October 6 – With their manager under scrutiny, Manchester United were the most prolific Premier League spenders on the last day of the international summer transfer window, splashing out £28 million on four players though whether that keeps Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in his job remains to be seen.
The stellar signing was Uruguay’s former Paris St Germain striker Edinson Cavani, now 33 and picked up on free transfer, while Brazilian left back Alex Telles arrived from Porto. United also brought in Uruguayan 18-year-old winger Facundo Pellistri and reached an agreement to sign Atalanta’s teenage winger Amad Diallo.
Solskjaer, still reeling from Sunday’s 6-1 trouncing by Tottenham Hotspur, said Cavani would add to the team’s fire power.
“He’ll bring energy, power, leadership and a great mentality to the squad but, most importantly, he’ll bring goals. He has had a brilliant career so far, winning trophies at almost every club he has played for, and he still has so much more to give at the highest level,” said the Norwegian.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton, who have had a 100% start to the season, lead the Premier League and have already invested in three top-class midfield players during the summer including Colombian superstar James Rodriguez from Real Madrid, forked out another £25m on centre-back Ben Godfrey from Norwich City and also brought in Sweden goalkeeper Robin Olsen on a season-long loan from AS Roma.
But the biggest single move of the final day of deal-making among English clubs was Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey making a £45 million switch from Atletico Madrid to Arsenal, with Lucas Torreira moving in the opposite direction on loan.
Elsewhere European champions Bayern signed right back Bouna Sarr from Marseille and brought back Brazilian winger Douglas Costa who had been on loan from Juventus.
PSG signed 27-year-old Brazilian midfielder Rafinha from Barcelona on a three-year deal while in Italy, the biggest move of the day was Juventus signing Fiorentina winger Federico Chiesa for €50 million.
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