Inter Milan
Paul Pogba: Juventus FC -> Manchester United FC
Edinson Cavani: Paris Saint Germain FC -> Chelsea FC
John Stones: Everton FC -> Manchester City FC
Leroy Sane: Schalke 04 -> Manchester City FC
Christian Benteke: Liverpool FC -> Crystal Palace FC
Alexander Lacazette: Olympique Lyonnaise -> Arsenal FC

Edinson Cavani, the 29-year-old Uruguayan striker currently playing for PSG is apparently a target for Antonio Conte’s Chelsea, but PSG are looking for a fee around £60m to let him go to London.

The talk of the European window still revolves around Paul Pogba, though; and reputable publications like L’Equipe in France and Sky Italia are reporting that a €120m deal has been settled and that the Frenchman’s departure from Juventus to Manchester United is imminent. However, a snag has been hit in the proceedings as Pogba’s agent is allegedly demanding €20m for brokering the deal and Juventus insist that Manchester United pay this full amount in addition to the transfer fee. It’s likely some haggling will continue, and Pogba’s agent might play hardball by approaching other clubs besides United in order to force their hand.

The deal is likely to go through, but some surprises could still be in store for United if they drag their feet for too long as they have with previous failed transfers.

What are your thoughts on the recent transfers? Tweet us @MenStuffZA and share your opinion!