EPL splashes cash as Giroud moves to Chelsea
ENGLAND’S Premier League clubs have spent more money than ever in a January transfer window, with initial estimates suggesting they had reached the £450 million ($639 million) mark come deadline day.
P i e r re - E mer i c k Aubameyang joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund for a club-record fee of around £56 million on Wednesday’s concluding day of business, with Olivier Giroud moving to Chelsea as part of a complicated transfer jigsaw.
The previous EPL record for a January window was £225 million in 2011.
Prior to Wednesday’s 2300 GMT dead line i n Eng la nd, T o t t e n h a m H o t s p u r a n nou nced t he sig n i ng of Bra zilian Lucas Moura from Pa r i s S a i nt- Ger ma i n, but Manchester City pulled out of s i g n i ng L eic e s t er ’s R i y a d Mahrez.
Top Premier League clubs have splashed the cash in the January transfer window, desperate to qualify for the top four, which guarantees entry into the lucrative Champions League.
Aubameyang, 28, signed a contract with the Gunners until 2021, becoming Arsenal’s second big-name signing of the January transfer window after Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined from Manchester United.
His arriva l raises questions about Alexandre Lacazette’s future with the Gunners.
The prolific Aubameyang said he was attracted by the “big history” of the club, who lost ground in the Premier League with a 3-1 defeat by Swansea on Tuesday.
The Gabon international will be reunited at the Emirates Stadium with former Dortmund teammate Mkhitaryan – a tweet on Arsenal’s Twitter account pictured the two players together with the message “Friends reunited”.
Spurs sign Lucas
Chelsea later announced the arrival of Arsenal striker Giroud on an 18-month contract for around £18 million and Michy Batshuayi’s departure for Borussia Dortmund in a loan deal until the end of the season.
Frenchman Giroud, 31, who has struggled to hold down a regular starting spot since joining Arsenal in 2012, said he was delighted to be joining their London rivals.
Belgian forward Batshuayi, 24, arrives in Dortmund as a direct replacement for Aubam- eyang, to complete the threeway puzzle.
Brazil winger Lucas challenged his new Spurs teammates to win the Champions League after arriving from PSG for a reported £25 million.
City may have got nowhere with their interest in Mahrez, but the Premier League leaders paid a club-record fee of £57 million for young French centre-back Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao, in a deal confirmed on Tuesday.
Swansea, battling for Premier League survival, brought Ghanaian forward Andre Ayew back to Wales from West Ham late Wednesday – 18 months after he joined the Hammers for £20.5 million.
The Swans said they had resigned the 28-year-old for a club record but undisclosed fee on a three and a half year contract that will reunite Ayew with brother Jordan at the Liberty Stadium.
Newcastle sealed a similar season-long loan move for Leicester striker Islam Slimani. Slimani has struggled to live up to his £30 million price tag as Leicester’s most expensive signing, with 13 goals in 46 appearances since his arrival in 2016.
Everton also made a loan s i g ni ng Manchester Ci t y defender Eliaquim Mangala, now surplus to requirements at the Etihad after Laporte’s arrival, subject to Premier League clearance.
German World Cup winner Mesut Ozil gave Arsenal a big boost by finally agreeing a new contract that will see him become the highest paid player in the club’s history, according to the BBC, which said he would earn around £350,000 a week.
There was no official confirmation from Arsenal but Ozil posted a tweet with a picture of him signing photos with the message: “Had a busy day signing things.”