Five bits of good business on deadline day
ARTHUR DAILY: Arthur Melo arrived at Anfield. Picture: David Ramos/Getty Images
There’s an argument that United have over-paid for Brazilian winger Antony but, given the current market and given his talent, that’s not going to bother anyone at Old Trafford.
This is the kind of player a club like United should be targeting. Young, quick, skilful, and direct with plenty of room for development – and the potential to be up there with the best in future.
It’s a big contrast to previous transfer window splurges on ageing talent such as Edison Cavani, Ronaldo and even Zlatan, even though the latter was a big hit in the Premier League during his short stay.
None of those players have any kind of re-sale value now, as United have found with Ronaldo, and there’s an argument that just by being at Old Trafford they blocked the pathway for younger players left in their shadow.
That’s an argument for another day, but the signing of Antony is positive. A fee of €100million, including extras, puts huge pressure on the 22-year-old, but he knows Erik ten Hag after playing under him at Ajax and you suspect he’ll settle quickly – and that United fans will love him.
The only question is how often he’ll play. He has Marcus Rashford and in-form Jadon Sancho for competition.
This is a canny signing from Liverpool rather than a knee-jerk reaction, one which gives them cover in the short term and time to think about their next move in January.
They had do something after Jordan Henderson became yet another Anfield midfielder to pick up an injury last weekend. Henderson’s tweaked hamstring added to injuries for Naby Keita, Thiago, Curtis Jones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Diogo Jota, whilst young Harvey Elliott was also taken off against Newcastle as a precaution.
Arthur, who has also played for Barcelona, should settle in well amongst Liverpool’s Brazilian group and brings plenty of experience with him.
He’s naturally a holding midfielder but is versatile enough to fill spaces further forward and will give Liverpool much-needed cover.
The loan doesn’t come with a view to a buy, but Liverpool did negotiate for Juventus to continue paying a percentage of his wages, which can’t be a bad thing. It looks a safe and steady signing at a time when reinforcements were needed.
There's an element of risk to this transfer, but you have to admire Brighton’s confidence in their coaching staff to bring out the best in a young player who has huge talent but whose career has stalled a little in the last year.
The Seagulls have paid more than €11m, but what’s important here is that midfielder Gilmour is just 21 years old, has raw potential and all the basics required to be a big player in future.
A liveware in central midfield, he made an instant impact for Chelsea when utilised under Frank Lampard and then hit the heights with a stunning performance for Scotland against England at the Euros.
Since then he has stagnated on loan at Norwich, being left out of the side too often and failing to have the impact expected.
But Brighton boss Graham Potter knows talent when he sees it and he likes the way Chelsea prepare their players, too. He has already signed Tariq Lamptey from the Blues, another player with massive potential, and took Levi Colwill on loan this summer, too.
This is a transfer which could make the list of ‘riskiest buys’ as well as ‘best buys’. But what gives you confidence that Auba will be a success at Stamford Bridge is that manager Thomas Tuchel knows exactly how to get the best from him, after they worked together so successfully at Dortmund.
They spent two years in tandem, and the stats are remarkable. In the 2015-16 campaign Aubameyang scored 39 goals in 49 appearances and delivered 12 assists. The following year he hit 50 goals in 46 appearances, including 31 in just 32 Bundesliga fixtures.
Given that Chelsea are currently relying on Raheem Sterling up front, those stats should bring Blues fans hope. But he has to perform. The club cannot afford another big mistake after the way that Romelu Lukaku’s big money move from Inter went so wrong.
They say never go back, but when you can bring in a quality midfielder who already knows English football and already feels at home at your club – and then pay just 2.3m Euros for him – it’s no brainer.
Everton’s swoop for their former player, sold three years ago, is a welcome boost at a time when the club is struggling in the Premier League.
He will bring stability and experience just a the right time, and the fact that Everton also held on to Anthony Gordon, despite interest from Chelsea, it was a positive day all round for the Toffees.
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