Malick Fofana's chaotic move to Sunderland was "a really difficult story to cover", says BBC Senior football correspondent Sami Mokbel. The Black Cats eventually beat Crystal Palace to the signing of the 21-year-old forward from Lyon in a deal worth £30m, after previous interest from Arsenal. "It was really a dramatic day and definitely one of the narratives of Deadline Day for sure," Mokbel told BBC Radio Newcastle.
The day, for Malick Fofana, started with Arsenal, on the hunt for a left winger, registering their interest. It ended with him signing for Sunderland, and had plenty in between.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was reportedly unconvinced by Malick Fofana as he ended up making a late summer transfer window move. The highly-rated young Belgium international is on his way to Sunderland instead, but towards the end of the window he was offered to Arsenal. Still, it seems Gunners boss Arteta was one key figure […] The post Mikel Arteta uncertainty led to Arsenal missing out on Deadline Day signing appeared first on CaughtOffside.
Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso (Picture: Getty) A Chelsea transfer window is rarely short of comings and goings, and that remained the case for Xabi Alonso’s first summer at Stamford Bridge. 13 players have followed Alonso through the door at Chelsea, with a whopping 37 leaving either permanently or on loan. Under BlueCo’s ownership, Chelsea have relentlessly pursued a youth-focused recruitment policy, but this summer saw the first tentative moves away from that approach. Deals for Honest Anahor and Geovany Quenda still represent large outlays on young, unproven talent, but the signings of Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson demonstrate a club that has finally recognised the importance of hardened, experienced leaders within their dressing room. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. Alonso appears set to deploy a 3-4-2-1 at Chelsea this season, and so the signings of Marco Palestra and Pep Chavarria should suit that system down to a tee. Maxence Lacroix adds further experience to the centre of defence, while a poor opening game from Robert Sanchez saw the Blues jump at the opportunity to sign World Cup winner Emi Martinez for only £7.5miillion. Morgan Rogers represents the jewel in the crown of Chelsea’s summer incomings, but his eye-watering £177m fee will largely be offset by another impressive summer of selling, which sits at more than £400m with add-ons. Morgan Rogers was Chelsea’s marquee summer signing (Picture: Reuters) The Blues managed to raise in excess of £115m for Nicolas Jackson and Liam Delap, who were both deemed surplus to requirements in west London, while Enzo Fernandez’s protracted saga came to a close on deadline day as he joined Manchester City for £125m. But a failure to replace the Argentine could prove a mistake, and leave many wondering if the Blues have the depth in central midfield to turn their positive start into a sustained title challenge over the course of the whole season. Chelsea's transfer window: All the ins and outs INCOMINGS Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa, £117m)Honest Anahor (Atalanta, £40m)Valentin Barco (Strasbourg, £34m)Pep Chavarraia (Rayo Vallecano, £16.3m)Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace, £52m)Emi Martinez (Aston Villa, £7.5m)Marco Paletra (Atalanta, £47m)Geovany Quenda (Sporting CP, £44m)Danny Welbeck (Brighton, £5m)Alfie Osborne (Hearts, £400,000)Jordan Henderson (Brentford, free transfer)Harrison Bettoni (Wigan Athletic, undisclosed)Dastan Satpayev (FC Kairat, undisclosed) OUTGOINGS Enzo Fernandez was Chelsea’s biggest sale (Picture: Manchester City FC) Enzo Fernandez (Man City, £125m)Andrey Santos (Manchester United, £50m)Trevoh Chalobah (Como, £30m)Marc Cucurella (Real Madrid, £52m)Liam Delap (Nottingham Forest, £50m)Tyrique George (Everton, £24m)Marc Guiu (Rb Leipzig, £14.6m)Nicolas Jackson (Aston Villa, £65m)Jimmy-Jay Morgan (West Brom, £4m)Omari Kellyman (Strasbourg, permanent)Robert Sanchez (Como, loan)Darrio Essugo (Strasbourg, loan)David Fofana (Servette, permanent)Benoit Badiashile (Napoli, loan)Axel Disasi (Crystal Palace, loan)Alejandro Garnacho (Aston Villa, loan)Filip Jorgensen (Strasbourg, loan)Mamadou Sarr (Real Sociedad, loan)Dastan Satpayev (Burnley, loan) Best signing – Morgan Rogers Morgan Rogers signed for £117m from Aston Villa (Picture: Getty) It’s still early days, but Rogers has shown no signs that the £117m transfer fee will weigh heavily on his shoulders at Chelsea. Instead, the 24-year-old has fitted seamlessly into Chelsea’s new-look front three with a goal and assist in his first two league matches. Rogers, in many ways, represents the perfect blend of Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer: powerful and physical in all areas of the pitch, but also more than capable with the ball in tight spaces and in front of goal. Alonso’s Chelsea have already shown an ability to punish opponents in transition, a style of play that should suit Rogers and the rest of the front three down to the g
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