Christian Pulisic (Chelsea to Milan, £18.9m)
Todd Boehly has now poured more than £1bn into Chelsea, but it wasn’t just their big spending that caught the eye this summer. Boehly conducted a fire sale of unwanted first-team players; several went to Saudi Arabia, while Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek joined Milan. Signed for £57.6m from Dortmund in 2019, Pulisic was sold for a maximum €22m (£18.9m) – this figure feels at least £10m short. Given the Rossoneri’s desire to develop their brand in the US, his presence alone could be worth the cut-price fee. As it happens, he announced his arrival with a superb goal at Bologna.
Daichi Kamada (Frankfurt to Lazio, free)
One of this summer’s biggest mysteries was how Kamada spent more than a month without a club after his Eintracht Frankfurt contract expired at the end of June. The Japanese playmaker has made his mark on the biggest stages, impressing at the World Cup in Qatar after helping his club to win the Europa League in 2022. Tottenham were among the teams rumoured to be circling when Milan pulled out of a deal to sign the 27-year-old, but Lazio instead stole in to sign Kamada on a free transfer. He has already made an impact, scoring the winner for Maurizio Sarri’s side at Napoli.
Kevin Volland (Monaco to Union Berlin, £3.4m)
The former Leverkusen striker has returned to the Bundesliga with Union Berlin, who have sought to sprinkle a little stardust over their squad. With Hertha relegated, the Champions League debutants want to make the German capital their own, also bringing in Leonardo Bonucci and Robin Gosens. Signed for €4m, Volland made an inauspicious start against RB Leipzig with a straight red card. Still, a player with 77 career Bundesliga goals and 63 assists is unlikely to be kept down for long.
Rob Holding (Arsenal to Crystal Palace, £4m)
After more than seven years at the Emirates Stadium, Holding quietly left for south London on deadline day. The centre-back was only a real first-team regular during the turbulent 2020-21 season, but still clocked up more than 150 appearances as a reliable squad player. A signing from Bolton late in the Arsène Wenger era, Holding bridged the gap between eras but struggled to keep his place as Mikel Arteta demanded more ball-playing skills from his defenders. Still only 27, the player once used by Wenger to justify reduced spending still looks seriously underpriced.
Artem Dovbyk (Dnipro-1 to Girona, £6.6m)
The Ukrainian forward returned home to SK Dnipro-1 from Midtjylland in 2020 and found another gear, scoring 54 goals in 86 appearances – including 32 last season as Dnipro-1 finished second in the league. Dovbyk also has a knack for big international goals, scoring late on against Scotland in a World Cup playoff and Sweden at Euro 2020. Everton and Forest have shown interest before Girona paid a club-record €7.7m (£6.62m) to sign him. Part of Manchester City’s CFG operation, the ambitious club have eyes on Europe. Dovbyk made an instant impact with an equaliser at Real Sociedad. The cut-price fee does have a couple of caveats – Dnipro-1 retain a percentage of his rights and Midtjylland a cut of any future sale.
Teddy Teuma (Union SG to Reims, £3.9m)
Malta has never been a hotbed of footballing talent, but Teuma might be about to change that. The new Reims recruit is already building a decent highlights reel after a career spent in the lower leagues. The midfielder did not sign his first professional deal until he was 24, but his time at Ligue 2’s Red Star turned sour. Teuma was offered the chance to join the Belgian second-tier side Union Saint-Gilloise, and helped them to rise from obscurity to European football. Now 29, he was snapped up by English manager Will Still at Reims this summer for €4.6m, and a reported €2m bonus in the unlikely event he one day helps the French club win the Champions League.
Bénie Traoré (Häcken to Sheffield United, £3.9m)
Cameron Archer and Vinícius Souza have arrived at Sheffield United this season for a combined £30m but, beyond that, the club have been bargain hunting. One potential rough diamond is Traoré, a 20-year-old forward whose progress at the Swedish side Häcken was derailed by injury. However, the Ivorian began the current Allsvenskan season with 15 goals in 20 games. That impressive hit-rate led United to take a chance on him and he has already shown glimpses of the kind of pace and trickery that can sharpen the Blades’ cutting edge.
Pepelu (Levante to Valencia, £4.3m)
Locked in constant financial crisis, Valencia have had to cut their cloth accordingly in recent years. Since their last top-four finish in 2019-20, the club have spent €35m on new players with €170m worth of talent leaving to balance the books. Transfer coups are rare in this corner of Spain but after beating the drop last term Los Che managed to prise the midfielder Pepelu from Levante. Their city rivals were left furious. Pepelu insists he “doesn’t feel like a traitor” and has got down to business, scoring the winner in a man-of-the-match performance against Las Palmas.
Daniel Peretz (Maccabi Tel-Aviv to Bayern, £4.3m)
With Manuel Neuer still recovering from the broken leg he sustained in a skiing accident in December, Bayern spent the summer seeking goalkeeping cover. It was the Israeli player Peretz who caught their eye after saving two Germany penalties at the European Under-21 Championship. After Kepa Arrizabalaga opted for Real Madrid, Bayern moved for Peretz on a five-year deal, where he will initially be a backup to the veteran Sven Ulreich. Neuer is expected to return soon but Peretz should get a chance to stake his claim as the veteran’s eventual successor. Peretz is also something of a penalty specialist.
Ylber Ramadani (Aberdeen to Lecce, £1m)
Born in Germany and raised in Kosovo, Ramadani has “spent 12 years away from home” to pursue his dream of playing elite football. Last summer, Aberdeen paid £120,000 to sign the midfielder from MTK Budapest. Ramadani made 44 appearances last season as the Dons finished third – but was on the move again after Lecce sought him out as a replacement for the Sporting-bound Morten Hjulmand. Aberdeen allowed the 27-year-old to pursue his Serie A dream, and he has quickly earned comparisons with Gennaro Gattuso. After more than a decade on the road, Ramadani appears to finally be in the right place.
Abde Ezzalzouli (Barcelona to Betis, £6.4m)
Outside of Saudi Arabia, the key theme this summer has been the rising cost of youth players. Barcelona give youth a chance more often than most and if youngsters do leave, it tends to be temporary. One notable exception is Ezzalzouli, the Moroccan winger who Xavi believed was ready for the Barça first team. After a late flurry of incomings, an apparent need to balance the books led to his deadline-day departure. Barcelona have secured a buy-back clause to get Ezzalzouli for just €20m, while Betis have a young talent ready to make an immediate impact.
Lionel Messi (PSG to Inter Miami, free)
Inter Miami didn’t pay Paris Saint-Germain a fee for Messi, but he didn’t come cheap – the World Cup winner is earning a guaranteed £93m over his 2.5-year contract. Messi has scored 11 goals in 11 MLS games and fans are flocking wherever he plays – which points to where his true value lies. Ranked by Forbes as the league’s 11th most valuable team, worth $600m, Inter Miami expect that valuation to double in a year’s time. Messi, though, is the kind of superstar that can lift a whole league – which explains why the broadcast partner Apple has reportedly offered him a revenue-sharing agreement as part of this unusual deal. Messi was not cheap, but he already looks worth the money.
