With no competitive football on our screens for at least another month, the transfer window has had to provide the drama this summer. And it has delivered.
The great entertainer, Manchester United, has been the lead protagonist this week, as it looks to have pulled off the most surprising of deals. Chelsea and Antonio Conte have had a week to forget, one that has put a strain on the relationship between the two and could make for a tricky seven weeks of the transfer window.
Across London, Arsenal has had much more success, breaking its transfer record this week while Liverpool is believed to be on the verge of smashing through its own record as well. But that hasn't happened quite yet. All that and more in Newsweek's recap of the week:
Monday
We got the first real signs that Alexandre Lacazette could be moving to Arsenal after the Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas said the deal was likely to happen in the next few days. Arsenal was also said to be on the verge of signing Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez, but that deal is yet to be completed. Elsewhere, Chelsea's pursuit of Juventus left-back Alex Sandro trundled on, but Conte's team was reportedly going to miss out on fellow Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci and Roma's Antonio Rudiger. We also got the first signs that Michael Keane was going to head to Everton, while Jurgen Klopp demanded Liverpool up its work in getting midfielder Naby Keita to Anfield from RB Leipzig.
Tuesday
Keane's move to Goodison Park was complete, equalling the club's transfer record at £30 million, while Everton was also reported to be set to sign Wayne Rooney from Manchester United. At Old Trafford, Jose Mourinho was growing frustrated with the slow process of transfer deals, as he wanted Nemanja Matic and Alvaro Morata before the squad left for its pre-season tour on Sunday. There was progress for Klopp as Keita reportedly told Leipzig he wanted the move to Liverpool, while former United striker Javier Hernandez was possibly on his way to West Ham.
Wednesday
Arsenal completed the signing of Lacazette for a club record fee of £45 million, which opened the door for Olivier Giroud to leave the Emirates Stadium. Everton was said to be in for the French striker. But there was also bad news for Arsene Wenger after Hector Bellerin asked for a transfer back to Barcelona, which was refused. Tottenham was looking to do its first transfer business of the summer as Mauricio Pochettino's team looked at defenders Alfie Mawson, of Swansea, and Ben Gibson from Middlesbrough.
Thursday
Cue the fireworks. Thursday was the day that Manchester United rocked the Premier League and Stamford Bridge as it agreed a deal with Everton to sign Romelu Lukaku for £75 million, snatching the Belgian striker from the hands of Chelsea. In doing so, United cooled its interest in Morata. Despite having a transfer ban until January 2018, Atletico Madrid was preparing a £22 million bid to take Diego Costa away from Chelsea after Conte told the Spanish striker he wasn't in his plans for the following season. Liverpool had some bad news as Paris Saint Germain was said to be preparing a £70 million offer for the team's star player Philippe Coutinho.
Friday
Lukaku's move to United was yet to be confirmed, but reports suggested he would be having a medical in Los Angeles. The Belgian was training with would-be United teammate Paul Pogba. Chelsea was trying to stay in the race for Lukaku but was also turning to Swansea striker Fernando Llorente. Everton faced rivalry from Marseille for the signing of Arsenal striker Giroud, but the club was also preparing a £30 million bid for Swansea midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson.
… And breathe. See you on Monday.
Uncommon Knowledge
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