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#3 Jules Kounde to Chelsea
At present, Chelsea have four excellent centre-backs in their squad and that's excluding Cesar Azpilicueta, who is more than capable of stepping into that role.
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But their ambitions and Thomas Tuchel's demanding back-three system meant it would make sense to add more depth beyond Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva and Trevoh Chalobah. That's where Jules Kounde came onto the scene.
Chelsea are well aware that this might be Silva's last season at the club and though Azpilicueta is no less than a soldier for the Blues, he's aging as well. So this was the perfect opportunity for Kounde to come in at Chelsea and take the season to settle down.
Despite being just 22, Kounde has already made 165 senior appearances and has Champions League experience. Kounde's emergence and prominence at La Liga club Sevilla saw him linked with sides like Real Madrid and PSG. But Chelsea were the only club that pushed until the final day of the summer transfer window to persuade Sevilla into giving up on their prized possession.
Sevilla sporting director Monchi made his intentions clear that the club wouldn’t let go of Kounde unless the release clause was triggered. According to the transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the release clause weighed around €75-80 million. After spending a fortune on Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea were understandably reluctant to break the bank again.
Kounde, on the back of his excellent La Liga campaign with Sevilla, represented France at Euro 2020. In addition to being an excellent centre-back, he can also fill in at right-back whenever required. As such, he is one of the most highly-rated defenders in the world. Chelsea will undoubtedly pursue another move in 2022 despite the transfer failing to materialize this summer.
#2 Harry Kane to Manchester City
After playing a significant chunk of last season with the absence of a No.9, Manchester City were desperate to bring home a world-class striker. With Sergio Aguero's departure to Barcelona, they couldn’t afford to bring in a striker who would take his own time to settle in the Premier League. That gave birth to the dramatic transfer saga of Harry Kane.
The Tottenham Hotspur forward is arguably the best centre-forward in the English top-flight and is clearly unable to win silverware at his current club. However, Kane won the Premier League golden boot and registered the most assists last season. As such, this was the perfect time to tie the knot with City where Kane’s only job would be to score goals, unlike Spurs where he is compelled to drop deep and influence play.
The Premier League champions' chase of Kane began even before the transfer window commenced and the popular opinion was that the striker would leave Spurs. The England captain was hoping that owing to a gentleman’s agreement between him and chairman Daniel Levy he’d be allowed to walk out when a suitable bid arrived.
However, Levy was firm in his evaluation of Kane and was only willing to let go of the player for a fee in excess of £150 million. City reportedly submitted two bids in excess of £100 million, but were unwilling to match the demands.
Kane has looked sluggish so far this season in the Premier League and has yet to score or assist a goal for Spurs in five appearances. Many suggest that a blow to his ambitions due to a failed move could be a reason. Kane still has three years left on his contract at Spurs and if another season goes barren in terms of silverware, it might be difficult for Levy to keep hold of his star man.
#1 Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid
This transfer window witnessed a proper tug of war between two giants of European football. The prize? One of the hottest properties in Europe: Kylian Mbappe. The French sensation is the dream forward for many clubs and his beloved Real Madrid finally came looking for him.
However, Paris Saint-Germain stayed firm in their stance and somehow managed to keep hold of their striker. After multiple rejected bids believed to be around €170 million and €220 million including add-ons, Mbappe reluctantly had to continue his stay in Paris. In their bid to keep Mbappe for longer, PSG reportedly put as many as six revised contracts on the table, which were all rejected by the 22-year-old.
Evidently, with the arrival of Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos, Mbappe feels he's no longer the only star-attraction of the team. Real Madrid are also desperate to revamp their Galacticos project after their previous investment in Eden Hazard turned out to be utterly disappointing. There is hardly a more suitable candidate than Mbappe.
As a fan it presents us with a great opportunity to witness what could be a very threatening trio of Mbappe, Messi and Neymar, now that he’ll stay in France. Currently, PSG are still trying to find their feet in the Champions League and Pochettino is starting to feel the heat after the draw with Club Brugge.
Although Mbappe thought that his value at the French club was bound to diminish, he might end up being the saving grace come the end of the season. However, he is still expected to prefer joining Real Madrid in 2022.
