There are several ways in which promoted teams can approach their first transfer window in the Premier League.

One method is the path well worn by Norwich City, a more conservative approach to recruitment aiming to consolidate the squad that gained promotion and add in one or two fresh faces on cheaper deals or loans. For the Canaries, it has resulted in them becoming the proverbial yo-yo club; too good for the Championship, but not quite good enough to stay up.

Bournemouth, much to the apparent chagrin of former head coach Scott Parker, seem to have taken that approach this season. It remains to be seen how that will play out. 

There is a middle ground, the route taken by Leeds United in 2020, where five to 10 additions of quality, from across the continent or from within the Premier League, are prioritised. Fulham – big spenders in past seasons, to little success – are testing that one out this time around. 

Then, there always seems to be one of the promoted sides that turn around their squad on a grand scale. However, the scale of change seen at Nottingham Forest this time around has been unprecedented.

A whopping 20 (yes, twenty) first-team players had arrived before the deadline passed on September 1, and it would have been 21 had Forest pushed through a move for Chelsea outcast Michy Batshuayi in time. Steve Cooper relied heavily on loan players last season, most of whom left the club, but even still, the quantity of incomings has been remarkable.

Forest have already handed out 18 Premier League debuts this season (seven more than any other team) and could still make a 21st signing – free agent Serge Aurier is reportedly a target. For now, here's the 20 new faces Cooper can call on.

Goalkeeper

We'll start at the back, in the form of goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who signed on loan from Manchester United to replace the departing Brice Samba. While the latter was crucial last season, England international Henderson is an upgrade and came in as the club's second senior signing on July 2. He has already proved his worth, saving two penalties (one in a win over West Ham, the other in last week's loss to Tottenham). Wayne Hennessey signed from Burnley 13 days later to provide experienced competition.

Defence

The first defender through the door was right-back Giulian Biancone, and the 22-year-old was followed by coveted Mainz centre-back Moussa Niakhate for a reported fee of £8.5million (€9.8m) plus £4.2m (€4.8m) in potential add-ons. Full-backs Omar Richards, Neco Williams and Harry Toffolo arrived from Bayern Munich and Liverpool, but after three games Cooper wanted more. Renan Lodi watched Forest lose to Spurs before signing on loan from Atletico Madrid, underlining the pull of the Premier League and regular minutes in a World Cup year, with Willy Boly (Wolves, reported £2.25m) and Loic Bade (Rennes, loan) rounding off their defensive business.

Midfield

It took until July 20 for Forest to bolster their midfield, with Lewis O'Brien signing from Huddersfield Town. A day later, Forest's first marquee signing of the window arrived in the form of Jesse Lingard, who had left Manchester United following the expiration of his contract. Orel Mangala is an energetic holding player who has slotted straight in after signing from Stuttgart, with the versatile Cheikhou Kouyate an experienced free acquisition from Crystal Palace. Remo Freuler has played in the Champions League with Atalanta, and Forest went all-out for Morgan Gibbs-White, paying Wolves a reported £25m for the England youth international, with add-ons potentially taking the deal to £42.5m.

Attack

Goals win games, and Forest – who were thrashed 6-0 by champions Manchester City in a huge reality check last time out – have managed only two in the league this season despite their incomings. In Gibbs-White and Lingard they have added creativity, though their attack is yet to click. Taiwo Awoniyi scored 15 Bundesliga goals last term for Union Berlin and got Forest's winner against West Ham, though that is his only strike in five appearances so. Emmanuel Dennis' 10 goals were not enough to keep Watford up, but Forest were still willing to pay £20m to bring in the Nigerian, while they will be hoping Hwang Ui-jo replicates the 11 league goals he managed for Bordeaux in 2021-22. Winger Josh Bowler signed in a reported £4m deal from Blackpool Town just before the deadline.

Michy Batshuayi was poised to complete a move to Fenerbahce on Friday after finding himself frozen out at Chelsea.

The Belgium striker had a successful loan spell with Besiktas last season and was linked with Nottingham Forest this week, before that City Ground switch failed to come to fruition.

It has since emerged he is heading back to Turkey's Super Lig to join Fenerbahce, who announced his impending arrival.

Fenerbahce – fierce rivals of Besiktas – said in a statement: "Our club has reached an agreement with his club for the transfer of Michy Batshuayi to our team.

"The footballer is coming to Istanbul to conduct negotiations, undergo a medical checkup and continue the process."

Batshuayi will be seeking regular club football to ensure he is in optimum shape in time for the World Cup in Qatar in November.

With a year remaining on his Chelsea contract, he looked to have no first-team future at Stamford Bridge, particularly after the Premier League club brought in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona on Thursday.

Batshuayi has been a Chelsea player since 2016 but has started just five Premier League games for the Blues, while making 45 appearances off the bench in the competition.

He scored eight goals in the league for Chelsea but has not featured since the 2019-20 season, being farmed out on loan to Borussia Dortmund, Valencia, Crystal Palace and latterly Besiktas.

With his contract at Chelsea due to expire next June, a fresh started awaited the 28-year-old former Marseille player as he headed back to Turkey to put the finishing touches to his latest move.

Erling Haaland could become the greatest player in Premier League history after making an astonishing start to his Manchester City career, according to Jamie Carragher.

Haaland has been in electrifying form for Pep Guardiola's champions since arriving from Borussia Dortmund, hitting nine goals in his first five league appearances for City.

That haul is the best managed by any player in their first five Premier League outings, and the towering Norwegian became the first player since Harry Kane in December 2017 to score back-to-back hat-tricks in the competition against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.

The City striker has averaged a goal every 43 minutes of league action this season, and Carragher believes Premier League fans are witnessing something special.

"I'd probably say Man City have had a really good window, with the players they've brought in," he told Sky Sports.

"They lost a lot of attacking players, but you look at Haaland… [Julian] Alvarez's start already, he looks [to have] real quality.

"Haaland's the one that jumps out at you, he just looks absolutely amazing.

"We know we've got a great player in the league, but I think we've got something really, really, special, where when he's finished his time at Man City or in the Premier League, we'll be taking about him alongside Thierry Henry.

"I think this lad could end up being the best player we've seen in the Premier League, I really do. He's that special and he's made a brilliant start." 

Should Haaland find the net when City travel to Aston Villa on Saturday, he would become just the fifth player to score in his first three away Premier League games (after Peter Beardsley, Jurgen Klinsmann, Francesco Baiano and Alen Boksic).

Given the 22-year-old's incredible form, he will likely also have his eye on becoming the first player in the competition's history to score a hat-trick in three consecutive appearances.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is another former Dortmund striker to have made a Premier League move, reuniting with former BVB boss Thomas Tuchel by swapping Barcelona for Chelsea.

While the 33-year-old's time at Arsenal ended in acrimonious fashion in January, Carragher believes his arrival represents a welcome boost for Chelsea.

"He's a quality player, there's no doubt about that, and I think it's a good signing," he said.

"People may question Arsenal's role for this, the fact they've let him go for free and Chelsea are paying money for him [less than] 12 months later.

"I think it's a good signing for Chelsea, but I also think it was the right decision for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, look where they are right now.

"Aubameyang, we know what he brings, goals and quality. Thomas Tuchel knows him, he's worked with him at Borussia Dortmund as well, and as a neutral, I'm delighted he's in the Premier League. He's a brilliant player."

Steven Gerrard has backed Aston Villa's decision not to sell Douglas Luiz to Arsenal on deadline day and does not foresee the failed transfer being an issue for the Brazil international.

Arsenal were widely reported to have made a move for Douglas Luiz on Thursday due to injury problems in their midfield.

It was claimed Villa were firmly opposed to a sale at a price Arsenal were willing to go to, though.

A bid of around £20million was said to be lodged, but Villa were instead holding out for £40m for a player in the final year of his contract.

Even with Gerrard's men bringing in fellow midfielder Leander Dendoncker from Wolves, no deal could be done, perhaps leaving Douglas Luiz a little disappointed.

"Knowing the boy and the player, I doubt it [will be an issue]," Gerrard said ahead of Saturday's game against Manchester City.

"I've got confidence he'll understand the situation and the club's decision, that we didn't want to lose a very important player and a top player so late in the window.

"From a personal point of view, I very much back the club's decision and stance on that.

"I spoke to Dougie face to face yesterday – he understood where it was at and the position that the club was in. He very much respects the decision.

"Hopefully it'll calm down in the hours and days coming and he'll be fine moving forward."

If there is one thing football fans will simply never be calm about, it is the amount of money their club spends on transfers.

No matter how many new, shiny players their team signs, that brief release of endorphins they get from watching YouTube compilations, checking Twitter for updates and finally seeing some over-produced nonsense of a reveal video soon dissipates and it's on to the next one.

Having said that, you wonder what it must have been like to be a Nottingham Forest fan during the transfer window, which finally closed on Thursday.

Back in the Premier League for the first time since 1999, Forest are determined to cement their place in the top tier.

Whatever anyone thinks about the quality of the arrivals, the club absolutely went for quantity as an incredible 21 players came through the door at the City Ground at a total cost – according to Transfermarkt – of £145.76m. Only Chelsea (£251.09m), Manchester United (£214.22m) and West Ham (£163.80m) spent more in the Premier League.

At the other end of the scale, the spending of the team that finished two places above Forest in the Championship last season, Bournemouth, has been comparatively meagre.

The Cherries committed just £24.21m to incomings, with three of their six new arrivals in the window coming in on free transfers, and one a loan.

Head coach Scott Parker was sacked on Tuesday after making his feelings known on the lack of investment from above after his team's 9-0 humbling at Liverpool.

But which approach is likelier to pay off in the long run? You would think Forest's launching of money at anything and everything will give them a better chance of staying up, and possibly even challenging higher up the table in future, but football is rarely that simple.

Using fees from Transfermarkt, Stats Perform has taken a look at the past 10 years of spending from the Premier League's promoted clubs to see how those who splashed the cash in their first season back in the big time fared.

Forest have, unsurprisingly, spent more than any promoted team in Premier League history.

The only club to have come close was Aston Villa in 2019-20, forking out £143.55m after they got themselves back into the top flight.

While it worked as they avoided relegation, they did so by the skin of their teeth, with the final-day draw at West Ham keeping them safe by a single point.

Their survival was largely down to the brilliance of Jack Grealish, who was already there, though some of their signings that season remain at the club - such as Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa, Douglas Luiz and Marvelous Nakamba.

There have only been two other clubs to spend more than £100m in their first season back in the English top flight and both came in the 2018-19 campaign, with very different results.

Wolves' outlay of £101.48m saw them challenging for the European spots, finishing seventh with 16 wins and 57 points, ahead of Everton, Leicester City and West Ham.

Fulham, on the other hand, spent slightly more (£104.85m), but it did them no good at all as they finished 19th and went straight back down to the Championship, leaving them lumbered with a lot of expensive players with big contracts.

They have managed to recover since, and invested £55.26m after promotion last season, but it was proof if it were needed that big spending is not even a guarantee of survival, let alone success.

There have been just five clubs that have spent less than Bournemouth in preparation to make the jump from the second tier to the Premier League since the start of the 2012-13 season.

Two of them came in that campaign, and as above, with mixed results. Reading spent just £9.74m and unsurprisingly went back down, while West Ham forked out £21.51m on new recruits and finished 10th, and have remained in the Premier League ever since.

The same thing happened in 2014-15 as Burnley's spend of £11.36m was not enough to keep them up, while Leicester's outlay of £20.57m is the least any promoted team has spent without going back down in the past decade. A year later, they won the league.

The least any promoted team has ever spent was fairly recently, with Norwich City deciding they would try and mix it among the best in the land in 2019-20 with an outlay of just £7.93m. It did not work.

Those stories do not really allow us to draw any conclusions though, given the vastly differing fortunes between clubs who appeared to follow similar volumes of spending.

That rings true throughout the past 10 years, with some interesting outcomes along the way.

In the 2013-14 season, Cardiff City (£41.23m) spent more money than both fellow promoted sides, Hull City (£27.99m) and Crystal Palace (£29.70m), but were the only one of the three to go back down.

The 2017-18 campaign is the only one in the past decade that has seen all three promoted sides stay up, with each of them spending between £40-60m (Newcastle United - £41.85m, Huddersfield Town - £51.08m, Brighton and Hove Albion - £59.85m).

In the 2020-21 campaign, only high-spending Leeds United (£96.12m) stayed up of the promoted teams, with West Brom (£37.93m) and Fulham (£33.53m) going back down.

However, last season, only low-spending Brentford (£33.03m) stayed up, with Watford (£39.15m) and Norwich (£57.20m) going back down.

Across the past 10 seasons, the team that spent the most out of the three newly promoted sides has ended up being relegated in five of them, while in seven of the past 10 seasons, the team that spent the least of them has been relegated.

So, what can we gleam from all this?

Essentially, spending money does appear to provide a slight upper hand. Those who have spent more have given themselves a better chance of staying up, but arguably not by the extent you would expect, or even to the extent that makes doing so worthwhile.

Those who choose to be more frugal seem to pay for it eventually, apart from those who already had a strong squad or structure anyway, such as West Ham in 2012-13.

As is the case throughout the game, spending money will only work if it is done with intelligence and the players purchased are utilised efficiently.

Forest will be hoping Steve Cooper can continue to control the wheel as ably as he did in the Championship, but for whoever takes over at Bournemouth, this season might be like getting ahead of Formula One cars in a Ford Focus.

As the old adage goes, form is temporary, class is permanent.

It can happen to the best. Harry Kane, for example, scored just once in his first 13 Premier League games for Tottenham last season, before netting 16 in his next 24 outings once he had his mojo back.

Going under the radar slightly given their results did not particularly suffer as they hunted down an unprecedented quadruple, but opposite to Kane, Mohamed Salah's outstanding goalscoring form in the first half of the season for Liverpool regressed after the turn of the year.

Salah scored 20 non-penalty goals in 26 games in all competitions before heading to the Africa Cup of Nations, where his Egypt team suffered an agonising defeat on penalties to Sadio Mane's Senegal in the final.

On his return, Salah scored just five non-penalty goals in 25 outings. The assumption was that the 30-year-old needed a break, and he began the new campaign with a penalty against Manchester City in the 3-1 Community Shield victory and scored the equaliser at Fulham in an opening day 2-2 draw.

However, he has failed to score in three home games against Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Newcastle United, with his only other goal so far being a consolation in the 2-1 defeat at Manchester United.

That is not to say Salah is necessarily out of form (three goals in six outings is hardly bad so early in the season) but when he has set such high standards, seeing Liverpool have to so often rely on goals from elsewhere just feels a bit... strange.

Ahead of the Merseyside derby on Saturday, Stats Perform has taken a look at why Salah might not be producing the numbers we so often associate with him in front of goal. And in fact, playing against Everton at Goodison Park could be just the tonic.

Three of Salah's four Premier League goals for Liverpool against Everton have come at the home of the Toffees, with only Michael Owen (four) having scored more away goals for the Reds against their local rivals in the competition.

Salah's next goal in the Premier League will see him overtake Steven Gerrard's haul of 120 for the club.

It is frankly remarkable the goal has not already arrived, with Salah somehow unable to score in Liverpool's win against Bournemouth last weekend, even though almost everyone else did as Jurgen Klopp's men ran out 9-0 victors at Anfield.

He had chances, incredibly missing from close range after excellent build-up down the left in the first half, before controlling a lofted Fabinho pass in the second and firing over the bar.

In the much more difficult 2-1 win against Newcastle on Wednesday, Salah was relatively anonymous in front of goal, having just two shots, with neither on target.

Is this bad form though, or is Salah just being asked to fill a different role by Klopp?

The sale of Mane to Bayern Munich always felt like it was going to have a significant impact, with the Senegalese attacker such a vital part of their forward line in recent years.

Luis Diaz's January arrival looked to be setting the table for the next evolution of the attack, with Mane playing down the middle after the Colombia international came in, but the signing of striker Darwin Nunez at the end of the season seemed to signal a slightly more drastic change.

What would it mean for Salah? Well, so far it appears to have had an impact on his role, even with Nunez missing for the last three games through suspension after getting sent off on his home debut against Palace.

Last season, Salah averaged 56 touches per 90 minutes in the Premier League. So far this season he has averaged just 48, seemingly indicating fewer moves are going through him.

More noticeably, although the season is still very young, he is taking fewer shots than usual. Last season he was taking 4.5 shots per 90 in the league, which so far this campaign is down to just 2.8.

You might think that could be due to being more selective in his shots, but that also does not appear to be the case, with his shooting accuracy down at 33.3 per cent from 59.4 last season.

It is not all numbers going down though, as Salah appears to be on a mission to act as chief creator, having already crafted 21 chances from open play for team-mates in his five Premier League games, already more than a third as many as the 62 he created in 35 league games last campaign.

He made eight key passes in the draw with Palace, four at United and six against Newcastle, more than any other Liverpool player in each game, suggesting Salah is preparing himself for life alongside Nunez, who gobbled up chances at Benfica last season.

The 23-year-old had a shooting accuracy percentage of 62.3 per cent in the Primeira Liga in 2021-22, and a shot conversion rate of 30.6 per cent, compared to Salah's conversion rate of 22.8 per cent in a season in which he still scored 23 Premier League goals.

This could mean that, while not exactly reverting back to being the winger he was at Roma when playing with Edin Dzeko, Salah's job in the team may be evolving from main goal-getter to someone who can either score or create in equal measure, making Liverpool a little less predictable.

In his final season with Roma in 2016-17 before moving to Merseyside, he averaged 2.9 shots per game and created 2.5 chances from open play, not entirely dissimilar to the numbers he has put up in the early stages of the new season.

The plan with the presence of Nunez is presumably to cause one of two things, either lead to the Uruguayan making use of the space left by defenders all rushing to stop Salah, or allow the Egyptian more room than usual as opposition players are forced to keep an eye on his new team-mate.

You will never extinguish Salah's thirst for goals. Breaking scoring records is what he lives for, but as he said recently in an interview with Sky Sports: "I never say before the season [my individual goals]. But the collective one is the Premier League and Champions League. It has to be. That was my target last season and I go again until I win both again."

Whatever it takes to win more silverware at Liverpool, Salah will do it, and don't be surprised if that starts with a return to form against winless Everton.

After all, class is permanent.

With the transfer window closing on Thursday, some clubs will be scrambling to assess their options.

There may be some movement of free agents still, while clubs who missed out on targets will be weighing up their chances in January with contractual situations evolving.

Inter defender Milan Skriniar is one player who was heavily pursued without success and who will have only six months left on his contract at the turn of the year. 

TOP STORY – PSG TO PERSIST IN SKRINIAR PURSUIT IN JANUARY

Paris Saint-Germain will revive their failed pursuit of Milan Skriniar in January, according to L'Equipe.

PSG made three offers for the Slovakian defender which were rebuffed by the Italian giants, including one worth €50million.

Skriniar is into the final year of his Inter deal and PSG boss Christophe Galtier had been eager to bring him to the French capital.

ROUND-UP

– Napoli will try to sign PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas again in January after missing out on him, reports L'Equipe. The report claims the Costa Rica international and PSG may opt to terminate his contract by mutual consent before January.

– Marco Asensio had been linked with Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool in recent weeks but he has committed to seeing out his Real Madrid contract which expires in mid-2023, according to Mundo Deportivo.

– The Telegraph reports Blackburn Rovers will be open to pre-contract offers to their hot property forward Ben Brereton Diaz in January after rejecting bids from Fulham and Everton. The Chile international has less than 12 months remaining on his deal at Ewood Park.

With matchday six just around the corner, fresh off the first midweek Premier League fixtures of the season, now is when things can start to get tricky.

Some regular starters will likely be rested, and some new faces could emerge and force their way into the calculations going forward.

In a sink-or-swim week, it will be important to focus on players considered too important to their respective side to leave out – but who are those players?

Using Opta data, Stats Perform is here to help, with four suggestions of players that are in form that is impossible to ignore.

David Raya (Brentford v Leeds United)

Brentford's David Raya produced one of the more unlikely goalkeeping performances of the season in his side's 4-0 win over Manchester United – although maybe it should not have been unexpected.

The Spain international has only the one clean sheet to his name this season, but he ranks second in saves-per-90-minutes, and since the start of last season, he ranks second in save percentage.

Only Jose Sa (75.7 save percentage) has a higher save percentage than Raya's 74.2, and only Dean Henderson (five saves per 90 minutes) stops more shots per game this campaign than Raya's 4.4.

Joao Cancelo (Manchester City v Aston Villa)

Manchester City's Portuguese full-back has established himself as one of the most reliable fantasy picks as a crucial part of one of the Premier League's best defences, while also proving to be a consistent source of goals.

Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Cancelo ranks fourth out of all defenders for goal involvements with two goals and seven assists, while only Virgil van Dijk (22) is credited with more clean sheets than Cancelo's 21.

He gets a friendly matchup against Aston Villa as well, who this season have scored four goals and conceded nine from their five matches, placing them in the bottom-five in both categories.

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal v Manchester United)

Arsenal are enjoying their best start to a Premier League season since 2003-04, with five wins from five matches, and 20-year-old winger Bukayo Saka is a big reason they are such a threat going forward.

Among Arsenal players, Saka ranks second in both assists (two) and chances created (10) – and it is no product of a small sample size.

Since the beginning of last season, only Kevin de Bruyne (102), Mohamed Salah (84) and Son Heung-min (80) have created more chances than Saka (78) – with a gap back to Mason Mount in fifth (66).

Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham v Tottenham)

It should never be a surprise to see Aleksandar Mitrovic scoring goals, but to be going at a goal-per-game in a newly promoted side is evidence of the special talent the Serbian possesses.

Only Erling Haaland has more goals than Mitrovic's five so far, and he is tied with the Norwegian for the Premier League lead in both shots (22) and shots on target (12).

Mitrovic's hot start follows his Golden Boot win in the Championship last season, where he netted 43 goals in 44 appearances. Out of England's top four leagues, Mitrovic is 19 goals clear of any other player since the start of that campaign.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has rejected the notion that Cristiano Ronaldo needs to accept being a bit-part player after failing to secure a move away from Old Trafford.

Ronaldo had tried to engineer a move away from Old Trafford after requesting a transfer, but failed to find a suitor to satisfy his desire for Champions League football and to challenge for trophies prior to the window closing on Thursday.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner, who has another year on his United contract, was used off the bench in a 26-minute cameo in United's 1-0 win at Leicester City on Thursday. Ronaldo has only made one start this Premier League season, with four appearances off the bench.

The 37-year-old missed United's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia for personal reasons, and Ten Hag suggested that regaining match conditioning was behind his substitute role rather than falling down the pecking order, and that he may come into the starting XI in coming weeks.

"It is really early in the season," Ten Hag said. "We have a squad, more than 11 starting XI players. That's what you see now.

"Players who are now on the bench can play in one, two or three weeks.

"We are raising a team, they are sticking together, they fight for each other, cooperate. Now we have to step up further."

Ronaldo is yet to score this term for United, but netted 24 goals from 38 appearances in all competitions last season, including a team-high 18 Premier League goals.

The Portuguese icon had been linked with Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Sporting CP, Napoli and Bayern Munich in recent weeks but nothing materialised.

Chelsea have farewelled Spanish left-back Marcos Alonso, announcing on Thursday that it was "mutual consent" leading to his departure.

It has been widely reported that Alonso was included along with a €14million fee in exchange for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona, although the Spanish giants are yet to announce Alonso's arrival.

He totalled 29 goals and 23 assists over his six seasons, winning the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Europa League, Super Cup and Club World Cup in the process.

In the statement from Chelsea – which calls Alonso "a thoughtful and extremely likeable man off the pitch" – they highlight how he followed his father's and grandfather's footsteps in representing Spain on the international level.

"Deployed at left wing-back for 60 per cent of his 212 appearances, and at left-back for the rest, Alonso was confident in possession, strong in the air and an excellent set-piece taker," it reads.

"His performances for Chelsea earned him a call-up to the Spain squad for the first time in March 2018, following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps. The youngest Marcos Alonso leaves having represented his country on nine occasions.

"Everyone at Chelsea Football Club would like to thank Marcos for his service to the Blues and wish him all the very best for the rest of his career."

Chelsea have completed the signing of Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria on a season-long loan deal.

The Switzerland international will spend the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign at Stamford Bridge, while it has been reported there will be an option to buy in the deal.

Chelsea were in the market for a midfielder, with Thomas Tuchel keen to bolster the area in the wake of N'Golo Kante's injury issues.

They had been linked with a move for PSV's Ibrahim Sangare, though instead turned their focus to Zakaria on Thursday.

Zakaria joined Juventus from Borussia Monchengladbach on a four-and-a-half-year contract in January, scoring on his debut in a 2-0 win over Hellas Verona.

The defensive midfielder suffered an abductor injury in February and has only made 15 appearances for Juventus across all competitions,

He has started just once in Serie A this season – that coming in the opening-day victory over Sassuolo.

"I want to say hi to all the Chelsea fans. I'm very happy and proud to be a Blue and I cannot wait to see you soon at Stamford Bridge," said Zakaria.

Zakaria was Chelsea's second arrival of the final day of the transfer window, after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona, and could make his Chelsea debut when the Blues welcome West Ham to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Saturday.

His arrival finishes off a busy window, with Raheem Sterling, Marc Cucurella, Kalidou Kouilbaly and Wesley Fofana joining too.

Brighton and Hove Albion have signed Billy Gilmour from Chelsea for a fee reported to be in the region of £7million, rising to £10m with add-ons.

Scotland international Gilmour was seen as one of Chelsea's brightest prospects when he broke through in the 2019-20 season under Frank Lampard.

Yet Gilmour struggled to build on that impressive early form and was loaned out to Norwich City last term. He made 24 Premier League appearances as the Canaries were relegated to the Championship.

The 21-year-old midfielder was considered surplus to requirements by Thomas Tuchel on his return to Stamford Bridge, and has now made a permanent switch to Brighton.

He has signed a four-year deal with the Seagulls, with head coach Graham Potter thrilled with the signing.

"Billy arrives with a fantastic pedigree, having played in the Premier League and Champions League as well as for Scotland at last year's Euros. He will complement our existing midfield options," said Potter.

"That experience at quite a young age shows the strength of character he has and we're really excited by his potential.

"Now it's about allowing him the time to get used to a new environment and settling in to our club. We can't wait to work with him."

The transfer window has been gently eased shut, and there were plenty of last-minute deals to keep fans across Europe captivated.

Southampton were busy, adding Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Duje Caleta-Car to their ranks, among others, while Barcelona allowed Martin Braithwaite to join Espanyol on a free transfer and sold Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Chelsea.

As the seconds ticked down, clubs dotted their i's, crossed their t's and blew the dust off their fax machines, and here is just some of what took place in the closing hours.

Busy Saints bring in four, lose one

As far as the Premier League goes, it was Southampton who got up to the most activity in the final moments, signing Maitland-Niles on loan from Arsenal and Caleta-Car permanently from Marseille on a four-year deal, as well as adding two Manchester City youngsters in Juan Larios and Sam Edozie. They let defender Yan Valery to Ligue 1 side Angers.

Brighton and Hove Albion completed the signing of Billy Gilmour from Chelsea and released Romanian striker Florin Andone, while Chelsea let Ethan Ampadu join Serie A side Spezia on loan and finally allowed Kenedy to depart Stamford Bridge after seven years to join Real Valladolid in LaLiga.

Carlos Vinicius returned to the Premier League after a loan spell with Tottenham in 2020-21, having joined Fulham from Benfica on a permanent deal. The Cottagers also completed a loan deal for Leeds United winger Daniel James.

The Whites were frustrated in their attempts to sign Bamba Dieng from Marseille, but instead clinched a deal for Italian youngster Wilfried Gnonto from FC Zurich for an undisclosed fee.

Nottingham Forest added signings number 20 and 21 of the window in Josh Bowler from Blackpool and Loic Bade from Rennes, with free agent Serge Aurier potentially making it 22, though a reported late move for Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi failed to materialise.

Jan Bednarek had been linked with a move to West Ham earlier in the day but ended up leaving Southampton on loan to another team in claret and blue as Aston Villa brought in the Polish defender.

Brooks was here, now he's in Lisbon

On the continent, Benfica completed the signing of American defender John Brooks from Wolfsburg, while Maxi Gomez left Valencia for Turkish side Trabzonspor.

Los Che brought in a replacement for Gomez in Justin Kluivert on loan from Roma after his move to Fulham fell through due to work permit issues.

In France, highly rated forward Amine Gouiri swapped Nice for Rennes in a reported club-record fee apparently worth €28million, while Lille secured a loan deal for Everton midfielder Andre Gomes.

As well as signing Aubameyang and Hector Bellerin and losing Braithwaite, Barcelona also said goodbye on a temporary basis to Ez Abde, who joined Osasuna on loan.

Chelsea have completed the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona, seeing the forward reunite with his former Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge.

Tuchel's side have been in the market for attacking reinforcements since allowing Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner to return to their respective former clubs, Inter and RB Leipzig, after disappointing spells in west London.

Aubameyang enjoyed a successful half-season in LaLiga after leaving Arsenal in January, scoring 11 goals in 17 league appearances for Barca last term – a tally only bettered by Memphis Depay (12 goals in 28 games).

That form has persuaded Chelsea to agree a deal worth £10.3million (€12m) for the striker, who has signed a two-year contract with the Blues.

It is expected that Marcos Alonso will head in the other direction, though seemingly as a separate deal.

After the signing was announced, Aubameyang told the club's website: "I'm really happy. It's an honour to be part of this team and I can't wait to start. I have some unfinished business with the Premier League so it's good to be back and really exciting."

Aubameyang will hope a reunion with Tuchel allows him to rediscover the goalscoring form that convinced Arsenal to part with a then-club record fee for his services back in 2018.

The Gabon international has scored more league goals (56) and recorded more goal contributions (63) under Tuchel than any other coach in his career to date.

Aubameyang racked up those figures in just 63 games under Tuchel at Dortmund, averaging a goal every 94 minutes in league action during the German's spell as Dortmund boss – also a career-high figure.

Earlier this month, Tuchel insisted he had no concerns about Aubameyang's attitude despite his difficulties at Arsenal.

"We had a very close relationship. Always when we played him here with Arsenal, there was always straight away this close bond," Tuchel said. "They stay your players, in a way, and Auba is one of these guys."

The 33-year-old could make his Chelsea debut against Leicester City on Saturday, with the Blues eyeing a response after suffering a chastening 3-0 loss at Leeds United last time out.

Everton have signed midfielder James Garner from Manchester United in a deal reportedly worth up to £15million.

Garner spent last season on loan at Nottingham Forest, scoring four goals and providing 10 assists to help the club win promotion to the Premier League.

He was expected to be given a chance to impress new United manager Erik ten Hag, but he signed a four-year deal with the Toffees on Thursday after completing a transfer apparently worth an initial £9m.

"I'm made up to sign for Everton. It's a huge step in my career and I want to help the team get better while progressing as a player," Garner told Everton's official website.

"I think Everton is the perfect place to do that. I can't wait to get started. The manager [Frank Lampard] has got a real plan for the club and for me.

"Working with him on a daily basis is major for me. Him and his staff can take me and the team to the next level. That's what I'm hoping for."

Garner will have one less midfielder to compete with for a spot in the starting XI after Andre Gomes joined Lille on loan for the remainder of the season.

Meanwhile, there was another exit from United on deadline day, with Tahith Chong joining Championship side Birmingham City on a four-year deal.

Chong spent last season on loan at the Blues, scoring one goal in 20 appearances.