5 deals that died on deadline day

#4 Axel Witsel to Juventus

Axel Witsel took time off from national team training to finalise his move to Juventus which eventually fell through

After selling Paul Pogba for £89.3 million to Manchester United, Juventus were left with a hole in their midfield. They had already signed Miralem Pjanic to fill the void but wanted add more at the centre of the park and Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel was their favoured option. For weeks, Juventus had the chance to sign any midfielder to make up the gaps in their squad but waiting till the last moment to sign Witsel sure backfired on them. After all but putting pen to paper, Juventus’s deal with Zenit St. Petersburg fell through in the final moments of the transfer window.

Witsel had left Belgium’s training facilities to go through his medical and sign the paperwork only to find out Zenit were not going to let him make the transfer. However, Zenit might have been compelled to hold on to the Belgian since they couldn’t find a replacement for him. The Russian club stood to make a profit on his sale this transfer window and look like they’ll have to let the midfielder go on a free transfer in January, if not next summer at the end of his contract.