There is not much time left before the transfer market closes (less than a month). Atlético de Madrid and West Ham have been active in recent years: they bought four newcomers in total, spending more than 100 million euros in total. We talk about the main signings of the last few days.
Dominic Solanke: Bournemouth → Tottenham (65 million euros)
Dominic Solanke
Photo by: Tottenham F.C.
There is a record! For now, Tottenham. The purchase of the English striker became the most expensive in the history of the club. The priority for Postecoglou was the move to the striker position. Last season, Solanke had excellent statistics in the Premier League: 19 goals and three assists. Only Haaland, Palmer and Isak scored more. Well, it was important for the coach to sign Solanke, because he fits perfectly with the pressing needs of Spurs. At one point, Dominic did not do very well at Liverpool – there is a possibility of trying out at another top club.
Joao Neves: Benfica → PSG (59.92 million euros)
John Neves
Photo: psg.fr
The Parisians paid 60 million euros for the 19-year-old. The third most expensive transfer this summer. Of course, this is a rather serious risk, considering the fact that the boy has not yet played many matches at a professional level. However, no one denies the talent of the defensive midfielder. Neves himself signed a five-year contract, and the agreement between the clubs stipulated bonuses of 10 million euros. After moving to Paris, the young Portuguese said that he hoped to win many trophies with PSG. And Benfica again made a lot of money on the transfer.
The Russian goalkeeper made his debut with PSG:
“There are doubts about the second goal.” What they are saying in France about Safonov’s debut with PSG
Dani Olmo: RB Leipzig → Barcelona (55 million euros)
Dani Olmo
Photo by: FC Barcelona
One of the heroes of the European Championship is returning home. In the summer of 2014, Olmo left Barcelona’s youth system for Dinamo Zagreb. Ten years later, the Spaniard signed a contract with the Garnets Bleu that will run until 2030. Barça paid 55 million euros for the player and another 7 million in bonuses. Olmo won the German Cup twice with RB Leipzig and this summer he received a gold medal at the European Championship. The midfielder’s brilliant performance at the tournament caught the attention of the Barça management, who spared no expense. The Spaniard himself said after the move that he had made his dream come true.
William Pacho: Eintracht Frankfurt → PSG (40 million euros)
Guillermo Pacho
Photo: psg.fr
PSG acquired the Ecuadorian national team centre-back and paid a good amount for him. In 2020, Pacho left his homeland and moved to Europe. He first played for Belgian side Antwerp and then ended up at Eintracht. In one season in Frankfurt, the defender played 44 games in all competitions and provided two assists. Now Pacho has become the first Ecuadorian in PSG history. The Parisians paid 40 million euros, with another 5 million included in bonuses.
Robin Le Normand: Real Sociedad → Atlético (34.5 million euros)
Robin Le Normand
Photo: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images
Le Norman moved to Madrid as a European champion. At the tournament in Germany, the 27-year-old Le Norman played in all the matches, except for the semi-final against France. His defender missed out on too many yellow cards. He has been in the Real Sociedad system since 2016 and has now been promoted. Robin made 221 appearances for the San Sebastian club, scoring six goals and providing six assists. By the way, Atlético has already spent 66.5 million euros on newcomers, and this amount will increase significantly once the transfer of Manchester City striker Julián Álvarez is completed.
How Le Norman made his decision in favour of the Spanish national team:
Spain and France are constantly fighting for players. One of the decisions influenced the fate of the 2018 World Cup
Alexandre Sørlot: Villarreal → Atlético (32 million euros)
Alexander Sorlot
Photo: atletismodemadrid.com
The Norwegian striker had a pretty decent season. He scored 23 goals for Villarreal in the Spanish Championship. Atlético Madrid representatives paid attention to Sørloth’s performance and paid more than 30 million euros for his transfer. The Madrid club tried to get the league’s top scorer, Artem Dovbik. It didn’t work out. But Atlético loaned out the second-best scorer. Sørloth changed clubs after enjoying his best season in Europe’s top five leagues. Previously, European champion Álvaro Morata left the capital club.
Another striker will soon appear at Atlético:
The most expensive signing of the summer. City squeezed the Spaniards to a historic figure
Emile Smith Rowe: Arsenal → Fulham (€31.8m)
Emile Smith-Rowe
Photo: fulhamfc.com
Smith-Rowe was once considered one of Arsenal’s most talented footballers. However, over time, the midfielder lost his place in the starting eleven. Last season, Emil played only 346 minutes in the Premier League. He missed some time due to injuries and was often on the bench at the end of the season. Do you know the last time Smith-Rowe scored for Arsenal? In the 2021/2022 season. Now the boy will try to revive his career at another London club – Fulham. The transfer cost almost 32 million euros.
Arsenal’s new player has some interesting stats:
Arsenal’s first signing impresses
Artem Dovbik: Girona → Roma (30.5 million euros)
Artyom Dovbik
Photo: asroma.com
The top scorer in the Spanish league has left for Italy. It seemed that Atlético would attract Dovbik, but Roma joined the race. The result: the Ukrainian footballer will continue his career in Serie A. Dovbik himself, after the transfer, stressed that Girona is a small club and Roma is very big and has a rich history. According to the striker, the next step was needed. Last season, Dovbik scored 24 league goals and added eight assists. Roma, unlike Girona, will not play in the Champions League, but that did not bother the Ukrainian footballer.
Crisencio Summerville: Leeds → West Ham (29.3 million euros)
Crisentius Summerville
Photo: whufc.com
The Leeds striker (a club from the English second league) performed very well last season. 49 games, 21 goals, 10 assists – Summerville’s statistics attracted the attention of West Ham representatives. It is curious that the last time the Dutchman played in the Premier League was against West Ham (it was in May 2023). Now the London club will give the boy a new opportunity to play at a high level. And West Ham, by the way, have already spent 126.8 million euros on the newcomers.
Niklas Füllkrug: Borussia Dortmund → West Ham (27 million euros)
Niklas Füllkrug
Photo: whufc.com
Füllkrug himself could hardly have imagined that at the age of 31 he would be moving to a new league for the first time in his career. In addition, West Ham paid a good amount for the German striker. Last season, Füllkrug scored 26 assists (16 goals, 10 assists) and proved that he is still capable of playing at a good level. And in the summer, Niklas showed himself well at the European Championship on home soil. Previously, Füllkrug operated exclusively as part of German clubs. Now a new experience awaits him at another European Championship.
The signing of Füllkrug is on the list of unexpected signings this summer:
Summer transfers we didn’t expect at all
Denise Undave: Brighton → Stuttgart (26.7 million euros)
Deniz Undav (center)
Photo: vfb.de
Stuttgart lost its top scorer: Serou Guirassi signed a contract with Borussia Dortmund. The Bundesliga’s second team, on the other hand, kept its second striker. Undave was on loan last season and scored 18 goals in 30 games in the Bundesliga. Incidentally, this is a record transfer in Stuttgart’s history. The club has never paid such a sum for a player before. This summer, Stuttgart spent 64 million euros on new players.
Stuttgart is selling well in this window:
The biggest donors in the summer transfer market. Some have already sold players worth 100 million euros
Mateo Retegui: Genoa → Atalanta (22 million euros)
Matthew Retegui
Photo: atalanta.it
Retegui is a naturalised Argentine with experience playing for the Italian national team (12 matches, four goals). He attended the European Championships and played a total of 149 minutes there. Mateo came to Serie A last summer: Genoa bought him from the Argentine club Tigre for 22 million euros. Now the Genoese club sold the player to Atalanta for the same amount. During the season at Genoa, Retegui scored 12 (9+3) points using the goal+pass system in 31 matches. Atalanta has already spent 69.9 million euros on new arrivals. Will Retegui help the team in the new season?
Which club did Atalanta sell Alexey Miranchuk to?
The main thing about Alexey Miranchuk’s new club in the United States is that Russia would be envious of such a presence.
Strahinja Pavlovic: RB Salzburg → Milan (€18m)
Strakhinya Pavlovich
Photo: Vincenzo Lombardo/Getty Images
Pavlovic is Milan’s most expensive acquisition in the current transfer market. Salzburg bought the defender two years ago for 7 million euros and now sell him for 2.5 times that amount. Pavlovich has already made 38 appearances for the Serbian national team and participated in the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 European Championship. At club level, he made 12 appearances in the Champions League, which Milan will compete in in the new season. It is true that Strakhini has little experience playing in the major European leagues. He made only 12 appearances for French side Monaco (eight in Ligue 1).
Aaron Anselmino: Boca Juniors → Chelsea (€16.5 million)
Aaron Anselmino
Photo: chelseafc.com
Another Chelsea transfer. Do you know how much the English club spent on new players in this window? 129 million euros. It is true that Chelsea sold players for 101 million euros. The next newcomer to the team was 19-year-old defender Anselmino. Seven years ago, the boy ended up in the Boca Juniors system, and now the European club’s scouts have turned their attention to him. It is true that Anselmino will spend this season at home. Chelsea announced his transfer, but the defender will remain at Boca for now. Conditions: loan until June 2025.
Chelsea’s transfer policy is baffling:
It’s madness again at Chelsea! They are going to buy an eighth goalkeeper. Why so many and who are they?
Xavi Simons: PSG → RB Leipzig (loan)
Javi Simon
Photo: Fake Images
The young Dutchman spent a pretty decent season at RB Leipzig: 43 games in all competitions, 10 goals and 15 assists. It seemed that after this he would be promoted. The rights to the 21-year-old footballer belong to PSG. But Simons will spend the new season in Leipzig: the parties agreed on a new lease until the summer of 2025. The Bulls are back in the Champions League, so Xavi will have another chance to show himself in Europe’s top club tournament.
David de Gea: free agent → Fiorentina
David de Gea
Photo by: Fiorentina FC
It’s over! De Gea has finally found a new club. It’s hard to believe, but the Spanish goalkeeper has been unemployed for over a year. In the summer of 2023, David left Manchester United as a free agent and then failed to reach an agreement with another club. A couple of weeks ago it became known that the goalkeeper had not resolved the issue with Genoa regarding his salary. But David reached an agreement with another Serie A team. The parties signed a contract according to the “1+1” scheme. According to respected insider Fabrizio Romano, the goalkeeper’s salary was 3 million euros after taxes.
Other significant transfers
Croatian midfielder Luka Sučić has become a teammate of Arsen Zakharyan. Real Sociedad paid RB Salzburg 10 million euros for his transfer.
German footballer Pascal Gros is returning to his homeland. Borussia Dortmund bought the 31-year-old midfielder from Brighton for 7 million euros.
Former Manchester City and Leicester striker Kelechi Iheanacho has joined Sevilla as a free agent. His contract runs until the summer of 2026.
Midfielder Oriol Romeu has returned to Girona. Barcelona have loaned him out until the end of the 2024/2025 season. Romeu joined the Blaugrana from Girona in the summer of 2023.
Former Arsenal striker Nicolas Pepe has signed a contract with Villarreal. He moved there as a free agent and the contract runs until the summer of 2026.
Midfielder Renato Sanches has returned to Benfica. The Lisbon club signed the 26-year-old from PSG until the end of the 2024/2025 season.
Do you remember Alex Kral, who Spartak once bought for 12 million euros? He will spend the new season at Espanyol: the Spanish club loaned the Czech from Union Deutscher. Espanyol also loaned Argentine striker Véliz from Tottenham.
