Tottenham, Arsenal, and Manchester United Shake Up Transfer Market
The World Cup is supposed to slow everything down. Not this year. Across England’s elite, chequebooks are open, plans are being ripped up and rewritten, and the numbers are starting to look surreal.
Spurs smash records – twice
Tottenham are driving the chaos.
Barely had the ink dried on Sandro Tonali’s £100million move from Newcastle than Spurs went back to the table and broke their own record again. Mateus Fernandes is in the door for £85m from West Ham, a six-year contract handed to a 21-year-old who has convinced the club he can shape their midfield for the next decade.
Roberto De Zerbi has been pushing hard for this one. The head coach has long been an admirer, valuing Fernandes’ ability to marry composure on the ball with the intensity his system demands. He sees a player who can take the ball under pressure, drive it forward, work relentlessly without it and still have the courage to try something when the game tightens.
Fernandes, for his part, has been seduced by the project. He spoke of Spurs as a “massive club” and highlighted De Zerbi as central to his decision, describing a shared view of football built on aggression, energy and a refusal to step onto the pitch with anything less than a winning mentality.
And they are not done.
Tottenham want Bournemouth forward Eli Junior Kroupi next. The 20-year-old has been earmarked as another statement signing, with Bournemouth demanding more than £80m. Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain are in the race, but Spurs are moving with a speed that suggests they want De Zerbi’s squad largely locked in before pre-season begins next week.
They are also tracking AC Milan’s Rafael Leao and Manchester City’s Savinho. The spree is no longer a flurry; it is a full-scale reset.
Arsenal turn heads – and get one turned
North London’s other heavyweights are working on a different kind of power play.
Arsenal have been circling Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes, and the early groundwork may already be having an effect. The Gunners held initial talks with the Brazilian’s representatives to gauge his situation, then followed up with an informal proposal of around £55m.
Newcastle rejected it. That part was predictable. What worries them more is the sense that the approach has unsettled their midfield leader. Local reports suggest Guimaraes may have had his head turned by the scale of Arsenal’s interest and their recent success.
Arsenal’s ambition does not stop there. They are deep into the winger market and have fixed their gaze on Bradley Barcola.
PSG had initially treated Barcola as untouchable. That stance is softening. With the France international reluctant to sign a new deal and keen for more starts next season, the French champions are now open to talks at the right price. That “right price” will be huge: figures above the £116m Manchester City paid for Elliot Anderson are being floated.
Arsenal have been encouraged. They planned to scout Barcola during France’s 3-0 win over Sweden at the World Cup, a game in which he scored the second goal. Morgan Rogers and Christos Tzolis also sit high on Mikel Arteta’s list, but Barcola is emerging as the marquee option for the left flank.
There is also the matter of outgoings. Leandro Trossard’s future is in the balance. Arsenal have accepted a £17m offer from Besiktas, with the Belgian forward considered surplus to requirements as the champions look to refresh their attack. Trossard, though, has not yet decided. He cost £20.6m from Brighton in 2023, has produced 36 goals and 34 assists in 174 games in all competitions, and is currently at the World Cup with Belgium, where he has scored twice in three matches ahead of a round-of-32 tie with Senegal.
For Arsenal, this window is about evolution at the top end of the pitch. The question is how ruthless they are prepared to be to make space for the next wave.
Manchester United’s midfield rethink
While Spurs close deals and Arsenal probe at the top of the market, Manchester United are recalibrating.
They have already lost out on both Tonali and Fernandes, two targets who would have immediately raised the technical ceiling of their midfield. With those doors closed, Michael Carrick and the INEOS hierarchy have drawn up a new shortlist.
Bournemouth’s Alex Scott is high on it. United admire his blend of control, vision and work-rate, and see him as a long-term piece in the middle of the pitch. The problem is Bournemouth. The Cherries are extremely reluctant to sell, preferring instead to extend a contract that already runs until 2028. Scott is valued at around £80m, a figure that underlines how hard United will have to push if they want him now.
They are also considering Felix Nmecha of Borussia Dortmund, Carlos Baleba of Brighton and Fulham’s Sander Berge. All are seen as viable options to strengthen ahead of a return to Champions League football.
Above them all, though, sits Aurelien Tchouameni. The Real Madrid midfielder is described as a “dream signing” at Old Trafford. United appreciate Sandro Tonali as well, but with the Italian in advanced talks with Spurs, that ship appears to be sailing fast.
United are not short of names. What they lack, at this stage of the summer, is a completed deal that changes the mood.
PSG blink on Barcola as market shifts
The Barcola situation has become a litmus test for how far big clubs are willing to go.
PSG’s initial refusal to entertain any offers has given way to realism. Barcola wants more minutes, more responsibility. With Arsenal circling and the player hesitant over a new contract, PSG are now listening. The price being mentioned – above the £116m Manchester City paid for Elliot Anderson – is eye-watering, but it reflects a market where elite attacking talent is scarce and expensive.
For Arsenal, who have already received encouragement that a deal is possible, this is the kind of opportunity that can reshape a forward line for years. For PSG, it is a question of how much control they are willing to cede over a player entering his prime.
Forest swing the axe as Glasner waits
Away from the transfer arms race, Nottingham Forest have detonated one of the summer’s more brutal managerial decisions.
Vitor Pereira has been sacked, and he did not hide his shock. The Portuguese coach, who signed an 18-month deal in February, kept Forest in the Premier League and took them to a Europa League semi-final. There was a break clause in June. Forest chose to use it.
Pereira says he was informed two minutes before the clause expired, describing the call as a “complete surprise” and “without any warning”. He leaves with disappointment, but also with a sense of pride in what was built over the past months.
Forest, though, are already looking forward. Oliver Glasner is expected to take over after his exit from Crystal Palace, a move that underlines the club’s determination to accelerate their progress, even at the cost of sentiment.
Barcelona eye Saliba in audacious move
On the continent, Barcelona are weighing up one of the boldest moves of the window: a bid for William Saliba.
The Arsenal centre-back has become one of Europe’s most coveted defenders and sits high on Barça’s list. Any deal would be fiendishly difficult. Arsenal do not want to sell, and reports suggest it would take a world-record fee for a defender, in the region of £130m, even to bring them to the table.
For now, it is interest with a huge price tag attached. But the fact Barcelona are even considering that level of outlay for Saliba says everything about his rise.
Brobbey on Juve radar
Further down the food chain, Juventus are scouring the market for a forward and have turned their attention to Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey after his impressive World Cup with the Netherlands.
Randal Kolo Muani remains their first-choice target, but his situation is complicated. PSG consider him surplus to requirements, and his loan spell at Tottenham last season was largely miserable. He has already had a stint on loan at Juve. Brobbey, 24, is emerging as a serious alternative.
Tonali, Spurs and the shape of power
Thread it all together and a picture starts to form.
Tottenham have torn up their old ceiling with Tonali and Fernandes. Arsenal are testing the resolve of clubs who thought their stars were untouchable. Manchester United are chasing a midfield answer that can carry them back among Europe’s elite. PSG are discovering that even their assets can agitate for more.
The numbers are wild, the stakes higher than ever. And the window is only just getting started.
