The best bits of business in what has already proven an explosive summer transfer window.
With the transfer window well underway, and transfers constantly being worked on, we take at look at the ten most talked about transfers of the summer so far.
10. Wilfried Bony: £13m Vitesse Arnhem to Swansea City
Bony was one of the hottest prospects in Holland by the time the season ended, finishing with a total of 31 goals in just 30 league games. The Ivorian had attracted interest from all over Europe, but the notable ones were Newcastle, West Ham and, of course, Swansea City.
It was no secret that Graham Carr had been monitoring Wilfried’s progess for Vitesse last season, and when the window came around, it almost appeared definite that Newcastle would make a move for the 24 year-old forward. Yet, Pardew and Kinnear did not make an attempt, so Sam Allardyce stepped up to the table with a £10million bid which was swiftly rejected by the Dutch club as they were too late.
The 6 foot striker had agreed personal terms with Welsh club, Swansea City, after a £13million fee had been agreed between the two clubs. A remarkable saga coming to a dramatic end.
9. Jesus Navas: £14.9m Sevilla to Man City
With the capture of Fernandinho under their belt, Manchester City looked to continue their summer spending with two Spaniards in mind. One being Sevilla winger Jesus Navas, a former World Cup and European Championship winner with Spain.
There was very little competition for this transfer as manager, Manuel Pellegrini, looked to wrap up the deal under the radar without attracting interest from big clubs.
On 3rd June 2013, Sevilla had confirmed on their official website that Premier League side, Manchester City, has signed their 27 year-old star, Navas, for £14.9million. The Sky Blues confirmed the transfer a week later, after the Spaniard had undergone his medical.
8. Carlos Tevez: £10m Man City to Juventus
The controversial Argentinian, Carlos Tevez, was a fairly unexpected transfer when the rumours began to circulate as Serie A champions, Juventus, had already signed Fernando Llorente on a free – so it seemed unlikely they would need another top drawer striker.
But the rumours began to pick up pace and Carlos ended up in Turin on June 26th to seal his switch the the Italian club. He signed a three-year deal, after the transfer fee was agreed of £10million, plus £2million add ons subject to appearances and goals.
The wages were the main talking point, as it seemed unlikely that Juve would be able to afford the Argentine international, but reports afterwards claimed the Italians would pay a total of £27million to keep the 29 year-old for the full three years.
7. Mario Gomez: £15m Bayern Munich to Fiorentina
With the arrival as Pep Guardiola as manager and Mario Gotze, it seemed very unlikely that anyone would not see Bayern Munich as the place to be – especially after their recent treble completion [Champions League, Bundesliga and DFB Pokal].
But Mario did not see this vision. The out of sorts striker had in fact lost patience with the lack of game time he had received last year and tried to leave the German giants in search of first team football.
Surprisingly not many teams had lined up for the German internationals signature, but the frontrunners the hole time were Italian side Fiorentina. The Serie A side eventually wrapped up a deal on the 8th July, after an undisclosed fee had been agreed. The contract was then signed, and medical passed, in the following days.
6. Henrikh Mkhitaryan: £21.5m Shakhtar Donestk to Borussia Dortmund
One of the most bizarre signings of the summer in my opinion.
Liverpool had been tracking the 24 year-old for a long time, but interest only came to surface in recent weeks. The Ukranian side were in contact with the Premier League club for a long spell, but the negotiations appeared tedious by what was reported in English media.
One day the Armenian was a done deal, the next a bid had not even been made – it was always very unclear.
As the month of June came to an end, all had gone quite on the Mkhitaryan to Liverpool front, with various news outlets plucking at straws and suggesting he was in talks with the Merseyside club to discuss personal terms. Only a few days later, Dortmund’s interest had become apparent and was expressed by Jurgen Klopp to various reporters.
The German side then made a €27.5million bid [making him the most expensive player in Borussia’s history] and agreed personal terms all within a couple of days. Mkhitaryan signed a four-year deal with Dortmund, bringing the saga to an end.
5. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: £10m Saint-Etienne to Borussia Dortmund
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang flirted with Premier League interest for a long time before the transfer window. Back in January he looked poised to join Newcastle but no bid was made by Mike Ashley as he chose to pursue a move for Loic Remy – who snubbed him for QPR.
The Premier League side came back in for the Gabonese international in the summer, after he rejected a move to Anzhi claiming he did not wish to move to Russia despite the high wages.
Newcastle appeared to have made a bid of €15million, which was what St Etienne were asking for, but it was rejected due to interest for Borussia Dortmund. The German giants had made a €13million bid accepted, and a deal was wrapped up within 3 days.
The striker flew to Germany, and put pen to paper, signing a five-year deal with the Bundesliga club. Dortmund’s interest was well reported, but the bid came out of the blue, blowing Newcastle out of the water.
Dortmund taking two players from right under two Premier League club’s noses.
4. Isco: £23m Malaga to Real Madrid
The 21 year-old was a clear target for former Malaga boss Manuel Pellegrini who wanted to be reunited with the Spanish youngster. The saga of Man City or Real Madrid went on the whole way through the European Under21 Championships, as Isco confirmed himself, that he would make his final decision afterwards.
On the 26th June, Madrid’s former club president Florentino Perez had confirmed that a deal had been agreed between the player and the club, leaving just the medical left.
Some English outlets still remained confident that Isco would have a change of heart and sign for the Sky Blues, but on the 27th June, the Spaniard signed a five-year contract and passed his medical with Madrid.
3. Mario Gotze: £33m Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich
This transfer was really out of the blue, one day he is preparing for the Champions League final, the next he signs for Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich. Funnily enough, people were questioning whether Mario would still put in a top performance against Munich in the final, until a few days later when he was ruled out due to injury.
The 21 year-old midfielder has signed a five-year deal after Munich met the €37million release clause. Dortmund boss, Jurgen Klopp, later said how Mario had his heart set on joining Bayern after Pep Guardiola had told him that he was one of his favourites.
2.Radamel Falcao: £55m Atletico Madrid to AS Monaco
The beginning of a new era for French football as Monaco try to bring back past fortunes with instant success after their promotional from Ligue 2.
The French side offered Athletico Madrid the reported by out fee, believed to be around €55million, and then tabled €14million-a-year salary for the Colombian himself, plus bonuses. Despite interest from Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea, Radamel could not really turn down the offer, and accepted the five-year deal, and sparking the overhaul using Rybolovlev’s money.
James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho were quick to follow, along came Abidal, Toulalan, Carvalho and then their team began to take shape. The big spending Ligue 2 champions meant business, and were willing to pay as much as they needed to get who they wanted, which they proved with Falcao.
1. Neymar: £48.3m Santos to Barcelona
An obvious choice for my number one spot, the Spanish giants signing the hottest prospect on the planet – Neymar.
After years of speculation as to where the young Brazilian would go, on the 24th May 2013, Santos had announced there were two tabled offers for Neymar. A day later, and Neymar announced himself that he would sign for FC Barcelona and join up with the squad after the Confederations Cup.
The transfer fee was a staggering €57million, of which only €9million went to Santos, and his wages are yet to be released. The wonder kid has a buy out clause of €190million and has a five-year deal in place keeping him at Barcelona until 2018.
It came as no surprise that the 21 year old would eventually end up at the World’s biggest clubs, it was just a matter of when and where. Most speculation before the announcement of the transfer was that Bayern Munich would be favourites to land the forward as Pep Guardiola looked to seal one of his long term transfer targets.
Personally, this is the biggest transfer since Ronaldo signed for Real Madrid. Neymar will win the Ballon D’or when he is older, and since he is from Brazil, he will probably win the World Cup too. This is why he is my biggest signing, of not just this summer’s window, but for the coming years too.