Football is back underway but this hasn’t slowed down business in the transfer market. It has been a busy week and we’ve got a round-up of some of the biggest moves.
Arthur Cabral – Fiorentina to Benfica – Fee: £17m
Benfica needed to fill a significant void in their forward line following the departure of Goncalo Ramos to Paris Saint-Germain. The Portuguese giants turned to Arthur Cabral. The 25-year-old scored eight times for Fiorentina last season across 1,432 minutes. He failed to replicate the form he showed in Switzerland prior to his move to Serie A when he scored 14 goals in 17 starts.
Roger Schmidt will be hoping the Brazilian-born forward can get back among the goals as he looks to retain the title he won during his debut season in Portugal. They didn’t get off to the best of starts losing 3-2 to Boavista.
Max Aarons – Norwich City to Bournemouth- Fee: £7million
Courted by Leeds United and Southampton, it was Premier League side Bournemouth who managed to sign the explosive right-back. It wasn’t that long ago that Aarons was a £30million-rated full-back but he moved to the Cherries for just £7million, significantly lower than his £15millon market value.
The 23-year-old, who played 45 of Norwich City’s 46 matches in the Championship last season, could prove to be one of the shrewdest signings of the summer, anywhere across Europe.
Castello Lukeba – Lyon to RB Leipzig – Fee: £26million
RB Leipzig have found their Josko Gvardiol replacement. Having sold the Croatian centre-back to Manchester City, the Bundesliga side raided Lyon for Castello Lukeba. The 20-year-old impressed for the Ligue 1 side last term, finding a teammate 90% of the time, completing 69% of his dribbles and winning 60% of his tackles.
He should slot into Marco Rose’s energetic and young new-look side seamlessly.
Harry Kane – Tottenham Hotspur to Bayern Munich – Fee: £103million
After years of being linked with a move away, Kane finally left Spurs. The England captain, linked to both Manchester clubs, Real Madrid and Chelsea over recent years, opted to join Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in a deal believed to be worth £100million. The 30-year-old found the back of the net on 30 occasions and finally fills the void left by Robert Lewandowski. He isn’t just a goalscorer though, he also created 57 chances last season in the Premier League and finished with three assists. He could well fire the Bavarian giants to Champions League glory this term.
Ousmane Dembélé – Barcelona to PSG – Fee: £43million
This move came as a bit of a surprise. Barcelona wanted to keep the France international but PSG paid his release clause to bring him to the French capital. The 26-year-old, who can play on either wing, potentially replaces Neymar. Coincidentally, that is why he was signed by Barca in the first place. He finished with 12 goal involvements last term having appeared in a little over 1,400 minutes in LaLiga. It will be intriguing to see how he does under Luis Enrique.
Morten Hjulmand – Lecce to Sporting – Fee: £15million
This move has the potential to go under the radar. The 24-year-old replaces Manuel Ugarte in the heart of the Sporting midfield having caught the eye for Lecce in Serie A. He finished with a FotMob rating of 7.25 having completed 79% of his passes. Hjulmand also won close to 60% of his tackles and made 72 interceptions across the campaign. Another standout performance for the Lisbon giants and he could be on the move again next summer.
James Ward-Prowse – Southampton to West Ham – Fee: £29million
After weeks of back and forth, West Ham got their man. Ward-Prowse captained Southampton and despite their relegation last season, he came out of it with credit in the bank. The 28-year-old has averaged nine goals per season across his last three campaigns as well as chipping in with a minimum of four assists. He’s a set-piece expert and has a brilliant range of passing. He could be a serious threat for the Hammers.
Moises Caicedo – Brighton to Chelsea – Fee: £111million
For a brief second, it did look as though Caicedo might be going to Liverpool. The Reds had a bid accepted for the 21-year-old but the Brighton man had his heart set on a move to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea eventually had a British record fee accepted by the Seagulls and he made a £111million move to join up with Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Caicedo had a stellar 2022/23 campaign, appearing in 37 of the 38 Premier League matches. He completed 89% of his passes, completed 57% of his dribbles and won 50% of his tackles on his way to a 7.32 FotMob rating.
David Raya – Brentford to Arsenal – Fee: Loan
This one has the potential to be fairly controversial. Arsenal now have two first-choice goalkeepers and it can’t be too long before one of them decides this role is not for them. David Raya, a target for Spurs earlier in the summer, has joined on an initial loan. The Gunners can make it permanent next year for a fee of £27million.
The 27-year-old conceded 46 goals last season from an Expected Goals Conceded total of 51.76. His exploits between the sticks literally saved over five goals. He also made 154 saves and kept 12 clean sheets.
Neymar – Paris Saint-Germain to Al-Hilal – Fee: £86million
Al-Hilal tried and failed to tempt Kylian Mbappe earlier in the transfer window but did manage to sign his teammate, Neymar. The 31-year-old was surplus to requirements at PSG and is now one of the poster boys for Saudi Arabian football. He scored 13 goals and assisted 11 times in just 1,552 minutes last season. The Brazilian megastar finished with a FotMob rating of 8.0 and he’ll want to show he’s not moved out there for a final payday. There should be a lot more to come from the mercurial talent.
Charles De Ketelaere – Milan to Atalanta – Fee: Loan
De Ketelaere was viewed as a wonderkid while with Anderlecht and he was linked with a host of clubs. AC Milan pulled off quite the coup to land him but it is safe to say it didn’t really go to plan. His debut season at the San Siro was a disappointment and he failed to score having racked up just 1,101 minutes. He finished with a FotMob rating of 6.45. The 22-year-old Belgian now has a chance to get his career back on track with Atalanta. The club have a record of turning things around for players and the eft-footed attacking midfielder is too talented to give up hope on just yet.
(Images from IMAGO)
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