– England: Haaland tumbles, “Aubam” returns”, CR7 stays –
The signing of Norwegian prodigy Erling Haaland at Manchester City has kicked off a new record English transfer window, with around 2 billion euros spent so far.
Before being loaned Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo (Juventus) on Thursday, Liverpool issued a check – unprecedented for the Reds – of up to 100 million euros to snatch Darwin Nunez from Benfica, as Manchester United did for attract Antony, the Brazilian winger from Ajax Amsterdam.
Chelsea spent copiously, enlisting Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly, but especially the Frenchman Wesley Fofana, who on Wednesday became one of the most expensive defenders in history (more than 82 M EUR). The Blues have also recruited striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, for 12 million euros according to FC Barcelona, a transfer announced overnight from Thursday to Friday by the two clubs. “I have a score to settle with the Premier League and it’s so good to be back, it’s very exciting,” said the Gabon captain, who terminated his contract with Arsenal seven months ago.
With Antony, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Christian Eriksen, Manchester United seem to have completed an interesting transfer window.
But the Reds Devils did not find a way out of the Ronaldo soap opera: the Portuguese (37), a luxury substitute and eager to leave to play in the Champions League, did not find a base …
– Germany: major departures and flashy arrivals –
The Bundesliga finds itself orphaned by Haaland and Robert Lewandowski who, after eight years at Bayern Munich, went to FC Barcelona for 45 M EUR.
To replace him, the Bavarian club made a nice move with the Senegalese Sadio Mané, winner of the African Cup of Nations in 2022.
The most expensive transfer of the summer in Germany (67 M EUR according to the media) was also made by Bayern with defender Matthijs de Ligt.
German runners-up Dortmund thought they had found Haaland’s replacement in Sebastien Haller, but the Ivory Coast striker was diagnosed with testicular cancer after signing. Borussia has therefore recruited Anthony Modeste (34) for one season.
RB Leipzig managed to retain and extend French striker Christopher Nkunku until 2026 and recruited German international Timo Werner, who lacked playing time at Chelsea.
– Spain: Barça active until the end –
The Barça transfer window is the soap opera of the summer in Spain. In debt of around EUR 1.35 billion last season, the Catalan club has activated several economic levers to quickly obtain liquidity. This saw him spend €153m on five signings, including French centre-back Jules Koundé, in addition to Robert Lewandowski, his biggest catch.
The Catalans remained particularly active until the end with the departure of Sergino Dest, loaned to AC Milan, the separation recorded with Martin Braithwaite, who left for neighbors Espanyol Barcelona, and the arrival of Spanish right-back Hector Bellerin.
Real Madrid, European champion in title, invested 80 M EUR on the French midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, expected as the heir of Casemiro.
Antoine Griezmann, whose playing time is limited by the contractual situation of his loan from Barça, should still stay at Atlético Madrid.
The last week has also been punctuated by the departure of Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad to Newcastle for 70 million euros, the recruitment on loan of Kasper Dolberg (Nice) to Sevilla FC and the arrival of Edinson Cavani at Valence CF. of new coach Gennaro Gattuso.
– Italy: Juventus recruited French –
At Juventus, recruits have often arrived from France: the “Old Lady” has notably attracted Polish center-forward Arkadiusz Milik (Marseille) and Argentinian midfielders Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes, from PSG, the Turinese’s first opponent this season in the Champions League.
AC Milan has been loaned by Barça the American side Sergino Dest to compensate for the absence for several weeks of Alessandro Florenzi, injured on Tuesday.
As for Inter Milan, it not only managed to keep Milan Skriniar, coveted by Paris SG, but also obtained a last-minute defensive reinforcement on Thursday with the arrival on loan of Italian international Francesco Acerbi, who came from the Lazio Rome.
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