Fernando Torres tops our list of biggest Deadline Day moves after his £50m move from Liverpool to Chelsea
Transfer Deadline Day is upon us, with clubs in the Premier League and beyond scrambling to get their deals over the line before the window shuts.
The end of the summer window is a notoriously busy time, with big-money deals almost guaranteed. Players will come, players will go… and it's sure to be exciting right up to Wednesday's 11pm deadline and beyond.
But what have previous Deadline Days served up? We take a look at the top 10 most expensive late deals from years gone by…
1) Fernando Torres (Liverpool to Chelsea) - £50m
The most expensive deal in Deadline Day history came back in 2011 when Chelsea broke the British transfer record to sign Fernando Torres from Liverpool. Most of the biggest deals tend to take place in the summer, but this was a huge moment at the end of the January window.
Torres had been flying at Anfield, netting 22 goals in 32 appearances the previous season. Rumours were rife over the summer, but it wasn't until the final day of the January window that a deal came to fruition. In fact, Chelsea and Liverpool were involved in some other huge deals on that same day, as Liverpool brought in Luis Suarez (£22.7m) and Andy Carroll (£35m) to fill the void left by Torres.
Torres scored one goal in 18 appearances at Stamford Bridge in the second half of the season, eventually leaving the club on a permanent basis in January 2015 after a torrid time in west London.
2) Mesut Ozil (Real Madrid to Arsenal) - £42.5m
This one sent Arsenal fans crazy, as they secured the signing of Germany international Mesut Ozil with just hours left of the window in summer 2013. The Gunners looked set to miss out on another target, but eventually shelled out £42.5m to Real Madrid for the midfielder's services in the 11th hour. Cue fans outside the Emirates cheering wildly alongside a Sky Sports News reporter.
The 27-year-old has had his doubters in north London but now appears to have the fans onside after making 19 assists in the Premier League last season. Off the pitch, his presence has been felt too, attracting other big names to the club. Just this week, Shkodran Mustafi admitted that Ozil's words were enough to help him make his decision to leave Valencia for London.
3) Anthony Martial (Monaco to Man United) - £36m
It's difficult to say whether the £36m Manchester United paid for Anthony Martial was money well spent, but it certainly appears as though the Frenchman could have a big future ahead of him at Old Trafford.
Martial signed on September 1 from Monaco as an unknown striker… a 'panic buy', according to many. He quickly silenced his initial doubters with a goal against Liverpool on his Premier League debut, and then another two in his next game against Southampton.
He netted 17 overall in his first campaign before being called up to France's European Championship squad over the summer. The arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Old Trafford gives United's attack another dimension, but the fact Jose Mourinho has still started Martial in each game shows just how highly the 20-year-old is rated.
4) Andy Carroll (Newcastle to Liverpool) - £35m
Liverpool signed both Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez on the day Fernando Torres left the club for Chelsea, back in 2011.
At the time, Carroll was the big-money man; a fact that is perhaps surprising given Suarez's meteoric rise to the very top of the game with Barcelona over the last few years.
Carroll cost the Reds £35m - a fee that remains the club's highest ever to this day - going on to score 11 goals in 58 appearances, while Suarez joined for £22.7m.
Liverpool cut their losses on the big striker in 2013 when Carroll joined West Ham for £15m following a season-long loan at Upton Park. He remains there now, but has had a career blighted with injuries.
5) Robinho (Real Madrid to Man City) - £32.5m
September 1, 2008 was a busy day for the Manchester clubs as they looked to get their business done before the end of the transfer window. United beat their rivals to the signing of Dimitar Berbatov, with City then opting to bring in Robinho for a British record £32million.
His time at the City of Manchester Stadium didn't get off to the best of starts. The Brazilian had been linked with Chelsea for much of the window and upon arrival at his new club told reporters: "On the last day, Chelsea made a great proposal and I accepted."
"You mean Manchester, right?" came the reply, to which Robinho said: "Yeah, Manchester, sorry." On the pitch, Robinho's time at City was just as problematic. He scored an impressive 14 goals in his first season, but then struggled to just 10 appearances the following year before leaving for Santos on loan.
He never returned to City, leaving for AC Milan in 2010. The 32-year-old now plies his trade for Atletico Mineiro back in his native Brazil.
6) Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham to Man United) - £32m
While City were securing the services of Robinho on one side of Manchester, Old Trafford bosses were busy getting Dimitar Berbatov over the line at United.
His late move on Deadline Day in September 2008 was memorable for the will he, won't he saga that preceded the deal. Just days earlier, he had turned down a move to Tottenham and it wasn't known where he would be playing next until Sky Sports cameras spotted him through a high window at Old Trafford.
On the pitch, he spent four seasons at the club, netting 56 times in 149 matches. Although not all Manchester United supporters were overly keen on the Bulgaria striker, he scored some big goals including a hat-trick against rivals Liverpool.
7) Marouane Fellaini (Everton to Man United) - £27.5m
When David Moyes moved from Everton to Manchester United, one of his first big decisions was to bring Marouane Fellaini with him from Goodison Park. The midfielder cost £27.5m, and has outstayed Moyes at Old Trafford by some way.
He has always been a character to create debate - some love him, while others aren't sure about his playing style. At United, he has made 90 appearances so far, netting 11 goals.
8) Wayne Rooney (Everton to Man United) - £27m
Another Everton to Manchester United transfer, and for a similar fee to that of Fellaini. It's fair to say Wayne Rooney's career has been significantly more successful, though. He moved to Old Trafford as an 18-year-old, fresh-faced striker back in 2004.
Much has happened since then, of course. The now-30-year-old is England's all-time record goalscorer, and he needs just three more goals to equal Sir Bobby Charlton's 249-goal haul at Manchester United.
He has captained the side since August 2014 and is widely regarded as one of the club's best players of all-time.
9) Juan Cuadrado (Fiorentina to Chelsea) - £24m
Describing the move as a "dream", Juan Cuadrado joined Chelsea from Fiorentina for £24m in February 2015. A week of lengthy negotiations finally came to an end on Deadline Day as Jose Mourinho shipped out Andre Schurrle and Mohamed Salah to make room for his new star man.
Cuadrado failed to hit it off at Stamford Bridge though, moving to Juventus on a season-long loan after just 13 Premier League appearances and no goals.
At Juventus, he performed well and could well join the Italian champions on a permanent basis with his future surely away from Chelsea.
10) Luis Suarez (Ajax to Liverpool) - £22.8m
After joining Liverpool on Deadline Day in 2011, few could have predicted the heights the Uruguayan would go on to achieve. He had three impressive seasons at Anfield, and has stepped it up another level since joining Barcelona for £65m.
He arrived at Anfield in the midst of a bite scandal, having just been suspended for seven matches for an incident involving PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal the previous November.
In fact, the 29-year-old left in similar fashion in 2014, following a bite on Giorgio Chiellini at the Brazil World Cup. Regardless, when he did manage to get on the pitch at the Nou Camp, he was an immediate success and has propelled himself to remarkable heights.
0 comments:
Post a Comment