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It has been an intriguing transfer window in Europe this summer. The World Cup in Russia meant many clubs had to put their business on hold while their players were away and in many cases this left teams scrambling around in the following few weeks, particularly with the English transfer window closing three weeks earlier than usual.
The Premier League remains the highest spending league in the world, with every club capable of splashing the cash, most surprisingly Fulham, who became the first promoted club to break £100 million in terms of spending. That being said, Premier League spending was down this year with £1.26 billion being spent, compared to £1.4 billion last summer.
We haven’t quite seen the same level of big money transfers as this time last year. That is partly because of Financial Fair Play, which has meant the likes of PSG haven’t been able to go big on a player like they did with Neymar last year and all the fallout that followed. Ousmane Dembele moved to Barcelona the same summer, while the Catalan giants also bought in Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool in January.
There has still been some big money moves across Europe this summer. Here are the five most expensive signings from across the continent this summer.
#10 Richarlison- Watford to Everton- £40 million
This was one of the more surprising moves of the summer. The Brazilian had an excellent start to last season with Watford and looked like a real prospect. However, after November, he failed to score, or provide an assist, in any competition for the rest of the season. The move to Everton was most likely pushed through by Marco Silva, who managed Richarlison at Watford and took over as manager at Goodison Park at the start of the summer.
The fee did seem slightly excessive- £40 million, rising to £50 million. He has made a good start to the season though, scoring three goals in the opening two games. However, he was sent off against Bournemouth last week and will miss the next two league games, having already missed the EFL Cup tie in midweek. He still has an awful lot to do to prove he is worth that massive price tag.
#9 Jorginho- Napoli to Chelsea- £51.3 million
It took a long time for Chelsea to get any business done in the transfer window this summer. It was inevitable for months that Antonio Conte would be sacked at the end of last season, regardless of the fact his side won the FA Cup. It took until August for Chelsea to sack Conte though, and he was soon replaced by Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri.
The Italian’s first act as manager at Stamford Bridge was to pinch Jorginho from under Manchester City’s nose. Jorginho was excellent for Sarri at Napoli and was a crucial part of the way he played. £51 million is a lot of money, but given that Sarri trusts him, and he knows exactly what his manager expects of him, it looks like an excellent signing. Jorginho has already proved a good signing for Chelsea, and he looks to be bringing the best out of some of their players, as well as allowing N’Golo Kante to have an impact in more attacking areas.
#8 Fred- Shakhtar Donetsk to Manchester United - £53.1 million
Everybody knows that Jose Mourinho didn’t really get what he wanted in the transfer window this summer. There is clear disharmony between him and the board, particularly vice-chairman Ed Woodward. One of the players he did get was Fred, who made the big money move from Shakhtar Donetsk, despite interest from Manchester City.
It hasn’t been the easiest start to the season for Fred, but it has been a poor start for almost everyone at Old Trafford. It has been interesting to see however that Mourinho is still to discover Fred’s best position. He played in a slightly deeper role in the opening two games of the season but played just off Romelu Lukaku against Tottenham on Monday night. He didn’t look particularly comfortable there though and had very little impact on the game.
#7 Naby Keita- RB Leipzig to Liverpool- £54 million
Of course, we all knew this was going to happen this summer, as it was a move Liverpool agreed on last summer, but it only went through officially at the start of July. One of the worries for Jurgen Klopp was that Keita had a slightly disappointing season with Leipzig last year, with his level of performance far lower than it was the previous year. This may simply have been because he knew he wasn’t going to be at the club much longer, but Klopp certainly won’t have been massively impressed.
He has made a decent start for Liverpool this season though, after taking Steven Gerrard’s iconic number eight shirt. He looks like a good addition to this side but will have to prove this over a long period of time. Liverpool is yet to come up against any real top opponents, but given the Champions League draw, they will come up against a number of top clubs before the turn of the year, and it is in these games that Keita will really be judged.
#6 Alisson Becker- Roma to Liverpool- £56.25 million
A second consecutive Liverpool player. It was clear from the moment the Champions League final ended that the Reds needed to sign a new goalkeeper this summer. Loris Karius had a shocker in that final in Kiev and was responsible for two of the three goals his side conceded. That form continued in pre-season, and it was clear that his confidence had hit rock bottom, and the hunt for a replacement was on.
That replacement was Alisson, who joined from Roma, for what, for a short period of time, was the world record fee paid for a goalkeeper. The 25-year-old had an excellent year with Roma last season and was also Brazil’s number one at the World Cup in Russia. He has shown in his opening games with Liverpool that he is more than capable with the ball at his feet, but he will be judged more on his shot-stopping abilities.
#5 Riyad Mahrez- Leicester City to Manchester City- £61 million
Manchester City wasn’t too active in the transfer window this summer, but in all honesty, there aren’t too many areas that they can improve in. There was interest in a couple of midfielders as they looked to provide some backup to Fernandinho, but that never materialised. In the end, it was only Mahrez who made the move to the Etihad Stadium, for a club-record fee.
There was some debate over the role he may play at City this season. They already had an embarrassment of riches in attacking areas, and it was difficult to see where Mahrez would get his opportunity. He appears to have been gifted the opportunity by Kevin de Bruyne’s injury though, and he will hope to take advantage of that, and take the chance to prove that he is worth the amount of money City shelled out for him in the summer.
#4 Thomas Lemar- Monaco to Atletico Madrid- £63 million
This is the first transfer on this list that hasn’t included a Premier League club. Lemar came close to a big money move to England last summer, with Arsenal and Liverpool interested. It was Atletico who made the move this summer though, and a deal was agreed before the World Cup, where Lemar was a member of France’s victorious squad.
It looks like a really shrewd piece of business from Atletico, given that Lemar is already a top player, and given that he is still only 22, will get better as he gets older. It has been a successful summer all-round for Atletico, who have also been able to keep hold of Antoine Griezmann despite interest from Barcelona. With those two, along with Diego Costa, Atletico have put together a quite brilliant front line.
#3 Kepa Arrizabalaga- Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea- £72 million
Not many people would have expected Kepa’s name to be on this list when the transfer window opened at the start of the summer. Chelsea was forced to look for a new goalkeeper when Thibaut Courtois looked to engineer a move to Real Madrid and subsequently failed to turn up for training.
Chelsea was linked with a number of top goalkeepers across Europe, and in the end, it was Kepa they decided to move for. The Spaniard has turned in a number of excellent performances for Bilbao over the last couple of years and looks a fine prospect. However, £72 million seems like a massive amount for someone who has yet to prove themselves at the highest level in Europe. He has signed a seven-year contract at Chelsea though, so has a while to prove himself.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo- Real Madrid to Juventus- £105 million
This is certainly the highest profile move of the summer. Ronaldo is one of the greatest players we have seen in football history, and it was a massive surprise when he made the move across to Serie A this summer. He has been such an important player in Real’s team since signing for them in 2009 and almost carried them to their third successive Champions League title last season.
There has been talk about him leaving Real for a number of years now, but it has always appeared unlikely, as the Spanish giants always refused to sell. It was Juventus who came in for Ronaldo, as they look to finally bring the Champions League title back to Italy. They have been runners-up in two of the past four seasons, but with the signing of Ronaldo, they could go to the next level. Even though the Portuguese superstar is 33, he could still prove to be an unstoppable force in Serie A.
#1 Kylian Mbappe- Monaco to PSG- £121 million
This is another one that was agreed on last summer but is still the biggest move of the 2018 transfer window. No one can deny Mbappe’s talent. He has been brilliant in his two seasons in Ligue 1, and had a superb World Cup, winning the award for the best young player as France won just their second world title, 20 years after their first. He looks like the next big thing in football and will go right to the top of this game.
This move was forced to be delayed until this summer because PSG needed to comply with Financial Fair Play after breaking the world-record to sign Neymar from Barcelona. Even at £121 million, this looks like a good deal for PSG, because Mbappe is still only 19, and is already considered one of the top players in the world. He has the calmness and composure of someone ten years his senior, and will only get better over the next few years.
