BEVERLY HILLS, October 1, (THEWILL) – Here is your latest football transfers round up across Europe’s premier leagues.
BARCELONA: DEST
Sergino Dest has signed for Barcelona from the Eredivisie club Ajax. The 19-year-old American right back will take the place of Nelson Semedo, who moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Premier League this summer. Dest signed a five-year deal for an initial fee of €21 million. Barcelona had to fight off stiff competition from top clubs across Europe. He was an original winger when he arrived at Ajax but when a positional shift opportunity came, he impressed and thrived in the right back position as an attack-minded alternative to his team-mate Noussair Mazraoui. Barcelona must have been attracted to his skills as a technically gifted, quick player and a fine dribbler of the ball. These talents have seen him being capped for the United States senior football team.
MANCHESTER UNITED: SARR
Some transfer news report that Manchester United may procrastinate in the signing of Watford winger, Ismaila Sarr. The 22-year-old Senegal international has been linked to the Red Devils even as the side continues to explore other options including the constant speculations about signing Jadon Sancho of Borussia Dortmund. There is still time for them to get Sarr as transfers from the English Football League and the English Premier League can continue until the 16th of October (unlike the general deadline of 5th October). Should they get the man from Watford, they will be getting a reliable and perfectly decent player with Premier League experience and good performances under his belt. However, should they focus more on the other alternatives they have been linked to recently like Sancho, Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona), Edison Cavani (free agent) and Luka Jovic (Real Madrid), they may get quality if they succeed but if they do not, they risk losing Sarr who might be snapped up by one of their more astute rivals, leaving United in desperate circumstances as the deadline approaches.
ARSENAL: AOUAR
The North London English Premier League football club, Arsenal, have been handed a specific deadline by the president of the French Ligue 1 club, Olympique Lyonnais, Jean-Michel Aulas in Arsenal’s chasing of Lyon’s midfielder Houssem Aouar. The French club is demanding a transfer fee of about £54 million for the 22-year-old. The president has said any deal prepared for the transfer must be put on the table and be concluded by this Friday, the 2nd of October. This is well ahead of the Europe-wide transfer deadline date of Monday the 5th of October. Some argue that this is because Lyon have their own transfers and deadlines to work around and do not want to be side-tracked by departures that they have not properly taken into account and arranged to fill in. On Arsenal’s side, as talented as Aouar appears to be, the price is considered quite steep for the relatively inexperienced playmaker. The English side may have to look elsewhere for cheaper and not so risky investments to fill the very obvious creative gap in their mid-field.
REAL MADRID: VAN DE BEEK
The football agent of freshly-minted Manchester United player Van de Beek, Guido Albers, has revealed that the midfielder had initially agreed to join Real Madrid in the summer. However, when the novel Coronavirus pandemic hit town and football was suspended for months, signing the deal had to be cancelled. “He had everything in place to become a Real Madrid player,” Albers indicated and went further to claim that the player’s club at the time, the Eredivisie side Ajax, were against the move to Madrid because there had been departures at the club with the likes of Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt exiting to find greener pastures in Spain’s La Liga. When the time came to leave, the 23-year-old Van de Beek, who was no longer heading to Spain, decided to go to the English Premier League and join the Red Devils of Manchester United. Those who know him say it is a potential long-term bargain for United. However, the Red Devils may need to do more in areas that need reinforcements like their attack, the right wing and the defence.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: VINICIUS
North London side, Tottenham Hotspur have identified Brazilian striker Carlos Vinicius of Benfica as a potential back-up for their star striker Harry Kane. The 25-year-old will be allowed to exit Benfica. One reason is the absence of European competitions to play. Tottenham however want him on a season’s loan but with an option to buy if he impresses. The transfer fee will be in the region of £35 million. It is expected that he will feature in the club’s Europa League games and provide support for the prolific Harry Kane. This is a sensible move given Kane’s work rate and the possibility of injuries down the road. Also worth considering is an injury to Kane’s work partner, Heung-min Son. A deal like this for a young player with potential to improve is a wise move. Getting him on loan gives the English club the added benefit of spreading out the cost of his transfer fee as well.
RECAP
In the busy transfer market, it is possible to miss out on a few deals. But, do not let that happen to you. Here is a recent recap.
Yesterday, central midfielder Lucas Paquetá moved from AC Milan to Lyon for a deal of about £17 million. He signed a 5-year deal to keep him in the club till 2025.
Chelsea also loaned out central midfielder, Ross Barkley, to premiership side Aston Villa yesterday for the 2020/2021 season.
In France’s Ligue 1, Monaco also loaned out Senegalese left-winger Keita Baldé to Serie A club Sampdoria until 2021.
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For £13 million, Manchester City shipped Nicolas Otamendi off to the Portuguese side Benfica in a permanent deal.
Going in the opposite direction was Ruben Dias, Benfica’s centre back who was snapped up by Manchester City for a £57 million fee. The Portuguese defender signed a six-year deal to keep him in the premiership outfit until 2026.
Juventus loaned out their left back, Luca Pellegrini to fellow Seria A side Genoa. The Italian will be with Genoa for the remainder of this season, the duration of the loan.
Luis Henrique signed a five-year contract in his move from Brazilian Serie A club Botafogo to Marseille in the French Ligue 1. For a £10 million fee, the Brazilian left wing midfielder will provide midfield services to keep Marseille competitive this season.
Also, for a four-year contract, returning boys Leeds, who have shown impressive outings in the Premier League this season have signed Diego Llorente from La Liga side Real Sociedad in Spain. It cost Leeds £17 million.
There are rumours that Chelsea is prepared to let Antonio Rudiger join London rivals Tottenham on loan. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming hours as the transfer races get on these last few days left.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
