Deadline day: Man Utd and City push transfer spend past £1bn
Arsenal didn't contribute much but Premier League outlay in the transfer window was £870m, taking the total for 2015 past £1bn
Deadline day might have been flatter than the atmosphere at an Arsenal home game but nonetheless the summer transfer window was, says the BBC, the "richest in Premier League history" with deals totalling £870m, up four per cent on the record established last year.
With what was spent in January's window it means that for the first time total spending has passed £1bn in a calendar year.
No prizes for guessing the two clubs that shelled out the most this summer: Manchester City and their local rivals Manchester United.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
City spent £160m in signing Raheem Sterling, Fabian Delph, Patrick Roberts, Kevin De Bruyne and Nicolas Otamendi. The £49m paid for Sterling, a promising but by no means world-class player illustrated for many the wild extravagance of Premier League clubs this summer.
United added to that feeling yesterday in paying Monaco £36m for French teenager Anthony Martial, like Sterling a player with potential but far from the finished article. In total United signed players worth £139m, including Memphis Depay, Matteo Darmian, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin.
Chelsea's summer acquisitions included Pedro, Baba Rahman and deadline day arrival Papy Djilobodji, while Arsenal - living up to their reputation as the most frugal (or stupid, depending on your point of view) of the so-called Big Four clubs, signed only one big name - veteran goalkeeper Petr Cech from Chelsea.
Arsenal fans were hopeful for most of Tuesday that Arsene Wenger would sign a striker but rumours that he was in Paris negotiating a deal for PSG frontman Edinson Cavani turned out to be false, and the Gunners must face up the fact that for the next four months at least they'll have to rely on a strikeforce that has managed one goal between them in the first four League games. Bayern Munich, Arsenal's opponents in the Champions League, are unlikely to be quaking in their boots.
According to the Daily Mirror Arsenal refused to meet PSG's £50m valuation of Cavani and that wasn't the only deal that fell through in a distinctly unexciting deadline day.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel Adebayor rejected an approach from Aston Villa on the advice of his pastor while the Midlands club also failed to land former Manchester United frontman Dimitar Berbatov. Meanwhile the Liverpool Echo claimed that Everton knocked back a bid of up to £8m from Norwich City for Scotland forward Steven Naismith.
Saido Berahino also failed to fulfil his wish of joining Tottenham and the Daily Star says the WBA striker "is to go on strike" in an attempt to force the Baggies' hand. The paper says that the former England Under-21 international has been the "subject of four failed bids from Tottenham" and the 22-year-old is so "desperate" to leave he is allegedly going to down tools, or in his case his boots, until the club accedes to his transfer request.
Summer transfer deadline day 2015: De Gea, Berahino, Marquinhos, Arsenal
01 September
The summer transfer window closes at 6pm and, as usual, the final day of business has prompted something close to hysteria in certain sections of the media.
As Arsene Wenger's never-ending quest for Karim Benzema goes on, and Jose Mourinho searches for a solution to his side's terrible start to the season, here are the rumours doing the rounds on deadline day.
- Real Madrid have blamed Manchester United for the collapse of a deal to sign goalkeeper David de Gea on deadline day in Spain. In a statement they accused United of delaying the deal so that it was not completed in time, reports The Guardian. United have denied they were at fault, and Real have said they will not appeal.
- West Brom striker Saido Berahino has vowed never to play for the club again after Spurs failed in a last-ditch effort to land the striker. Berahino was Spurs' main transfer target this summer, but talks broke down amid acrimony last week, and Spurs later signed South Korean striker Son Heung-min. The Evening Standard claimed that deadline day negotiations were back on, but the Lilywhites offer was rejected by the Midlands club.
- Chelsea failed with two deadline day bids for Paris Saint Germain defender Marquinhos it has been claimed. However, they did land two other defenders. Papy Djiloboji of Nantes and Michael Hector of Reading for £4m.
- West Ham are in talks over a deal for unwanted Spurs striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who has not been handed a squad number this season by the Lilywhites. Sky Sports reports that the Togo international has been in talks with Hammers boss Slaven Bilic over a potential deal. Adebayor is in the final year of his Spurs contract and has reportedly refused to take a pay cut to leave.
- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been spotted in France as he hopes to tie up deals for Edinson Cavani and Adrien Rabiot of Paris Saint Germain, according to the Daily Mail. "Arsene Wenger, who was pictured in Paris on Monday, is keen on the PSG pair, though a deal for Cavani looks unlikely given the complexities of such a high-profile transfer," says the paper. "Arsenal have been considering signing a striker for much of this summer, and turned their attentions to Cavani after failing with a bid for Karim Benzema."
- Galatasaray may swoop for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
- David de Gea is to stay at Manchester United at least until January after Real Madrid elected not to appeal over the administrative error that prevented his transfer from Old Trafford going through before the Spanish transfer window shut last night. The £29.5m deal, which included Costa Rica keeper Keylor Navas, stalled after the Spanish league revealed it "did not receive any paperwork from Real over the transfer," says Sky Sports. Guillem Balague told Sky that Real have "decided to drop the matter for now".
- Southampton, battling to hold on to midfielder Victor Wanyama, have agreed am £11.5m deal for Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk. "The 24-year-old is having a medical with the Premier League club before finalising a five-year contract," reports the BBC.
- After offloading striker Fabio Borini to Sunderland and loaning winger Lazar Markovic to Fenerbahce over the weekend Liverpool failed to get rid of another player deemed surplus to requirements at Anfield on deadline day, after full back Luis Enrique failed to secure a move to West Brom. The defender had a medical at the Hawthorns and was expected to join for a "nominal fee" says the Liverpool Echo. But the deal fell through.
- But could Brendan Rodgers be preparing a shock deadline day swoop for Ukrainian striker Andriy Yarmolenko. According to reports Rodgers is prepared to pay £14.5m to bring the 25-year-old forward to Anfield.
- West Ham are closing in on a deal for Nottingham Forest striker Michail Antonio, a fee of around £6m is expected to change hands. And on a busy deadline day in east London the Hammers have also agreed to take Alex Song on another season-long loan from Barcelona, agreed a season long loan deal for Chelsea winger Victor Moses and Metro reports that a fee has been agreed with Hull for striker Nikica Jelavic.
- Southampton have been "working round the clock" to stop midfielder Victor Wanyama jumping ship before the transfer window shuts at 6pm, reports Goal.com. The midfielder has been targeted by Spurs andGoal.com reports that "Southampton held a closed-door meeting with the Kenya captain and his agent on Monday to try and convince him to stay at St Mary's after the midfielder handed in a transfer request on Friday".
- Who is new Man United signing Anthony Martial?
Transfer deadline day 2015: the last-ditch deals we could see
28 August
With transfer deadline day looming there is still plenty of last-minute business to be done for Premier League clubs, and much of it could involve the big clubs, few of who have finished their summer business.
Mario Balotelli has quit Liverpool for AC Milan in the final days of the window, and here are ten other deals that could go through before the transfer deadline falls at 6pm on 1 September.
Arsenal sign Karim Benzema
It's become the saga of the summer. The Gunners were being linked with the Real Madrid striker long before the transfer window opened, and the French striker has apparently spent the entire close season on the brink of a move to the Emirates. It is still unclear whether Arsenal have made a bid, whether Real Madrid want to sell and if the player wants to move, but some last-day drama seems almost inevitable.
John Stones joins Chelsea
No matter how determined Everton are to hold on to their young defender, and Roberto Martinez has been absolutely adamant on the matter, there is only so much financial pressure that they can withstand. The Toffees, who have signed teenage defender Mason Holgate from Barnsley and are lining up Ramiro Funes Mori, could be persuaded to cash in if the Blues come back with an offer in excess of £30m on deadline day.
John Terry leaves Chelsea
Where does John Terry stand this season? Substituted against Manchester City and now banned after being sent off against West Brom, the former England captain may decide to avoid a messy divorce at Stamford Bridge by quitting the Blues before transfer deadline day. If Chelsea succeed in bringing in John Stones then it could spell an abrupt and dramatic end for Terry.
David de Gea joins Real Madrid
It's been another of the sagas of the summer, with Manchester United refusing to bow to pressure from Real Madrid to sell their goalkeeper. But it is clear that he wants to leave, and has not played this season. Despite his absence United had yet to concede a goal ahead of the game against Swansea on Sunday and, with De Gea set to leave on a free next summer, they could buckle and agree to sell for less than their £35m valuation.
Kevin de Bruyne joins Manchester City
City's excellent start to the season does not mean Manuel Pellegrini will put away his chequebook until the new year, and refinforcements could arrive before the window shuts. The most likely appears to be former Chelsea man De Bruyne, who is rumoured to be joining the deposed champions for £58m on an "insane" salary of £280,000-a-week. The Wolfsburg midfielder has been linked with a move to the Etihad all summer and could still finalise a move this week.
Spurs offload Emmanual Adebayor
Spurs are desperate to get rid of the Togo striker, who has a unerring ability to leave clubs under a cloud. He still has a year to run on his £100,000-a-week deal at White Hart Lane and has refused Spurs's offers of a buy-out unless they pay the contract in full. For their part Spurs have not even given Adebayor a squad number this season. His high wages and an unwillingness to leave London have so far undermined any deals, but Tottenham will be desperate to get rid of him and could offer to cover his wages if it means they can loan him out.
Arsenal land Lars Bender
Amid all the hullabaloo over Karim Benzema the fact that Arsenal are far more in need of a defensive midfielder than a striker has been overlooked. Arsene Wenger has been linked with German midfielder Bender in the past and could spring a surprise this transfer window. Even if he doesn't, a move may materialise in January if Arsenal's season fails to get going.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic leaves Paris Saint Germain
Could the Swedish legend finally deign to grace the Premier League with his presence this season? There has been plenty of evidence that Zlatan is willing to leave PSG, and if the French club do not sell Edinson Cavani it may be Ibrahimovic who jumps ship. The big Premier League clubs have all been linked with a move for the striker, but a return to Italy may be the most likely scenario.
Manchester United sign a striker
With Wayne Rooney struggling to adapt to his new role as Manchester United's spearhead (at least before his hat-trick against Brugge) and few other options available to him after the departures of Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao, Louis van Gaal is rumoured to be scouring the world for another striker as deadline day looms. Former AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato, currently playing for Sao Paulo in Brazil, is one option, another is Aleksandr Kokorin of Dynamo Moscow.
Liverpool get rid of dead wood
With Mario Balotelli safely packed off to AC Milan and Brendan Rodgers's summer signings bedding in well, the Reds may try to get rid of some more dead wood before the transfer window shuts. Among those in the Anfield shop window are Lucas, Fabio Borini and Jose Enrique. Striker Borini has two years left on his contract and is proving hard to shift. Last summer he turned down QPR and Sunderland but the Reds believe he will join West Ham, Sunderland, Inter Milan or Fiorentina this time round. Luis Enrique, though banished from the first team squad, appears happy to see out his contract despite the Reds best efforts.
Charlie Austin returns to the Premier League
Few people expected the QPR striker still to be at Loftus Road after he scored an impressive 18 goals for relegated Rangers last term. But so far no-one has been prepared to meet QPR's £15m valuation of the forward, who earned an England call up this summer. But the 26-year-old already has four goals in the Championship this season and has been linked with a move to Crystal Palace. One club that won't sign him, though, is West Ham, after Austin accused David Sullivan of making an "outrageous slur" by questioning his fitness.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why Man United finally lost patience with ten Hag
Talking Point After another loss United sacked ten Hag in hopes of success in the Champion's League
By The Week UK Published
-
Who are the markets backing in the US election?
Talking Point Speculators are piling in on the Trump trade. A Harris victory would come as a surprise
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: November 3, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why Man United finally lost patience with ten Hag
Talking Point After another loss United sacked ten Hag in hopes of success in the Champion's League
By The Week UK Published
-
The wit and wisdom of Sven-Göran Eriksson
In Depth The first foreign coach to manage England on football, life and death
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Premier League's spending cap: levelling the playing field?
Talking Point Top clubs oppose plans to link spending to income of lowest-earning club, but rule could prevent success gap from widening
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is a new English football regulator an own goal for the game?
Talking Point PM hails 'historic moment for football fans' but West Ham owner warns it could 'ruin' Premier League
By The Week UK Published
-
English football and the etiquette of leaving the stadium early
Talking Point The belief that 'true fans stay to the end' does not always apply
By The Week UK Published
-
Manchester United and Mason Greenwood: duty of care or double standards?
Talking Point The 21-year-old footballer’s possible return has provoked an outpouring of dismay from supporters
By Jamie Timson Published
-
2023-2024 Premier League predictions: champions, relegation and golden boot
feature A look at the top flight talking points and pundit picks for the new season
By Mike Starling Published
-
‘Genuine visionary’: is Pep Guardiola the greatest of all time?
feature Spaniard has now won two trebles following Man City’s Champions League triumph
By The Week Staff Published