- Clubs are making a lot of deals on football’s ‘unofficial deadline day’
- They are desperate to make sure they stay on the right side of the PSR rules.
We may be halfway to Euro 2024, but there is a lot happening outside of Germany, especially when it comes to transfer deals.
June 30 marks the end of the financial year for top-flight clubs and that means they need their accounts in order to comply with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability (PSR) rules.
Both Everton and Nottingham Forest were accused of breaking these rules last season, resulting in the clubs being docked eight and four points respectively.
With this in mind, teams have to get creative with their deals to make sure all the numbers add up, and that’s why we’re seeing some eye-catching deals being struck on what can now be considered the “unofficial deadline day” of the Premier League.
It is not the first time in the last two years since Todd Boehly took charge of the club that Chelsea have taken centre stage in the transfer market.
Chelsea have agreed a £30m deal with Leicester for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (pictured)
Aston Villa have been busy this week and Douglas Luiz looks set to join Juventus
Archie Gray is a highly sought-after player, with Tottenham eyeing a £40m deal for the Leeds star
The Blues have agreed a £30million deal with Leicester for Kieran Dewsbury-Hall and the midfielder will now be reunited with his former manager Enzo Maresca.
Leicester are understood to want 18-year-old Chelsea midfielder Michael Golding as a possible replacement for Dewsbury-Hall.
Chelsea sold young defender Ian Maatsen to Aston Villa earlier this week for £37.5m and have been quick to spend their money on home-grown talent.
Teenager Omari Kellyman went in the opposite direction on Saturday in a separate deal, with clubs willing to sell their home-grown talent as it generates pure profit, and Dewsbury-Hall could soon join him at Stamford Bridge.
Villa have been doing business with Chelsea and have also been negotiating with other clubs to stay on top of their finances, despite earning a place in next season’s Champions League.
It always seemed likely that they would need to sell one of their key players this summer to stay on the right side of the PSR, and Douglas Luiz is now finalising his £42m transfer to Italian giants Juventus.
A fee in that region is also likely to be necessary to lure young all-rounder Archie Gray away from Leeds United, and Tottenham may be moving into pole position to secure his signature.
Leeds are in need of offloading players after failing to secure promotion to the Premier League, and Gray is a player in high demand.
He looked set to join Brentford when the west London club pulled ahead of their rivals on Saturday, but Leeds have rejected a bid from the Bees.
Tottenham are now considering a £40million deal as Ange Postecoglou looks to strengthen his squad after they slumped in the final weeks of last season.
They still need to reach an agreement with Leeds, but they may be in a strong negotiating position because Leeds do not want to miss the Sunday deadline and risk being punished.
Meanwhile, there can’t have been many busier weeks at Newcastle, with the club desperate to comply with PSR rules.
Going into the final week before the deadline, they knew they needed to raise funds and Mail Sport exclusively revealed they were willing to sell Anthony Gordon to Liverpool.
However, talks collapsed earlier this week as Newcastle wanted Jarell Quansah to be included in the deal.
Chelsea have also shown interest in Alexander Isak, but as the Magpies want to keep their star striker, they have opted to offload two other players.
They agreed a £33million fee with Brighton for Yankuba Minteh on Saturday following his impressive loan spell at Feyenoord last season, and he looks set to move to the Amex Stadium after failing to make a single appearance for Newcastle.
Local star Elliot Anderson also looks likely to move to Nottingham Forest for £35m. The midfielder has passed a medical ahead of his proposed move to the East Midlands, while Forest goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos could join Newcastle in a separate deal.
But to continue…
