We have now entered the last few days of the summer transfer window across Europe and there are still some big names out there who could complete a last-minute move and switch destinations. These are the top five footballers who could depart their respective clubs.
- Alexis Sanchez
Alexis Sanchez’s Manchester United career has been a massive disappointment. His move to the Red Devils in January 2018 in a swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan was thought as great business by the fans. However, 20 months on and the Chilean has very few backers left at United. His massive wage bill to the order of £390,000 per week is seen as a deterrent by many a potential suitor.
Inter Milan are keen to sign Sanchez given the success he had in Serie A with Udinese. There are two factors that are holding this deal up, the aforementioned weekly package he is earning in Manchester and also the extent of Anthony Martial’s injury. As United are unable to sign any replacements, if Martial is out for a long period, one could see Sanchez be forced to stay put.
- Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale may have won four Champions Leagues with Real Madrid and scored in two of finals, but the Welshman is not loved at Madrid by management or fans. He had a famous falling out with Zinedine Zidane and the Frenchman’s return to Los Blancos seemed to have laid the final nail in Bale’s coffin. But like with Sanchez, the salary he commands at Real is hard to match for any team looking to sign him up.
The last few weeks though have seen a turnaround with Zidane claiming that both the club and Bale have had a change of heart and want to continue their relationship. Bale has started both of Real’s La Liga games and it indeed seems probable that he continues to stay put in Madrid. There is still one name whose arrival could see the former Tottenham man on the move again and we’ll come to that soon.
- Paulo Dybala
Argentine Paulo Dybala seemed all set to land at Manchester United with Romelu Lukaku taking his place at Juventus, until his representatives definitively rejected the Red Devils. This meant that the 25-year old stayed in Turin and with a few days of the transfer window still open, it is possible that he won’t be there for too much longer.
Dybala did not play in Juventus’ game against Parma this past weekend, a sign that the management feels the team can deliver without him, and that they would rather not risk any injury to avoid scuppering any possible transfer. If Sanchez cannot move to Inter, then there is a good chance that the Nerazzurri reignite the Dybala – Icardi swap deal and try to reunite the Argentine with Antonio Conte who coached him at Juve initially. Another destination could be PSG.
- Christian Eriksen
The Dane seemed all set to depart Tottenham this summer and even talked about how he felt the time had come to move on from Spurs and undertake a new challenge. The move hasn’t materialised for the 27-year old yet, but Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino said it was possible that Eriksen had played his last game for the Londoners in their defeat to Newcastle this weekend.
Spain seems to be the most likely destination with Real Madrid being the first choice for Eriksen. With time running out and Real lacking the right amount of funds, there is a possibility that Eriksen ends up at rivals Barcelona instead. A lot though depends on what Barcelona do over the next six days as they are the ones who could set the ball rolling on a few moves if they sign the next player on this list.
- Neymar
The saga of Neymar has gone on all summer and we are still no closer to knowing where he will start next season. The most expensive player of all-time has fallen out of love with Paris, and the PSG fans share that sentiment having asked the 27-year old to leave in no uncertain terms. With both Real Madrid and Barcelona keen to bring the player back to Spain, Neymar has options but PSG want to ensure that any offer matches their full valuation of the player.
Apparently, Barcelona are trying a cash plus player swap deal offering Ousmane Dembele and €100m, but PSG want them to meet their full valuation of €250m for Neymar. Given how the relationship between the Brazilian and the French side has deteriorated it is quite unlikely that he is still there past this window. However, with all parties being quite stubborn and eager to ensure that they look like the winners this could turn out to be Mexican stand-off.
As you can see with only five days left until the close of the transfer window on 2nd September, we could yet see plenty of movement on the shores of Europe. You can also be sure that if Neymar moves back to Barcelona, every transfer that has occurred this summer will be dwarfed by his fees.
