Transfer Deadline Day: Aubameyang, Arthur Headline Final Moves; Ronaldo, Pulisic Stay Put

At the end of a marathon of a transfer window, it was a sprint to the finish line for clubs to get their final signings sorted until the winter. Here’s who is on the go.

At long last, the transfer window has closed for the summer across Europe’s top leagues, with the deadline hitting Thursday and the dealing coming to an end after weeks of rumors, links, loans and signings.

So much of the important business had long been conducted in advance of the deadline. The likes of Erling Haaland, Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mané, Matthijs de Ligt, Darwin Núñez, Casemiro, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus were among the biggest names already featuring for their new clubs by the time Thursday’s sprint to the finish line was completed, but they’re joined by one last set of players on the go—albeit a set for which there won’t be much time afforded to acclimate to new surroundings.

Not all who desired moves or were thought to be receiving them wound up changing clubs. Cristiano Ronaldo’s quest to play in the Champions League this season remains on hold, as he’ll stick with Manchester United until at least the winter. Christian Pulisic, who has consistently come off the bench late in games for Chelsea this season, was denied the loan or transfer that might open up more opportunities before he presumably joins the U.S. for the World Cup.

A pair of other Concacaf stars wound up sticking where they are as well, with Ajax refusing to sanction a transfer for Mexican midfielder Edson Álvarez (Chelsea was reportedly interested) and Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas remaining at PSG (a move to Napoli had been rumored), where he’ll duel with Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma for minutes prior to the World Cup.

The Premier League’s clubs have been the biggest spenders this summer, crossing the $2 billion spending threshold, with Chelsea, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest (21 signings!) leading the way. Barcelona, after selling off future assets to make it happen, has undergone an extreme makeover of its own and was active down to the very end. 

Here are the biggest and most notable moves to cross the finish line as the transfer window shuts and players—aside from free agents—are locked into their locations until after the 2022 World Cup this November and December.

Dest and Aubameyang secured deadline moves away from Barcelona, but Ronaldo will remain in Manchester—at least until the winter / Imago Images (3)

LATEST COMPLETED MOVES OF NOTE

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Barcelona to Chelsea)

The Gabonese forward is set for a reunion with Thomas Tuchel, his former manager at Borussia Dortmund, as he joins the summer makeover at Chelsea. After previously starring at Arsenal, Aubameyang is heading to the Blue part of London in a deal that cost Chelsea $11.5 million. In a separate transaction, after having his Chelsea contract terminated, left back Marcos Alonso will go to Barcelona, where he will link up again with a former Chelsea teammate and Barça summer signing, Andreas Christiansen.

Denis Zakaria (Juventus loan to Chelsea)

Chelsea made it a double at the death of the transfer window by bolstering its hobbled midfield with the Swiss international, who only had arrived in Turin in January. His loan comes with a reported $34.6 million option to buy.

Arthur Melo (Juventus loan to Liverpool)

Injuries to Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcântara and Naby Keïta this season forced Liverpool to look for midfield reinforcement, and it has found it in the form of the Brazilian, who will go to Anfield for the remainder of the season. The deal comes with an option to buy at $37.5 million, according to Juventus’s announcement.

John Brooks (Benfica)

Brooks, the U.S. defender desperately seeking a way back to the national team in time for the World Cup, has been out of contract since his Wolfsburg deal expired in June, and he heads to the Portuguese power, which is in a Champions League group with PSG, Juventus and Maccabi Haifa. He’ll have a chance to feature alongside Argentina veteran Nicolas Otamendi if he can crack the lineup. His deal runs through the end of the season.

Sergiño Dest (Barcelona loan to AC Milan)

The USMNT right back has his salvation, as it was made clear that he would not be seeing the field under Xavi. With Alessandro Florenzi out injured, Dest could potentially slot in quite nicely for Milan, the reigning Serie A champion. The move comes with a reported $20 million option to buy at the end of the season.

Héctor Bellerín (Barcelona)

Barcelona signed its former youth product, who spent last season on loan at Real Betis and had his contract with Arsenal terminated prior to securing his return to Camp Nou. With Dest off to Milan, Bellerin joins Barça on a one-year deal to fill the void at right back, with Arsenal reportedly receiving 25% of any future sale.

Justin Kluivert (Roma loan to Valencia)

The Dutch winger and son of former great Patrick Kluivert leaves Roma for Valencia for the season after having a proposed move to Fulham fall through due to a failure to secure a U.K. work permit. The move comes with an option to buy.

Martin Braithwaite (Espnayol)

After Barcelona terminated the contract of the Danish forward, he moves across town to Espanyol on a free transfer. He scored 10 goals in 58 appearances for Barcelona after being signed as an emergency transfer from Leganés in 2020.

Leander Dendoncker (Wolves to Aston Villa)

Aston Villa has made a move for the 27-year-old Belgian as manager Steven Gerrard looks to strengthen his midfield. Dendoncker, who joins Villa for a reported £13 million, is a versatile midfielder that can also play center back and has recorded 159 appearances for Wolves in five seasons.

Carlos Soler (Valencia to PSG)

PSG completed a drastic makeover of its midfield with a late move for the Valencia midfielder for a reported €20 million. After the loan exits of Julian Draxler and Idrissa Gueye, the 25-year-old joins Fabián Ruiz in PSG’s new-look midfield after making 226 appearances for Valencia across seven seasons.

Julian Draxler (PSG loan to Benfica)

In what appears to be quite a coup for Benfica, the German star will head to Portugal on loan for the remainder of the season. The 2014 World Cup winner has spent the last six seasons at PSG, recording 26 goals in 198 appearances.

Martin Dúbravka (Newcastle loan to Manchester United)

After being made surplus to requirements. at Newcastle following the signing of Nick Pope, the Slovakian international heads to Old Trafford on a season-long loan with an option to make the move permanent. Dúbravka made 130 appearances across all competitions for Newcastle in four-and-a-half seasons.

Willian (Fulham)

The Brazilian winger is back in London, but this time with Fulham. After spending seven years at Chelsea and one with Arsenal, Willian spent last season back in Brazil with Corinthians. As a free agent, he had been training with the Cottagers for the last two weeks before signing a contract through the end of the year.

Idrissa Gana Gueye (PSG to Everton)

The central midfielder is back at Goodison Park after three seasons in the French capital. Everton confirmed that the Senegal international has signed a two-year contract to return after leaving in a £30 million deal in 2019. He reportedly joins in an £8 million deal.

Abdou Diallo (PSG loan to RB Leipzig)

PSG defender Abdou Diallo is on the move with a loan deal confirmed at RB Leipzig. The Senegalese defender made 75 appearances across three seasons with the French giants.

Layvin Kurzawa (PSG loan to Fulham)

The west London side confirmed the signing of the left back on loan for the remainder of the season, while also hinting at more moves to come before the transfer deadline. The 29-year-old spent seven seasons with the French giants, making 153 appearances, but only appeared once for PSG last season.

Manuel Akanji (Borussia Dortmund to Man City)

Man City has signed the Swiss center back to a four-year contract in a deal reportedly worth $17.5 million. The 27-year-old defender made 158 appearances in four-and-a-half seasons with Dortmund after arriving from Basel. He is the sixth signing of the summer for the Premier League champions.

Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla loan to Ajax)

The Argentine winger trades one Champions League club for another, filling the void left behind by Manchester United-bound Antony at Ajax—at least for the rest of this season. The 28-year-old’s loan comes with an option to buy.

Leandro Paredes (PSG loan to Juventus)

With PSG loading up in its midfield, there was no place for Paredes, who heads to Juve on loan for the season. He’s the second PSG player to go to Juventus this summer, following Ángel Di María’s free transfer.

Saša Kalajdžić (Stuttgart to Wolves)

The 6’7” Austrian striker completed a reported $17.4 million move to the Premier League side, with whom he signed a five-year deal. He scored 22 goals in his last two seasons in the Bundesliga, including a career-high 16 in 2020-21.

25 PRICIEST MOVES OF THE SUMMER

(All values obtained via media reports and converted to USD)

1. Antony (Ajax to Manchester United for $95 million)

2. Wesley Fofana (Leicester City to Chelsea for $87 million)

3. Aurelién Tchouaméni (Monaco to Real Madrid for $80 million)

4. Darwin Núñez (Benfica to Liverpool for $78.9 million) 

5. Marc Cucurella (Brighton to Chelsea for $74.7 million)

6. Richarlison (Everton to Tottenham for $72.6 million)

7. Alexander Isak (Real Sociedad to Newcastle for $70 million)

8. Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus to Bayern Munich for $68.6 million)

9. Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City for $63 million)

10. Casemiro (Real Madrid to Manchester United for $60 million)

11. Lucas Paquetá (Lyon to West Ham for $60 million)

12. Raphinha (Leeds United to Barcelona for $58.2 million)

13. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City to Chelsea for $57 million)

14. Lisandro Martínez (Ajax to Manchester United for $55 million)

15. Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City to Arsenal for $54 million)

16. Jules Koundé (Sevilla to Barcelona for $50 million)

17. Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United to Manchester City for $48 million)

18. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich to Barcelona for $45 million)

19. Matheus Nunes (Sporting CP to Wolverhampton for $45 million)

20. Sadio Mané (Liverpool to Bayern Munich for $41 million)

21. Bremer (Torino to Juventus for $41 million)

22. Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli to Chelsea for $40 million)

23. Vitinha (Porto to PSG for $40 million)

24. Sven Botman (Lille to Newcastle for $37 million)

25. Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo to West Ham for $36.6 million)

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