Chelsea completed an extraordinary spending spree by landing World Cup star Enzo Fernandez from Benfica, the biggest deal of transfer deadline day.
It was Premier League clubs that featured front and centre as big-name players found new homes on Tuesday, with Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City kept busy.
Deals struck on this day can be born of desperation; however, if the right player becomes available, those that jump at the opportunity to reinforce might be thankful they took that choice come May.
Here Stats Perform assesses five deals that went through and could prove hugely significant come the season's end.
Enzo Fernandez: Benfica to Chelsea, £106.8million
A World Cup wonder for Argentina, Fernandez's stock soared over four weeks in Qatar, to the point he became linked to the wealthiest clubs in Europe.
It was Chelsea owner Todd Boehly who lasted the distance in the race for his signature, adding Fernandez to the previous window deals for Mykhaylo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana, Joao Felix, Noni Madueke and Malo Gusto.
Fernandez has only played half a season in Europe after moving to Benfica from River Plate, so there is an element of risk in Chelsea's investment, regardless of his national team performances alongside Lionel Messi and co.
He has played five Champions League group games, and the 22-year-old has looked the part, with his arrival handing Graham Potter another expensive plaything. This means there can be no excuses now for the head coach as he looks to turn the Blues into a winning machine.
Marcel Sabitzer: Bayern Munich to Manchester United (loan)
Bayern Munich decided they could afford to part company with Sabitzer, with the former RB Leipzig midfielder jetting out to secure a move to Manchester United, swapping one European giant for another.
It was reported Erik ten Hag fancied Ryan Gravenberch, his former Ajax player, but Bayern were said to have resisted that interest and instead allowed United to take Austria international Sabitzer.
He emerged as a surprising spare part for Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann, with Sabitzer having featured in 23 games for the Bundesliga leaders this season, albeit starting only 11 times.
Ten Hag will certainly like the fact Sabitzer has a duel success rate of 58.77 per cent – the highest of his career – this season.
He is not a like-for-like replacement for the injured Christian Eriksen, but Sabitzer brings his own qualities, will want to prove a point, and should not let United down over the coming four months.
Jorginho: Chelsea to Arsenal, £12million
Arsenal wanted Moises Caicedo and were prepared to pay a king's ransom for the Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder. They settled for Jorginho, a Euro 2020 champion with Italy and Champions League winner with Chelsea, paying a small fraction of the fee they would have had to spend on Caicedo.
A deal worth around £12million looks sensible business, and Jorginho makes the jump from 10th-placed Chelsea to the table-topping Gunners, seeking the first domestic league title of his career.
He played 25 games this season for the Blues, scoring three penalties but not managing any goals other than those spot-kicks, nor any assists.
Some Arsenal fans have grumbled over the signing, but Jorginho brings defensive qualities and experience of winning, which for Arsenal in recent years has been in short supply.
Joao Cancelo: Manchester City to Bayern Munich (loan with option to buy)
Bayern brought in goalkeeper Yann Sommer earlier in the window after Manuel Neuer suffered a season-ending broken leg. That was a deal that many saw coming, but the move for Cancelo came out of the sky blue, reportedly after a disagreement with Pep Guardiola saw City happy to offload the full-back.
It went through on Tuesday, opening up the possibility of Cancelo being a Premier League and Bundesliga winner in the same season.
He looks set to feature at right-back for Bayern, with Alphonso Davies featuring on the left. It means Bayern will have a pair of attacking full-backs that will put the fear up opponents.
With Bayern in a slump, drawing their past three Bundesliga games, it felt important for there to be a new face coming in. Cancelo, until very recently a favourite of Guardiola, is used to winning things with City so should fit in well at Sabener Strasse.
Pedro Porro: Sporting CP to Tottenham (loan with obligation to buy)
Three and a half years since he joined Manchester City, Porro should finally make his debut in English football after being recruited to fill the right-back role for Antonio Conte at Spurs.
This has the makings of a masterstroke signing, with Spain international Porro having caught Spurs' eye in the Champions League group stage earlier this season. He previously played for Real Valladolid while farmed out on loan from City, for whom he never played a competitive senior game.
He represents an upgrade on Matt Doherty, who was released to join Atletico Madrid, and may have the edge on Emerson Royal, with Conte bringing in a player with serious defensive and attacking qualities.
Among defenders with 10 or more appearances and at least 10 tackles, Porro's 78.95 per cent tackle success rate ranks as the sixth-best in the Portuguese Primeira Liga this season.
Meanwhile, only one defender, Benfica's Alejandro Grimaldo, has created more chances than Porro's 34 from 14 games, which have brought him six assists.
Porro ranks second among defenders in the Portuguese top flight for the most crosses played too, with 108 to Grimaldo's 116. Significantly, though, Porro has played 526 minutes fewer than Grimaldo, illustrating how effective the Spurs new boy has been when on the pitch.
Mbappe confirms PSG departure at end of season
Kylian Mbappe has confirmed that he will leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season.
Mbappe, who joined PSG on a permanent deal from Monaco in 2018 after spending a season on loan, has made 305 appearances for the club, scoring 255 goals, 42 of which came in European competition.
The 25-year-old helped them win Ligue 1 six times, including this season, three Coupe de France titles and two Coupe de la Ligue trophies.
Mbappe, who is out of contract this year, will not be staying at the Parc des Princes at the end of the season, with reports suggesting he could join Real Madrid.
In a message posted on his social media channels, Mbappe said: "I've always said that I would speak with you when the time comes, and so I wanted to announce to you all that it's my last year at Paris Saint-Germain.
"I will not extend, and the adventure will come to an end in a few weeks.
"I will play my last game at the Parc des Princes on Sunday."
"It's a lot of emotions, many years where I had the chance and the great honour to be a member of the biggest French club, one of the best in the world, which allowed me to arrive here, to have my first experience in a club with a lot of pressure, to grow as a player by being alongside some of the best in history, to meet a lot of people and to grow as a man with all the glory and the mistakes I've made.
"I want to thank the teammates, all of the teammates that I had. All the coaches, Unai Emery, Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Christophe Galtier and Luis Enrique.
"It's hard, it's hard and I never thought it would be this difficult, to announce that to leave my country, France, the Ligue 1, a championship I have always known, but I think I needed this, a new challenge after seven years.
"It's difficult and, of course, there are some people, I want to thank above all these are the fans. I know I am not the most demonstrative player. I haven't always lived up to the love you all gave me for the seven years, but I never wanted to cheat. I have always wanted to be effective.
"PSG is a club that never leaves anyone indifferent. We can love it or hate it. I made the choice of loving it and I did it for seven years, with ups and downs, of course, but I do not regret any moment, signing with this prestigious club.
"It's a club that I will keep in memory my entire life. I will tell everybody my whole life, that I had the chance to play here. I won't be a player anymore, but I will continue to watch every game, of course, because it's a club that I will always be interested in, and I will always closely follow up its news.
"It was me with my qualities and defects, but I tried to give the best version of myself during those seven years. But beforehand I want to say thank you because without you all I would not have experienced half of the emotions I felt. And just for that, I am grateful for life.
Chelsea sacking would not be the end of the world - Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino says it would not be "the end of the world" if he were to leave Chelsea at the end of the season.
The Blues have lost just one of their last 12 matches in the Premier League, and they thrashed West Ham 5-0 in their last game to make it four home wins on the bounce.
Chelsea now sit in seventh place with a place in Europe next season within their reach, but rumours continue to spread that Pochettino’s future at the club is not safe.
Pochettino stressed that he wants to be involved in the conversations about the club’s plans at the end of the season, which is when a decision will be made.
He said: "If we are happy, perfect. But it is not only if the owners are happy or the sporting directors happy... You need to ask us also, because maybe [we] say, ‘we are not happy’ and we accept the situation, and we need to split.
“It is not going to be the first time the coaching staff at the end of the season decide to not keep going. But at this end, it is always the opposite way. It is always the owners or the sporting directors.
"If we split it’s not a problem, it will not be the end of the world."
At the other end of the table, Nottingham Forest boosted their survival hopes with a 3-1 win over already-relegated Sheffield United last Saturday to move three points clear of the drop.
With Forest still not safe with two games to go, Nuno Espirito Santo admitted this was his toughest season as a manager so far.
"It’s been hard but I’m repeating myself. Since day one we embraced the challenge," said Nuno.
"There were a lot of things we were not expecting, but we dealt with them in the proper moment and in the right way. With the right attitude and working together, we can overcome the obstacles, and we have had a lot."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Nottingham Forest – Chris Wood
Wood has scored more goals than any other Nottingham Forest player in the Premier League this season (12). However, in 11 meetings with Chelsea in the competition, he has never found the back of the net, something he will want to change at the weekend.
Chelsea – Cole Palmer
Palmer has been involved in 30 Premier League goals this season, scoring 21 and assisting nine.
The last Chelsea player to be involved in more was Eden Hazard in 2018-19 (31 – 16G 15A), while 2009-10 was the last time a Blues player scored more in a league campaign (Didier Drogba 29, Frank Lampard 22).
MATCH PREDICTION: CHELSEA WIN
Chelsea have lost just one of their last 12 Premier League games (W6 D5), though they are winless in their last five away from home (D4 L1).
The Blues have won just two of their last 10 away league games against Forest (D4 L4), winning 1-0 in November 1994 and 3-1 in February 1999.
Following their 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge in September, Forest are looking to complete their first league double over Chelsea since 1978-79, when they were reigning top-flight champions under Brian Clough.
Indeed, Forest have only lost their final home league match in one of their six previous Premier League campaigns (W4 D1), doing so against Sheffield United in 1992-93 with a 2-0 defeat that confirmed their relegation.
Chelsea’s Premier League games have seen 129 goals this season (F70 A59), the third most after Sheffield United (135) and Newcastle (134). Only in 2009-10 (135) have the Blues' games produced more goals (F103 A32).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Nottingham Forest – 25.5%
Draw – 27.6%
Chelsea – 46.9%
Treble-chasing Leverkusen offer fans free tattoos to commemorate stunning season
Treble-chasing Bayer Leverkusen are offering supporters free tattoos to commemorate their Bundesliga-winning season and record-breaking unbeaten run.
Xabi Alonso's team, undefeated across all competitions this season, reached the Europa League final with a 2-2 comeback draw against Roma on Thursday, sealing a 4-2 aggregate win.
That result also stretched their unbeaten run this season to 49 matches across all competitions, surpassing Benfica's long-standing European record of 48, set between 1963 and 1965.
"A special action at the end of a special season. Bayer 04 are offering fans, until the end of the season, the opportunity to choose one of many Bayer 04 tattoos for free," the club said in a statement.
"Book your appointment now to eternalise this unique season on your skin."
Having sealed their first ever Bundesliga title, Leverkusen are also through to the DFB-Pokal final.
They will face second-tier Kaiserslautern in that showpiece game on May 25, three days after they take on Atalanta in the Europa League final.
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