Transfer window round-up: The summer of spending

With multi-million deals in place from sponsors and TV rights, clubs splashed cash

KARACHI: As the clock struck 12 in Europe on Wednesday, European football’s transfer market finally came to a halt.

For better or for worse, Europe’s finest clubs will now have to make do with what they have for the coming four months, before the market reopens on January 1.

The English Premier League (EPL), boosted by its three-year £5.13 billion TV rights deal, was the biggest spender, with 13 of the 20 clubs in the league breaking their transfer records. Inevitably, the total spending of the 20 clubs broke the £1 billion for the first time — reaching a whopping £1.165 billion — as the EPL broke its spending record for the fourth year in a row.



Blockbuster deal of the window

Manchester United’s pursuit of France midfielder Paul Pogba finally ended in success when the Red Devils struck an £89.3 million deal with Juventus to bring him back to Old Trafford. The transfer fee paid for Pogba makes him the most expensive transfer in football history, eclipsing the £85.3m paid by Real Madrid to Tottenham Hotspur for Welsh winger Gareth Bale.

Sleeping giants

Real are usually the biggest shark in the transfer market, especially under current president Florentino Perez, but they were unusually quiet this time around. Their only major transfer output was bringing back prodigal son Alvaro Morata from Juventus for a relatively measly €30 million to boost their front line.

Biggest spenders

While Manchester United grabbed the headlines for their high-profile signings, their neighbors Manchester City spent the most money overall. The Citizens’ spending reached an eye watering £152 million on a total of 10 acquisitions, with England centre-back John Stones, Germany midfielders Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan and Brazil striker Gabriel Jesus being the biggest of their new signings.



Busiest club

With 13 new arrivals at the London Stadium, West Ham practically bought in an entire new team for their manager Slaven Bilic.

Club that punched above their weight

£27 million is the kind of outlay you expect from a top club or at least a club playing in a European competition . But Crystal Palace surprised everyone and highlighted the diminishing difference in spending power of English clubs by smashing their transfer record for Liverpool Christian Benteke.

Best bargain

Even though he has no resale value and is on extremely high wages, Sweden superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic didn’t cost Manchester United a dime in transfer fees, making him a shoo-in for the summer’s best bargain buy.



Questionable signing

A lot of eyebrows were raised when Barcelona spent €55 million on Andre Gomes to bring the Portugal midfielder from Valencia to the Camp Nou.

At 23, Gomes has time on his side but will find it difficult to break into Barcelona’s current midfield setup or usurp either Ivan Rakitic or Sergio Busquets as the Catalan club’s midfield pivot.

The season is still in its infancy but the €55 million man’s only appearance has been in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup, with the tie virtually over after a 2-0 away win in the first leg.

Biggest deadline day signing

Due to Chelsea’s lack of options at the back, it was a given that the Blues would make a flurry of defensive signings on the last day of the summer transfer window. What wasn’t a given, however, was the return of their former centre-half David Luiz to Stamford Bridge.

Despite negotiating with cash-rich Paris Saint-Germain, the Londoners were able to quickly wrap up Luiz’s £34 million transfer, giving an incredibly lively transfer window the ending it deserved. 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2016.

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