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By Sam McGuire

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Granit Xhaka 

Arsenal to Bayer Leverkusen 

Fee: £22million 

Xhaka’s Arsenal career has been something of a rollercoaster. He was stripped of the captaincy in 2019 and it appeared his time at the Emirates would be coming to an end. There was interest in him from Roma and yet a move never materialised. The Switzerland international then played his way into Mikel Arteta’s plans and had the best season of his career during the 2022/23 campaign, netting seven Premier League goals. 

With the Gunners looking to revamp their middle third options, the 30-year-old has decided to return to the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen paying £22million to secure the signature of the experienced midfielder. 

Arda Güler 

Fenerbahçe to Real Madrid 

Fee: £17million 

Güler has been a revelation for Fenerbahçe since breaking into the first team during the 2021/22 campaign. The 18-year-old, dubbed the Turkish Lionel Messi due to the wand of a left foot that he possesses, has been linked with a host of top European clubs over recent weeks and it did appear as though he would be heading to Barcelona. However, it was LaLiga rivals Real Madrid who made the first move and tied the talented teen down to a long-term contract 

It is going to be fun to see how he links with Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo over the coming years. The potential there is scary. 

Mason Mount

Chelsea to Manchester United 

Fee: £55million

Manchester United finally got their man. After seeing a number of bids rejected for the England international, the Red Devils had a bid accepted by Chelsea for Mount. 

The 24-year-old is the first new face through the door at Old Trafford and having been given the iconic No.7 jersey, it is safe to assume he will play a key part in Erik ten Hag’s plans. It will be intriguing to see where the versatile midfielder is used and whether he can rediscover his 2021/22 form when he involved himself in over 20 goals for the Blues. He had a forgettable 2022/23 season, scoring on just three occasions in the Premier League. Mount has the potential to play in the middle or final thirds. 

Vitor Roque 

Athletico Paranaense to Barcelona

Fee: £30million

All of the focus, in Brazil, had been on Endrick but once it was confirmed he was moving to Real Madrid, the focus soon pivoted to Roque. The 19-year-old had been in the spotlight for some time having made the move from Cruzeiro to Athletico Paraenese for a club record fee. It was a controversial move at the time and it heaped even more pressure on the explosive forward. He dealt with it. In fact, he dealt with it so well that a number of European clubs were queuing up to sign him. In the end, Barcelona triumphed – with Roque set to link up with the Spanish giants later in the season.

All eyes will yet again be on him when he turns out for the Catalan side. He could follow in the footsteps of Romario, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Neymar. 

Nathan Collins

Wolves to Brentford 

Fee: £23million 

Brentford parted with a club record fee to sign Collins. The transfer also made the 22-year-old centre-back the most expensive Irish footballer ever. 

The Bees are one of the smartest clubs in the Premier League when it comes to transfers, so they will have a clear plan in place for the former Wolves defender. He is actually deceptively good in possession, finding a teammate with 88% of his attempted passes and ranking in the 78th percentile for completed dribbles by centre-backs in the Premier League. 

Felix Nmecha 

VfL Wolfsburg to Borussia Dortmund 

Fee: £27million 

Borussia Dortmund are finally starting to spend some of the Jude Bellingham money. Earlier in the summer, it appeared as though Nmecha would be joining Newcastle United but the former Manchester City youngster made the move to Bundesliga rivals BVB in a deal worth £27million. 

The versatile 24-year-old bolsters Eden Terzic’s options. They lacked depth during the final stages of the 2022/23 campaign as they lost out on the title on the final day despite being favourites with just a couple of games remaining. BVB will be hopeful Nmecha’s injury woes of last season are behind him – he missed 16 matches. 

Bart Verbruggen 

Anderlecht to Brighton 

Fee: £15million 

Brighton needed a goalkeeper this summer. It was obvious that Roberto De Zerbi didn’t fancy Robert Sánchez while Jason Steele, despite impressing, had his limitations and at 32 he wasn’t a long-term option for the Seagulls. 

They moved swiftly to bring in highly-rated shot-stopper Verbruggen from Anderlecht in a deal believed to be in the region of £15million. The Dutchman impressed in Belgium last season and was tipped for a big summer move with the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United all interested. Brighton got there first though and have one of the most sought-after young goalkeepers in world football now. Watching him develop under De Zerbi will be fascinating. 

Sandro Tonali 

AC Milan to Newcastle United 

Fee: £60million 

This one was a bit of a shock. Newcastle seemingly had an interest in Nicolo Barella before pivoting to compatriot Tonali. Given he was the beating heart of the Milan team, a move seemed difficult and yet in the blink of an eye, it happened. 

The 23-year-old defensive midfielder posted a FotMob rating of 7.33 last season for the Serie A side and captained the Italy Under-21 team at the recent European Championships. His experience will be important to the Magpies this season as they play Champions League football. Tonali could strike up quite a well-balanced midfield partnership with Bruno Guimarães. Eddie Howe will be banking on that duo to deliver. 

Dominik Szoboszlai 

RB Leipzig to Liverpool 

Fee: £60million

Another move that arrived out of nowhere. 

There had been no links to the Hungary captain before David Ornstein published a piece claiming he was liked by the Reds but a deal would be difficult. A couple of days later, he was named as Liverpool’s new No.8 after the Merseysiders agreed to pay his £60million release clause. He is a final third threat, chipping in with goals and assists for RB Leipzig over the past two seasons – he’s averaged 16.5 per season. The reds will be hoping for a repeat performance from the 22-year-old. 

Nicolas Jackson 

Villarreal to Chelsea 

Fee: £35million 

Not long after formalising Christopher Nkunku’s move to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea parted with another £35million to bring Nicolas Jackson to the club. The 22-year-old has a strange season for Villarreal and a purple patch towards the end of the campaign changed the narrative. The Senegal international finished with 12 goals and four assists in LaLiga but nine of those goals and two of those assists arrived in the final eight matches. 

He is incredibly raw but the talent is there. Mauricio Pochettino has a history of developing young centre-forwards *cough* Harry Kane *cough* so the 6ft2 striker is in good hands. It could prove to be a match made in heaven but patience is going to be required. 

Fabio Carvalho 

Liverpool to RB Leipzig

Fee: Loan

Liverpool fought off interest from big clubs last summer to convince Carvalho to move to Anfield. His career with the Reds started off well with him scoring the winner against Newcastle United in August but that was the highlight of his season. He wasn’t given many opportunities and it comes as no surprise to see him going elsewhere on loan in search of regular football. With RB Leipzig losing Nkunku and Szoboszlai, there was a void to be filled and this has given the former Fulham youngster an opportunity and a platform to thrive. Let’s see what he does with this chance. 

Pau Torres

Villarreal to Aston Villa

Fee: £34million 

It always felt like a matter of when and not if Torres would end up in the Premier League. Linked with Spurs, Manchester United, Liverpool and even Chelsea over recent summers, the Spain international made the move to Aston Villa to reunite with former manager Unai Emery. 

The left-footed centre-back would replace Tyrone Mings in the starting XI, something Steven Gerrard attempted to do with Diego Carlos last summer. The 26-year-old is impressive in possession and coming in at 6ft3, he should be able to adapt to the rigours of the English top-flight. It is a statement signing for Villa as they look to build on their 7th-placed finish last season. 

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(Images from IMAGO)

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