By Andrew Warshaw
September 1 – The window is closed, the brinkmanship is over and the domino effect has run its course. The result of which is that the English Premier League once again smashed its own summer transfer record with a total spend of more than £1.4 billion.
The most eye-catching move, however, was not in the Premier League but by Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain who followed up their staggering world record €222 million purchase of Neymar with the world’s second biggest deal, taking Monaco starlet Kylian Mbappe on loan with the option of a permanent arrangement next year for around €180 million running until June 2022.
On the day the deal was announced, the highly prized teenager showed why is rated so highly by scoring his first goal for France in their stunning 4-0 win over the Netherlands in World Cup qualifying to become his country’s youngest goalscorer since 1963.
Much attention is now bound to focus, not for the first time, on how PSG complies with UEFA’s financial fair rules and whether the so-called option to buy clause keeps them above the law.
The Mbappe move notwithstanding, England’s top flight were still by far the biggest spenders across Europe courtesy of the new monstrous broadcasting deal.
Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “Premier League clubs have broken their own record for transfer expenditure for the sixth summer in a row. When analysed in the context of generating record broadcast, commercial and matchday revenues, Premier League clubs are spending well within their means.
“While the transfer record for a single player has again been broken by a major European club, the Premier League’s clubs enjoy an unrivalled depth of purchasing power, as a result of the league’s relatively equal – and transparent – distribution of broadcast revenues.”
But several prospective high-profile moves both into and out of England’s top flight did not materialise with the likes of Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool), Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal), Virgil van Dijk (Southampton), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester), Thomas Lemar (Monaco), Diego Costa (Chelsea) and Ross Barkley (Everton) all remaining at their clubs despite some of them having put in official transfer requests. Quite how the clubs deal with the attitude of so many want-away players over the coming months is one of many intriguing questions.
Among the most bizarre stories, Barkley was reportedly mid-medical at Chelsea or on his way to London (depending on which report is true) when he suddenly pulled out of playing for the English champions. To make matters worse for Chelsea, who are used to splashing enough cash to get whoever they want, striker Fernando Llorente opted for a move from Swansea to London rivals Tottenham instead of linking up again with former manager Antonio Conte.
Then there was the even odder case of Leicester’s much-touted midfield star Mahrez who was given permission to leave Algeria’s training camp ahead of an apparent move to one of Europe’s big hitters – only to end up precisely nowhere.
The biggest fall guys were surely Arsenal who appear to be imploding on and off the pitch after a generation of success under Arsene Wenger. The club had apparently offered a staggering £92 million for Lemar only to be snubbed by the player who decided he didn’t want to go to a team which are not in the Champions League. Arsenal wanted Lemar to replace Sanchez having apparently agreed a £60 million fee with Manchester City to sell their world-class Chilean.
As a result they refused to sanction Sanchez’s move and are now left with a player who thought a deal had been completed and can now move for free next summer when his contract has wound down.
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