FILE - Chelsea's Raheem Sterling makes an attempt to score during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Fulham at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
English Premier League clubs again flexed their financial muscles by spending about $2.6 billion in the summer transfer window that closed Friday for Europe’s five big domestic leagues.
And once again Chelsea was first in line with an outlay of $290 million as owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital continue to look for a winning combination at Stamford Bridge.
The Saudi Pro League’s window remains open for a few more days – enough time for more deals like the one announced early Saturday that will see striker Ivan Toney join Al-Ahli. The Saudi club agreed to pay Brentford a transfer fee reported to be $52 million.
Also early Saturday, Arsenal announced it has agreed to take Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling on loan for the rest of the season.
Other big names in European soccer that were the subject of late talks included Jadon Sancho (Manchester United) and Victor Osimhen (Napoli). No deals had been announced for them early Saturday after the deadline.
United bolsters midfield, Palace gets Nketiah
United signed Uruguay defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain for an initial 50 million euros ($55.7 million). It takes the club’s summer spending on new players to around $240 million. United had earlier signed striker Joshua Zirkzee, center backs Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt, and full back Noussair Mazraoui. The 23-year-old Ugarte looks set to be the long-term replacement for Casemiro.
Crystal Palace had a busy Friday spending that Michael Olise money. The club added striker Eddie Nketiah from Arsenal for a fee reported to be $39 million. Nketiah is in search of playing time and grew up in south London. Arsenal might be clearing some space for a late signing. Earlier, Palace signed center back Maxence Lacroix from Wolfsburg for a reported fee of 21 million euros ($23 million). The move reunites the 24-year-old French player with Palace manager Oliver Glasner, who coached the German club for two seasons.
Napoli lands McTominay, Gilmour
Italy is back over the $1 billion mark again in overall spending – the second highest in Europe.
A pair of Scotland midfielders – Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour – are headed to Napoli. McTominay joined on a fee of $33 million from Man United, where the midfielder had been since he was five. United manager Erik ten Hag lamented the pressure that clubs are under to sell “homegrown” players – because of the good profit margin – amid the league’s financial regulations. Gilmour arrives from Brighton for a fee of about $20 million.
Romelu Lukaku joined Napoli on Thursday, reuniting with manager Antonio Conte, who had coached Belgium’s all-time record scorer at Inter Milan.
Saudi deadline Monday
There could still be some surprises in store beyond Europe. That’s because the Saudi Pro League has until Monday to lure more players, after Toney’s agreement.
Entering this week, the Saudis had spent just $240 million in this transfer window – a huge decrease from the roughly $1 billion spent in the same period a year ago.
One reason might be the lack of squad spots, though the league has put in place a plan to add more foreign players. Changes that took effect this season increased the limit on the number of foreign players per team from eight to 10. There’s no age limit for eight foreigners but in a bid to get younger stars – not just the 30-something crowd – two spots are restricted to “non-Saudi players born in 2003 or after.”
On Tuesday, Saudi champion Al Hilal paid $28 million to Manchester City for full back João Cancelo.
Mohamed Salah was No. 1 on Al-Ittihad’s wish list last year, when Liverpool reportedly rejected a bid worth $188 million. The 32-year-old Salah is in the final year of his contract on Merseyside.
Bayern done buying
Bayern Munich signaled early Friday that it was done spending. The Bavarian powerhouse spent about 100 million euros ($110 million) combined for Portugal midfielder João Palhinha and forward Michael Olise as it aims to recapture the German title it lost to Bayer Leverkusen last season.
Leverkusen kept most of its double-winning team together, while last season’s surprise second-place team Stuttgart was ransacked by rivals.
The highest-profile signing by a German club on Friday was Netherlands defender Lutsharel Geertruida moving to Leipzig from Dutch club Feyenoord. Geertruida was a key player for Feyenoord last season under coach Arne Slot, who’s now at Liverpool.
The most talked-about transfer on deadline day in Germany was one that didn’t happen. Leverkusen and Germany defender Jonathan Tah was a target for Bayern, and was linked with Barcelona. The defender confirmed on Friday he was staying put.
Reminder: Mbappé was free
The summer’s biggest move came with no transfer cost at all when Kylian Mbappé joined Real Madrid after his contract expired at Paris Saint-Germain. La Liga was on course to be the lowest spender among the big five – it entered the final week at just under $600 million. Atlético Madrid was the league’s biggest spender – by a wide margin – in the summer window by dropping more than $200 million highlighted by forward Julian Alvarez coming from Manchester City.
Zaha to Lyon
Veteran forward Wilfried Zaha joined French club Lyon from Galatasaray for a modest fee of $3 million. The 31-year-old Zaha spent most of his career at Crystal Palace before playing last season in Turkey, where he helped Galatasaray win the domestic league title.
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AP sports writer James Ellingworth in Germany contributed.
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