With rumours that Arsenal and Liverpool stars Theo Walcott and Raheem Sterling could swap clubs this summer, here’s a look at seven big swap deals that have taken place throughout the years…
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1) Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto’o
Undoubtedly the biggest swap deal of all time, Samuel Eto’o was offloaded by Barcelona to Inter Milan as the Catalan giants chased Zlatan Ibrahimovic. In the end it didn’t seem to be the best move by the club as the Swede struggled to find his best form at the Nou Camp, while Eto’o had been one of their best players and an undervalued talent for many years.
2) David Luiz and Nemanja Matic
Despite clearly having a top young talent on their hands, Chelsea let Nemanja Matic leave for Benfica in his first spell with the club as they offered him in exchange for David Luiz. In the end, the Brazilian defender was a bit of a flop, while Matic was later re-signed and is now a key player for the Blues.
3) Ashley Cole and William Gallas
A controversial swap deal between two big rivals, Ashely Cole left Arsenal for Chelsea with William Gallas moving in the other direction in the summer of 2006. Although Gallas went on to captain Arsenal, he was not the biggest success, while Cole enjoyed some of the best years of his career at Stamford Bridge.
4) Andrew Cole and Keith Gillespie
One from all the way back in 1995, Manchester United did great business when they offered Keith Gillespie to Newcastle United for the far more successful Andrew Cole, who became a big star at Old Trafford.
5) Michael Owen and Antonio Nunez
Another of Real Madrid’s Galactico signings, Michael Owen was snapped up from Liverpool with the help of the little-known Antonio Nunez moving to Anfield in the other direction, though the Spaniard made little to no impact in England.
6) Clarence Seedorf and Francesco Coco
In a huge mistake by Inter Milan, Clarence Seedorf was allowed to join bitter rivals AC Milan in a swap deal for the far less successful Francesco Coco.
7) Jermain Defoe and Bobby Zamora
Despite Bobby Zamora also enjoying a decent career, Tottenham Hotspur did well to use him as bait in a deal to sign Jermain Defoe from West Ham United in 2004, who would go on to become something of a club legend at White Hart Lane.