Transfer Aftermath: Arsenal, Chelsea, and Richarlison's Future
The window is shut, the money is spent, but the market hasn’t gone quiet. It’s just moved.
England’s deadline has passed, yet the aftershocks are still rattling around Europe. Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City and the rest may have filed their paperwork, but deals, fallouts and January plots are already taking shape.
Arsenal’s quiet end – and the striker that got away
Arsenal crept over the line on Deadline Day rather than charged.
Julian Alvarez, the forward Mikel Arteta wanted to headline the summer, never came close enough to touch. With that move dead late in the window, Arsenal took a swing at another Argentina star: Lautaro Martinez.
The Gunners explored a significant offer for Inter’s captain, testing the water in the final stretch. Inter didn’t blink. Martinez stayed put, comfortable in Milan, committed to chasing more trophies with the Nerazzurri despite confirmed interest from Barcelona as well.
So Arsenal start the season without the marquee centre-forward they had targeted. The club did move on outgoings: Gabriel Martinelli completed his switch to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, while Andria Bartishvili underwent a medical as part of the reshaping of Arteta’s squad.
The big-name striker, though, never arrived.
That hasn’t killed the ambition. Far from it.
Arsenal remain keen on Vinicius Junior and Alvarez ahead of January. Vinicius ultimately signed improved terms at Real Madrid after being open to the idea of a move, once it became clear the Spanish giants would not cash in. Alvarez, whose preferred destination was Barcelona, stayed at Atletico Madrid when that move collapsed and Arsenal failed to tempt him to north London.
Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi also stays on the radar after an eye-catching breakthrough season that was stalled by a pre-season injury. Arsenal’s shortlist is written. The question is whether injuries or form force their hand when the window reopens.
Chelsea rip it up and start again – Enzo out, Barrios in their sights
Chelsea’s deadline drama belonged at the top of any billing.
Enzo Fernandez, once the symbol of their lavish rebuild, left for Manchester City in a deal worth £125m, matching the British transfer record. It was a staggering fee and a brutal statement: nobody is safe at Stamford Bridge if the numbers are right.
Chelsea thought they had the replacement lined up. A deal for Lamine Camara was in place, only for Monaco to pull out and leave the Blues scrambling.
The response has been typically bold. Atletico Madrid midfielder Pablo Barrios has now emerged as the leading candidate to fill the void. Chelsea are weighing up a €100m move for January, with Xabi Alonso seeing the 23-year-old Spaniard as the ideal technical and tactical fit to rebuild the heart of his midfield.
Barrios has become a key figure at Atletico, and prising him away will demand a bid that forces the Spanish club to think twice. Chelsea are preparing exactly that. Another rebuild, another huge fee, another gamble on youth and potential.
Behind the scenes, more business came close. Chelsea had a verbal agreement with Roma for Manu Kone, with club owners personally involved in the talks. Roma’s inability to find a replacement in time, coupled with Gian Piero Gasperini vetoing the move, killed the transfer at the last.
On top of that, Everton turned down a £65m Chelsea bid for James Garner in the final hours. The Toffees simply refused to strip out a key midfielder without time to sign another. Chelsea pushed hard. Everton stood firm.
The churn at Stamford Bridge continues, and January already looms large.
Richarlison on the clock – Turkey or nothing
For Richarlison, the clock is louder than for anyone else.
The Brazilian has been left out of Tottenham’s Premier League squad. That decision has real consequences: if he doesn’t move now, he faces months without club football.
Turkey offers a lifeline. The Super Lig window closes at midnight local time – 10pm in the UK – and Trabzonspor are at the table. Personal terms are said to be agreed. The final hurdle is agreement between the clubs over a fee.
Richarlison already turned down a return to Everton after they agreed an initial £25m deal with Spurs. That refusal leaves Turkey as his only route to competitive football for the rest of the calendar year.
Trabzonspor need him. They have taken four points from their first three league games and were humiliated 5-0 on aggregate by Ferencvaros in their Europa League play-off. A misfiring attack, a bruised dressing room, and a marquee name suddenly on the market. The fit is obvious.
Now it comes down to hours, not days. Spurs have moved on. Richarlison must decide whether he does too.
City’s quiet power play – Haaland’s understudy and a record raid
Manchester City, never noisy on Deadline Day, still managed to land the biggest punch of all with the capture of Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea.
The fee – £125m – equals the British transfer record and underlines City’s willingness to pounce when elite talent becomes available. Fernandez adds another dimension to a midfield already stacked with quality.
City’s planning stretches further up the pitch as well. According to reports, Antoine Semenyo has emerged as their preferred option to lead the line whenever Erling Haaland is unavailable or withdrawn. Semenyo’s energy, movement and pressing make him a stylistic fit as the main alternative through the middle in Enzo Maresca’s system.
It’s the kind of detail that has defined City’s dominance: the superstar in Haaland, and a carefully chosen understudy ready to step in without disrupting the structure.
Newcastle and Villa circle Kofane
January won’t just be about the heavyweights in London and Manchester.
Newcastle and Aston Villa are already drawing up their own plans and are set to go head-to-head for Bayer Leverkusen striker Christian Kofane.
At 20, Kofane fits the profile both clubs have targeted in recent years: young, athletic, with scope to grow into a leading role. Interest from two upwardly mobile Premier League sides guarantees one thing – his name will not disappear between now and the winter window.
New roles and new leaders: Coady, Williams and Cuthbert
Not all the movement is about transfers.
England’s youth setup has added experience and edge to the touchline, with Conor Coady and Paul Williams joining Lee Carsley’s England U21 coaching staff after Ashley Cole’s departure.
Coady, 33, returns to the development pathway having worked with the MU19s earlier this year. A veteran of Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup with 10 senior caps, he brings recent dressing-room insight to a squad defending their European crown and chasing qualification for Euro 2027.
Williams, a former Premier League defender, steps up from England’s U15s and will combine the role with his position as a senior coach developer at the FA. The Young Lions have three qualifiers left as they look to secure their place at next summer’s finals, and the staff reshuffle arrives at a critical point in that campaign.
At club level, Chelsea Women have named a new leader of their own. Erin Cuthbert will wear the armband for the 2026/27 season, replacing Millie Bright after the England defender’s surprise decision to retire in April.
Cuthbert, now in her tenth year at the club with 301 appearances behind her, spoke of the “weight” of the armband at Chelsea and her determination to live up to it. A decade ago she was a young midfielder from Irvine with a dream. Now she captains one of the most demanding dressing rooms in the women’s game.
The window has closed. The squads are set – for now. But the decisions made this week, and the ones already being plotted for January, will echo deep into the season.
