July 1st marks the start of free agency in the United States for the NBA and NHL. In addition, baseball’s trade deadline is just a month away. Across the pond, it marks the start of their own hectic player movement period. The summer transfer window has opened across Europe and the moves have already started furiously. Here are the deals that are already done from around the continent, as well as ones rumored to be on the cusp of completion. Due to the sheer volume of transactions going down this summer, this surely won’t be the last of these here at Sports from the Basement.
DONE DEALS
Sadio Mane, attacking midfielder (Southampton to Liverpool)
If the cover photo wasn’t enough of a give away, Liverpool made an early splash this window with the signing of Southampton’s Sadio Mane. Mane was a workhorse in the Saints midfield in addition to being their joint top scorer. The fee has been rumored to be as high as £34-£36 million. Liverpool insists the figure is closer to £30 million. Either way, it is a bargain compared to the prices proposed when Manchester United came calling this past January. While he will miss some time due to the African Cup of Nations this January, Mane is a solid start to Jurgen Klopp’s summer shopping.
Breel Embolo, striker (FC Basel to Schalke)
Granit Xhaka, central midfielder (Borussia Monchengladbach to Arsenal)
Because of their rise in the international game, Switzerland has seen many of its players move on for substantial sums recently. Another duo to add to that list are Granit Xhaka and Breel Embolo.
First of all, I am aware that the Xhaka move has all but been set in stone for a month. Consequently, many have already forgot about Xhaka heading to the Emirates. It was made official today, even though Xhaka has already done his initial presser and stadium tour a week prior. If Xhaka can put his bottled penalty that sent Switzerland home behind him, Arsenal may have the signing of the summer on the transfer window’s opening day.
While Xhaka is closer to the finished product in a footballing sense, the 19 year old Embolo is the more intriguing prospect. He has 14 Swiss caps to his name and like so many others before him is making the switch from the Swiss Super League to the Bundesliga this season. Schalke will probably not be able to hold on to him for very long, but the bruising striker should help them improve on their 5th place finish in 2015-16. Rather than try to spend with the big boys Bayern and Dortmund, Schalke are hoping a more frugal approach (see below as well) will pay similar dividends.
Andros Townsend, winger (Newcastle United to Crystal Palace)
Steve Mandanda, goalkeeper (Marseille to Crystal Palace)
Newcastle’s relegation from the Premier League wasn’t that shocking. The exodus of players from the club, as well as past targets, isn’t either. Andros Townsend came over from Spurs in January for £12m in an effort to keep the Magpies up. His tenure is already over as he now moves on to Crystal Palace, a team headed by former Newcastle head man Alan Pardew. Townsend’s bombing drives up the wing will fit perfectly in this Palace side, even more so with the Eagles moving on Dwight Gayle the other way to Newcastle. His £14m fee to join Palace actually allows the relegated Newcastle to make a profit.
While Townsend is a big signing for them, Palace also solidified their defense with keeper Steve Mandanda. The French international was associated with Marseille football for over a decade. He spurned the EPL’s advances last summer and January, most notably of Newcastle, to stay in France. Mandanda has proven to be one of the best keepers in France during that time, and should continue that behind a solid Palace defense. They’ll need him to be to avoid a second half swoon that almost had them joining Newcastle in the Championship. The fee is believed to be £2m.
Renato Sanches, central midfielder (Benfica to Bayern Munich)
If you watched the European Championship knockout game between Portugal and Poland, you saw a star being born. Yes, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski were there, but the bedreaded dynamo in the midfield for Portugal stole the show. Renato Sanches made his presence felt in Liga NOS this past season for Benfica, and will now take his talents to the German giants Bayern Munich. For €35m, which will look like chump change in the coming years, Bayern struck early in the European arms race. Along with the acquisition of Mats Hummels from rivals Borussia Dortmund, Bayern once again prove that nobody in Germany loads up quite like them.
THE FREES
Dani Alves, right back (Barcelona to Juventus)
Naldo, center back (Wolfsburg to Schalke)
Joel Matip, center back (Schalke to Liverpool)
Hatem Ben Arfa, attacking midfielder (Nice to Paris Saint-Germain)
Sofiane Feghouli, winger (Valencia to West Ham United)
Free transfers have become a bigger part of the transfer window in recent years. More and more top flight players are seeing their contracts to completion. This allows them to seek their own opportunities during the window instead of being at the behest of their club. Consequently, some big moves are being made early in the transfer window with players who normally would have cost a pretty penny.
Defenders have usually been the biggest beneficiaries of the free transfer market. This summer has already seen several full internationals make moves on a free. Two Brazilians, Dani Alves and Naldo, have left their long time clubs, Barcelona and Wolfsburg, for a new challenge. Alves ventures outside Spain for the first time in 15 years as he goes from one 2015 UCL finalist, Barcelona, to the other, Juventus. He’ll wear 23 for Juve, a move Alves says is a tribute to LeBron James. As for his fellow Brazilian, he’ll be replacing a #32 at Schalke. Joel Matip’s departure to Liverpool left them with a gaping hole in the center of defense. Naldo more than plugs that.
Aside from these world class defenders, some top attacking talent is on the move for free as well. Hatem Ben Arfa, a man who has been dogged by injuries for seemingly forever, had a career revival at Nice. He scored 17 goals in all competitions. As a result, PSG has brought him in to at least partially fill the Zlatan sized gap left behind by the Swede’s departure to Manchester United (more on that at a later date). Sofiane Feghouli isn’t a replacement just yet, but West Ham United aren’t taking their chances. With Dimitri Payet starring at the Euros, the Frenchman’s value has never been higher. So the Hammers have hedged their bets with a free Feghouli, Valencia’s main star in the Europa League last season. West Ham are in that very competition this season.
THE WHISPERS AND RUMBLINGS AT THE EUROS
Nani, winger (Fenerbahce to Valencia)
Nani’s time in Turkey is probably over. The Portugal international is in the semi-finals with his country at the Euros, but he is rumored to be on the way out of his club. Valencia and Everton seem to be the biggest suitors for him at the moment, with the former pushing their noses slightly ahead. Major tournaments are a platform for players to get transfer requests pushed through all the time. Just ask James Rodriguez after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Grzegorz Krychowiak, defensive midfielder (Sevilla to Paris Saint-Germain)
A man on the wrong side of that Poland/Portugal game is in the rumor mill as well. As a result of his team’s elimination from the Euros, talk of a Grzegorz Krychowiak move has ignited once again. Most noteworthy of all the suitors for the gritty midfielder is PSG. Krychowiak has shown European brilliance in the Europa League with Sevilla. PSG can only hope that some of that successful fairy dust can rub off on them in the Champions League. His former coach, Unai Emery, is already in Paris. It may take no more than €40m to add his live wire midfielder to the mix as well.
N’Golo Kante, defensive midfielder (Leicester City to Chelsea)
Leicester City’s carriage doesn’t look like it is turning into a pumpkin just yet. Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy have both pledged themselves to return to the club in 2016-17. The same cannot be said for N’Golo Kante. Furthermore, no man in England has more teams chasing him than the French midfielder. Kante has Arsenal, Manchester City, and Manchester United all urging him to sign with them. The team that was deposed from the so-called “Big Four” by Leicester though, Chelsea, seems to be the best bet for his signature. It may take France’s ouster from the Euros to expedite the process, something that may happen with Kante on the sidelines suspended versus Iceland.
Be sure to come back here all summer for more transfer news! You can also follow along with all of the European Championships and European league action on GameView! The money will continue to pile up. Most of all, the speculation will never stop. This transfer window should be fun.