Transfer deadline day winners and losers: Alexander Isak and Marc Guehi, a tale of two Liverpool targets

A transfer window of remarkable drama has finally reached its conclusion with a large number of the biggest names in European football they have made their movements. Liverpool ended the transfer window that the British transfer record had broken twice, spent more than half a billion dollars when the champions of Arne Slot seem to build a power position.

Deadline Day was no less exciting in Manchester, where both United and City made large movements for keepers. It is the last to be the star Gianluigi Donnarumma, a European champion with club and country, is moving from Paris Saint-Germain. Away from the Premier League, the home of unrest on the transfer, have been on the road. Inter has taken over Manuel Akanji, Juventus dived for two new additions and Napoli is also active in the market.

Let’s summarize some winners and losers:

Winner: Alexander Isak

Alexander Isak took on the richest owners in football and won. Newcastle had insisted all summer that they did not want to lose their star striker and that it would cost more than $ 200 million to bring them to the table. When Liverpool was closed off after a first bid was rejected and turned to Hugo Ekitike, Isak might have the right to fear the worst. Newcastle can be limited by PSR, but they are still rising by PIF, the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund. Had property really wild, they could have holding their nerve and present Isak with two scenarios: return to Eddie How’s team or spend the months before a World Cup from far to football.

Instead, Isak held his nerve and was rewarded with a breakthrough of 11th hours. His $ 169 million movement will undoubtedly put pressure, but it also offers everything that a football player strives for. At the age of 25, Isak moves to one of the biggest clubs in football, one where he has a realistic opportunity to win the biggest prizes in the sport. His best years should join the best of many of his teammates, and he doesn’t have to doubt his football. After all, Ekitike has always profiled if the man you would get if you couldn’t get Isak and the Frenchman fitted as a glove in the side of Arne Slot.

Loser: Marc Guehi

There was no striking, not refusal to appear for games and training. Marc Guehi’s reward for following a more honest road than a series of big name strikers? No move to Liverpool. The Reds held up until the last hours of the window before they put $ 47 million on the table for the best English center. They would have received their husband if it hadn’t been for Pesky West Ham. Or was it something from Igor Julio’s Medical? Whatever the problem was, it soon became clear that Crystal Palace would only get one of the two middle backs that they thought they should replace Guehi and strengthen the backline of Oliver Glasner for the Conference League.

Could this deal ultimately hold more long -term meaning in the window than many of those who actually happened? It is still too viewed, but there will certainly be players in the coming years who remember what happened when Guehi made no fuss when he thought he had concluded his Crystal Palace career with a goal on Sunday evening. The right thing is not necessarily rewarded in the transfer window.

Winners: Juventus

Igor Tudor has received his reward for a strong start to the new season. Two victories of two and now his attack is being strengthened with the arrivals of Eden Zhegrova and Lois Openda. The vision with the first is clear; Zhegrova had a good understanding with Jonathan David in Lille and the two should help each other to make a clear start for life in Turin. Nicolas Gonzalez moved to Atletico Madrid behind the back of a three goal, two assisting series A season in 2024-25 and Zhegrova should offer real competition to Francisco Conukicao along the right flank.

Regarding Openda, that is a neat striker who picks up Juventus. Like many at RB Leipzig, the Belgian had something of a down year in 2024-25, but is only recently removed from a 24 goals Bundesliga campaign. Openda offers a real eruption from Tempo that should not be any Serie A team without and could play both next to David and instead of him. Suddenly their team is working quite nicely, more players in their mid -twenty than the norm at Juventus and more players on sensible wages.

Loser: James Trafford

One of the more heart -warming story of the transfer star was the return of James Trafford to the club where he was for the first time as a 12 -year -old, the star of Burnley’s promotion campaign given the type of upgrade in teammates who don’t really have to happen anymore. Trafford looked like he could be the next goalkeeper of Manchester City for a decade or longer, an elite shot stopper who could develop into a little more under the custody of Pep Guardiola. And that can still happen. Trafford is only 22, there is time for him to develop into something very special, to make those jitters against Tottenham in the early season, to look like a non-event.

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The problem is that there is still a shot stopper of high quality above him in the depth card. And at 26 it is not as if Gianluigi Donnarumma of the kind of advanced age is that you would expect from a goalkeeper with nearly 500 senior games to his name. Donnarumma will arrive at the city at major costs and with a reputation to justify his elevated salary. The Italian was the best keeper in the Champions League last season; It overshadows the best keeper in the championship, who must accept that the number two is during a pre-World Cup year.

Loser: Erik ten Hag

You wipe the recently deposited German champions with the intention “[continuing] With the ambition that has been shown in recent years. “You will find the team that you inherited from you among you. A part of it could be expected, there was little chance that Florian Wirtz or Jeremie Frimpong would be around when Xabi Alonso was going to have others in public, was the end of your win-win-win-win. Excellent but one of a career, one destination?

For Erik ten Hag it can beAt least at the highest management level. The Deadline Day of Bayer Leverkusen of their manager was emphatically. There was no specific reason why he had to go. It was just, well, “everything went in the wrong direction,” said sports director Simon Rolfes.

The declaration of ten hag ripped of anger. “A new coach deserves the space to implement his vision, set the standards, to shape the team and leave his mark on the style of the game,” he said. “I started this job with full conviction and energy, but unfortunately the management was not willing to give me the time and confidence that I needed, which I deeply regret. I think this was never a relationship based on mutual trust.”

You can see why the Dutchman feels so hurt. No alternative was set up for the man who had used Rolfes and CEO Fernando Carro if they could not free Cesc Fabregas from Como. Leverkusen had no new manager they wanted. They just didn’t want to hire HAG anymore. Au.

Winners: The Industrial Complex of the transfer content

For all ceremony of Citroen tinted around the transfer deadline day, it has been a while since the last hours of the window have the feeling that they really have weight in the season. Good teams get their business done early and there is only so much hype that can be rustled by Chelsea who trimmers their team back and what panic does West Ham make. But Monday? That was pretty nice.

You had long bubbling storylines into a dramatically satisfying way, for example the Donnarumma and Isak -Deals. Moves such as Randal Kolo Muani’s to Tottenham are the right chin regions, exactly the kind of analysis-heavy mullers that we need more than fourteen days of international football.

Then you had a good twist and gymnasts. Nicolas Jackson promoted about whether he had to get on a plane like Rachel of friends. Guehi wanted to become a member of Liverpool. Liverpool received him for a doctor and received their deal only for Oliver Glasner to insist that he could not stop his club captain. Drama this.