Transfer deadline day: Recapping the biggest moves and moves that weren't

Transfer deadline day has come and gone, at least for clubs around England, Germany, Italy and France, so the vast majority of business has already been completed and submitted. We listed all the biggest deals (and deals that weren’t) below.

Without further ado…

Alexis Sanchez reportedly staying at Arsenal — Arsenal “agreed in principle to accept” Man City’s second bid of £60 million for the Chilean winger, according to the Mirror. But now the Guardian’s David Hytner is reporting that Sanchez will stay at Arsenal. John Cross, also of the Mirror, confirmed that Arsenal is “adamant” that Sanchez will not be sold.

Sky Sports’ Guillem Balague had reported that a £55 million deal, plus £5 million in add-ons, was close, but that Arsenal was holding off to ensure it could replace Sanchez by signing Thomas Lemar from Monaco.

Cross tweeted that Arsenal wouldn’t let Sanchez go unless it ccould pry either Lemar or Julian Draxler away from Monaco or PSG, respectively.

Arsenal came in with a massive €100 million bid for Lemar, according to Sky Sports. And according to the Telegraph’s James Ducker, the two clubs agreed a fee. All eyes then turned to Lemar to see if he would accept a move to Arsenal. In the end, he did not, and as a result, Sanchez stayed with the Gunners.

Kylian Mbappe | Monaco —> PSG — PSG finally has its man – er, its other man. After splashing €222 million on Neymar, the Parisian giants will pay Monaco €180 million for Mbappe, an 18-year-old striker who scored 26 goals in all competitions a year ago. But, interestingly, PSG won’t pay Monaco €180 million just yet. It has signed the young Frenchman on loan, but with an obligation to buy next summer. Why? To circumvent Financial Fair Play. You can read our full explainer here.

Mamadou Sakho | Liverpool —> Crystal Palace — Sakho will reportedly move to Palace for £26 million. He’s currently undergoing a medical. The French defender had a solid loan spell last season at the London club, and, at 27, his talent is certainly worth the price.

But Sakho hadn’t featured for Liverpool since April 2016, and wasn’t going to be featuring for the Reds again anytime soon. He had fallen out of favor with Klopp. Logically, that falling out would have bumped down his price. But it appears competition from other clubs has elevated it, and Liverpool will come out with an £8 million pound profit on a player it bought four years ago.

Davide Zappacosta | Torino —> Chelsea — Zappacosta is on his way to England and will sign with Chelsea on a four-year contract after the Blues agreed a €25 million fee for the Italian international. At 25-years-old, Zappacosta was one of the best fullbacks in Serie A last year, and would appear to be Conte’s second choice for the utility wing back role after missing out on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (more on that below). Zappacosta could even find himself starting on the right more often than not.

Fernando Llorente | Swansea —> Tottenham — Chelsea was reportedly in talks with Swansea for the 32-year-old Spanish striker, but Spurs have swooped in and agreed to a deal, according to reports. According to the BBC’s David Ornstein, Llorente was undergoing a medical at Spurs early Thursday afternoon.

Llorente, at 6-foot-5, would be Tottenham’s Plan B and supersub off the bench. He bagged 15 league goals for Swansea last season, an outstanding haul in a really poor team, but he finished well above expected levels. He’s fine as a backup, as long as Spurs aren’t paying a hefty fee. Reports have pegged the fee at more than £15 million, and in this market, as long as it’s not significantly more than £15 million, that’s probably acceptable.

In related news, Wilfried Bony is reportedly on his way back to Swansea for around £13 million after moving from Wales to Man City for more than twice that price two summers ago. But other reports suggest Bony would rather move to Italy.

Updates on Philippe Coutinho and Virgil Van Dijk — Coutinho is going nowhere. Ditto for Van Dijk.

OTHER DONE DEALS AND REPORTS

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | Arsenal —> Liverpool — Entering the last year of his deal and having reportedly turned down a lucrative extension, Ox was ready to move on from Arsenal. The Gunners reportedly agreed a £35 million fee with Chelsea on Monday, but the England international preferred to join Liverpool, whom he supported as a kid. The Reds officially announced the signing of Oxlade-Chamberlain on Thursday after agreeing a similar fee — reportedly £35 million plus £5 million in bonuses.

Ox will likely slide into a James Milner-esque utility role at Anfield. He can play wide in a front three, as one of the two shuttlers in a fierce Jurgen Klopp midfield, or even as a fullback. The £35 million represent a slight overpay for a player on the last year of his contract who has always been more associated with potential than performance. But his age, 24, and Britishness – as crazy as that sounds – certainly bumped up his price. Klopp will be hoping to tap into the untapped potential.

Some will claim that Ox’s development was hindered at Arsenal. That he needed to get out from under Arsene Wenger’s wing. The move to Liverpool will answer questions of whether his underachievement has been due to personal factors or situational ones.

Renato Sanches | Bayern Munich —> Swansea — Sanches, a 20-year-old Portuguese midfield who moved to Bayern last summer for a base fee of €35 million, has officially joined Swansea on a season-long loan. According to German outlet Kicker, the loan will cost Swansea €8.5 million. As for how Sanches will adapt to what could be a relegation battle? Who the heck knows.

Serge Aurier | PSG —> Tottenham — Tottenham needed a right back, and it needed one badly. It’s just unfortunate that this is the right back it chose. Aurier has officially completed his move to Spurs for a reported £23 million. That will and should prompt criticism stemming from his disgusting history of violence and homophobic slurs. He’s a fine soccer player, but that doesn’t make him a good signing.

For what it’s worth, Aurier said in a statement: “I am determined to prove myself as a professional both on and off the pitch. This is a fresh start for me and I will do everything to make the Spurs fanbase, which is huge and diverse, proud of me. The fans are the most important people at any club and I am looking forward to showing them and everyone at Spurs the real Serge Aurier.” However, his apologies in the immediate aftermath of the homophobic rant were half-hearted.

Kevin Kampl | Bayer Leverkusen —> RB Leipzig — Kampl, a former Red Bull Salzburg player, has officially moved to Leipzig for a reported €20 million. In the middle of his prime (26) and in a system that will accentuate his talents, Kampl is an outstanding signing.

Naby Keita | RB Leipzig —> Liverpool — This one isn’t new – Liverpool announced on Tuesday that it had come to terms with Leipzig on a deal for Keita to move to England next summer – but there are some new details. According to German outlet Bild, the fee will be €75 million if Leipzig finishes top four in the Bundesliga this upcoming season, €70 million if it qualifies for the Europa League, and €65 million if it misses out on Europe altogether.

Panagiotis Restos | Olympiacos —> Bayer Leverkusen — The 19-year-old Greek defender has officially joined Leverkusen for a reported fee of around €22 million.

Divok Origi | Liverpool —> Wolfsburg — Season-long loan with no option to buy, according to the Liverpool Echo. The loan fee is reportedly £6 million.

Luis Nani | Valencia —> Lazio — Season-long loan for the former Manchester United winger.

Marvin Zeegelaar | Sporting CP —> Watford — Permanent deal for a left back who could slot into Marco Silva’s starting 11 soon, if not right away.

Nahki Wells | Huddersfield —> Burnley — A quick striker for Burnley to pair with Sam Vokes and Chris Wood. Burnley announced the deal Thursday afternoon, and it’s reportedly worth £5 million.

Lucas Perez | Arsenal —> Deportivo La Coruna — Remember when Perez was the new Jamie Vardy-esque striker that Arsenal needed? Yeah, that didn’t work out to well. He’s off to Spain on a one-year loan deal that’ll reportedly net the Gunners £4 million.

Giannelli Imbula | Stoke City —> Toulouse — Imbula cost Stoke upwards of £20 million in the winter of 2016, and simply hasn’t worked out. The defensive midielder will move on a season-long loan.

Jadon Sancho | Manchester City —> Borussia Dortmund — The highly-rated 17-year-old has joined Dortmund permanently, reportedly for £8 million plus add-ons. The England youth international was frustrated by an inability to break into City’s first team, and will become the first ever English player at Dortmund.

You can find all of Wednesday’s most important news right here.