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Hello! The Premier League’s transfer window is closing. Don’t get caught short.
On the way:
🆕 Ivan Toney heads for Saudi
👀 BIG Champions League ties
💰 Brighton’s £200m window
🤕 Injury blow for Man Utd’s Mount
Deadline Deals: Toney set for Saudi – but what about other big names?
Transfer deadline day. It’s the only show in town, so let’s not mess about. Coming at you as we enter the final hours of incoming business for Premier League clubs: the latest on what’s hot, what’s not and what’s hanging in the balance.
Every window ends with a discussion about winners and losers, and it struck me that tonight’s 11pm (6pm ET) cut-off was destined to leave a certain big name high and dry — or so it seemed.
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Ivan Toney was once touted as the No 9 who could fire Arsenal across the Rubicon but for the past two weeks, he’s been in a hole. Arsenal didn’t push to meet Brentford’s valuation of him. Saudi side Al Ahli fell short with a first bid. Since then, Toney has been excluded from Brentford’s matchday squads, which is not ideal.
But this morning, Al Ahli tried again and struck gold. Brentford have accepted their improved offer of £33.6m ($44.3m).Personal terms with Toney are sorted and he’ll fly out for a medical ASAP. For him, it’s adios to the Premier League.
No writer at The Athletic is closer to Brentford than Jay Harris so I asked him what’s been going on. “Brentford didn’t want to sell Toney cheaply,” Jay told me. “They’ve been acutely aware of the message it would send out if they did.”
But Toney had less than a year left on his contract, and Brentford didn’t want to lose him on a free either. Jay made a great point: the Saudi Pro League window is open for another four days, meaning Al Ahli and Toney had time on their side.
No such joy as yet for:
- Marc Guehi. Newcastle have tried and tried. Crystal Palace have resisted, refusing to be low-balled on price. There’s no agreement and there’s unlikely to be one.
- Raheem Sterling (below) and Jadon Sancho. That vaguely mooted swap-deal between Chelsea and Manchester United? Time’s running out. Neither forward wants to be stuck where they are.
(JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Who are likely late movers?
There’s going to be action today, and these are the sagas we’ll be watching most closely:
- Aaron Ramsdale to Southampton. Everthing is in place for the goalkeeper to leave Arsenal, although Arsenal’s search for a replacement has grown complicated. They can’t agree a deal with Espanyol for Joan Garcia so they look like loaning Neto from Bournemouth instead.
- Victor Osimhen. Chelsea would happily loan him from Napoli. He was in Al Ahli’s sights too, but now they’re doing Toney. Eyes peeled.
- Manuel Ugarte and Scott McTominay. Ugarte is lined up to join Manchester United from Paris Saint-Germain. McTominay is leaving Old Trafford for Napoli. Final confirmation is imminent.
Best buys?
With the window closing, here are three Premier League signings that floated my boat:
- Dominic Solanke. Keep him fit and he’ll add an important string to Tottenham Hotspur’s bow (though if you’re an FPL fiend, you might want to lose him for now). They’re better placed to finish top four.
- Federico Chiesa. To Liverpool for a guaranteed £10m ($13.1m)? They almost can’t lose at that price.
- Archie Gray. If he turns out to be anything like as exceptional as Leeds United thought he would be, Tottenham have got themselves a steal at £35m. Gray could go to the very top.
📲 Transfer deadline day live blog
Feast of fixtures: Great games, but still concerns over Champions League format
I want to be cynical about the new Champions League framework, and in a lot of ways I am. But yesterday’s draw (which somehow avoided technical hitches) hit the mark in one sense — by serving up some genuinely excellent league-phase fixtures.
There are far too many for TAFC to list — we’ve got you sorted here — but Real Madrid versus Liverpool, Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield, Arsenal playing Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich against Barcelona; these games should be worth stumping up for.
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I’m not daft. The format changes are fundamentally about generating more money, and the global schedule can barely cope with more football. Ilkay Gundogan has said as much openly.
But there’s no denying the old group stages were a cakewalk for too many big clubs. Maybe that will still be the case (and we’ve had a long chat about it on The Athletic FC podcast). But the new model deserves a chance.
News Round-Up: Chelsea reach Europa Conference League but question marks remain
(Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
- Chelsea are into the Conference League, but only after struggling past themightyServette of Switzerland.Christopher Nkunkuscored a penalty and marked it with his trademark balloon celebration, above, butLiam Twomey thinks they’re lacking depth at Stamford Bridge. He’s not joking.
- Mason Mount cannot hit the ignition switch at Manchester United. He’s out for up to five weeks with a hamstring injury — just as we were wondering how Erik ten Hag goes about rebooting him.
- It’s a shock to see free-kick maestro James Ward-Prowse dropping through the trapdoor at West Ham United. He’s so far out of the frame that they’re loaning him to Nottingham Forest.
- Real Madrid. Three La Liga games, five points. They’ll sort themselves out, be sure of that, but their start to the season has posed some questions for Carlo Ancelotti. Kylian Mbappe isn’t firing yet.
- Interim England coach Lee Carsley has announced his first squad since replacing Gareth Southgate. I’ll say this — it’s fresh and it’s imaginative. The inclusion of Lille’s Angel Gomes, once of Manchester United, underlines Carsley’s way of thinking.
Brighton’s £200m bonanza
Brighton are not only adept at making good decisions. They’re adept at getting the timing of those decisions right. Exhibit A: realising their relationship with Roberto De Zerbi was unravelling and boldly letting a talented coach depart.
Years of savvy management on and off the pitch has allowed them to throw a staggering £195m ($257m) at transfers in this window — second only to Chelsea across Europe’s top five leagues. They’re not finished, either.
Andy Naylor has explained how they’ve done it, factoring in the unconditional love of owner Tony Bloom, the cash earned from players like Moises Caicedo and the fact that they bother to make the effort to turn a profit. There’s no such thing as a perfect club but Brighton’s blueprint is an example for others.
- Most clicked in yesterday’s TAFC: Michael Cox on stadium atmospheres.
Quiz question
A fiery rivalry resumes at Old Trafford on Sunday. Distract yourself from transfers with this quiz question about it:
Ten players have scored exactly one goal in Premier League matches between Manchester United and Liverpool — name them.
You’ll find the answer here on our website later today.
Catch a match (Time ET/UK)
(Selected games)
Friday – Serie A: Inter Milan vs Atalanta, 2.45/7.45pm — Paramount+, Fubo/OneFootball.
Saturday – Premier League: Arsenal vs Brighton, 7.30am/12.30pm — USA Network, Fubo/ TNT Sports; West Ham vs Manchester City, 12.30pm/5.30pm — NBC, Fubo/Sky Sports; Serie A: Lazio v AC Milan, 2.45pm/7.45pm — Paramount+, Fubo/OneFootball; MLS:Chicago Fire v Inter Miami, 8.30pm/1.30am — Apple TV.
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Sunday – Premier League: Newcastle vs Tottenham, 8.30am/1.30pm — USA Network, Fubo/Sky Sports; Manchester United vs Liverpool, 11am/4pm — Peaco*ck Premium/Sky Sports; Serie A: Juventus vs Roma, 2.45pm/7.45pm — Paramount+/TNT Sports; La Liga: Real Madrid vs Real Betis, 3.30pm/8.30pm — ESPN+, Fubo/Premier Sports.
And finally…
(Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Tim Spiers’ Row Z column has served up the best ‘in case you missed it’ reference of the week.
Galatasaray fell short of qualifying for the Champions League on Wednesday. Young Boys’ Alan Virginius finished them off with a late goal on the counter, and wheeled away to celebrate — only for Galatasaray keeper Fernando Muslera to wipe him out with a raging swipe at his heels.
Muslera is 38. He’s obviously past caring about appearances or worrying about red cards. Look at the fury in those eyes (above)…
(Top photo: Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images)
Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHay_
