I think we are in for a very interesting transfer window. And one where an absolute fortune could be spent by Premier League clubs.
Let’s start at the top with Manchester City.
City will do City things. They will spend £150-200m on 2-3 players. They will probably recruit Josko Gvardiol for £70million or more, adding another big money central defender to their squad.
They will look to offset that with the departure Aymeric Laporte. I would not be surprised to see him flogged to another Premier League club for £40m+.
Laporte could be a transfer target for Tottenham.
And I think that is what we will see in the Premier League this season. A lot of teams selling players to each other which will drive up the expenditure.
Speculation is increasing that Harry Kane could be off to Real Madrid. This will be one of the few transfers that sees a top player leave the Premier League.
Tottenham will then be in the same situation as they were in 2013 when they sold Gareth Bale – having a big chunk of cash that they will look to quickly reinvest.
Laporte will be on that list, and they are also being linked with Harry Maguire. James Maddison will also be a target, and they will need a striker to replace Harry Kane. All 3 are examples of money staying within the Premier League.
Can we see some of the Kane money go north of the border? Ange Postecoglou going in for his former Celtic player Kyogo Furuhashi, who will then be back up for Richarlison? Or could they take the risk and go for Lukaku?
West Ham will sell Declan Rice to Arsenal for around £80-90million. They will then need to recruit to replace. They are already looking at James Ward-Prowse and Fulham’s Palhinha. They will probably have to spend £40-50m on these, which in turn gives Southampton / Fulham £50m to splash out.
Another target is Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher.
Chelsea are set for a huge summer clear out. They have a bloated squad and are already close to their financial brink. That will lead to a fire sale.
Matteo Kovacic already looks City bound, and N’Golo Kante is off to Saudi Arabia, these will both be free transfers.. Chelsea will look to raise fees from the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Cristian Pulisic, Kai Havertz, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Chelsea will also look to cash in on home-grown players such as Mason Mount, Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah, Ruben Loftus Cheek, Levi Colwill and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Those sales could generate a lot of money, and could allow Todd Boehly to make even more overpriced signings. Can see Moises Caicedo heading to Chelsea for big, big money.
Brighton will be one of those clubs that benefits from the money merry-go-round.
They have already generated £45m-ish from the sale of Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool. Caicedo also has one step out the door and expect bids to come in for Kaoru Mitoma. they could easily raise in excess of £200m in transfer sales this summer – with the majority of that coming from other Premier League clubs.
Do not be surprised if they use much of those funds to sign a few Chelsea boys. Gallagher (if he does not go West Ham), Colwill and Hudson-Odi all have the profile of Chelsea players.
And this is where it gets fun.
Brighton have spent the last few years celebrating selling their players for a premium. Being tough negotiators. But the shoe will be on the other foot if they want to sign players for Chelsea.
I can see a situation where Brighton hold out for £100m for Caicedo, and then Chelsea get their revenge by demanding huge fees for Colwill and Hudson-Odi.
You then have Newcastle…
Up to this point, their transfer business has been fairly sensible. No real superstars signed. Mainly players looking to step up a level. Could that change this summer?
Financially backed by Saudi Arabia, and now with Champions League football, they are a much more attractive destination for players than they were 12 months ago.
James Maddison and Kieran Tierney are just two players that are being linked with a move to the North-East. The pair would cost around £80-90m combined. And this is just another example of money being spent within the Premier League.
Arsenal and Leicester City selling those players will give them additional funds to spend on players themselves.
We then come full circle as Arsenal need to shift a few players, and Tierney is one of them.
If the club secures Rice, they will have to sell the likes of Tierney, Balogun and Emile Smith Rowe to finance their £200m summer.
Tierney to Newcastle? Balogun to West Ham? Smith Rowe to Brighton?
The final figure at the end of the transfer window could be astronomic. But it will mainly be the same money going from Club A to Club B who then sign a player from Club C who in turn buy someone from Club A.
Enjoy your Sunday.
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 