Oxlade-Chamberlain joins Liverpool; Barkley stays put
Ross Barkley became the latest player to reject a move to English Premier League champion Chelsea, pulling out of a deal as the summer transfer window closed yesterday.
Everton owner Farhad Moshiri revealed that a transfer fee of £35 million pounds (NZ$63m) had been agreed and Barkley had passed a medical examination when the midfielder changed his mind about moving.
Chelsea did manage to sign defender Davide Zappacosta from Italian club Torino but transfer setbacks appear to have damaged Antonio Conte’s bid to defend the title and challenge in the Champions League.
Barkley’s rejection stunned Chelsea after midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain opted for Liverpool and forward Fernando Llorente favoured a move to Tottenham.
Oxlade-Chamberlain left after six years at Arsenal to join Liverpool for £35 million.
The 24-year-old OxladeChamberlain allowed his Arsenal contract to enter its final season after rejecting offers of a new deal, and had been linked with a move across London to Chelsea.
‘‘I know my choice might come as a surprise to many,’’ he said in a social media post,’’ ... but I feel that this move is right for the next stage in my ongoing development.’’
Oxlade-Chamberlain’s departure is a further setback for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who has seen his side lose two of
its opening three league matches.
The one success for Wenger on deadline day was Alexis Sanchez’s mooted move to Manchester City failing to materialise. But Arsenal’s pursuit of Monaco winger Thomas Lemar ended in failure, with the France international in action yesterday - and scoring - against the Netherlands in a World Cup qualifier.
The 32-year-old Llorente joined Tottenham on a two-year deal from Swansea in a move aimed at reducing the north London club’s reliance on Harry Kane for goals.
Tottenham further strengthened their squad ahead by bringing in Ivory Coast right back Serge Aurier from Paris-Saint- Germain million.
Aurier’s transfer was held up by complications regarding the defender’s work permit because he was sentenced to two months in prison last year for resisting arrest after leaving a Paris nightclub.
Aurier appealed against the sentence and never went to prison.
PSG had to leave him out of its Champions League squad for a match against Arsenal in London last season because he was refused entry by British authorities amid the ongoing case. for a reported £23
Portugal winger Renato Sanches left Bayern Munich to join Swansea on loan in the most improbable move on the final day of Europe’s transfer window
The 20-year-old Sanches was being talked about as Portugal’s natural heir to Cristiano Ronaldo after helping his national team to win last year’s European Championship title, where he won the Young Player of the Tournament award.
Back then, the winger also joined Bayern on one of the richest contracts in Bundesliga history for a transfer fee that could climb to about US$90 million.
Now, Sanches will be playing for a Welsh team that might be a relegation contender in the Premier League this season.
It is a remarkable coup for Swansea, one that was likely sealed by coach Paul Clement’s connections to Bayern. Clement was assistant coach at Bayern during the first half of last season before taking over at Swansea.
Long-standing Liverpool target Virgil van Dijk will continue the season at Southampton after the centre back couldn’t force his way out of the south-coast club despite handing in a transfer request.
West Bromwich Albion defender Jonny Evans was being pursued by Manchester City but the move never materialised.
Riyad Mahrez handed in a transfer request at Leicester days after the end of last season, and Algeria announced early yesterday that the winger was given permission to leave the national squad to ‘‘formalise his transfer to his new club.’’ That move didn’t proceed.