EPL Transfer News & Rumours

The world’s most expensive goalkeeper will play in the English Premier League next season with Liverpool – despite previously criticising their rivals’ spending – splashing the cash to strengthen their squad this summer.

Brazil goalkeeper Alisson is the headline-grabbing signing, having agreed to join the Reds from Roma for a world-record deal starting at a reported £56 million.

He joins midfielders Naby Keita (£54 million from RB Leipzig) and Fabinho (£40.5 million from Monaco) in joining Jurgen Klopp’s side, with their total outlay a reported £164 million so far this summer.

Other big-money deals include Jorginho, the former Napoli midfielder who snubbed Manchester City to follow manager Maurizio Sarri to Chelsea, Riyad Mahrez to Manchester City, Fred to Manchester United and Richarlison to Everton.

Unlike the rest of Europe’s major leagues, the transfer window shuts early – before the season starts – on Thursday August 9.

Here are some of the biggest deals, and who each Premier League have signed so far in the summer 2018 transfer window.

Top EPL transfers – Summer 2018

After making an unsuccessful bid to sign the Algerian winger in the January transfer window, Manchester City finally got their man this summer – breaking the club’s transfer record for the second consecutive transfer window.

Mahrez, a Premier League winner in 2016 with Leicester, joins the current Premier League champions having scored 12 goals and grabbed ten assists for the Foxes last season. He was one of five players to reach double figures for each, and will now compete with two of the others – Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling – for a starting place in Pep Guardiola’s line-up.

Liverpool’s search for a goalkeeper intensified after the Champions League final, when Loris Karius made two goalkeeping howlers in the Reds’ 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid. With the German keeper making another mistake in pre-season too, Liverpool moved to snap up highly-rated Roma stopper Alisson.

The Brazilian is now the world’s most expensive ever goalkeeper, and that fee could rise too with performance-related add-ons. Alisson boasted a save ratio of 80.1 per cent last season and kept 22 clean sheets in 49 Roma appearances.

Liverpool agreed to sign Guinean midfielder Naby Keita from RB Leipzig last summer, with the deal only going through now. He scored eight times in 32 games in his debut season with the German team and added nine in 39 last time out.

He has already been attracting rave reviews from his team-mates, with Danny Sturridge claiming the box-to-box midfielder had surprised him with his all-round ability.

Fred became Manchester United’s latest big-money signing when he agreed to join from Shakhtar Donetsk for a reported £53.1 million. He will line up alongside £89million-man Paul Pogba in United’s midfield next season.

He is expected to free up the Frenchman to play in a more advanced role, offering surety at the heart of the midfield having impressed in the Champions League for the Ukrainian side last season. After signing for United, however, he picked up an injury on World Cup duty and did not feature for Brazil in Russia.

Jorginho was widely expected to join Manchester City this summer, having impressed Pep Guardiola in two matches against the Blues in the Champions League last season. When Maurizo Sarri was confirmed as Chelsea manager, however, he took Jorginho with him.

The midfielder enjoyed a breakthrough season last year as Napoli finished second in Serie A, and is likely to be an integral part of Chelsea’s system this season given he is already familiar with Sarri’s managerial style and methods.

With 20 goals in the last two seasons, Fabinho is more than just a defensive midfielder, providing goals and creativity at the heart of Monaco’s attacking style – impressing against Manchester City in the 2016-17 Champions League having already netted against Tottenham Hotspur in the group stage.

He will line up in Liverpool’s new-look midfield with fellow new signing Naby Keita, with the Reds having splashed the cash to improve a team that finished fourth in the league and reached the Champions League final last season.

Richarlison only arrived in the Premier League last season, but made an immediate impact under Marco Silva at Watford as he scored five goals in his first 12 Hornets’ matches. He did not score again, however, fading after Silva’s dismissal as manager.

Now, however, the two have been reunited with Silva splashing the cash at Everton on a deal which, if performance add-ons are activated, could become Everton’s record signing. The 21-year-old Brazilian is the latest big-money buy by the Toffees, who will hope he has a bigger impact than the players they signed in last year’s summer transfer window.

West Ham United have broken their transfer record twice this summer, signing Issa Diop for £22 million before smashing that record by bringing Felipe Anderson in from Lazio for £34.2 million. It is a measure of how much West Ham’s owners are backing new manager Manuel Pellegrini – a title winner in 2014 with Manchester City.

In an injury-hit season with Lazio last year, Anderson still popped up with five goals and seven assists and was the Biancocelesti’s star man in his final two games for the club. Anderson finished his Lazio career with 34 goals in 177 games in all competitions.

As with their rivals for a Champions League place, Arsenal have also reinforced their defensive midfield options this summer, with Uruguayan midfielder Lucas Torreira arriving from Sampdoria.

Torreira impressed at the World Cup with some disciplined performances in the midfield pivot as Uruguay reached the quarter-finals, and Arsenal will hope he brings better protection to their back four than the likes of Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny have done in recent seasons.

Ivory Coast midfielder Jean Michael Seri became Fulham’s record signing when he agreed to join from Nice, representing a real coup for the newly-promoted Cottagers considering he had reportedly been attracting interest from the likes of Barcelona, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund.

Seri was one of Nice’s star men in their brilliant 2016-17 season, scoring seven goals and laying on nine assists, and was close to joining Barcelona in the summer. Last season failed to live up to expectations, but the Ivorian will hope the move to the Premier League will reignite his career.

Club-by-club EPL transfers – Summer 2018

With a new manager in Unai Emery, Arsenal have begun their rebuilding process by strengthening in defence. Veteran Swiss international Stephan Lichsteiner has arrived on a free transfer from Juventus, while Sokratis Papastathopoulos has signed for £14.4 million from Borussia Dortmund.

Bernd Leno is likely to become their new number-one goalkeeper after signing from Bayer Leverkusen, while Lucas Torreira provides reinforcements in defensive midfield. Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla departed on free transfers while Per Mertesacker has retired.

In: Lucas Torreria (Sampdoria, £27m) – midfielder; Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen, £22.5m) – goalkeeper; Sokratis (Borussia Dortmund, £14.4m) – centre-back; Matteo Guendouzi (Lorient, £7.2m) – midfielder; Stephan Lichsteiner (Juventus, free) – right-back.

Out: Jack Wilshere (West Ham, free); Santi Cazorla (Villarreal, free); Per Mertesacker (retired).

Highly-rated Welsh midfielder David Brooks has arrived at Bournemouth from Sheffield United, while Eddie Howe has also added Diego Rico to the squad at left-back. Several players have left the club, meanwhile, including strikers Benik Afobe and Lewis Grabban – who spent last season out on loan in the Championship.

In: Diego Rico (Leganes, £10.8m) – left-back; David Brooks (Sheffield United, £10.2m) – central midfielder
Out: Benik Afobe (Wolves, £10.2m); Lewis Grabban (Nottingham Forest, £6.1m); Max Gradel (Toulouse, £1.8m); Ryan Allsop (Wycombe, free); Adam Federici (Stoke, undisclosed); Rhoys Wiggins (retired); Baily Cargill (released)

Brighton have been busy this summer and could now move to sign Alireza Jahanbakhsh for a club-record £20m from AZ too. Should he sign, he would join a squad that has already been bolstered by the signings of Yves Bussouma, Bernardo, Florin Andone and David Button among others.

The squad has been completely overhauled this summer, with fringe players such as Uwe Hunemeier, Niki Maenpaa, Steve Sidwell, Liam Rosenior and Tim Krul released on free transfers.

In: Yves Bissouma (Lille, £15.2m) – midfielder; Bernardo (RB Leipzig, £9m) – left-back; Florin Andone (Deportivo, £5.4m) – forward; David Button (Fulham, £4m) – goalkeeper; Percy Tau (Sundowns, £2.9m) – forward; Leon Balogun (Mainz 05, free) – defender; Jason Steele (Sunderland, undisclosed) – goalkeeper
Out: Connor Goldson (Rangers, £3m); Jamie Murphy (Rangers, £1.1m); Tyler Hornby-Forbes (Newport, free); Tim Krul (Norwich, free); Uwe Hunemeier (Paderborn, free); Steve Sidwell (released); Liam Rosenior (released); Rohan Ince (released); Niki Maenpaa (released)

Burnley are yet to bring in any new players for a campaign that will see them compete in the Europa League – with Sean Dyche admitting his squad will need reinforcing to cope with the added demands of European football.

Leaving Turf Moor this summer have been Scott Arfield, Tom Anderson, Chris Long and Dean Marney – all on free transfers.

In: none
Out: Tom Anderson (Doncaster, free); Scott Arfield (Rangers, free); Chris Long (Fleetwood, free); Dean Marney (released)

Newly-promoted Cardiff City have brought four Championship players up to the Premier League with them, having bough Josh Murphy from Norwich, Bobby Reid from rivals Bristol City, Greg Cunningham from Preston and Alex Smithies from QPR. More deals are expected, including former loanee Marko Grujic from Liverpool.

In: Josh Murphy (Norwich, £10.3m) – winger; Bobby Reid (Bristol City, £10.2m) – attacking midfielder/forward; Greg Cunningham (Preston, £3.6m) – left-back; Alex Smithies (QPR, £3.6m) – goalkeeper
Out: Matty Kennedy (St. Johnstone, free); Ben Wilson (released); Greg Halford (released)

After Maurizio Sarri arrived as manager, Chelsea’s summer transfers are expected to kick-off fully at the start of August – with only Jorginho arriving so far. Willan, Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard have all been linked with moves away, while Aleksandr Golovin and Daniele Rugani are on the rumoured wanted list.

In: Jorginho (Napoli, £51.3m) – midfielder
Out: Matej Delac (Horsens, free); Wallace (released)

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace have been quiet so far this summer, with only goalkeeper Vincente Guaita arriving on a free transfer. That will suit Eagles fans, however, if it means Wilfried Zaha remains at Selhurst Park for another season. Palace also want Ruben Loftus-Cheek back on loan, but the England midfielder’s star has risen and he could remain at Chelsea.

Yohan Cabaye, Bakary Sako, Lee Chung-Yong and Damien Delaney have all left the club this summer after their contracts expired.

In: Vicente Guaita (Getafe, free) – goalkeeper
Out: Damien Delaney (Cork, free); Yohan Cabaye (Al-Nassr, free); Chung-Yong Lee (released); Diego Cavalieri (released); Bakary Sako (released)

Everton’s first signing of the summer was a big one – Richarlison signing from Watford in a deal that could see the Brazilian winger become the Toffees’ record signing. The 21-year-old will link back up with new manager Marco Silva as a result of the move.

Wayne Rooney’s return to Goodison Park lasted just one season, however – the former England captain has headed to the MLS with DC United on a free transfer, while Joel Robles and Ramiro Funes Mori have also departed the club.

In: Richarlison (Watford, £40.5m) – winger
Out: Ramiro Funes Mori (Villarreal, £8.1m); Joel Robles (Real Betis, free); Conor Grant (Plymouth, free), Wayne Rooney (DC United, free); David Henen (released)

After winning the Championship play-offs, Fulham have raided Nice for new club-record signing Jean-Michael Seri and centre-back Maxime le Marchand. Goalkeeper Fabri has also arrived, with David Button heading to Brighton, while Oleksandr Zinchenko and last season’s loanee Aleksandar Mitrovic are known to be transfer targets. Fulham had several players on loan last season, who will need replacing if their deals are not renewed.

In: Jean-Michael Seri (Nice, £27m) – central midfield; Fabri (Besiktas, £5.4m) – goalkeeper; Maxime le Marchand (Nice, £3.6m) – centre-back
Out: David Button (Brighton, £4m); Ryan Fredericks (West Ham, free); George Williams (Forest Green, free)

Huddersfield smashed their transfer record to sign Terence Kongolo from Monaco, while his team-mate Adama Diakhaby has followed him to West Yorkshire to improve the Terriers’ goalscoring record. Jonas Lossl’s loan move has been made permanent too, with Huddersfield bringing in six players so far.

Tom Ince has departed after just one season in the Premier League, however, joining relegated Stoke City – Ramadan Sobhi has moved the opposite way in a separate deal. Veteran midfielder Dean Whitehead has retired.

In: Terence Kongolo (Monaco, £18m) – centre-back; Adama Diakhaby (Monaco, £9m) – forward; Ramadan Sobhi (Stoke City, £5.85m) – winger; Florent Hadergjonaj (FC Ingolstadt, £4.5m) – right-back; Juninho Bacuna (Groningen, £2.25m) – central midfielder; Jonas Lossl (Mainz 05, £2.25m) – goalkeeper; Erik Durm (Dortmund, free) – right-back; Ben Hamer (Leicester, free) – goalkeeper
Out: Tom Ince (Stoke City, £10.1m); Sean Scannell (Bradford, free); Tareiq Holmes-Dennis (Bristol Rovers, free); Robert Green (released); Dean Whitehead (retired)

Another of Leicester’s key players in their 2015/16 Premier League title win has now departed, with Riyad Mahrez joining current champions Manchester City. The Foxes have used the money from that deal to fund moves for highly-rated James Maddison from Norwich, Ricardo Pereira from Porto and goalkeeper Danny Ward from Liverpool.

Having also seen Robert Huth’s contract expire, Leicester have replaced him with Jonny Evans from relegated West Brom – the centre-back having been strongly linked with a move to Manchester City before his form dropped dramatically last year.

In: James Maddison (Norwich, £22.5m) – attacking midfielder; Ricardo Pereira (Porto, £19.8m) – full-back; Danny Ward (Liverpool, £12.6m) – goalkeeper; Jonny Evans (West Brom, £3.6m) – centre-back.
Out: Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City, £61m); Ben Hamer (Huddersfield, free); Robert Huth (released)

Liverpool have spent more than £160 million on improving their squad so far this summer, while their net spend stands at £150 million with only third-choice goalkeeper Danny Ward departing for money so far.

Alisson, Naby Keita, Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri have all arrived, with Emre Can the only first-teamer to depart so far. An anticipated move for Nabil Fekir has not come to fruition, however.

In: Alisson (Roma, £56.25m) – goalkeeper; Naby Keita (RB Leipzig, £54m) – midfielder; Fabinho (Monaco, £40.5m) – midfielder; Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City, £13.2m) – winger
Out: Danny Ward (Leicester City, £12.6m); Emre Can (Juventus, free); Jordan Williams (Rochdale, free); Jon Flanagan (Rangers, free)

Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions had two main transfer targets this summer and they have managed to bring in one of those – new club-record signing Riyad Mahrez from Leicester. They missed out on Jorginho, however, and so could still move for a central midfielder to offer cover/competition for Fernandinho.

Yaya Toure is the most notable departure, while England under-21 goalkeeper Angus Gunn has signed for Southampton and young full-backs Pablo Maffeo and Angelino have left for VfB Stuttgart and PSV Eindhoven respectively. Former England keeper Joe Hart is also set to leave permanently after two seasons out on loan.

In: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester, £61m) – winger
Out: Angus Gunn (Southampton, £10.1m), Pablo Maffeo (VfB Stuttgart, £8.1m), Angelino (PSV Eindhoven, £4.95m), Yaya Toure (released)

Jose Mourinho has splashed the cash on Brazilian midfielder Fred as he bids to close the gap to rivals Manchester City next season. The £53.1m signing from Shakhtar Donetsk is the club’s most notable bit of business this summer, while highly-rated teenager full-back Diogo Dalot has also arrived from Porto for £19.8m.

Daley Blind joined Ajax for £14.4m, meanwhile, while the future of players such as Marouane Fellaini and Anthony Martial remains uncertain. United’s transfer rumours should be taken with a pinch of salt, however, with tabloid newspapers keen to feature Jose Mourinho’s side, however tenuous a link may be.

In: Fred (Shakhtar Donetsk, £53.1m) – midfielder; Diogo Dalot (Porto, £19.8m) – right-back; Lee Grant (Stoke City, £1.5m) – goalkeeper
Out: Daley Blind (Ajax, £14.4m); Sam Johnstone (West Brom, £6.6m); Michael Carrick (retired)

Newcastle fans have been frustrated by the lack of funds provided to Rafael Benitez after promises of big-money buys. Instead, they must sell players to bring more in – with Aleksandar Mitrovic set for Fulham to help in that respect.

Martin Dubravka has made his loan move permanent, while Chelsea’s Kenedy has signed another loan deal with the club, but moves for the likes of Salomon Rondon and Andros Townsend have so far hit the buffers.

In: Martin Dubravka (Sparta Prague, £3.6m) – goalkeeper; Ki Sung-Yong (Swansea, free); Kenedy (Chelsea, loan)
Out: Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad, £10.8m); Chancel Mbemba (Porto, £7.2m), Stuart Findlay (Kilmarnock, free); Massadio Haidara (Lens, free); Curtis Good (released); Jesus Gamez (released)

After narrowly avoiding relegation last season, Southampton have spent heavily this summer in a bid to avoid a repeat. Jannik Vestergaard will strengthen their central defence, filling the void left by Virgil van Dijk’s January departure, while Mohamed Elyounoussi, Angus Gunn and Stuart Armstrong have also arrived – taking the total spend to £56 million so far.

Dusan Tadic has left the club and Guido Carrillo has departed on loan as Southampton look to refine their squad after such a below-par campaign last time out.

In: Jannik Vestergaard (Monchengladbach, £22.5m) – centre-back; Mohamed Elyounoussi (Basel, £16.2m) – winger; Angus Gunn (Manchester City, £10,2m) – goalkeeper; Stuart Armstrong (Celtic, £7.2m) – central midfielder
Out: Dusan Tadic (Ajax, £10.3m); Florin Gardos (Craiova, free); Jeremy Pied (released); Stuart Taylor (released)

Tottenham Hotspur are yet to do any transfer business this summer but they have secured the long-term futures of Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min, Davinson Sanchez, Erik Lamela and Michel Vorm.

Spurs’ boss Mauricio Pochettino says he is confident deals will be struck, however, with Jack Grealish, Antony Martial and Wilfried Zaha among the players linked with the club.

In: none
Out: none

Gerard Deulofeu has made his move from Barcelona permanent while former loanee Ben Foster has arrived from West Brom more than ten years after his last game for the Hornets – when he was named their player of their season for his performances his goal. Adam Masina will slot in at left-back, meanwhile and Ken Sema has been signed to bolster the midfield.

Funding these moves, and any more this summer, will be the departure of Richarlison – who has joined Everton for £40.5 million. Nordin Amrabat and Mauro Zarate have also departed, as has reserve goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon – who made his loan move to Nottingham Forest permanent.

In: Gerard Deulofeu (Barcelona, £11.7m) – winger; Adam Masina (Bologna, £4.5m) – left-back; Ben Foster (West Brom, £4m) – goalkeeper; Ken Sema (Ostersund, £2m) – left-midfield; Marc Navarro (Espanyol, £1.8m) – right-back; Ben Wilmot (Stevenage, £1.5m) – centre-back
Out: Richarlison (Everton, £40.5m), Nordin Amrabat (Nasr, £7.65m), Mauro Zarate (Boca Juniors, £2m); Costel Pantilimon (Nottingham Forest, £2m)

West Ham United have showed plenty of intent after backing new manager Manuel Pellegrini with a host of big-name transfers so far this summer. The club have broken their transfer record twice, first to bring in Issa Diop and then Felipe Anderson, while Andriy Yarmalenko has also arrived and Jack Wilshere was snapped up on a free transfer.

Veteran defenders James Collins and Patrice Evra have been released, as West Ham look to revive their squad after two disappointing seasons at the London Stadium.

In: Felipe Anderson (Lazio, £34.2m) – winger; Issa Diop (Toulouse, £22.5m) – centre-back; Andriy Yarmalenko (Borussia Dortmund, £18m) – winger; Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea, £7.2m) – goalkeeper; Fabian Balbuena (Corinthians, £3.6m) – centre-back; Ryan Fredericks (Fulham, free) – right-back; Jack Wilshere (Arsenal, free) – central midfielder
Out: Reece Burke (Hull, £1.5m); James Collins (released); Patrice Evra (released)

Wolves spent heavily in order to get to the Premier League, and several loanees have made their moves to Molyneux permanent this summer too – Digo Jota, Willy Boly, Benik Afobe, Leo Bonatini and Ruben Vinagre all signing permanent deals. Afobe, however, has been loaned out to Stoke City.

The Iberian feel to Wolves’ line-up has continued with goalkeeper Rui Patricio and hugely experienced central midfielder Joao Moutinho also arriving this summer.

In: Diogo Jota (Atletico Madrid, £12.6m) – winger; Willy Boly (Porto, £10.8m) – centre-back; Benik Afobe (Bournemouth, £10.3m) – striker; Joao Moutinho (Monaco, £5m) – central midfielder; Leo Bonatini (Hilal, £3.6m) – striker; Rui Patricio (Sporting, free) – goalkeeper; Ruben Vinagre (Monaco, undisclosed) – left-back
Out: Ben Marshall (Norwich, £1.5m); Jon Flatt (Scunthorpe, free); Benik Afobe (Stoke, loan)