Story of the transfer window: Neymar to PSG, Diego Costa saga, Premier League surpass £1bn mark
Friday 1 September 2017 00:15, UK
From Neymar's record-breaking move to the ongoing Diego Costa saga, we take a look at the biggest stories from this summer's transfer window.
The window opened with Paul Pogba sitting as the world's most expensive player, having joined Manchester United from Juventus for £93.25m in 2016.
However, the midfielder could finish the summer way down the list after a remarkable summer of spending...
May 27 - Early bird catches the worm
Pep Guardiola wasted no time in adding to his Manchester City squad. Before the Champions League final had even taken place, City's first signing of the summer was confirmed when Bernardo Silva joined from Monaco for £43m.
While it was the first of City's seven signings, it also proved to be the start of an exodus at Monaco. Clubs were queuing up for the players who guided Monaco to Ligue 1 glory and also the Champions League semi-finals.
June 4 - Griezmann keeps it clean
After fueling continued speculation by saying the chances of a move to Manchester United were six out of 10, Antoine Griezmann finally decided to commit his immediate future to Atletico Madrid. With the La Liga club banned from signing players this summer, Griezmann said: "It's a hard time for the club. It would be a dirty move to leave now."
Griezmann's future is likely to be big news again next summer, though, particularly if he continues these sort of 'cryptic' tweets...
June 8 - To Diego, From Antonio
One text message kicked off a summer of drama at Stamford Bridge. On June 8, Diego Costa revealed that Antonio Conte had messaged him to say he does not feature in his plans for the upcoming season.
Cue a saga which has since turned sour, with the Spain international yet to return to Chelsea. The forward is currently staying in Brazil in a bid to force through a transfer to former club Atletico Madrid.
The 28-year-old also pleaded with Chelsea to lower their asking price so he can return to Atleti, as well as accusing the club of treating him "like a criminal" - a claim laughed off by Conte.
June 15 - Everton spend big
The Toffees made clear their intentions to spend big this summer when announcing two signings on June 15.
Davy Klassen joined from Ajax for £23.6m, while goalkeeper Jordan Pickford moved from relegated Sunderland for £30m. That figure was a club-record for Everton, and while it was matched when buying Michael Keane from Burnley on July 3, it would be broken later in the window.
June 16 - Ronaldo wants out
News that Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to leave Real Madrid broke two weeks before the transfer window opened.
A move to Manchester United was mooted after the Portugal captain was said to be angry about the way he has been treated by Spanish tax authorities, having been accused of avoiding £14.7m in tax - a charge he completely denies.
Ronaldo reiterated his desire to return to England later in July, though no move materialised for the four-time Ballon d'Or winner.
June 30 - All clear?
The window was not even open, but already it was clear that Alexis Sanchez's future was going to be a topic of conversation all summer. Sanchez himself suggested it might not be by saying he knew where he would be playing next season - "Yes it's clear" - but then refused to give anything else away. Manchester City appeared to be the front-runners for the Chile international.
July 1 - Transfer window: Open
Early business meant that Premier League clubs had spent a total of £309.25m by the time the transfer window officially opened on July 1.
On top of City's purchase of Silva, goalkeeper Ederson arrived at the Etihad from Benfica for £34.7m, while Mo Salah joined Liverpool for £34.3m.
July 5 - LacaNewSigning
Alexandre Lacazette had long been sounded out as a target for Arsene Wenger, and the Arsenal boss finally got his man in early July.
The striker signed from Lyon for a club-record £52.7m, having scored 28 league goals for the Ligue 1 outfit in the 2016/17 season.
July 9 - Rooney's return
Thirteen years after leaving his boyhood club, Wayne Rooney described himself as "ecstatic" to be back at Goodison Park. The England striker played 559 times for Manchester United, scoring 253 goals, but said returning to Everton was an easy choice. "It was a no-brainer for me and the only place I was going to go," he commented.
July 10 to July 21 - Lukaku here, Morata there
Romelu Lukaku was returning to Chelsea and Alvaro Morata was heading to Manchester United. Or so we thought…
United had been in talks with Real Madrid over a possible deal for Morata, but after seeing a number of offers rejected, United stepped up their pursuit for Lukaku.
And while rumours were surfacing of Everton accepting an initial £75m bid for Lukaku, Paul Pogba did not hesitate to broadcast his close friendship with the striker.
Pogba took to Instagram to post a series of updates in early July, and while he remained coy when showing pictures of him training alongside Lukaku while on holiday, he was less reserved when posting a video, captioned 'See you tomorrow in training … #AgentP'.
Sure enough, Lukaku completed his medical a day later, with the deal then confirmed on July 10. At £90m, it proved to be the biggest summer move featuring Premier League clubs.
Morata went on to join Chelsea for £70m two weeks later and both have started brightly for their respective clubs, with Lukaku scoring three times this season and Morata netting twice.
July 18 - Hammers get Hart
John Terry was not the only England player to switch to claret and blue over the summer. After Terry's move to Aston Villa on a one-year deal, Hart left Manchester City to sign for West Ham on a season-long loan. The 30-year-old had spent the previous season with Torino and said it was "absolutely awesome" to join the Hammers.
July 21 - Will he?
Neymar posted this cryptic photo on his Instagram page. Thinking of a move away? Surely not...
A day later, Sky Sports News were told that Neymar's chances of leaving Barcelona stood at 90 per cent, with the player becoming increasingly frustrated at "playing second fiddle" to Lionel Messi.
July 23 - Won't he?
As the Neymar-to-PSG rumours intensified, Gerard Pique made this statement, or perhaps plea, on his own Instagram, with the message reading "He stays".
July 28 - Will he?
A training ground bust-up with team-mate Nelson Semedo all-but confirmed that Neymar was a player on his way out of Barcelona. The clash occurred in Miami ahead of their friendly against Real Madrid.
July 31 - Matic's surprise switch
While the wait continued for Neymar's move to PSG, one of the more puzzling moves of the summer was completed as Chelsea sold midfielder Nemanja Matic to Premier League rivals Manchester United. "It could cost Chelsea the league," was Phil Neville's verdict on The Debate. "I can't think of a reason why they would sell him."
Tiemoue Bakayoko appears to be Matic's replacement at Chelsea, having joined from Monaco a fortnight earlier.
August 3 - He will!
The transfer record was not so much smashed as absolutely shattered when Paris Saint-Germain signed Neymar for £200m.
PSG met the forward's release clause and the rest is history - though a bitter fallout with Barcelona has seen the Catalan giants plan to sue Neymar, with the Brazilian in return seeking compensation from the club.
The staggering fee, which represented value for money according to Jose Mourinho, represents under half of what the overall deal is worth. We broke down the remarkable numbers of Neymar's move in the article below…
August 3 - One billion spent
Kelechi Iheanacho's £25m move to Leicester looked paltry in comparison to Neymar's sum, but it was a significant figure with regards to Premier League spending.
Having left Manchester City to join the Foxes, the Iheanacho deal ensured the £1bn mark was surpassed.
Manchester City were responsible for much of the spending themselves, having signed Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Ederson, Bernardo Silva and Danilo for a combined cost of over £200m.
August 11 - Coutinho not for sale
With continued speculation over Philippe Coutinho's future, Liverpool's owners FSG made their position clear by issuing a short statement: "The club's definitive stance is that no offers for Philippe will be considered and he will remain a member of Liverpool Football Club when the summer window closes."
The statement did not stop further speculation, but will it stop Coutinho being sold to Barcelona?
August 17 - Sigurdsson finally signs
After weeks of speculation and negotiations, Everton finally landed Gylfi Sigurdsson in a £45m deal from Swansea. The deal saw Everton's summer spending break through the £100m mark.
Everton manager Ronald Koeman revealed Sigurdsson had been one of his top targets, and said: "In my opinion, in his position he is one of the best in the Premier League."
August 18 - Spurs enter the fold
Tottenham's quiet summer on the transfer front ended when the club announced the £38.4m signing of Ajax defender Davinson Sanchez.
Sanchez was Ajax's player of the year last season and was also a target for Barcelona and Inter Milan.
August 24 - Ibrahimovic's return
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is likely to be out until at least Christmas with a knee injury, but he will be back at Manchester United this season. The 35-year-old re-signed for United on a one-year contract and announced his return in typical Ibrahimovic style...
August 27 - Mbappe's big move?
Not content with making Neymar the most expensive player in the world, PSG also agreed a deal to sign 18-year-old Kylian Mbappe from Monaco. Mbappe attracted interest from a host of top clubs including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, but PSG won the race, despite potential Financial Fair Play questions.
In a bid to get around FFP, the deal was a loan for one season with an option to buy for £166m next summer, although there was not an official announcement.
August 28 - Liverpool's late moves
Having seen several advances for Naby Keita turned down by RB Leipzig, Liverpool decided they were happy to wait for the midfielder and agreed a deal for next summer. They also looked to make a move for Thomas Lemar, but saw two bids rejected by Monaco. There were also rumours of a move for Bayern Munich's Renato Sanches. Signs that Liverpool are planning for life without Coutinho?
August 28 - Dembele day
With money to spend after Neymar's sale, Barcelona first big splash was Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund for a club-record fee of £97m. The 20-year-old was presented on a day dubbed "Dembele Day" by Barcelona, which featured a medical, questions about replacing Neymar, and a few kick-ups on the Nou Camp pitch.
August 29 - Evans, Ox, Sanchez
With time running out in the window, things started to hot up. Chelsea agreed a fee with Arsenal for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain while the Gunners themselves entered the race to sign West Brom defender Jonny Evans.
And what about Sanchez? Manchester City were understood to be preparing to make an offer, and could include Raheem Sterling as part of the deal.
August 30 - Aurier arrives as Liverpool close on Ox
With the deadline fast approaching, transfer dealings ramped up. Tottenham signed the controversial Serge Aurier from PSG for £23m, Liverpool agreed a fee with Arsenal for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, while his former Gunners' team-mate Kieran Gibbs moved to West Brom.
Elsewhere, Danny Drinkwater handed in a transfer request to force through a move from Leicester to Chelsea, Raheem Sterling was ruled out of being part of a deal to bring Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City and West Ham striker Diafra Sakho took himself to Rennes to try to complete a move to the French club.
August 31 - Deadline Day drama
It was a Deadline Day to remember! There were big deals, twists and turns, plus some large offers turned down.
It all started with Riyad Mahrez being given permission to leave the Algeria squad to complete a move - but he ended up staying at Leicester. Philippe Coutinho, Virgil van Dijk, Jonny Evans and Diego Costa also remained at their clubs, despite intense speculation over their futures.
However, Renato Sanches was on the move, completing a surprise loan switch to Swansea. The big loan deal of the day - and of the window - though, was Kylian Mbappe's switch to PSG from Monaco. The deal came with the caveat that PSG would pay Monaco £165m for the young French striker next summer.
Thomas Lemar was another Monaco player seemingly set for a big money move when the club accepted Arsenal's huge £92m bid. However, the player decided against a transfer to London, given the short notice of the deal. Manchester City's £60m offer for Alexis Sanchez had sparked Arsenal's pursuit of Lemar as a replacement. In the end, both players stayed with their clubs.
Ross Barkley remains an Everton player, too. But only because he sensationally pulled out of a transfer to Chelsea mid-medical. There was drama at West Ham, too, where Sakho was finally convinced to stay with the Hammers after belatedly returning to the UK.
Well beyond the deadline, there was still no news on Danny Drinkwater joining Chelsea, with the Leicester man in London ready to complete the deal if possible.
