Inter Milan have announced the signing of midfielder Davy Klaassen from Ajax.
The 30-year-old has signed a two-year deal with Simone Inzaghi’s side which will take him to at least the summer of 2025.
Klaassen’s contract at Ajax was due to expire at the end of the season and he has been allowed to join the Italian side for free.
Klaassen has been capped 41 times by the Netherlands, scoring on 10 occasions and will now move to Italy for the first time in his career.
He becomes Inter’s sixth signing of the summer after Marcus Thuram, Francesco Acerbi, Yann Sommer, Benjamin Pavard and Alexis Sanchez all signed for the club earlier in the window.
Klaassen said on Inter’s twitter feed: “I think I’m an all round midfield player who can help the team in attack and defence and I want to win a lot of games and a lot of trophies with Inter.”
Inter Milan have announced the signing of midfielder Davy Klaassen from Ajax.
The 30-year-old has signed a two-year deal with Simone Inzaghi’s side which will take him to at least the summer of 2025.
Klaassen’s contract at Ajax was due to expire at the end of the season and he has been allowed to join the Italian side for free.
Klaassen has been capped 41 times by the Netherlands, scoring on 10 occasions and will now move to Italy for the first time in his career.
He becomes Inter’s sixth signing of the summer after Marcus Thuram, Francesco Acerbi, Yann Sommer, Benjamin Pavard and Alexis Sanchez all signed for the club earlier in the window.
Klaassen said on Inter’s twitter feed: “I think I’m an all round midfield player who can help the team in attack and defence and I want to win a lot of games and a lot of trophies with Inter.”
AC Milan have signed Serbia striker Luka Jovic from Fiorentina.
Jovic spent one season in Florence, scoring 13 goals in 50 appearances, after a three-year spell at Real Madrid.
“AC Milan is delighted to announce the signing of Luka Jovic on a permanent transfer,” read a statement from the Serie A club.
“The Serbian striker has signed a contract with the club until 30 June 2024.”
Jovic, 25, began his career at Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade before spells at Benfica, Eintracht Frankfurt and Real.
Forward Lorenzo Colombo, meanwhile, will spend the 2023/24 season on loan at Monza after extending his AC Milan contract until June 2028.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has hailed Liel Abada’s contract extension after receiving “significant interest” in the Israel winger from elsewhere.
Abada has signed a new four-year deal after netting 29 goals in 105 appearances and winning five major trophies since joining the Hoops from Maccabi Petah Tikva in July 2021.
Rodgers told Celtic’s website he was delighted with the news, which follows extended deals for Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi earlier this summer.
“We know there was significant interest in Liel from other clubs so we’re delighted that he has committed his future to Celtic,” Rodgers said.
“Already he has made a great contribution to Celtic, delivering some great performances and making a real impact. His energy and ability are real assets to us and his delivery in terms of goals and assists from wide areas has been excellent.
“He is a fantastic young player and now we hope he can build on what he has achieved so far and develop even further.”
Abada added: “Every time I score for this club is really amazing. To score in Celtic Park is always special and the atmosphere is amazing.
“Hopefully I can show more this season for everyone and I will try and get better for the team.”
Rodgers has been keen to keep the core of his team together towards the end of the transfer window and earlier insisted Matt O’Riley was going nowhere after a reported £10million offer from Leeds.
Rodgers said at a media conference: “When you have good players, there’s always going to be interest but definitely Matt is a player that I want to have here and part of what I’m doing.
“I have been really impressed with him. We look forward to continuing working with him.
“We are trying to put strength into the squad rather than deplete it.”
Former Dundee skipper Charlie Adam played a key role in their latest signing after informing Burnley winger Marcel Lewis he was on his way to Dens Park.
Boyhood Dundee fan Adam is Burnley’s loan manager and helped secure a deal for the 21-year-old former Chelsea youth player.
After his first training session, Lewis told Dundee’s website: “Charlie Adam at Burnley gave me a phone and said I was coming up to Dundee which I was over the moon about.
“Charlie told me that the club is a great place to be with great players and a really good set-up.
“I want to get as many games as I can and pitch in with goals and assists to help the team.”
Lewis moved from Chelsea to Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and had a loan spell at Accrington before making a permanent switch to Burnley 12 months ago.
Manager Tony Docherty said: “He is a very productive attacking player who likes to drive at defenders.
“He is also a technically-gifted footballer, who has real ability on the ball and will help us be creative in that final third.
“He has been recommended by Jody Morris and Charlie Adam as an extremely-creative player and has been brought in to enhance an already-strong squad.
“Marcel gives us another young hungry player who wants to impress and prove himself in this league and I am delighted we have been able to bring him in.”
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has no doubts about his formula for success as he looks to put some teething problems behind him ahead of their first meeting of the season with Rangers.
The treble-winners go to Ibrox on Sunday on the back of a Viaplay Cup defeat by Kilmarnock and goalless home draw with St Johnstone.
It was the first time Celtic have failed to score in consecutive domestic games since May 2018, when they did so immediately after clinching the title for a second time under Rodgers.
Attacker Daizen Maeda last week admitted he was taking time to adjust to a new style of player after previous manager Ange Postecoglou’s tactics were instilled in him.
Celtic’s Daizen Maeda during a training session at Lennoxtown )Andrew Milligan/PA)
Although Celtic embarked on a 69-game unbeaten run before Rodgers suffered the first defeat of his first reign, he feels the adjustment might take some time. But he is adamant his project will come good.
“I think it will do (take some time),” he said. “Listen, I’m not here to jeopardise the strategy of the team or lock the team and myself into anything that would fail or not work. It’s just time. It’s just time.
“I don’t really want to go on about injuries but there’s injuries to key players that can really make the system function.
“But I have absolutely no doubt… I know how to win. I know what it takes to win, and I will show the players how to win.
“It might not be in the first game of the season but over the course of the season and over the course of my time here I believe we will do that.
“But there’s just little details of what will improve with the players as we work forward.
“But my teams have always been based, and my body of work hopefully shows that, my teams have always been aggressive, on the front foot, attacking, creative and fast, powerful. And this team will be that over time as well.
“But in the meantime we need to continue to get results and look to improve.”
Rodgers feels the rivalry and pressure of Sunday’s occasion – in front of 50,000 home fans only – will ensure his side are up to speed.
“It’s an iconic game, a fantastic game to be involved in,” he said. “You certainly don’t need to motivate the players.
“Our opening three (league) games, we have won two and drawn one.
“More for me it’s the performance level. But when I analyse the game last weekend, we could have won the game four or five nil, if we get the early goal. The keeper makes a great save.
“But the performance level, I look at the speed of the game and the position of the game, it needs to improve, but I analyse the game and the fix of the things that we need to improve on, I have seen already over the course of the week. So I think we are only going to get better.
“You certainly don’t win a league in August. But it’s something we will improve on for sure.”
It has been another busy transfer deadline day as Premier League club’s work to get new signings in ahead of the 11pm deadline.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the best deals done so far.
Nunes secures City switch
Premier League champions Manchester City were among the earlier movers, announcing a £53million move for midfielder Matheus Nunes from Wolves.
Nunes has signed a five-year deal at City, with the fee received a club-record sale for Wolves.
The Portugal international only joined Wolves from Sporting Lisbon last summer.
However, once a transfer to the Etihad Stadium looked in the pipeline, Nunes was determined to push the move through and did not train as talks continued.
“The opportunity to work under Pep Guardiola, one of the greatest managers ever, and alongside some of the best players in the world was something I couldn’t turn down,” Nunes said.
Seagulls swoop for Ansu
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Brighton pulled off something of a deadline day coup with the signing of Spain forward Ansu Fati on a season-long loan from Barcelona.
The 20-year-old academy graduate made 36 LaLiga appearances last season for Barcelona as they went on to win the title.
“This is a great deal for all of us,” Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi said on the Premier League club’s website.
“I am sure Ansu will help us to reach a new target and we can help him get back at the level he deserves to be.”
Palmer excited by Blues project
Chelsea continued their recruitment drive with the signing of forward Cole Palmer on a seven-year contract from Manchester City.
The PA news agency understands the London club will pay an initial £40m for the 21-year-old academy graduate, with an additional £2.5m in possible add-ons.
Palmer’s arrival the 12th new recruit at Stamford Bridge during the summer – has taken the club’s spending under Todd Boehly’s ownership group past £1billion in three transfer windows.
“I’ve joined Chelsea because the project here sounds good and because of the platform I will have to try to showcase my talents,” Palmer said.
“It is a young and hungry squad and, hopefully, we can do something special here.”
Lenglet’s back again
Aston Villa have moved for defensive cover with the signing of France centre-back Clement Lenglet on loan from Barcelona.
The 28-year-old is no stranger to the Premier League having spent last season at Tottenham.
Lenglet’s arrival provides some additional depth at the back, with Tyrone Mings set for an extended spell on the sidelines with a serious knee problem.
“Of course, after Tyrone’s injury we were analysing how we can face the season,” said Villa boss Unai Emery.
“It was a very good opportunity, he has experience at a high level and in Europe.”
Reguilon is a red
Having kicked things off on Friday morning by announcing the signing of Turkey goalkeeper Altay Bayindir from Fenerbahce, Manchester United later confirmed a loan move for Spurs defender Sergio Reguilon.
The Spaniard had been been training with the Red Devils – and could even feature against Arsenal this weekend.
“In life you have to be ready for everything and the chance to represent this great club with such an illustrious history is one that I could not turn down,” Reguilon told United’s website.
Rasmus Hojlund is fit to make his debut this weekend and Erik ten Hag says Sergio Reguilon could feature at Arsenal after his deadline-day loan switch from Tottenham.
Denmark international Hojlund joined United at the start of August for a fee rising up to £74million from Atalanta, but the 20-year-old has yet to feature due to a back complaint.
However, Ten Hag says the striker is fit to face Arsenal on Sunday, when goalkeeper Altay Bayindir – signed from Fenerbahce on Friday morning – and fellow deadline day arrival Reguilon will also be available for selection.
“Yes (Hojlund will be available),” the United manager said. “He had a good training week so tomorrow we have the final training.
“But he is doing well, responding well, so, yeah, he will be available for Sunday’s game.
“(Bayindir) will be in the squad as well, Altay, so happy. Now we have the keeper group fully there. We covered every position so I think we have a very good keeper group with the arrival of Altay.”
Asked if Reguilon could be involved at the Emirates Stadium, the United boss said: “He is here, he trained. Yes (he will also be available for Sunday).”
Ten Hag confirmed Reguilon’s arrival before the announcement was made confirming his loan switch from Tottenham.
The 26-year-old has joined on a season-long loan to help deal with United’s issues at left-back after Luke Shaw’s muscle injury compounded the absence of Tyrell Malacia and recent exits.
“In life you have to be ready for everything and the chance to represent this great club with such an illustrious history is one that I could not turn down,” said Reguilon, who could return to Spurs in January due to an option in the deal.
“Having spoken to the manager, I know what he needs from me, and I am ready to play my part in helping the team to achieve success.”
“I know that I can contribute to Manchester United this season; I am ready to fight for this group and show everyone my qualities.”
Reguilon spent last season on loan at Atletico Madrid and three years ago was linked with a move to Old Trafford, where Ten Hag believes the Spain international will succeed.
“He’s a very experienced player, played for big clubs, played already a lot of games in LaLiga, Premier League, so, yes, I think very good background,” Ten Hag said.
“We have seen he can play very intense football, so we are happy while we had a problem with Luke Shaw injured, Tyrell Malacia injured, therefore long-term out. So I think we responded very well on that emergency situation.”
On top of deadline-day moves for Bayindir and Reguilon, progress has been made in United’s move for Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat.
A loan deal has been struck for the 27-year-old midfielder, who starred at the World Cup for Morocco and previously played under Ten Hag at Utrecht.
“There are so many rumours, but it’s nice, eh?,” the United boss said when asked about Amrabat.
“I think we have done good business, we constructed a strong squad and we are ready to go in to the fight.”
Pushed again on Amrabat, he said: “I can’t tell (you much) because I don’t know if he can sign, so if we have news, we will report it immediately.”
The PA news agency understands academy product Jonny Evans could also sign a deal for the rest of the season.
The Northern Ireland centre-back, 35, joined on a short-term contract in pre-season and has impressed Ten Hag.
There could be outgoings as well as incomings before the day is out, with multiple clubs looking at Eric Bailly, Donny Van De Beek and Mason Greenwood.
United announced last week that the latter would not recommence his career at the club, with teams in Germany, Spain, Italy and Turkey among those to express interest.
Marc Jurado joined Espanyol on a permanent deal on Friday and Alvaro Fernandez could return to Spain, but Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay look set to stay having been subject of interest this summer.
“If you see the schedule, it’s tough, it’s really condensed,” United boss Ten Hag said.
“When you see last season the World Cup, crazy season, the season takes longer, two weeks longer. We played (the) FA Cup final one week longer.
“We had a short break, we had a really condensed pre-season again, so we need numbers. But also we need not only numbers, the numbers have to be quality.
“I think, yeah, with this squad we have depth and we have quality players and we can be in a variety of systems and we are happy with it.
“We are ready to go into the fight.”
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is “excited” to get back in front of the home fans as his side look to make it four consecutive wins when Getafe visit the Bernabeu on Saturday.
Ancelotti’s side have picked up maximum points from their opening three matches, which have all been away from home while renovations were carried out at the Bernabeu.
Madrid are the only team in LaLiga to have picked up three wins from three but will face a challenge from Getafe, who have already taken a point off Barcelona this season.
Ancelotti told a press conference: “We’re really excited to be back at the Bernabeu, it looks quite different now.
“It’s important to get back to our stadium in front of our fans after some good performances in the opening three games. We can’t wait to return and pick up the three points.”
“I’m not in the mind of the fans. I am very excited about the season.
“Every single one of us, when the season starts, we are hungry to have an incredible campaign.
“It’s happened many times in the past and could very well happen again this year.”
Madrid will be without their playmaker Vinicius Jr for the clash after he was brought off in the 18th minute of their 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo with a hamstring injury.
The 23-year-old is likely to be missing for several weeks and Ancelotti understands he will be a big miss.
He continued: “Being without Vini Jr means we lose a hugely decisive player for the next few games.
“Our approach won’t change but we’ll replace him with a player who has different attributes, so we’ll try to adapt our attacking movement.”
“We can replace Vinicius with Joselu and Brahim (Diaz). We don’t have to play with three forwards but I might well play with someone coming inside.
Despite losing Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema to Al-Ittihad and Marco Asensio to PSG, Real have reinforced their squad with other options, including Jude Bellingham, who has made a fast start to life in Spain.
The 20-year-old has scored four goals in his opening three matches, becoming the first person to do that in Real Madrid colours since Cristiano Ronaldo.
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Ancelotti thinks the fans will be happy to see Bellingham play in front of the home crowd for the first time.
He added: “The fans will be delighted to see Bellingham play live at our ground. He’s got such a strong personality, he’ll love playing at the Bernabeu.
“I’m very happy with the squad. As I said before, we did all the work we had to do early on and when the season got underway, we were all sorted.
“It’s a competitive squad because we have a mix of quality, strength, energy and experience.
“We’re in good shape, despite having some real problems, which is always the way over the course of the season.
“It’s a good squad and we can replace our injured guys without many issues.”
The Premier League’s first £2billion transfer window demonstrates the “incredible pace of growth” in the league’s wealth, according to finance company Deloitte.
The milestone was surpassed for the first time in advance of Friday’s deadline as Chelsea and Arsenal both made £100million midfield signings, with deadline-day moves such as Manchester City’s £53m capture of Wolves’ Matheus Nunes driving the total still higher.
Calum Ross, assistant director in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, told the PA news agency: “It took 14 summer transfer windows to exceed £1bn – from when the transfer window system was introduced in January 2003 – and it’s only taken seven more to surpass £2bn, so that just reflects the incredible pace of growth that we’re seeing.”
Chelsea’s spending under Todd Boehly’s ownership group has continued with the £100m signing of midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton, £63m for forward Christopher Nkunku and Friday’s £40m capture of Cole Palmer from Manchester City as they seek to bounce back from last season’s 12th-placed finish.
With Newcastle beating the Blues, Tottenham and Liverpool to a place in this season’s Champions League and Brighton – who pulled off a deadline-day coup with a loan deal for Barcelona star Ansu Fati – also challenging, there are as many as eight teams with realistic top-four ambitions.
Ross said: “You’ve got that intensity of competition across the league. Whether that’s competing for the title, competing for European places or just simply staying in the league, that’s driving spending.
“There are 10 clubs that have spent more than £100m so it’s not all those top clubs.”
England’s top flight continues to dominate the picture, spending almost as much as the other members of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues – LaLiga in Spain, Italy’s Serie A, the French Ligue 1 and Germany’s Bundesliga – combined this summer.
But a new challenge has emerged with the Saudi Pro League attracting the likes of Neymar, Karim Benzema and Riyad Mahrez to follow Cristiano Ronaldo’s January move to Al Nassr.
The fees and wages on offer in Saudi Arabia are eye-watering, with Liverpool rejecting a £150m deadline-day bid from Al-Ittihad for attacking talisman Mohamed Salah, but with the extra competition comes additional funding for English clubs.
“There’s been quite a significant change in the global transfer market with the Saudi Pro League becoming one of the highest spenders globally,” said Ross.
“That would be the first time since the summer window of 2016 that one of the big five leagues, LaLiga, doesn’t appear in the top-five spenders globally. The Saudi Pro League’s replaced them, I think they’re the second highest at the moment with over 850million euros.
“Also it’s another source of funding though – I think almost half of the transfer fees received by Premier League clubs came from the Saudi Pro League.
“So that illustrates that having that extra funding that they’re able to capitalise on from Saudi Pro League clubs and other overseas markets is then providing them with additional funds to redistribute to their transfer targets.”
The Saudi window remains open until next Thursday and while clubs could be reluctant to sell with no opportunity to replace departed talent, Ross said: “There is still a chance over the next week or so that we will see further outgoings.
“Being able to operate in a financially-sustainable manner, as well as complying with the relevant financial regulations, is a key part of their activity.
“It’s balancing that need for financial sustainability and profitability with the desire for on-pitch success.”
Napoli manager Rudi Garcia highlighted Lazio’s quality despite the Biancocelesti losing their opening two Serie A matches ahead of their meeting on Saturday.
Maurizio Sarri’s side, who were beaten 2-1 at Lecce before a 1-0 home defeat to Genoa, find themselves in 18th place and travel to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in search of their first points of the season.
Garcia will look to extend Napoli’s flawless start despite failing to predict how Sarri’s side will set up when the two face off.
“They’re a quality side that need points having lost their first two games,” Garcia said.
“I don’t know what we should expect in tactical terms – maybe they’ll keep it tight.
“I always try to manage games by looking at my team. In this regard, we aren’t at 100 per cent yet in terms of fitness because some of the players started preparing for the season later than others.
“This is a match between two teams, Napoli and Lazio, rather than a match between coaches.
“Tomorrow is a match that we want to win. Our aim is to keep up our 100 per cent record as that would allow us to take points off Lazio, who are a direct rival of ours.”
Garcia, who replaced Luciano Spalletti in June, credited his side’s start which included a 3-1 victory over Frosinone and a 2-0 win over Sassuolo.
The French manager encouraged his team to be more clinical in front of goal and provided an injury update for 2022/23 Serie A player of the year Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who returned to action last week.
“We did well to give very little away against Frosinone and Sassuolo,” Garcia added.
“The win over Frosinone took on greater significance after they beat Atalanta. We stood our ground for the first hour against Sassuolo when it was still 11 against 11.
“We certainly need to improve in terms of finishing.
“We’re carving out plenty of chances but we’re not making the most of them. What matters to me giving little away because we need to get the balance right in order to achieve our target.
“He’s doing well (Kvaratskhelia). He’s had a busy week of training and we’ll see if he plays tomorrow.”
Garcia admitted he is pleased to face Real Madrid in Group C of the Champions League – with Napoli also due to face Braga and Union Berlin.
“The draw could’ve been better and it also could’ve been worse,” he said.
“I’m really pleased to be playing against Real Madrid, first of all because they’re a great side and it’s also a fitting return for me as when Roma qualified for the last 16 in 2016, I was supposed to face Real Madrid but I wasn’t allowed to.”
Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi feels an overwhelming duty to help Barcelona loanee Ansu Fati realise his potential of becoming a “great” player.
Spain international Fati has joined Albion on a deal until the end of the season, having been linked with Premier League rivals Tottenham.
De Zerbi, who recently lost Julio Enciso to a long-term knee issue, says he “can’t make mistakes” as he bids to develop the exciting 20-year-old forward during his temporary stay at the Amex Stadium.
“I’m very pleased, it’s a big player,” the Italian coach said of Fati. “We lost Enciso and we needed one big player.
“We are lucky because we have a lot of young players, potential top players and it will be one responsibility more.
“If you work with this talent, you have much responsibility because it’s our football heritage and we can’t make mistakes with these players because football needs this talent and you have to manage it in different ways.
“I’ve always thought like this. Especially for the big, big talent, I feel the responsibility to help this talent to become great players.
“Sometimes the coaches think only of the result, only of their career but football needs to have great players. It’s a big responsibility and I feel it.
“I think our style is very close with his characteristics, with his qualities.”
Fati, who has nine Spain caps and travelled to last year’s World Cup in Qatar, will not be involved when Brighton host Newcastle in the top flight on Saturday evening.
His arrival came on a landmark day for Albion after they were drawn to face European giants Ajax and Marseille in the group stage of their maiden Europa League campaign.
Greek champions AEK Athens complete Group B, with the first round of fixtures scheduled for Thursday, September 21.
“Ajax, Marseille and AEK are all good teams but we are a good team too,” said De Zerbi.
“It will be a very tough group but we have the enthusiasm of the first time Brighton play in the Europa League and you can imagine what will be our attitude, behaviour and passion to make points and to qualify for the next step.
“You can (only) be proud for two or three minutes – not too much – and then you have to think, Newcastle first of all because tomorrow we don’t play in the Europa League, we play in the Premier League.”
Forward Danny Welbeck will miss out against the Magpies due to a muscular injury.
Cameroonian midfielder Carlos Baleba – bought from French side Lille on Tuesday for a reported £23million – will join Fati in having to wait until after the upcoming international break for a debut.
In a positive week for the Seagulls, Pascal Gross received his first call-up from Germany, while captain Lewis Dunk was included in England’s squad.
“Both were incredible news for us,” said De Zerbi. “We are a small club, we are not used to this news and for us it’s like winning a trophy.
“They deserve it, I think and I am working to help my players to reach this target.”
Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel insists his side head to bogey-side Borussia Monchengladbach for Sunday’s Bundesliga clash as favourites.
Tuchel’s side sit joint top after winning their opening two league games – 4-0 at Werder Bremen and 3-1 at home last week against Augsburg.
But Bayern have failed to beat historic rivals Gladbach in their five previous meetings, which included a 5-0 thrashing in the DFB-Pokal in 2021.
Tuchel joked at a press conference: “As soon as a streak goes against us, we don’t believe in streaks.
“We need a good performance. We have to build on the things we did well against Werder Bremen and in the second half against Augsburg.
“(Winning) our duels, being active, working hard out of possession and creating chances – we have to stick to them.
“We go to Gladbach as favourites and with the demand to win there. That’s absolutely our goal.”
Bayern’s rivalry with Gladbach stems from the mid-60s when both clubs won promotion to the top flight and they shared nine successive Bundesliga titles in the 70s.
“We know what’s coming, Tuchel added. “It’s emotional, a special game, a lot of history – and that’s what you’re up against.
“We have to play to our principles and know that we aren’t alone, are doing this as a team and that our own game is the focus. I’m confident there.
“Obviously you always need some luck in games, but it’s in our own hands.”
Gladbach, who have won three and drawn two of their previous five encounters with Bayern, are bidding for their first league win of the season.
They drew 4-4 at Augsburg on the opening day before losing 3-0 at home to Bayer Leverkusen last week.
Swiss head coach Gerardo Seoane, who replaced Daniel Farke in June, said: “We have to be brave, defend from the front, so the gaps are smaller.
“If we manage to squeeze the field, we have the chance to contest more physical challenges than we managed against Leverkusen. We have to improve in that area.”
Former Leverkusen and Young Boys boss Seoane said his side will have to pay particular attention to new Bayern fans’ favourite Harry Kane.
The England captain has scored three goals in his first two league appearances since completing his £86.4million move from Tottenham.
Seoane added: “He’s a centre-forward who’s extremely good at finishing. He doesn’t need many chances to score. That doesn’t make defending against him any easier.”
The Premier League’s first £2billion transfer window demonstrates the “incredible pace of growth” in the league’s wealth, according to finance company Deloitte.
The milestone was surpassed for the first time in advance of Friday’s deadline as Chelsea and Arsenal both made £100million midfield signings, with deadline-day moves such as Manchester City’s £53m capture of Wolves’ Matheus Nunes driving the total still higher.
Calum Ross, assistant director in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, told the PA news agency: “It took 14 summer transfer windows to exceed £1bn – from when the transfer window system was introduced in January 2003 – and it’s only taken seven more to surpass £2bn, so that just reflects the incredible pace of growth that we’re seeing.”
Chelsea’s spending under Todd Boehly’s ownership group has continued with the £100m signing of midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton, £63m for forward Christopher Nkunku and Friday’s £40m capture of Cole Palmer from Manchester City as they seek to bounce back from last season’s 12th-placed finish.
With Newcastle beating the Blues, Tottenham and Liverpool to a place in this season’s Champions League and Brighton – who pulled off a deadline-day coup with a loan deal for Barcelona star Ansu Fati – also challenging, there are as many as eight teams with realistic top-four ambitions.
Ross said: “You’ve got that intensity of competition across the league. Whether that’s competing for the title, competing for European places or just simply staying in the league, that’s driving spending.
“There are 10 clubs that have spent more than £100m so it’s not all those top clubs.”
England’s top flight continues to dominate the picture, spending almost as much as the other members of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues – LaLiga in Spain, Italy’s Serie A, the French Ligue 1 and Germany’s Bundesliga – combined this summer.
But a new challenge has emerged with the Saudi Pro League attracting the likes of Neymar, Karim Benzema and Riyad Mahrez to follow Cristiano Ronaldo’s January move to Al Nassr.
The fees and wages on offer in Saudi Arabia are eye-watering, with Liverpool rejecting a £150m deadline-day bid from Al-Ittihad for attacking talisman Mohamed Salah, but with the extra competition comes additional funding for English clubs.
“There’s been quite a significant change in the global transfer market with the Saudi Pro League becoming one of the highest spenders globally,” said Ross.
“That would be the first time since the summer window of 2016 that one of the big five leagues, LaLiga, doesn’t appear in the top-five spenders globally. The Saudi Pro League’s replaced them, I think they’re the second highest at the moment with over 850million euros.
“Also it’s another source of funding though – I think almost half of the transfer fees received by Premier League clubs came from the Saudi Pro League.
“So that illustrates that having that extra funding that they’re able to capitalise on from Saudi Pro League clubs and other overseas markets is then providing them with additional funds to redistribute to their transfer targets.”
The Saudi window remains open until next Thursday and while clubs could be reluctant to sell with no opportunity to replace departed talent, Ross said: “There is still a chance over the next week or so that we will see further outgoings.
“Being able to operate in a financially-sustainable manner, as well as complying with the relevant financial regulations, is a key part of their activity.
“It’s balancing that need for financial sustainability and profitability with the desire for on-pitch success.”
Chelsea will give Cole Palmer time to get comfortable in his new environment after completing his £40million move from Manchester City, according to Mauricio Pochettino.
The 21-year-old signed a seven-year deal on Friday to swap the club he joined aged seven for Pochettino’s new-look Stamford Bridge outfit.
The City academy graduate played 14 league games during the club’s Premier League title-winning season last term and was an unused substitute as they beat Inter Milan to win the Champions League in June.
Despite his increased involvement in the champions’ first team – which included scoring in both the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup this season – his new manager hinted a chance to play a more significant role in west London may have been a factor in persuading him to move.
He becomes the club’s 12th signing of the current transfer window, taking spending during the first 16 months of ownership of Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium over £1billion, but Pochettino said it is likely to be the last of the club’s business before Friday night’s deadline.
With so much player turnover and with the youngest average squad age in the league, he has stated repeatedly in the early weeks of the season that too much cannot be expected too soon and applied the same argument to Palmer’s arrival.
“I think he’s a fit for the project,” said the manager. “He’s a young, talented player. He decided to come because he expects to play maybe more and be important here.
“But that’s not the most important thing. The most important is that he sees Chelsea as a project for him, and to improve his game, and to be more involved every single game.
“The quality is there, there is great potential. Now he needs to settle here and prove and show that he’s better than his team-mates, and that he deserves to play. He has to fight for his place.
“He’s from Manchester and he’s going to move to London. London is different, the club is different, the culture and everything. First of all, before he starts to perform, he needs to settle in his space and feel comfortable.
“We’re not going to put pressure on him to perform (straight away). The most important thing now is to be happy and to find his space in the team.
“I think so (that is the end of transfer business). I think there’s no time. If something is going on, I don’t know. I didn’t talk to my sporting directors since 11 o’clock (Friday morning). If something is going to happen they will communicate with me.
“We are happy with the squad. I don’t believe that something will happen in the next few hours in terms of players in.”
The manager would not rule out the departure of Conor Gallagher, who has been the subject of a reported £40m bid from Tottenham.
The midfielder has started every game under Pochettino and captained the side in Wednesday’s 2-1 Carabao Cup win against AFC Wimbledon.
“I think all the players that are involved in the squad are in our plan,” said Pochettino. “After, it’s a decision between the club and the player.
“Always from our side, Conor was a player that is consistent and can perform in different positions. We are so happy with him.
“He was captain against Wimbledon, he’s an important player for us. What’s going to happen in the future, I don’t know, I cannot tell you this. It’s like a player asks me ‘how do you see myself in the future?’ I don’t know, I cannot know. It’s up to you.”
The manager added that he had been under no illusion that Romelu Lukaku would play a role with the first team this season.
The striker finally departed on Thursday on a season-long loan to Roma, having not trained with the squad since returning from a stay at Inter nor been given a squad number.
“I’m not disappointed because it was so clear the situation,” said Pochettino. “I didn’t create any expectation in my mind. The club was clear in the situation.
“What I heard from the club was the that the player wanted to leave. It was clear he was not going to be here this season.”
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