So it was an eventful day; Marseille’s Bamba Dieng was on the plane to join Leeds. Only for Nice to put in a last minute offer for him to make him want to stay in France. Great! Except he failed the medical…
Also as a Watford fan I’m glad we haven’t sacked our manager yet, and elsewhere Nottingham Forest decided to sign the entire So Solid Crew…
21 SIGNINGS…TUH! TUH! TUH!
I hope Steve Cooper is sitting in his office singing this to himself. But I’m going way off topic…
I, like everyone else, was excitedly watching transfer deadline day to see who was going to move and where. There were rumours and murmurings, but until things were concrete I didn’t pay much attention to it.
There were a few last-minute moves that caught my eye. So without further ado; let’s get into it:
Martin Braithwaite (Espanyol – Free Transfer)
Well, the Braithwaite-Barcelona saga was interesting to watch unfold wasn’t it? It seemed like the Denmark international wasn’t going anywhere unless Barca paid up his contract in full, and a standoff ensued.
Fortunately for everyone involved, Both parties came to an agreement and his contract was mutually terminated. Only merely hours later Braithwaite decided to join…their neighbours Espanyol.
Thankfully for everyone invested in this storyline, this back and forth seems to have a sequel. I’m excited to find out how he fares at Espanyol. Will he start banging in the goals for them? Will he score in the Catalan derby? We’ll have to wait until the end of December to see how this pans out.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Chelsea – £10.3m*)
This is an interesting one for me, as I have been a huge fan of Aubameyang for a long time. All the way back when he was scoring goals for fun at Dortmund, to being a star player in the Arsenal team.
However something has really made me change my tune recently. It isn’t directly involved with Aubameyang himself, but Arsenal now look more of a cohesive unit since Aubameyang and Lacazette have left.
It could be coincidental, sure. But it is something I can’t get out of my head. Was he too big a star in the Arsenal lineup? Of course, Chelsea are not Arsenal and with every club the dynamic changes drastically. However, will the blues get the Aubameyang we know is world class? Or will he be a stop-start bit-part player that Barcelona are happy to get off the wage bill…?
Idrissa Gueye (Everton – £2m)
Things were getting alarming at Everton. Fortunately for them they kept hold of Anthony Gordon, and when players like Calvert-Lewin come back from injury they should have enough to fight off relegation. But that isn’t where the Toffees deserve to be. The fans expect more, so they needed to make a statement in this window to say that last season was not acceptable.
Everton made a few acquisitions upfront; namely McNeil and Maupay. But they still needed someone to give them that extra edge in midfield, so they could spend more time attacking instead of scrambling around in defence once the midfield battle had taken place.
By re-signing Gueye for only £2m, Lampard could have made the signing of the window. Gueye was immense for Everton when he played for them in the past. Now the £30m move to PSG seems like a brilliant bit of business, since now it was essentially a three-year loan for a £28m fee.
Idrissa knows Lancashire and loves Everton, so he will need no time to settle in. Hopefully for the Premier League team he will hit the ground running and give them some much needed stability so they can push forward this season.
James Garner (Everton – Up to £15m)
Speaking of Everton, Lampard added a second midfielder to replace the gap Dele Alli and André Gomes were supposed to fill.
We at Watford never saw the best of Garner, but he knew he had bags of potential. It didn’t work for whatever reason and we wished him all the best. Then when he flourished at Nottingham Forest we couldn’t help but smile.
It is unknown why Forest could not bring Garner back for another season as I’m sure they would have loved to. But when Lampard found out Garner was available for transfer at the last minute, he did well to bring him in.
If he gets games, he could be a great signing for Everton. Garner is from Birkenhead, so he is pretty much moving back home which means settling in will not be a problem at all. For Everton’s sake, I hope they see the Garner at Forest and not the one we had at Watford where he wasn’t ready yet.
Arthur Melo (Liverpool – £3.9m loan fee)
Admittedly, I do not know a lot about Arthur Henrique Ramos de Oliveira Melo. I know he had a huge reputation when he signed for Juventus. But other than that he hasn’t really popped up on my radar.
Then again, the same could have been said for a certain Thierry Henry when he joined Arsenal from the same team twenty three years ago…
Brazilians tend to do well at Anfield, so the initial signs look promising. Also the fact that it is a loan signing is a perfect bit of business for Liverpool. They have a few injuries in the midfield area, so Melo can slot in and if he becomes a star in the making, the Reds have an option to make the signing permanent for £37.5m. If not, then no problem; a gentleman’s shake of the hand and he goes back to Juventus, and the gamble only cost Liverpool less than £4m.
Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds United – £3.8m)
Italy have been desperate for a new star striker. A few names have been touted to become the next star name in the squad, but few have been able to take Italy to the next level.
Considering forwards are such a commodity nowadays when it comes to wonderkids, I’m surprised Gnonto has flown under the radar for so long. The 18 year old of Ivorian descent was born and raised in Italy, but made his name in the Swiss Super League for FC Zürich.
Granted he is not your traditional forward; he is only 5’7, and his goals to games ratio suggests he is more of a second striker than an out and out goalscorer. Nevertheless, Italy rate him highly, and he already has four appearances for the Italian national team this year scoring one goal against Germany.
At £3.8m, Gnonto could prove to be a shrewd bit of business at Elland Road, and for Leeds fans, hopefully the final piece of the puzzle to help them climb up the table this season.
Are there any players that have caught your eye this transfer deadline day? Do you have any thoughts on other high-profile signings such as Antony, Billy Gilmour, Carlos Vinícius or Dan James? Leave a comment below and let us know.
*Note: All fees are reported
