Following a mad weekend of football, we are bracing up for one of the maddest deadline days of recent years. Some of the biggest clubs in Europe are still in the market to shop players and some sides are desperately trying to offload a few players in order to get control of the size of their squad and their wage bill.
While most deadline day deals turn out to be panic buys, some do become inspired signings – Arsenal signing Mikel Arteta from Everton in 2011.
Manchester United are expected to be the busiest club today, both in terms of incomings and outgoings. Will they sign a centre-back after Sunday’s 6-1 defeat to Tottenham at home?
The biggest likely deals on deadline day
Edinson Cavani to Manchester United (free transfer):
Edinson Cavani arrived in Manchester on Sunday night to complete a move to Old Trafford on a free transfer. Paris Saint-Germain’s all-time top scorer will complete his medical today and signed a two-year contract worth €10m per season with the Red Devils.
Manchester United are also expected to pay a hefty agent fee due to the nature of the transfer window.
With Anthony Martial suspended, Cavani could even make his debut for Manchester United just after the international break.
Alex Telles to Manchester United (€15m):
After weeks of haggling over the transfer fee, Manchester United agreed on a fee with Porto on Sunday for Alex Telles. He was about to embark on a flight to Brazil before the left-back was asked to travel to England to complete the move.
He will complete the medical and sign a contract with Manchester United over the course of the next few hours.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will expect the left-back to push Luke Shaw for a place in the team and his attacking powers will add a different dimension to the team.
Facundo Pellistri to Manchester United (€10m)
Manchester United have been tracking the 18-year-old Uruguayan winger over the last year and Ole Gunner Solskjaer even spoke to ex-Red Devils team-mate and former Penarol coach Diego Forlan to get more informational on Facundo Pellistri.
But last week the winger was on the verge of joining Lyon before Manchester United intervened.
The Premier League giants agree to pay his €10m buyout clause and his move to England is expected to go through on deadline day. It is unclear whether Pellistri will join Manchester United immediately or in January.
Memphis Depay to Barcelona (€25m)
After weeks of negotiations, it seems Barcelona have a deal in place with Lyon to sign Memphis Depay. The Dutch winger is scheduled to arrive in Spain soon for a medical before agreeing to sign on a five-year contract with the Catalan giants.
Barcelona are rumoured to have agreed to pay a fee of €25m to snare Depay away from the French giants and the deal is expected to go through on deadline day.
Negotiations to watch out for
A last-ditch attempt by Paris Saint-Germain to sign Dele Alli
Tottenham have knocked back a couple of loan offers from PSG for Dele Alli and have made it clear that the midfielder will not be leaving. But Alli has continued to remain on the fringes of Jose Mourinho’s plans this season and that has given PSG the encouragement to make another bid.
The French champions are likely to table another loan offer and it remains to be seen whether the midfielder pushed Tottenham to accept the bid in order to force his way out of the club on deadline day.
Manchester United deadline day attempts to bring in a winger
The Red Devils are on the verge of signing Facundo Pellistri but he is very much a signing for the future. Manchester United have immediate needs on the right side of their attack and whether they will make the deadline day offer of €120m to Dortmund for Jadon Sancho remains to be seen.
Manchester United are also working to sign Ousmane Dembele but they only want him on loan with an option to buy. Barcelona want an outright sale or at least an obligatory purchase clause in the loan agreement.
The Catalan giants are bringing in Memphis Depay from Lyon and so a compromise could be on the cards between the two clubs.
Chelsea looking to shift a good number of players before the window closes
Tiemoue Bakayoko is set to seal a loan move to Serie A giants Napoli in the coming hours but Chelsea have a few deals to sort out in terms of outgoings.
Antonio Rudiger is expected to leave and have attracted a loan interest from Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan. The German is said to be preferring a move to Spurs on deadline day, a deal that Chelsea are reluctant to do.
Chelsea have been looking to shift out Emerson Palmieri for months but no deal is still in place. He has suitors in Italy and Spain and is expected to leave by the end of the day. Marcos Alonso has also fallen out with Frank Lampard and he could also be on his way out on deadline day.
Arsenal’s attempts to sign a midfielder has stretched into deadline day
Mikel Arteta’s top midfield target Houssem Aouar will not be leaving Lyon on deadline day and Arsenal are unwilling to pay the €50m buyout clause in Atletico Madrid’s star Thomas Partey’s contract.
But Arsenal are set to shift out Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi today and are in the market for one more midfield addition. They have an interest in Chelsea’s Jorginho, who started against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Chelsea are unlikely to be open to selling the Italian on the final day, especially with Arsenal wanting him.
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