epl transfer news transfer deadline day

EPL Transfer news: What you might have missed

It’s a mad, mad world.

epl transfer news transfer deadline day

* England midfielder Barkley decides to stay at Everton

* Oxlade-Chamberlain joins Liverpool for 35 million pounds

* Spanish striker Llorente, Ivorian Aurier move to Spurs

* Total Premier League spending far above one billion pounds
By Neil Robinson

Chelsea suffered a dramatic late blow on transfer deadline day when Everton midfielder Ross Barkley rejected a move to the Premier League champions after travelling to their training ground for a medical.

On a day of frenetic spending that took the Premier League
total to a record far above one billion pounds ($1.29 billion),
Antonio Conte’s side also missed out on two of their other
targets – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fernando Llorente.

England midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain signed for Liverpool
and Spaniard Llorente joined Tottenham Hotspur in deals worth 35
million pounds and 12 million pounds respectively.

But the champions still managed some business, paying Torino
23 million pounds for defender Davide Zappacosta and then
pushing through a late deal for Danny Drinkwater.

Special dispensation was requested from the FA to register
Leicester City’s midfielder after the official deadline, one of
several deals due to come through late.

However welcome those signings will be for Chelsea, they may
not compensate for the snub delivered by England midfielder
Barkley who arrived at their Cobham training ground late on
Thursday only to turn round and head back north.

Everton’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri told Sky
Sports Barkley had turned up at the west London club’s Cobham
training base only to undergo a dramatic change of heart as the
transfer deadline clock ticked down.

“The two clubs agreed a deal of 35 million pounds, I think
personal terms were agreed and after medical (sic) we heard from
Paul Martin, Ross Barkley’s agent, that he had changed his
mind,” said Moshiri.

He added that Barkley, who is in the final year of his
contract at Everton, wanted to “reconsider his position” in the
January transfer window. “It was a big surprise but this is
football,” Moshiri said.

The BBC later quoted a source close to 23-year-old Barclay
saying the midfielder did not have a medical and wanted to make
a decision about his future when he was fully fit. He has been
sidelined with a hamstring injury after a hernia operation.

Alexis Sanchez was another player staying put, although for
different reasons, as Arsenal turned down a 60 million pounds
bid from Manchester City after failing to secure his potential
replacement, Monaco’s Thomas Lemar, despite a 92 million pounds
bid reportedly being accepted by the French club.

British media speculated that the France winger would have
preferred a switch to Liverpool, who were reported to have made
their own bid, a possible indication that Brazilian midfielder
Philippe Coutinho could be en route from Anfield to Barcelona.

Although that deal looks unlikely, the transfer window in
Spain does not close until Friday.

Van Dijk stays

Liverpool failed to lure central defender Virgil van Dijk
from Southampton, who refused to sell despite a high-profile
transfer request which led to the Dutch international’s
exclusion from first team training.

But the Merseyside club did agree a fee to sell French
defender Mamadou Sakho to Crystal Palace for 24 million pounds.

West Bromwich Albion’s Jonny Evans is also staying put
despite being linked with a move to Arsenal or Manchester City,
who still ended up as the window’s top spenders after lavishing
in excess of 200 million pounds on players.

Spurs are traditionally busy on deadline day and completed
the signing of Llorente from Swansea and paid PSG 23 million
pounds for Ivorian Serge Aurier.

Swansea re-signed striker Wilfried Bony from Manchester City
and, in one of the day’s surprises, brought in Portugal
midfielder Renato Sanches on loan from Bayern Munich.

Another Portugal Euro 2016 winner, Adrien Silva, was due to
join Leicester in a late deal with the Foxes also signing
Austria’s Aleksandar Dragovic from Bayer Leverkusen.

Every Premier League club brought in at least two players in
the window, with Watford and promoted Huddersfield Town the
busiest teams with each making 13 signings.

Brighton & Hove Albion left it late to bring in goalkeeper
Tim Krul on loan from Newcastle United and defender Ezequiel
Schelotto from Inter Milan.

Everton, one of the window’s most prolific spenders,
lavished a further 10 million pounds on Hajduk Split’s teenage
striker Nikola Vlasic.

France defender Mamadou Sakho joined Crystal Palace from
Liverpool on a four-year deal, the club said on Friday.

The deal for centre-back Sakho, who spent the last season on
loan at Selhurst Park and played eight games for Palace, was
worth about 26 million pounds ($33.65 million), British media
reported.

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