Squawka
·17 July 2024
Transfer deals you might have missed this week, from Immobile to a Man Utd departure
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·17 July 2024
Euro 2024 and Copa America are over, which means attention can turn to club football.
Pre-season is underway and the friendlies are starting to roll in. There have already been some big moves this summer and we’re predicting more to come as the campaign draws closer.
This week alone we’ve seen Joao Palhinha finally make the switch from Fulham to Bayern Munich, while Joshua Zirkzee has joined Manchester United and Kylian Mbappe was unveiled by Real Madrid.
But those are just the big moves. Even with a brief period of relaxation post-tournaments, it can be tough to keep track of all the business. So that’s why we’re here, to round up the transfer moves you might have missed over the past seven days.
Over the past eight years Ciro Immobile had become synonymous with Lazio, but their relationship is no more. After 340 games and 207 goals, Immobile has said goodbye to Lazio, a spell that saw them win the Coppa Italia once and Supercoppa Italiana twice, taking the Capocannoniere (Serie A’s top scorer) three times.
The Italian will now don the shirt of Besiktas, signing with the Turkish club on a two-year deal.
There is a lot of focus on incomings at Old Trafford this summer, but one player to leave this week is Willy Kambwala. This was an interesting departure for the teenager, who had been at Manchester United since he was 16, made his first-team debut last season and played 10 appearances across all competitions with three starts.
But he rejected a new contract at the club, and Man Utd have allowed him to leave Villarreal for an initial fee of £4.6m. The Red Devils do have a buy-back option for three years, should they regret their decision.
Saul Niguez has had to make do with a substitute role for Atletico Madrid over the past two seasons. Despite playing a lot of matches, a large amount of Saul’s appearances for Atletico Madrid have come off the bench. It can be frustrating for a player, especially when they were previously favoured.
He will be hoping for more game time in La Liga this season, spending it on loan at Sevilla.
Allan Saint-Maximin was one of a number of players to switch the Premier League for the Middle East, joining Saudi Arabian club Al Ahli from Newcastle United. After four goals and 10 assists in 30 Saudi Pro League games, Saint-Maximin is on his way out of the division, albeit on a temporary basis.
The Frenchman will spend the 2024/25 season on loan at Fenerbahce in the Turkish Super Lig, linking up with Jose Mourinho.
There was quite a bit of excitement when Flynn Downes signed for West Ham from Swansea two years ago, but it didn’t quite work out at the London Stadium. The midfielder played 35 times in his first season for West Ham and did pick up a Europa Conference League winners’ medal, albeit not featuring too much in the latter stages.
Downes spent last season on loan at Southampton and helped them return to the Premier League, playing 36 games in the Championship. He has now made that move permanent, with Southampton spending £18m for the reunion.
Despite being born in, and representing, Finland, Glen Kamara hasn’t represented a non-British club. He started in the academies at Southend and Arsenal before moving north of the border to Dundee. Kamara made his name at Rangers, becoming a big part of their squad.
Last season, Kamara made the switch back to England with Leeds, but his stay has lasted one season. The Finnish international will now be plying his trade in France, joining Rennes on a four-year deal.
Kieffer Moore spent last season on loan from Bournemouth in the Championship with Ipswich, helping them secure promotion to the Premier League. Speaking after promotion was sealed, Moore had hoped that he could return to the club in the Premier League.
Moore has left Bournemouth permanently this summer, but he has dropped back down to the Championship, joining recently-relegated Sheffield United.
Yukinara Sugawara was an interesting prospect for AZ in the Eredivisie last season. The Japanese international played 30 games at right-back, only missing four matches due to the Asian Cup. Sugawara is a creative threat from open play and set pieces, creating 53 chances in total last season. That translated to seven assists, with only two players creating more big chances than his 16.
Sugawara had been linked with a move to the Premier League previously, and now that has happened, with Southampton forking out £6m for the Japanese star.
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Mehdi Taremi had been linked with a move to the Premier League in recent years. Arsenal were just one of the teams tipped with interest for the Iranian striker. But instead he has swapped Porto for Inter Milan.
Taremi spent four years at Porto and averaged a goal every other game, netting 91 in 182 appearances across all competitions. His goals helped Porto scoop one league title and three Portuguese Cups.
The Saudi Pro League continues to catch the eyes of some of Europe’s brightest players. It seems like there wasn’t a summer Houssem Aouar wasn’t being linked with a move to Arsenal while he was at Lyon. The Algerian international joined Roma on a free transfer last summer instead.
But after one season, Aouar has been sold to Al-Ittihad for €12m, handing Roma a profit, after he failed to get significant playing time.
While it is a rivalry, players making the switch from Besiktas to Fenerbahce — or vice versa — is more common than you’d think. Cenk Tosun is the 24th player to swap Besiktas directly for Fenerbahce, and the 51st overall to make a direct switch between the sides.
Tosun was a regular for Fenerbahce last season, starting 22 of his 34 league appearances, but goals were hard to come by. The former Everton man netted six goals in the league, as Fenerbahce just missed out on the title.
In 2016/17, Bertrand Traore spent the season on loan from Chelsea at Ajax, playing 39 times across all competitions as they finished second in the Eredivisie and reached the Europa League final. Eight years later, Traore is back, this time permanently.
Since his first spell at Ajax, Traore has represented Lyon, Aston Villa, Istanbul Basaksehir and Villarreal, joining the latter earlier this year. In his brief stay in Spain, Traore played 11 times for Villarreal, scoring one goal.