The three best deadline day deals in the Premier League – and three worst

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So there we have it, another transfer window is over, earlier than usual this year, with the Premier League set to kick off on Friday evening.

Clubs were doing business up until Thursday’s 5pm deadline and beyond. In fact, there were some huge deals that were confirmed over two hours after the deadline had passed.

Many managers will be very relieved that they can now concentrate on the football itself, but there will also be some wishing they had slightly longer to complete their business.

But, returning to the events of Thursday, we’ve picked out our three best and three worst Premier League deadline day deals of the signings that did go through.

The best

Bernard to Everton, free agent

This one had been on the cards for a couple of days in the build-up to the deadline and was confirmed by Everton at around 4.45pm.

Attacking midfielder Bernard has spent the last five years in Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk, having been heavily tipped to join one of Europe’s top clubs at a young age.

The Brazilian, who’s now 25, has been capped by his country on a number of occasions and brings Marco Silva’s side some much-needed strength in depth in the attacking areas.

Bernard will compete for the attacking midfield spots at Everton with fellow countryman Richarlison, Theo Walcott, Yannick Bolasie, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Ademola Lookman and new signing André Gomes.

A clever piece of business.

Lucas Pérez from Arsenal to West Ham, £4m-5m

A deal that came as a bit of a surprise. Spanish forward Pérez, who spent last season on loan with former club Deportivo de La Coruña, was widely expected to make a return to his home nation after an unsuccessful spell with Arsenal.

Perez showed glimpses of real ability in his first season with the Gunners. An excellent volley away at Bournemouth to inspire a memorable Arsenal comeback is one goal that immediately springs to mind.

For such a low fee, West Ham have got themselves a good finisher that will add an extra creative dimension to their attack.

With Andy Carroll continuing to pick up injuries, Javier Hernandez blowing hot and cold last season and Marko Arnautović perhaps not a natural number 9, this looks like a good addition from Manuel Pellegrini.

Çağlar Söyüncü from SC Freiburg to Leicester City, £19m

Söyüncü was believed to be close to a move to Arsenal earlier this summer and was also one of a number of centre-backs linked with Manchester United.

The 22-year-old Turkish international looks a real coup for Claude Puel’s side. He wasn’t the only centre-back Leicester added on deadline day, with Filip Benkovic also completing a move from Dinamo Zagreb.

But the Söyüncü deal is one that certainly catches the eye. Two years ago he was still playing for Altinordu in Turkey’s second division, but his performances in the Bundesliga last season meant that Freiburg were always going to find it hard to hold on to him this summer.

With Harry Maguire staying put and Jonny Evans also arriving, Leicester look well placed to come out top of the clubs looking to become ‘the best of the rest’ outside the top six in the Premier League this season.

The worst

Carlos Sánchez from Fiorentina to West Ham, £4m

It was well documented that the Hammers were looking to add another midfielder before the end of the transfer window, but we think they could have done a lot better.

Cheikhou Kouyaté’s departure left the Hammers with midfield options of Mark Noble, Pedro Obiang, Jack Wilshere, Edimilson Fernandes and Declan Rice, so it was no surprise to see Pellegrini go back into the market for a different option.

When it emerged that it was Sánchez, though, you could forgive West Ham fans for feeling a little underwhelmed.

There were high hopes for the Colombian when he arrived at Aston Villa in 2014, but he never lived up to them. At 32, there’s unlikely to be much more to come from the midfielder and this one may go down as one of the Hammers’ less successful additions of the summer. There is also more recent damning evidence in the form of Sanchez’s performances at the 2018 World Cup, where he received the second-quickest red card in the competition’s history three minutes into a 2-1 group stage defeat to Japan.

Jordan Ayew from Swansea City to Crystal Palace, one-year loan

The Ayew brothers were always likely to move on this summer after Swansea’s relegation to the Championship.

André completed a loan move to Turkish side Fenerbahçe in July, but it took Jordan until deadline day to get his move back to the Premier League. Crystal Palace had been linked earlier in the window, only for the deal to stall, but a solution was found in the later stages of the window.

Roy Hodgson’s side were expected to add a top striker this summer, with Christian Benteke looking a shadow of the player he used to be and Alexander Sørloth and Connor Wickham the only other options at the club.

The best word to describe Jordan Ayew since he’s played his football in England is probably ‘inconsistent’ and, let’s face it, his record of being relegated at three of the last four clubs he’s joined is not a good omen.

Palace probably needed a long-term option this summer and someone to really support Wilfried Zaha in attack. Rumoured target Danny Ings completed his preferred move to Southampton on deadline day, leaving the London club with Ayew.

Dan Burn from Wigan Athletic to Brighton, £4m

This looks like one of the stranger deals of the window on paper.

Former Fulham defender Burn completed his return to the Premier League before the close of the transfer window, only to head back to Wigan Athletic on loan until January.

You would usually associate this type of agreement with a young player that is still developing, but Burn is now 26 and is certainly not getting any younger.

Brighton did pursue defender Liam Moore this summer, but Reading were not willing to let him go. They have made some eye-catching signings this summer and it will be interesting to see how they fare in their second season in the Premier League under Chris Hughton.

Despite the well-earned nickname of ‘Dannavaro’ for his good form at Wigan, we’re not sure this will end up being money well spent for the Seagulls.

The post The three best deadline day deals in the Premier League – and three worst appeared first on Squawka News.



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