News Thread

After Edson Álvarez’s failed transfer to Dortmund, Ajax Amsterdam sporting director Sven Mislintat might earn a significant transfer fee after all. On Thursday, De Telegraaf reported that the Dutch record champions have agreed terms with Arsenal to sell defender Jurrien Timber. 

Southampton may have been deemed not good enough for the Premier League last season, when the Saints were unceremoniously relegated from the English top-flight after finishing the league campaign in last place. But that hasn’t stopped a number of the country’s biggest clubs from cherry-picking young stars from a squad that new manager Russell Martin only inherited this month. 

After already signing Alejandro Grimaldo and Jonas Hofmann, Bayer Leverkusen have secured another high-profile signing ahead of the 2023/24 Bundesliga season. On Thursday, Leverkusen announced the long-expected Granit Xhaka deal. Xhaka arrives from Arsenal and has signed a deal until the end of the 2027/28 season. Unlike Hofmann, who was signed for just €10m from Gladbach thanks to an exit clause, Xhaka will be more expensive. According to The Athletic, Leverkusen have paid €25m, which makes the Swiss national team player the third most expensive signing in club history. 

The most valuable squad in the football world is currently not Manchester City’s, but Arsenal’s. What seemed like a natural law for years has now changed for the time being following the Gunners’ record spending. How can it be that a club that did not qualify for the Champions League for seven years has now compiled a team that ranks ahead of last season’s European treble winners in terms of squad value on July 17?

While strikers may forever be the poster boys of world football, it seems as though the real money in Europe’s biggest leagues seems to be getting spent on the stars in the middle of the pitch. So far this summer, clubs around the world have spent no less than €1.68 billion on midfielders, which accounts for no less than 39% of the total transfer fees spent in the transfer window.

Arsenal look set to continue their impressive summer spending spree with the imminent arrival of Brentford goalkeeper David Raya. According to the Evening Standard and numerous other reports in England, the North London club have agreed a deal with Brentford to sign the 27-year-old in a deal worth a reported €46.4 million. 

The Premier League is currently on course to break its record for the most amount of money spent on transfer fees in a single window. So far this summer the combined wealth of the English top-flight has seen clubs spend no less than €1.85 billion on transfer fees, with a considerable amount of time still left of the current window. 

Former Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi has revealed that while his time at the Premier League club was the most successful period of his career, the abuse he received while playing for the London side and the cloud that hung over him due to his huge transfer fee somewhat spoiled his time there. 

Amid all the money that is being thrown around the Premier League this summer, one of the biggest transfer stories that has yet to reach its conclusion involves one player that was apparently deemed not good enough for the English top-flight last season by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

Titleholders Manchester City have been drawn into a relatively easy Champions League group on Thursday afternoon. Held in Monaco, the draw saw Man City be paired in Group G with RB Leipzig, Crvena Zvezda and Young Boys. Manchester United, in the meantime, are in Group A with Bayern Munich, Copenhagen and Galatasaray. Arsenal, who are back to the Champions League for the first time since the 2016/17 season are in Group B with Sevilla, PSV Eindhoven, and RC Lens.