The 2022 football summer transfer window has been open for more than a month now and there have been many great signings so far as well as a lot of rumours about possible exits and transfers of some big names.
The Big Six in the Premier League have all been busy so far with many high profile exits and entries on the horizon, according to reports.
Spurs buzzing
Tottenham Hotspur, who saw a return to the Champions League after the arrival of coach Antonio Conte, have been buzzing since the start of the window and have made a number of great signings. Under Conte, who has won five league titles throughout his career, Spurs will hope to finally win their first Premier League title. Conte was backed by extra funds from owner Joe Lewis and went to work with some great transfers. The £25 million signing of Malian international Yves Bissouma, from Brighton, was described as a ‘steal’ by many. Bissouma has been an integral part of Graham Potter’s team and is one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League right now.
Conte also managed to add Brazilian striker Richarlison to an already deadly attack. A deal for £50 millions plus £10 million in add ons was struck between Spurs and Everton as Conte further strengthened a strike force consisting of Heung-min Son, Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevki. Spurs were also lucky to get Ivan Perisic and Fraser Forster through free transfers from Inter Milan and Southampton respectively.
Gunners make slow start
Their North London rivals Arsenal on the other hand have had a slower start but are still in the race for many possible summer targets. The Gunners completed the signing of lethal Brazilian centre-forward Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City for £45 million. The striker was one of Mikel Arteta’s main targets as Arsenal were looking for someone to fill the gap left by the departure of Alexandre Lacazette.
Jesus had made 159 appearances for City, scoring 58 goals and providing 29 assists and could become an instrumental part of Arteta’s squad going forward. The club also secured the signing of Fabio Vieira from Porto for £34 million and they will be banking on the Portuguese international to make a strong impact on their midfield. Arsenal are also in contention for Raphinha, Lisandro Martinez and Youri Tielmans but are facing strong opposition from clubs like Chelsea, Barcelona and Manchester United for the signings.
United eye overhaul
Manchester United will be undergoing major changes as the team prepares to enter the Ten Hag era. With the arrival of coach Erik Ten Hag, United look to make many switches to rebuild their team but have so far been unable to tie down any of their transfer targets. Many players were released from the club, including Paul Pogba (who has moved to Juventus), Edinson Cavani and Jesse Lingard. The lone signing of Dutch Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord has been the only completed move on the table for the team so far. While the young left-back will bring some much needed attacking mentality as a defender to a team which saw very lacklustre defensive performances throughout the last season. United are actively after Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, but a move away from the Catalan giants seems unlikely for the young Dutch international.
Ten Hag’s wishlist also consists of Christian Eriksen, who is looking for a new club after his return to football since his scare at Euro 2020, as well as Brazilian international Antonio, who is no stranger to Ten Hag having been an integral part of the manager’s term at Ajax. Eriksen has reportedly agreed on a ‘verbal agreement’ with the club but no further news has been given. Yet the club was given a big shock after Cristiano Ronaldo, who had been hailed as a ‘returning legend’ in the last window, asked to leave the team if a suitable fee is given. The decision of the star striker to leave after just one year back is probably due to United’s failure to qualify for the Champions League this season and would mean that Ronaldo would be playing in the Europa League for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
As the end of his career beckons, Ronaldo seems hungrier than ever for trophies and he might feel that Old Trafford will not be where he gets them. Although United have claimed they have no intention to sell him, they might be persuaded if they can find a good replacement for the star.
City make it count
On the other side of Manchester, City have had a very successful transfer window so far. The signing of Erling Halaand has probably been the transfer of the summer so far, with the striker joining the club after City triggered his release clause with Borussia Dortmund. Pep Guardiola’s team, which has dominated the Premier League since his arrival (winning four titles in 6 years), will hope that the addition of Haaland will finally be the change they need to win the Champions League. Along with Mbappe, Haaland is seen as the best youngster in the game and his stats match the title. In his three seasons with Dortmund, the Norwegian scored 86 goals in 89 games and became the fastest and youngest player to reach 20 goals in the Champions League. He will fill the vacuum left by Sergio Aguero after his departure in the 2021 window.
City’s previous signing of rising Argentinian star Julian Alvarez, will ensure that Guardiola has plenty of options up front and will also ensure all the Premier League defenders will be praying before facing this attack. The exit of veteran Fernandinho also created the need for a player in defence, who will have to have as strong an impact on all matches as the former player did. According to Fabrizio Romano, City have agreed terms with Leeds United for the transfer of Kalvin Phillips for £ 42 millions with further add ons. Kalvin Phillips will definitely have some big shoes to fill, but the midfielder’s tactical and defensive style of play will fit right in with Guardiola's system. City are also reportedly in talks with Brighton to sign left-back Marc Cucurella, after an impressive season with the Seagulls. However before the transfer can be completed, City will have to sell players with the likely ones being Raheem Sterling and Nathan Ake in a possible move to Chelsea.
De Ligt on Chelsea's radar
Speaking of the Blues, Chelsea have been looking at a wide range of options after coming under new ownership. The nearly two decade reign of Roman Abramovich came to an end in March, 2022, after the Russian oligarch was forced to sell the club due to the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. Chelsea had their most successful era under Abramovich and new owners, the Boehly-Clearlake consortium, will want that success to continue. It is also believed that Todd Boehly, one of the new owners, has given coach Thomas Tuchel £ 200 million to spend in this window.
Tuchel will be looking for options both in the front and back of the pitch with the club seeing many departures this year. The loss of defenders Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger to Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively has had Tuchel looking for strong defenders and he has set his eyes on Matthijs De Ligt. The Dutch player, whose contract with Juventus includes a release clause of £ 103 million, is apparently in talks with both Chelsea and Bayern Munich. De Ligt has been one of the shining stars in a rather lacklustre Juventus team and a switch might help him to win trophies. Another defender who Chelsea will hope to net is Sevilla and France centre-back Jules Kounde, who could work well in Tuchel’s system. The Blues also hope to sign a trio of stars from league rival Man City as Sterling, Nathan Ake and Oleksander Zinchenko are on their wish list. Out of the three, Sterling’s move is the most probable as the two clubs have been in close contact regarding the English winger. The player was one of the high priority targets for Tuchel and he will be happy to seal the deal. Chelsea will also see the departure of last season’s £ 100 million priced striker Romelu Lukaku, who after a disappointing stint filled with terrible performances and internal conflicts between player and manager, will be heading back to Inter Milan on a season-long loan.
Early talks also took place between Leeds and Chelsea for winger Raphinha with a deal of £60 million being offered, but unfortunately for the Londoners, the Brazilian winger reportedly would prefer a move to Barcelona, who has also expressed interest in the player. Reports also claim that Chelsea are in talks to maybe try for either Ronaldo or Neymar as both players might be leaving their respective clubs this season. There is no official word from Chelsea on this, and even the departure of the two players are not certain.
Reds rope in Nunez
Champions League finalists and Premier League runners-up Liverpool will be hoping to strengthen their squad and finally help manager Jurgen Klopp get his hands on that quadruple. The Reds were unfortunately beaten on points on the final day of the Premier League by City and suffered a 1-0 loss to Real Madrid in the UCL final. Liverpool’s miseries didn’t end there with their lethal striker Sadio Mane, a mainstay and integral part in Klopp’s team since his transfer in 2016, opting to leave the club for Bayern Munich for a sum of £27.4 millions and which could rise up to £35 million. The club have since made a major signing with the arrival of Uruguayan international Darwin Nunez for £64.5 million with £21.5 million in add-ons available. The former Benfica youngster scored 26 goals in 28 appearances for his club in the league last season. There is huge expection on the youngster to come good after the high praise he has received from Klopp as well as with Liverpool fans comparing his signing to that of Haaland.
Hopefully the rivalry between the two young strikers will lead to an exciting season in the Premier League, with plenty of goals scored.
As the window flies past and pre-season draws near, clubs will be looking to finalise their signings and start preparing for a title charge soon. With nothing being certain till the curtain draws on the transfer window, we could still be in for many shock transfers and signings.
