First summer transfer window delivers big deals and drama – and there is more to come when it reopens on Monday | Football News

As the summer’s first transfer window slams shut, Premier League clubs have spent nearly half a billion on new signings – and there is still so much business to be done.

Few knew what to expect from this special window brought in ahead of the Club World Cup – but it has delivered 10 days of transfer drama and set the tone for what promises to be a fascinating summer. And we are just six days away from it re-opening.

Manchester City have been the big spenders thus far after doing their business early by bringing in Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait Nouri and Marcus Bettinelli – taking their outlay to £116.2m.

Despite three of City’s signings being announced on Deadline Day, it was Chelsea, the other Premier League team at the Club World Cup, that were centre of attention once again as they chased potential late deals for Jamie Gittens and Mike Maignan.

Chelsea ended their pursuit of Maignan, the AC Milan goalkeeper, around lunchtime because the Italian club were unwilling to lower their demands for the 29-year-old, who is out of contract in a year and valued at no more than £12m by the Blues.

Their chase for Gittens had more legs but also ended in disappointment – for now at least. Dortmund rejected Chelsea’s £42m bid and demanded closer to £55m late in the day and time ran out for the clubs to come to an agreement.

Chelsea were happy to wait as they do not want to overpay for Gittens and plan to revisit the deal further down the line. Gittens, who wants to move to Chelsea, appeared frustrated as he sped out of Dortmund’s training ground at day’s end.

Dortmund were able to get an incoming deal over the line ahead of the tournament as they signed Jobe Bellingham from Sunderland in a club-record sale for the newly-promoted Premier League club, who are receiving an initial £27.8m for the 19-year-old.

Before Bellingham’s exit, the Black Cats had confirmed the club-record £20m signing of midfielder Enzo Le Fee after a successful loan spell from Roma.

First summer window in numbers

Sky Sports Data Editor Adam Smith:

Premier League clubs have splashed nearly £500m after only 10 days of the first summer window, which is already close to half the amount spent during the entire 2021/22 summer window.

Manchester City have been the most spendthrift club as Pep Guardiola’s side look to rebuild after a disappointing campaign, spending a table-topping £116.3m so far.

At the other end of the scale, Wolves are nearly £100m in profit after selling star players Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait Nouri.

Burnley and Chelsea lead the way for total incomings, with both sides signing four players on permanent deals. Only seven sides are yet to secure a signing.

Arsenal have offloaded 17 players, while Wolves (13), Burnley and Spurs (both 10) have also trimmed their squads considerably.

Cunha’s £62.5m switch to Manchester United is the most expensive deal in the window so far, followed by Tijjani Reijnders (£46.3m), Rayan Ait Nouri (£36m), Jean-Clair Todibo (£35m) and Rayan Cherki (£34m).

In terms of outgoings, Bournemouth cashed in £50m from selling Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid, while Sunderland sold Jobe Bellingham to Borussia Dortmund for £32m and Manchester City sold Yan Couto to Dortmund for £25m.

Chelsea sign a striker but Arsenal still searching for one

Meanwhile, Chelsea bolstered their frontline ahead of the Club World Cup with the £30m arrival of Liam Delap from Ipswich.

The 22-year-old is one of three signings along with Mamadou Sarr and Dario Essugo, who have been recruited in time to play in the USA. Estevao Willian will join from Palmeiras after the Club World Cup – and he could face Chelsea at the tournament playing for the Brazilian side.

Arsenal target Benjamin Sesko emerged as a option for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal, who have been turned down by Bruno Fernandes and Victor Osimhen in the last week, as they scrambled to make a marquee signing in time for the Club World Cup.

However, the RB Leipzig striker’s preference to play for a top club in Europe amid talks with Arsenal appeared to stop Al Hilal from taking their interest any further on Deadline Day. They will have to make do with Aleksandar Mitrovic as their striker in the USA.

Sesko will be one of the names to watch for the rest of the summer, with Arsenal seemingly prioritising a move for the 22-year-old ahead of Sporting’s Viktor Gyokeres in their hunt for a striker. Adding a left-winger is another priority, with Real Madrid’s Rodrygo a top target. At the other end of the pitch, Arsenal are progressing with a deal to sign Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and are expected to trigger the £5m release clause.

Liverpool eyeing club-record signing when window reopens

The Gunners have taken a backseat in the early running of the window, though, with Premier League champions Liverpool making multiple club-record bids for attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen after he turned down Bayern Munich.

Wirtz only wants to move to Anfield but so far the clubs have failed to reach an agreement with Liverpool’s latest offer worth £113m – just £2m shy of the British record set by Moises Caicedo’s transfer to Chelsea from Brighton in 2023.

The Germany international’s keenness on the move has ensured the lengthy negotiations have not created too much anxiety among Liverpool fans, who have lost key player Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid for £10m and goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher to Brentford in an £18m deal.

But Liverpool, who have goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili joining from Valencia, have already signed a right-sided player following Alexander-Arnold’s exit with the £29.5m arrival of Jeremie Frimpong, while on the other side, they are eyeing a move for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez.

Initial contact has been made with the Cherries, who have already lined up a replacement in Adrien Truffert from Rennes. Andoni Iraola’s side face a potential rebuild this summer, having already lost Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid for £50m, while they have received an approach from Paris Saint-Germain for Illia Zabarnyi.

An offer from Liverpool for Kerkez is the next step in that deal, but how many more incomings there will be at Anfield could depend on the future of Luis Diaz.

The 28-year-old raised doubts about his future when he revealed he was in talks with other clubs while away with Colombia after the Merseyside club rejected an approach from Barcelona.

Diaz is one of two targets Barcelona have for the forward position, along with Marcus Rashford from Manchester United, whose future appears certain to be away from Old Trafford. Interest is expected in the 27-year-old, who will cost £40m this summer.

Man Utd make most expensive signing so far

Manchester United have been unusually quick out of the blocks with their business after signing Matheus Cunha from Wolves for £62.5m – the most expensive signing of the summer so far.

Man Utd are already eyeing their second summer signing with an approach for Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo, who is keen on the move.

The Bees have turned down their opening £55m offer, though talks are continuing and United are expected to return with an improved offer for the forward, valued at more than £60m. Once that pursuit has concluded, the plan is to try and sign a striker.

Gyokeres is one of their targets, and approaches have been made for the Sporting striker through intermediaries as United look to ascertain the conditions of a potential deal. It will likely take a few sales to facilitate any further signings after the potential arrival of Mbeumo, though.

Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Antony are among those who could go with plenty of interest anticipated. Rasmus Hojlund is a target for Inter Milan but has said he expects to remain at United despite the club being linked to other strikers.

Man Utd’s Europa League final conquerors, Tottenham, are yet to make a fresh addition to their squad as they close in on the managerial appointment of Thomas Frank after sacking Ange Postecoglou. But Spurs have stepped up their interest in Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo, valued at £70m by the south coast club.

Tottenham are one of 12 Premier League clubs yet to make a major summer signing (excluding loans being made permanent, or deals agreed in previous windows), so expect things to really ramp up when the transfer window reopens on Monday before closing on September 1 at 7pm.