Six Premier League things you might have missed this summer
Euro 2024 took centre stage this summer, and with England making a habit of reaching the latter stages in recent tournaments, domestic moves have flown under the radar.
The tournament ended with a defeat for England in Berlin against Spain.
As focus switches back to club football, we have put together a list of some of the main things you may have missed in the Premier League to help you re-acclimatise ahead of the new season (which starts pretty soon).
August 16 to be exact as Manchester United host Fulham on the Friday night.
Transfers, managerial changes, Chelsea’s weird signings, the changes at Manchester United and Ipswich’s summer activity are all in focus.
Did we miss a transfer deadline?
No. The window will close on August 30 at 11pm.
June 30 has become a big day in the transfer window though as it's the deadline for Premier League and EFL clubs to meet their league's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
It is why there has been some spooky goings-on in the top-flight recently, big transfer fees and not a lot of bang for your buck, like the ones listed below:
- Lewis Dobbin - Everton to Aston Villa, £10m
- Tim Iroegbunam - Aston Villa to Everton, £9m
- Ian Maatsen - Chelsea to Aston Villa, £37.5m
- Omari Kellyman - Aston Villa to Chelsea, £19m
- Elliot Anderson - Newcastle to Nottingham Forest, £35m
- Odysseas Vlachodimos - Nottingham Forest to Newcastle, undisclosed
Major ins and outs
There have been some pretty big moves that have gone completely under my radar.
Aston Villa have brought in Ross Barkley from Luton for an undisclosed fee and Douglas Luiz has departed for Juventus for £42m.
Arsenal have made the signing of David Raya permanent from Brentford as have Newcastle with Lewis Hall for £28m from Chelsea.
Archie Gray has joined Tottenham from Leeds for an undisclosed fee and West Ham have signed Max Kilman from Wolves for £40m.
Brighton’s boss baby
Roberto De Zerbi has swapped the south coast of England for France, departing for Marseille and Fabian Hurzeler is his replacement at Brighton.
The 31-year-old said he wants to "achieve big things and challenge the establishment" during his first press conference as Seagulls boss but what do we know about the top-flight's youngest ever permanent manager?
The Premier League has always been a target for the Texan-born German, who looks forward to pitting his wits against “best coach in the world, Pep Guardiola”.
Hurzeler developed his reputation at St Pauli, who punched above their weight en route to the 2.Bundesliga title last season.
He has a sleeve tattoo and his hot-head antics on the touchline earned him seven yellow cards last season.
Tactically, he may frustrate as his side are known for trying to work out a press from the opposition with centre-backs often putting their foot on the ball to invite pressure.
Man Utd making moves
Dan Ashworth must have one hell of a garden after his period of leave.
Manchester United have managed to prise him away from it and Newcastle as part of a boardroom level rejig.
Ashworth takes over as the Sporting Director and Christopher Vivell, Chelsea’s former technical director, has joined the club on a short-term basis as their interim director of recruitment.
In the Dugout
Hilariously, despite being told he would be sacked after the FA Cup final regardless of the result, Erik ten Hag has extended his contract at Old Trafford until June 2026.
The Old Trafford club have added Rene Hake, the previous manager of Dutch club Go Ahead Eagles, to the backroom staff, as well as Ruud van Nistelrooy as a senior coach.
It does cast some doubt over the future of current assistants Mitchell van der Gaag and Steve McClaren.
On the pitch
United are attempted to bring in Jarrad Branthwaite, although their second bid of £45m has been rejected by Everton.
That one is looking unlikely now, but a move for Lille's young star Leny Yoro is getting closer with a bid of over £50m accepted by his current club.
The Red Devils have recently signed striker Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna too.
More weird Chelsea’s signings (and some good ones)
The Blues' summer has been a mix of shrewd business, PSR-required transfers and a sprinkling of the weird moves that have become a feature of the Todd Boehly era.
We’ll start with the latter.
Bringing in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester for £30m looks odd for a few reasons.
Is he worth that money? Don’t Chelsea have enough midfielders? What exactly does he add?
Dewsbury-Hall played a number of positions across midfield at Leicester. Will he compete with Connor Gallagher, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia for a defensive spot?
He can also play in the number 10 role but is there space for him there ahead of Cole Palmer, Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk or Noni Madueke?
Tosin Adarabioyo on a free from Fulham is a smart move, as is the sales of Lewis Hall, Omari Hutchinson and Ian Maatsen for over £80m.
In
- Marc Guiu - Barcelona, £5m
- Tosin - Fulham, free
- Estevao Willian - Palmeiras, £29.1m
- Omari Kellyman - Aston Villa, £19m
- Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - Leicester, £30m
Out
- Michael Golding - Leicester, undisclosed
- Thiago Silva - Fluminense, free
- Lewis Hall - Newcastle, £28m
- Teddy Sharman-Lowe - Doncaster, loan
- Dion Rankine - Wigan, free
- Charlie Webster - Burton, undisclosed
- Josh Brooking - released
- Noah Hay - released
- Jamie Cumming - Oxford, undisclosed
- Hakim Ziyech - Galatasary, undisclosed
- Ian Maatsen - Aston Villa, £37.5m
- Omari Hutchinson - Ipswich, £18m
- Dylan Williams - Burton, loan
Ipswich splashing the cash
In
- Omari Hutchinson - Chelsea, £18m
- Jacob Greaves - Hull, £15m
- Arijanet Muric - Burnley, £10m
- Leon Elliott - Crystal Palace, free
- Ben Johnson - West Ham, free
Premier League new boys Ipswich have fended off Premier League interest for boss Kieran McKenna and appear willing to back their man.
The Tractor Boys appear to have lost out to Aston Villa for winger Jaden Philogene but have confirmed the signing of defender Jacob Greaves for an undisclosed fee having already splurged £18m on Omari Hutchinson.
Rooney gets Plymouth job
It is not strictly Premier League but does involve a top-flight legend so it has made the list, Wayne Rooney is back in management with Sky Bet Championship club Plymouth Argyle.
Rooney has charmed the pants off us as a pundit at Euro 2024 but his managerial resume leaves plenty to be desired. Three clubs, one relegation and a points per game average of less than one.
Most recently, he got the ball rolling on Birmingham’s slide into the third tier despite only taking charge for 15 games.
Not only has he had to sweet talk the Pilgrims' directors but also Mrs Rooney who, by all accounts, was sceptical of Devon's allure.
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