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Transfer news LIVE: Chelsea sign Saul Niguez as Barcelona’s Antoine Griezmann rejoins Atletico Madrid
Follow all the reaction after a thrilling transfer deadline day that saw a number of deals go to the wire
It was a tremendous transfer deadline day with several transfers completed with minutes to spare as the Premier League dominated the market once again in terms of total spend.
There were big deals elsewhere though, including Eduardo Camavinga signing for Real Madrid from Stade Rennais, but the one that didn’t happen dominated the headlines: Kylian Mbappe stays at Paris Saint-Germain, that’s despite the France international having just one year remaining on his contract and Real Madrid making a bid of £172m (€200m).
For PSG, it was all about the Champions League and they even splashed out late on Nuno Mendes to ram home the point and prove their strength to resist Los Blancos in the ongoing power struggle.
Cristiano Ronaldo is now officially a Manchester United player and was unveiled in a red shirt - though we now await what number he will wear at Old Trafford in his second spell at the club. The return of the Portuguese allowed Daniel James to move on and finally join Leeds United for £25m two years after coming as close as possible to signing for a team when he left Swansea.
Chelsea had a fine window, signing Romelu Lukaku and adding Saul Niguez late on via a loan, with an option to buy, though they did miss out on one big deal, centre-back Jules Kounde stays at Sevilla despite interest from the Blues.
Arsenal were the other busy club as the deadline expired, retaining the disgruntled Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who had spoken out on his desire to leave, while allowing Hector Bellerin to join Real Betis on loan and bringing in Japan right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu from Bologna for around £17m.
There is still the potential to add free agents, which will be the route for Serge Aurier after his Tottenham contract was mutually ended, with Spurs signing Emerson Royal from Barcelona - here’s all the latest news and reaction to the summer transfer window.
Jérôme Boateng explains logic behind Olympique Lyonnais transfer
Jérôme Boateng is currently speaking at his first press conference as a Lyon player, having officially signed for the French club in the past hour.
Describing his move, Boateng has said: “I want to thank everyone for an excellent welcome, firstly. I’m excited to write a new chapter in my story and can’t wait to meet my new team-mates. I know the team is young so I’m hoping to use my experience well.
“I received other offers but I made this decision quickly. I want to thank everybody who played a part in helping get here. I’ve followed the club for a long time, seen them play in the Champions League.”
The club’s sporting director and free-kick taker extraordinaire Juninho Pernambucano added: “Jérôme will bring us talent but also his personality to the dressing room. He’s very motivated about coming here and play for us.”
Radamel Falcao set to join La Liga side Rayo Vallecano
Former Chelsea and Manchester United striker Radamel Falcao is on the verge of joining Spanish club Rayo Vallecano this afternoon.
The Colombian is available on a free transfer after having his contract with Turkish giants Galatasaray terminated, and will return to the division where he scored 52 goals in 68 appearances for Atlético Madrid a decade ago in a two-year spell.
Subsequent stints with AS Monaco and the aforementioned Premier League clubs saw him fail to recapture that form, but 19 goals in 34 matches since 20 in Süper Lig suggest he still has something to offer at a decent level.
Rayo are currently 10th in La Liga, having won one and lost two of their opening fixtures.
Jérôme Boateng joins Olympique Lyonnais on free transfer
Jérôme Boateng has officially signed for Olympique Lyonnais of Ligue 1 after the expiration of his contract with German champions Bayern Munich.
Boateng, who won a whopping 22 trophies in his decade with the Bavarians, has signed a two-year deal with Peter Bosz’s men.
Lyon finished fourth in the French top flight last season and will play in this year’s Europa League, in a group including Rangers.
They lost Memphis Depay to Barcelona on a free transfer but managed to keep hold of talented midfielder Houssem Aouar for at least another few months, have Moussa Dembélé back after his unsuccessful loan spell at Atlético Madrid, and purchased Xherdan Shaqiri after the Swiss impressed suring EURO 2020.
Saúl Ñíguez sets off to meet new Chelsea team-mates
Saúl Ñíguez is on his way to London to join-up with Thomas Tuchel and his new Chelsea team-mates, posting a couple photos online from Madrid Barajas airport as he leaves the Spanish capital.
The Atlético Madrid midfielder squeezed through his loan agreement with the European champions just before Monday’s transfer deadline, setting off a chain of events which saw Antoine Griezmann return to Diego Simeone’s side and Sevilla’s Luuk de Jong join Barcelona in his place.
Saúl faces stiff competition for a starting berth in the Chelsea side, with Jorginho and N’Golo Kanté regular starters in Tuchel’s preferred 3-4-3 shape, as well as Mateo Kovacic in reserve, Furthermore, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley failed to secure moves away from the club while the window was open, and will now be among the team-mates Saúl meets when he arrives at Cobham.
Swansea sign former Celtic midfielder Ntcham
Swansea City have signed free agent and former Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham.
The Frenchman, who was loaned out to Marseille in January of last season, has signed a three-year deal with the south Wales club.
The 25-year-old made 87 appearances in four years at Parkhead, and previously played for both Genoa of Serie A and Manchester City.
The Swans lost coach Steve Cooper earlier this summer after their play-off final loss to Brentford, replacing him with former MK Dons boss Russell Martin.
Romelu Lukaku is ‘missing piece of the jigsaw’ in Chelsea’s Premier League title hunt
Shaun Wright-Phillips believes Romelu Lukaku is the missing piece to Chelsea’s jigsaw and is confident his former club can go from strength to strength with the Belgium international leading the line.
Lukaku made his second debut for Chelsea after returning to England from Inter Milan for a reported £96million and made an impression straight away after he scored in a 2-0 win against Arsenal last month at the Emirates Stadium.
Former England winger Wright-Phillips said: “For me, they’ve added a piece that was missing to their jigsaw.
“With Lukaku you know if he’s getting chances, you know he’ll score more than 20 goals a season if not more. They missed that last year because I think their top goalscorer was on like six or seven goals.
“He is just a learner of the game and I think he studies and always asks questions of the game. He won’t do anything less than score goals at Chelsea.”
Romelu Lukaku the ‘missing piece of Chelsea jigsaw’, Shaun Wright-Phillips claims
The big Premier League questions needing to be answered after transfer deadline day
Despite the wishes of fans, managers, and sporting directors, the transfer window never quite never quite manages to answer every question a team may have about its squad.
Even though the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, and Arsenal, who have parted with enormous amounts of silverware over the course of the summer in the hunt for silverware (or in Arsenal’s case, scraping a top-half finish), there remain unanswered questions about every single roster in the Premier League.
We’ve had a go at solving the most intriguing conundrums left dangling before us all, and you can have a read about them below.
Key questions answered from Premier League summer transfer window
Ronaldo discusses influence of Sir Alex Ferguson on Manchester United return
Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed his relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson was key in his move back to Manchester United.
The Portuguese will make his second debut with the club following the international break, and he says his former boss, who signed him back in 2003, was influential in helping him to return for a second time.
“As everybody knows, since I signed for Manchester [United] at 18, Sir Alex Ferguson was the key,” he told the club’s official website. “I remember when we played against Manchester when I was at Sporting Lisbon. For me, Sir Alex Ferguson is like a father in football for me.
“I really like him a lot and he was the main key for me to be in the position that I am, that I signed for Manchester United.”
Cristiano Ronaldo reveals Sir Alex Ferguson’s role in Manchester United return
Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson signs new long-term contract
There was no new striker for Manchester City fans to laud on deadline day, but after a summer spent unsuccessfully courting Harry Kane and latterly Cristiano Ronaldo, the Citizens have finally managed to secure somebody’s signature, at least.
Ederson has signed a new five-year contract with the club, extending his stay at the Etihad until 2026.
The 28-year-old goalkeeper joins John Stones and Ruben Dias in recommitting himself to City, who also tied Kevin De Bruyne and Fernandinho down to new deals earlier this year.
Ederson had four years remaining on his previous deal but City have rewarded the Brazil international for his role in last season’s Premier League title win and run to the Champions League final.
Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson signs new long-term contract
Liverpool’s transfer future could be set for a major change
One major club which was very quiet yesterday was Liverpool who, after announcing new contracts for both Jordan Henderson and Nat Phillips, ended the transfer window with only ex-RB Leipzig centre-back Ibrahima Konaté as a new addition to the squad.
And now sporting director Michael Edwards, credited with club’s strong track record in the market since Jürgen Klopp’s arrival in October 2015, could be set to depart at the end of the season.
Melissa Reddy has explored the future consequences of the Reds potentially losing Edwards, and you can read all about it in her in-depth piece below.
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