Nottingham Forest have made Remo Freuler their 15th summer signing and the manager Steve Cooper made no apologies for the influx of players.
Hours after promoted Forest won their first home game in the Premier League for 23 years thanks to a 1-0 success over West Ham they added Freuler to their squad for an undisclosed fee.
The Switzerland international joins from Serie A side Atalanta and follows the Saturday arrivals of club-record signing Emmanuel Dennis from Watford and Cheikhou Kouyaté on a free transfer.
Freuler, 30, has played 46 times for Switzerland, including at the World Cup and Euro 2020. Forest are not expected to be done there having been linked with moves for Neal Maupay and Houssem Aouar.
Cooper said there is a method behind the high turnover at the club this summer. “There’s been a real rationale behind it and it’s been a real necessity. We have had no choice. We would have loved to carry on last year with our team and added a few players but it was never going to happen. We are still in that process of becoming that team and squad we want to be. We have a couple of weeks left of the window so there will definitely be ins and outs.”
Argentina international midfielder Giovani lo Celso has completed a return to Villarreal after joining the La Liga side on a loan deal until the end of the season from Tottenham.
Lo Celso made 19 appearances in all competitions for Spurs last season before spending the second half of the campaign at Villarreal, having fallen down the pecking order under Antonio Conte. The 26-year-old became a key player under Unai Emery, featuring 22 times and scoring once as Villarreal reached the Champions League semi-finals last season.
Chelsea are understood to be in negotiations with Barcelona over a deal for striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, although they have not made a bid, while the quest to prise Wesley Fofana away from Leicester also continues.
The Stamford Bridge club have had an opening bid of £40m for Everton’s Anthony Gordon rejected and may return with a cash plus players offer as Frank Lampard has made clear his interest in more than one Chelsea player.
Tottenham have confirmed a five-year contract with Destiny Udogie, the 19-year-old Udinese defender, but although he will have a medical this week, he will join Spurs from next summer. Tanguy Ndombele is set for a loan move from Spurs to Napoli, with a possible option to buy for the midfielder.
