The transfer market for the major European leagues is closed — but it’s never too early to look forward to January! Click here to view the final list of transfers and keep up to date with the latest gossip below.
All major completed transfer deals
TOP STORY: Man Utd scout Benfica duo
Manchester United are keeping tabs on two Portugal internationals, sending scouts to check out Benfica duo Ruben Dias and Florentino Luis.
The two players were in action for the defending league champions against Braga on Sunday, and Sport Witness (citing A Bola) reported that Old Trafford reps were in attendance at Benfica’s road win.
Dias has been on the radar of several clubs over the past several seasons — including both Manchester teams — so it’s not surprising to see United checking in.
United wasn’t the only club to have scouts at the match, with a bevy of Spanish and French sides checking in on the action.
Of course, United have taken scouting trips to the Portuguese capital before. They were one of several top clubs strongly linked with midfielder Bruno Fernandes throughout the summer, but the deadline has passed with the Sporting Lisbon captain still at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
LIVE BLOG
09.20 BST: Two deals you may have missed from overnight: Bundesliga leaders RB Leipzig have signed AS Roma attacker Patrik Schick to a one-year loan with an option to buy for €29m.
The 23-year-old had been linked with several Bundesliga clubs but joined Leipzig, who will pay €3.5m to loan the Czech international to a permanent deal.
Meanwhile, AC Milan and Eintracht Frankfurt have completed a swap for Ante Rebic and Andre Silva.
This summer, Frankfurt have sold attackers Luka Jovic and Sebastian Haller to Real Madrid and West Ham respectively, with Rebic’s departure meaning they are now without the three forwards who were responsible for 41 of the club’s 60 league goal last term.
Rebic has joined AC Milan on a two-year loan, with Portugal international Andre Silva heading the other way to Frankfurt on the same terms.
09.00 BST: Alexis Sanchez appears to be keeping his options open about playing for Manchester United again one day after joining Inter Milan on loan.
Sanchez told BBC Sport: “I’m very happy I went to Manchester United. I’ve always said that. It’s the club that’s won the most in England. When I went to Arsenal it was fantastic — I was happy there — but United were growing at the time, they were buying players to win something.
“I wanted to join them and win everything. I don’t regret going there.”
However, he did voice his frustration at not being a first-team regular at Old Trafford. He said: “I think that I’m happy when I play for my national team.
“I was happy at Manchester United too, but I’ve always said to my friends: I want to play. If they would let me play I’ll do my best. Sometimes I’d play 60 minutes then I wouldn’t play the next game — and I didn’t know why.”
08.28 BST: Sevilla sporting director Monchi says La Liga clubs must reflect on having the transfer window in Spain end in September when the season is already underway. Premier League clubs voted to end the summer window on Aug. 9, before the start of the campaign, instead of Aug. 31.
Speaking on transfer deadline day on Monday, Monchi considered the situation of the late transfer window in Spain as “madness,” with three rounds already played in La Liga before Sept. 2.
Conversely, The Times and Daily Telegraph in the U.K. both report that Premier League clubs are re-considering their decision to have an earlier summer deadline in order to re-align themselves with the rest of Europe’s other top leagues.
08.00 BST: The transfer window across Europe’s top leagues has now shut. Here are some of the biggest deals that were completed yesterday before the deadline:
– Paris Saint-Germain signed attacker Mauro Icardi on loan from Inter Milan with an option to buy him at a later date. The Argentina international signed a contract extension with the Italian club before penning a season-long loan deal with PSG that includes the option of a permanent transfer for around €70m.
– PSG also signed goalkeeper Keylor Navas from Real Madrid on a permanent basis, with Alphonse Areola moving in the opposite direction. The Costa Rica international established himself as the Spanish giants’ first-choice goalkeeper after his arrival in 2014 from Levante and helped Madrid to three consecutive Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018.
– Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined Roma on a season-long loan deal. The deal includes a fixed fee of €3m for the 30-year-old Armenia international. Sources have told ESPN FC that Roma have not secured an option to buy at the end of the season, but Mkhitaryan is likely to be made available for sale once the loan expires.
– Matteo Darmian became the latest player to leave Manchester United this summer, after signing a four-year contract with Parma in a deal worth €4m. The Italy full-back is the third first-team player to leave following the closure of the Premier League transfer window on Aug. 8, after loan moves for Alexis Sanchez to Inter Milan and Chris Smalling to Roma.
– Liverpool teenager Bobby Duncan completed a £1.8m permanent move to Fiorentina on a three-year deal. The deal for the 18-year-old England youth international, who is a cousin of former Anfield captain Steven Gerrard, includes a 20% sell-on clause.
– Fernando Llorente signed for Napoli on a free transfer. Sources told ESPN FC last week that the former Tottenham striker would move to Serie A on a two-year deal.
PAPER TALK (by Harry Kettle)
Sancho hints at England return?
Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho has hinted at the possibility of a return to English football but also wouldn’t mind a stint in La Liga, the Mirror reports.
The teenage marvel has quickly established himself as one of the most intriguing young English talents of the last decade, and he’s done so away from the scope of the Premier League. Now, however, Sancho faces the question that fans want to know the answer to: will he return home?
In a recent interview the former Manchester City youth player stated the following when asked about the EPL: “I can’t tell the future but I wouldn’t mind. La Liga I wouldn’t mind also, but I don’t know yet.”
Tap-ins
– The proposed Neymar-to-Barcelona deal never materialised and one reason could be the exorbitant price tag that Paris Saint-Germain put on the Brazilian. PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi told Le Parisien that he was willing to let Neymar walk if a club coughed up €300 million. No takers it seems — at least this round.
– Atletico Madrid right-back Kieran Trippier said that Tottenham Hotspur “got rid of me at the wrong time” and that he couldn’t get a straight answer from his ex-manager Mauricio Pochettino or Spurs chairman Daniel Levy. Trippier exited north London for Madrid earlier this summer, and told the Sun that “I just didn’t really get an answer” on his move.
