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The Covid pandemic has definitely impacted the transfer window and it's not exactly business as usual. With matches being held behind closed doors post the restart, teams have not been able to generate much matchday revenue and as such, this will prove to be a very tricky transfer window to navigate.
Several high-profile signings have already been made. Some of them have been absolute steals while some of them have pushed us back into our seats and got us rolling our eyes. The big spenders are all a bit reluctant to break the bank to sign top targets this time around with the exception of a few.
Without wasting much time, let's take a look at the 5 most intelligent signings from this transfer window so far.
#5 Leroy Sane (Manchester City to Bayern Munich)
A wealth of riches in any department can work favourably only for a certain period of time as Manchester City have now found out with Leroy Sane. City had bought the German winger from FC Schalke in 2016 for a sum of £36.7 million.
He took the Premier League by storm and won the PFA Young Player of the Year Award in his second season. Sane had come close to joining Bayern Munich last summer but he suffered a torn ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) injury and a move that was expected to cost the Bavarians around €100 million fell through.
Bayern Munich have been desperate to find a young player who can take after the likes of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben and have now signed Leroy Sane from Manchester City this transfer window for half the amount they were willing to pay last summer.
The deal reportedly only cost Bayern Munich €49 million as Sane had only 1 year remaining in his contract with Manchester City. If anything, Manchester City is lucky to have at least made a profit.
#4 Jude Bellingham (Birmingham to Borussia Dortmund)
At just 17-year-old Jude Bellingham is one of the most sought-after youngsters in world football. It is then no surprise that he became the most expensive 17-year-old in football history when he arrived at Borussia Dortmund from Birmingham for a sum of €23 million.
What's admirable about Bellingham is the fact that he chose to snub Manchester United and the comfort of staying at his own country in order to go to Germany to hone his skills just like Jadon Sancho.
Bellingham seems be fitting in seamlessly at Borussia Dortmund and has been quite impressive in the pre-season so far. As for Birmingham, they now have €23 million to invest to improve their squad and that is a lot of money for a Championship team.
#3 Arthur (Barcelona to Juventus)
Barcelona have an ageing core and are now desperate to find some young players who can serve the club for the long-term. Then why would they sell a 24-year-old Arthur and bring in a 30-year-old Miralem Pjanic you ask? Simply because they had to do it to balance their books.
The Catalans needed to pocket €124 million from player sales in order to balance their books and the €70 million they received for Arthur's sale was used towards that. However, it does not help them much beyond serving that particular purpose.
In exchange, they have added yet another ageing midfielder to their pack. Meanwhile, Juventus has also been looking to revitalize an ageing side and they were more than content to let go of Miralem Pjanic in order to acquire the 24-year-old Arthur who has massive potential.
Though they were separate deals on paper, it effectively worked like a swap deal.
#2 Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid to Inter Milan)
Here's a piece of business that is most likely going to come back to haunt Real Madrid. The 21-year-old had a spectacular 2 year loan spell at Borussia Dortmund and had blossomed into one of the best young right-backs in the world.
However, Real Madrid were not ready to let him bench Dani Carvajal and Achraf Hakimi did not want to wait around either. Inter Milan showed up subsequently and surprisingly signed up a bright young prospect instead of an ageing used-to-be as they have so often done in the transfer market.
Inter Milan signed Achraf Hakimi for €40 million. For a 21-year-old right back who scored 9 goals and registered 10 assists from the Bundesliga and the UEFA Champions League, that is quite a bargain.
#1 Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain to Borussia Dortmund)
While he might not have been a fan favourite in Paris, Thomas Meunier's quality is undeniable. PSG were in a precarious position heading into the transfer wind looking set to lose both their full-backs Thomas Meunier and Laywin Kurzawa.
However, they ended up extending Kurzawa's contract but decided to let the Belgian right-back leave. Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund had the difficult task of replacing Achraf Hakimi who was going back after his successful 2 year loan spell in the Bundesliga.
They swooped right in and signed Thomas Meunier for a free. Meunier is still just 28-years-old and has several years left in his tank and given that he has been signed for free, Dortmund can keep looking for a long-term solution whilst having a top player filling in at right-back.
