The Football Faithful
·1. Juli 2024
The Football Faithful
·1. Juli 2024
The ‘unofficial’ Premier League transfer deadline has now passed with June 30 the date for clubs to conclude deals for their 2023-24 financial accounts.
The Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability regulations (PSR) meant several sides were scrambling to get deals done in time and avoid potential sanctions for financial breaches.
Six clubs – Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Leicester, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest – all reportedly needed to balance the books and it’s fair to say those sides were certainly busy.
We’ve looked at every Premier League deal done by those sides before the PSR deadline.
Aston Villa have been one of the most active clubs in the early part of the transfer window as the club look to remain compliant with PSR and strengthen for their Champions League campaign.
Lewis Dobbin has arrived from Everton as part of a swap deal that saw Tim Iroegbunam head in the opposite direction, while a similar agreement was reached with Chelsea to sign Ian Maatsen. Omari Kellyman moved to West London as part of the exchange.
A deal was also done with Juventus that saw Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling-Junior arrive and Douglas Luiz leave for Turin. The overall value of the transfers equated to around €50m.
Luiz’s exit for Juventus is a big blow to Emery ahead of the new season with the box-to-box Brazilian a major part of the club’s Champions League qualification. Elsewhere, Villa have lost some highly-rated prospects as part of their plugging of PSR but have retained the core of Emery’s top-four placing squad. Investment is now expected in the new financial year.
Chelsea continue to be one of the busiest clubs in European football. Tosin Adarabioyo arrived on a free transfer from Fulham in a deal that could pave the way for the sale of a current centre-back, with Tevoh Chalobah attracting interest from Premier League rivals. Omari Kellyman has come in as part of the deal that saw Ian Maatsen sign for Aston Villa, while the arrival of Estevao Willian is considered a major coup.
The sales of Lewis Hall, Ian Maatsen and Omari Hutchinson have banked sizeable profit for Chelsea, with the former duo graduates of the Cobham academy and the latter signed from Arsenal for just £5m last summer.
Tim Iroegbunam has come in as part of a swap with Aston Villa for Lewis Dobbin, while Jack Harrison has been re-signed on loan from Leeds.
Everton’s financial gap is not understood to have been as large as first feared and the Toffees have solved their issues without the sale of key talent. Lewis Dobbin departed for Aston Villa and Ben Godfrey has brought in £10.2m after joining Atalanta. After sanctions last season, Everton appear in a stronger position this time around.
That should aid their cause in negotiations over Jarrad Branthwaite after turning down an opening offer from Manchester United for the highly-rated defender.
Sean Dyche’s side also saw a swap deal with Newcastle involving Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Yankuba Minteh fall through.
Leicester have signed Abdul Fatawu from Sporting Lisbon for £17m after an impressive loan spell at the King Power Stadium last season. A deal for Chelsea youngster Michael Golding is also close as part of the transfer that will see Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall had to West London.
Leicester have reluctantly accepted the sale of Kieran Dewsbury-Hall amid a £30m approach from Chelsea. Though the deal was not completed before June 30, it could count on the club’s ‘near miss’ business for the 2023-24 financial year.
Eddie Howe will be pleased to have landed Lloyd Kelly on a free transfer from Bournemouth, though the Magpies were beaten to the signing of Tosin Adarabioyo by Chelsea. Odysseas Vlachodimos has arrived from Nottingham Forest to boost the goalkeeping stocks and Lewis Hall’s loan from Chelsea has been made permanent.
Newcastle left it late but got the deals done to ease their financial concerns. Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh were both highly-regarded at St James’ Park but recouped the club a crucial £68m – helping to avoid the sales of star names Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak.
Nuno Espirito Santo will be pleased with the capture of Elliot Anderson from Newcastle, a player the Magpies reluctantly allowed to leave for PSR purposes. Marko Stamenic and Eric da Silva Moreiro have also kickstarted their summer business.
Nottingham Forest criticised their four-point penalty last season after Brennan Johnson’s £47.5m move to Tottenham came after the 2022-23 PSR deadline. As a result, Forest’s issues were less prominent this time around. The club are close to selling Moussa Niakhaté to Lyon for around £20m which can count as ‘near miss’ business.