These moves were the pick of the bunch on what was a busy final day of a record-breaking summer transfer window in England…
It was another 31st August for the everyday man while the football world decided to go mental. On a day where transfer fees spent by Premier League clubs smashed the £1b barrier. While 13 of the 20 Premier League clubs smashed their personal transfer records, it was also a return for some familiar faces.
David Luiz
The Brazilian defender returned to Stamford Bridge for a second time in a move which summed up the last day of the transfer window. There was a helicopter and a training ground involved, money changed hands instantly (all £32m of it) and a more recent trend, social media played a crucial part in the entire process.
While the PSG faithful were not really clutching onto their tissues upon hearing of his departure, his acquisition by Chelsea shows that targets above him refused to join, as was subtly indicated by Antonio Conte before the start of the Premier League campaign. The PL has been witnessed the best, the worst and the absurd from Brazilian Luiz, so his arrival will definitely add yet another subplot to one of the most competitive Premier League seasons.
Jack Wilshere
‘Big Jack’ took a big step in kick-starting his footballing career by sealing a season-long loan move to newboys Bournemouth. With Arsenal paying a chunk of his salary for the said move, this switch would be much more than a change of scene and a relearning process for the injury-plagued Brit. Wilshere had seemed to have found a strange comfort zone in the medical room, and with his off-field distractions not helping his cause, being part of an energetic, youthful, work hardy setup is exactly what Jack needs to put some meat into that potential and reputation which has grown frail over the years.
Islam Slimani
The 27-goal striker was on Leicester City’s radar after completing the most wondrous run in sport. Current Director of Football at Everton and the man who was responsible for scouting Riyad Mahrez, Steve Walsh had Slimani touted as the perfect foil for Vardy following his exploits in the Champions League. Good with both feet and with his head, he brings to the Foxes the profile of a striker to complete the quorum of attack.
Moussa Sissoko
If the transfer window were a Bollywood movie, this would be it.
Here’s a French player, playing for Newcastle United, mentioned with Real Madrid, linked to Everton, ardent admirer of Arsenal, eventually moving to Tottenham Hotspur.
The deal was done in the dying minutes of the window and Everton were left red-faced by the end of it. After matching the club’s valuation and preparing a jet for what would be their club-record signing, the plane was never boarded and Sissoko never left London. In came Spurs matching the valuation and the player choosing the London club because of Champions League football. Truly, a vintage Deadline Day signing.
Georges-Kevin N’Koudou
One of the most protracted sagas of any transfer window, the case of this French forward resulted in the resignation of Tottenham Sporting Director Paul Mitchell, and with N’Koudou stuck in a London hotel for a month not knowing which training ground to show up to.
N’Koudou has signed a five-year deal at White Hart Lane for a fee of around £9.4m – a reduction of £1.6m from the fee agreed with Marseille in mid-July. The Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, attempted to restructure the deal despite the 21-year-old forward having already completed a medical and negotiations broke down.
The only silver lining was the forward himself had a pretty cheeky take on the situation with this tweet.
#NkoudouSigns but I'm 40 years old now so Im not sure to be as quick as I used to be ????????
— GK NKoudou (@gknkoudou) August 31, 2016
Editorial by Khel Now-Feature Columnist Chaitanya Lekhwani, He is a content creator and a writer. A devout Manchester United supporter and loves the good, bad and the ugly side of the beautiful game.
Favourite player: Ronaldo ‘Fenomeno’ Nazario de Lima
You can follow him on Twitter.
