With pre-season now well underway, most teams are wanting to get their business done as soon as possible. With this in mind, it has been a fairly busy week in the transfer window with some big moves finalised.
Valentín Castellanos
New York FC to Lazio
Fee: £13million
The 24-year-old really caught the eye while on loan at Girona last season. The Argentine scored 13 goals in LaLiga and became the first player since 1947 to find the back of the net on four occasions in a game against Real Madrid.
A lot of clubs were interested in the on-loan NYFC centre-forward but it was Lazio who won the race to sign him, parting with £13million to secure his services. With the Serie A side back in the Champions League, Maurizio Sarri’s men need depth in attack so they aren’t overly reliant on Ciro Immobile and Taty Castellanos provides that.
Victor Boniface
Union St.Gilloise to Bayer Leverkusen
Fee: £17million
A little over 12 months ago, Boniface was turning out for Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt. He’s now potentially leading the line for Bayer Leverkusen after an impressive spell in Belgium.
The 22-year-old spent a season with Union St.Gilloise, scoring nine goals, before his £17million move to the BayArena. The 6ft2 centre-forward has all of the tools to succeed in the German top flight and if he’s able to deliver on his potential, he will soon be a full international for Nigeria.
Moussa Diaby
Bayer Leverkusen to Aston Villa
Fee: £47million
Diaby had previously been linked with moves to Arsenal and Liverpool, with some even claiming he could be a successor to Mohamed Salah at Anfield.
After a strong season for Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso, a campaign in which he finished with a FotMob rating of 7.26, the 24-year-old has been signed by Premier League team Aston Villa for a fee believed to be close to £50million. It is a huge outlay but there is a huge upside to the Frenchman. He is adept at playing anywhere across the forward line and he finished last season with nine goals and eight assists in his 2,700 Bundesliga minutes. If he can replicate that in England, it will be money well spent.
And he has started well, linking up with his new teammates on their US tour, and scoring against Fulham in his first game.
Noah Okafor
Red Bull Salzburg to AC Milan
Fee: £12million
Another who was linked with a Premier League move during a hot streak in front of goal. The 23-year-old ended up with 10 goals across all competitions last season, including one against AC Milan in the Champions League. He will now be turning out for the Rossoneri following his £12million move. He’s had a few injury issues over the past 12 months but if he’s able to shake them off, the Serie A side have a talent on their hands who could lead their line for the next decade.
Arnaut Danjuma
Villarreal to Everton
Fee: Loan
This might be one of the more bizarre moves of the window. During the January transfer window, Danjuma was set for a loan move to Everton but he reneged on the deal at the last minute to join Spurs.
His loan with Tottenham didn’t really go to plan and he scored just two goals during his time with the club. The 26-year-old has now joined Everton on a season-long loan. If he can rediscover his 2021/22 form, the Toffees have a genuine game-changer on their hands. During his debut season with Villarreal, he was one of the best forwards in LaLiga and there was even talk of a £60million move to the Premier League as well as interest from Barcelona.
Harvey Barnes
Leicester City to Newcastle United
Fee: £37million
This move felt like a matter of when and not if it would happen. The 25-year-old was linked with Newcastle earlier in the year and a joint bid for him and James Maddison appeared to be on the cards for the Magpies.
Maddison ended up at Spurs but Newcastle were able to bring in Barnes. The versatile forward scored 13 times last time and performed well, despite Leicester’s relegation. He is primarily a left-sided attacker but can play on the right and it will be interesting to see how Eddie Howe gets both Barnes and Anthony Gordon into his XI on a weekly basis.
Marcel Sabitzer
Bayern Munich to Borussia Dortmund
Fee: £17million
Sabitzer is now the latest player to make the move from Bayern Munich to Borussia Dortmund to rekindle his career. It worked for Mats Hummels and, to an extent, Mario Götze. The 29-year-old spent the latter half of last season on loan with Manchester United but the Red Devils decided not to make it a permanent switch. The former RB Leipzig midfielder decided to call time on his Bayern career in a bid to get regular first-team football with last season’s Bundesliga runners-up.
Ismaïla Sarr
Watford to Marseille
Fee: £11million
Not so long ago, Sarr was viewed as a £50million player. Yet Marseille have managed to sign him for just £11million. It could turn out to be one of the signings of the summer if the 25-year-old is able to rediscover the form that convinced Watford to part with a reported £30million.
Sarr scored 10 times in England’s second tier last season and his departure now means the Hornets have lost two key attackers after João Pedro joined Brighton earlier in the summer. The Championship club are going to feel those losses.
Anthony Elanga
Manchester United to Nottingham Forest
Fee: £15million
The 21-year-old, linked with Everton earlier in the summer, is now a Nottingham Forest player following his £15million move. The Sweden international saw his minutes decrease under Erik Ten Hag having racked up 1,214 minutes during the 2021/22 campaign but managing just 422 minutes last season.
This move could rejuvenate his fledgling career and could form a decent attacking unit alongside the likes of Brennan Johnson, Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi.
Igor
Fiorentina to Brighton
Fee: £15million
Despite retaining an interest in Levi Colwill, Brighton have signed someone who could be viewed as an alternative to the Chelsea defender, in Igor. The 25-year-old left-footed centre-back is composed in possession, completing 88% of his passes in Serie A last term, and he’s also fairly dominant in duels, winning 67% of his tackles.
If reports are accurate, Brighton are still trying to sign Colwill but if they are unable to make it happen, the signing of Igor could prove to be a shrewd one, both in the short-term as well as in the long-term.
Jordan Henderson
Liverpool to Al-Ettifaq
Fee: £12million
The Liverpool captain finally completed his move to Saudi Arabia after a drawn-out process. The 33-year-old left the Reds after 12 years with the club having been told by manager Jürgen Klopp that his minutes would be reduced in the upcoming season following the midfield overhaul. Henderson will be playing under former teammate Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq.
Samuel Chukwueze
Villarreal to AC Milan
Fee: £17million
This could be one of the signings of the summer. Milan already have a potent threat on their left flank in Rafael Leão, they now possess someone who can do similar things from their right hand side following the arrival of Samuel Chukwueze. The 24-year-old left footer involved himself in 11 goals for Villarreal last term, chipping in with six goals and five assists across 2,346 LaLiga minutes.
His performances earned him a FotMob rating of 7.16. If he hits the ground running, he could form a deadly partnership with Leão.
(Images from IMAGO)
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