5 Deadline day transfers to watch out for

Panic is now officially setting in for Premier League clubs as the transfer deadline day looms. For the first time in the modern era, the window for incoming transfers will slam shut before the Premier League season begins, meaning there are sure to be plenty of deals happening over the next 48 hours.

The early closing of the transfer window is a self-inflicted wound by elite English clubs who voted in favour of moving their deadline day to before the season begins. Last year, 14 out of the 20 Premier League clubs voted for the notion while six clubs, including Manchester United and Manchester City, voted against it.

The new deadline in combination with this summer's World Cup has left numerous top-flight clubs in limbo regarding transfers. Their European counterparts can sign players right up until the end of August and are using this advantage to extract maximum value for any player who is a target for an English team.

Similarly, wantaway players such as Thibaut Courtois at Chelsea, can easily down tools after the deadline passes in an effort to demand a transfer. This would leave the Blues in a situation where they could lose their first-choice goalkeeper and not have the ability to sign a replacement until January.

For this reason, we are sure to see many English clubs move for targets over the next couple of days as they look to complete a squad capable of carrying the team until at least January.

The scramble for new signings is reaching its climax and below we have listed 5 deadline day transfers to watch out for.

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#5 Jack Butland to Chelsea

Jack Butland is looking for a move back to the Premier League

As briefly touched upon in the introduction, Chelsea may find themselves without a first-choice goalkeeper if Thibaut Courtois continues to push for a move to Real Madrid. The Chelsea number one has made it very clear over the past few days that he wants a move to the Bernabeú and has even gone as far as to not report back for training at Cobham this week.

Should the Belgian international move, Chelsea will have Willy Caballero and Robert Green as immediate options for the starting jersey. This would be seen as nothing short of a disaster for a team hoping to recover from last season, pushing on for a top-four place or potentially even a title challenge.

Courtois' desire to leave has been clear for quite a while now and it represents bad mismanagement on the Blues' part that they are yet to find a replacement. In fact, the 26-year-old previously downed tools at Genk when trying to force a move to England - so this type of attitude should have been previously noted.

Regardless, they need to urgently make a formal move for a quality goalkeeper before the window closes. While reports today have linked Chelsea with a record move for Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, it seems unlikely that this move would be sanctioned by Roman Abramovich and Sarri revealed he has "no idea" about these links.

A more realistic target is Stoke goalkeeper, Jack Butland who has proved himself as an excellent number one for the Potters. The 25-year-old could be available for an initial €22 million which would represent a bargain for a proven Premier League goalkeeper on short notice.

Transfer Probability: 7/10

#4 Jack Grealish to Tottenham

Grealish has been linked with Spurs all summer

This story has persisted all summer and seems inevitable to happen before the window closes. Tottenham remain the only Premier League side not to make a signing so far this summer and their fans will certainly begin to worry that no fresh faces could lead to a stale squad, incapable of continuing their fantastic form over the past few years.

Club chairman Daniel Levy has a reputation for leaving things late in the window to extract the best value when buying new players. He is notoriously stringent when spending money and this could explain why a deal has not yet been completed for Grealish.

There is little doubt the player himself would jump at the chance to join Spurs and while Aston Villa has made it clear they do not want to sell, a significant deadline day bid from North London would leave them with their hands tied.

The 22-year-old has been rated as an exciting prospect for the past couple of years and would represent some much-needed competition for Dele Alli who had an inconsistent campaign last term. Reports claim Aston Villa are holding out for around €38million for the winger while Spurs are around €10m off that valuation.

Expect this story to run right up until the 5pm GMT deadline on Thursday.

Transfer Probability: 8/10

#3 Yerry Mina to Everton

Yerry Mina enjoyed a wonderful World Cup

Another summer-long saga, the future of Yerry Mina remains undecided. After enjoying a wonderful World Cup for Colombia, Mina caught the eye of clubs including Everton and Manchester United who have both been vying for his services throughout the summer.

It seemed like a conclusion to the ordeal had been reached last week when Manchester United reportedly agreed on terms with the Colombian only for his agent to demand additional fees. United pulled out of the agreement and Everton quickly became favourites to sign the defender.

Another twist in the tale came yesterday when Barcelona made a lazy bid for Paul Pogba involving Mina as one of two players in the deal. However, United rejected that bid out of hand and it seems they have ended their interest in the 21-year-old.

Meanwhile, Everton has reportedly agreed on terms with Mina and are simply discussing a potential fee with the Catalans to secure his services. While nothing has happened yet in regards to a fee being agreed upon, we can expect to see some news from this transfer before the transfer window closes.

Transfer Probability: 9/10

#2 Ousmane Dembélé to Arsenal

Dembele won the World Cup with France last month

The arrival of Malcom at Barcelona after a last-minute hijacking by the Catalan giants has led to speculation regarding the future of Ousmane Dembele. The highly-rated 21-year-old was disrupted by injuries and struggled for large periods during his first campaign in Spain, while reports have been linking the Frenchman with a move to Arsenal for the past few weeks.

It seems unlikely that Barcelona would be willing to sell an excellent prospect for the €100 million fees being bandied about in the media. Instead, it seems much more likely that a loan deal to the Emirates for a fee in the region of €15million perhaps with an option to buy is a more feasible scenario.

Speculation about the future of Dembélé reached fever point this week when the youngster was spotted in London enjoying dinner with a handful of his friends and compatriots - all of whom just happened to be Arsenal players. Naturally, he was still enjoying his extended post-World Cup holiday but those images surfacing certainly did not help dampen rumours that he would indeed be moving to the Emirates.

With the attacking options available at Barcelona, they may look at a loan move as the perfect option for Dembélé to gain more experience as a first-team player. Should Arsenal manage to capture his signature on deadline day it would represent a fantastic coup for the new manager, Unai Emery.

Transfer Probability: 5/10

#1 Toby Alderweireld to Manchester United

Alderweireld has been pursued by Manchester United all summer

Manchester United has signed Tottenham players previously on deadline day and they may well head to north London again before the transfer window closes. This story has persisted all summer long and we are less than two days from it reaching a conclusion.

Truthfully, any number of players could feature here. Harry Maguire, Jerome Boateng, and Jose Gimenez have all been linked with moves to Old Trafford. However, it has always felt like Alderweireld was Jose Mourinho's number one target and United appear likely to make their final push to secure the Belgian's signature.

The 29-year-old undoubtedly has talent but recently recovered from a lengthy injury which ruled him out of action for a significant chunk of last season. In addition, his existing contract situation reduces the price that the Red Devils themselves are willing to pay for a player they could sign for even less next summer.

However, Daniel Levy will not let a star player move on the cheap and is sure to extract the maximum value for his centre-back. The latest reports say that United have reached an agreement on personal terms with the defender. Now we need to wait to see if a transfer fee can be negotiated. We can look forward to this story running right up until the last minute as both clubs attempt to reach an agreement.

Transfer Probability: 7/10