The top 20 biggest transfers of the summer 2026 window… | OneFootball

The summer transfer window is yet to officially open but that hasn’t stopped some big clubs from spending big money…

The window really opens on June 15 but plenty of deals have already been agreed and stars unveiled by their new clubs. All the Premier League deals are here.

Then there are the initial-loan deals agreed in previous windows that become permanent this summer, either through options or obligations.

Here are the 20 biggest transfers in world football completed so far this summer…

1) Anthony Gordon (Newcastle to Barcelona) – £69m

Not a deal that many of us saw coming, but the England winger has always been in demand among those who ought to know a player when they see one. There is some conjecture over possible add-ons and Manchester United must surely take note when Barca plead poverty over Marcus Rashford.

2) Jeremy Jacquet (Rennes to Liverpool) – £55m

Jacquet signed for Arne Slot but will likely play a big role for Andoni Iraola, especially with Ibrahima Konate following Slot out of Anfield. The France Under-21 defender is expected to be fit for pre-season having been sidelined since February.

3) Piero Hincapie (Bayer Leverkusen to Arsenal) – £45m

Hincapie is set to make his loan move to Arsenal a permanent one – but could be on his way again almost immediately, with Barcelona said to be sniffing. How many levers have they left to pull?

4) Geovany Quenda (Sporting Lisbon to Chelsea) – £44m

This was a deal done in March 2025, but Quenda has remained in Lisbon until this summer, while Dario Essugo got a headstart at Chelsea. The winger made only a dozen league and Champions League starts last term due to a metatarsal injury but was still good for four goals and seven assists.

5) Rasmus Hojlund (Man Utd to Napoli) – £38m

United got half of their money back for Hojlund when Napoli qualified for the Champions League, obligating them to sign the Denmark striker permanently.

6) Lois Openda (RB Leipzig to Juventus) – £35m

Juve are obliged to sign Openda permanently, despite a miserable first year in Turin during which he scored a solitary Serie A goal and played only five league minutes since February.

7) Orkun Kokcu (Benfica to Besiktas) – £25.9m

The Turkey midfielder returned to his homeland on loan last summer, with Besiktas now obliged to make it a permanent arrangement. They are cool with that… especially if Kocku shines at the World Cup and tempts in one of the Premier League big boys. He looks sharp in the warm-up friendlies.

8) Rodrigo Zalazar (Braga to Sporting Lisbon) – £25.9m

Sporting broke the domestic transfer record to sign Uruguayan midfielder Zalazar from Braga, who will bank the highest fee ever paid between two Portuguese clubs.

9) Donyell Malen (Aston Villa to Roma) – £21.65m

The Netherlands striker caught fire in Serie A, scoring 14 goals in 18 appearances since moving from Villa, initially on loan, in January.

10) Patrick Zabi (Reims to Paris FC) – £21.6m

The Parisians reportedly beat off interest from Manchester United and Newcastle to sign the young midfielder, whom Reims signed for only £100,000 two years ago.

11) Merlin Rohl (Freiburg to Everton) – £20m

Just by staying up, Everton were obliged to cough up for the German midfielder, with most of his six starts coming in the final four games of the campaign.

12) Georgiy Sudakov (Shakhtar Donetsk to Benfica) – £17.5m

Sudakov’s form tailed off after a bright start at Benfica but you wouldn’t blame the attacking midfielder if he was somewhat distracted since in September, his Kyiv apartment was hit by Russian drones while his wife and child were home.

13) Rocco Reitz (Borussia Monchengladbach to RB Leipzig) – £17.3m

This deal was done in March, which prompted protests from Gladbach fans when the midfielder kept the captain’s armband when he faced his future side in April.

14) Joane Gadou (RB Salzburg to Borussia Dortmund) – £16.6m

The promising French defender came through the ranks at PSG but never made a senior appearance, getting as far as Luis Enrique’s bench before moving to Salzburg in 2024. There, Gadou became a regular, drawing comparisons with Dayot Upamecano.

15) Alex Jimenez (AC Milan to Bournemouth) – £16m

The full-back made the required number of appearances to trigger a permanent move but is currently suspended amid an investigation into social media activity.

16) Sidiki Cherif (Angers to Fenerbahçe) – £15.6m

Crystal Palace were said to be keen on the teenage striker before Fenerbahce swooped in January. Cherif has scored two league goals for Fener so far.

17) Facundo Medina (Lens to Marseille) – £15.6m

The centre-back signed for Roberto De Zerbi last summer and wasn’t best pleased to see the manager leave mid-season: “I was deeply angered. I was furious.”

18) Jannik Schuster (RB Salzburg to Brentford) – £15.57m

The 19-year-old defender has been a regular this season for Salzburg who have now sold two teenage centre-backs this summer for more than £30million.

19) Jakub Kiwior (Arsenal to Porto) – £14.7m

Porto announced at the start of May that they were taking up their option to sign the centre-back from Arsenal, who might make their money back on the £17million they paid Spezia if add-ons are met.

20) Bilal El Khannouss (Leicester to Stuttgart) – £12.9m

The attacking midfielder is heading to the World Cup with Morocco and the Champions League with Stuttgart while Leicester lick their wounds in League One.