Chelsea and Liverpool Making Moves: Premier League Transfer Round Up June 25th to July 2nd
- Angus Kearney
- Jul 2
- 7 min read
It’s been the busiest week of the summer transfer window so far as 14 different deals were confirmed over the last seven days. As the new fiscal year for Premier League clubs began on July 1st, the transfers will likely start coming thick and fast, as clubs that might have been concerned with breaching profit and sustainability rules now have the boundaries of a new year to work within. Here are all the confirmed transfers from last week as we edge ever closer to the new Premier League season.
João Pedro - Brighton to Chelsea, £50m
Another week, another multi-million pound forward signing for Chelsea, this time it’s João Pedro joining from Brighton for £50m on a seven-year deal. Pedro will hop on a plane to join up with his Chelsea teammates ahead of their Club World Cup semi-final against Palmeiras on Friday.
In two seasons at Brighton, Pedro made 70 appearances, scoring 30 goals and adding 10 assists, very impressive numbers for the 23-year-old Brazilian, who plays as less of a traditional number nine than as a second striker, often accompanying Danny Welbeck for Brighton. Rather than making runs in behind, Pedro likes to come in to receive the ball, and make supporting runs behind another striker.
But Chelsea generally don’t play with two up front, so it means either they’ll have to drop a more traditional winger like Pedro Neto or Noni Madueke, or have Enzo Fernandez move further back to allow Joao Pedro to play as well as Cole Palmer. It’s a good problem for Chelsea to have, as they all offer different things, but for Pedro, it could mean less regular playing time, though Chelsea do have the Champions League to contend with.
One player it could spell the end for at Chelsea is Nicolas Jackson; he’s the most similar profile to Pedro currently in the squad, and with Liam Delap also joining, there likely isn’t much room for him in the side. Rumors are already beginning to circulate regarding him leaving the club, with Arsenal and Aston Villa both reportedly interested.
Milos Kerkez - Bournemouth to Liverpool, £40m
Liverpool’s summer spending passed the £200m mark this week when they announced their fourth major summer signing, as Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez joins on a five-year deal worth £40m.
Liverpool has now completed a revamp of their full-back department, after right-back Jeremie Frimpong joined from Bayer Leverkusen a few weeks ago. The key difference is that long-serving left-back Andrew Robertson, whose form dipped last season, has not left the club.
Kerkez was one of Bournemouth’s standout performers in 2024/25. The 21-year-old Hungarian made 41 appearances for the Cherries, scoring twice and adding five assists. The largest improvement Kerkez brings compared to Robertson is his dribbling ability. Kerkez made 22 successful dribbling moves last season compared to Robertson's seven.
Adding Kerkez alongside Frimpong means Liverpool now has a dynamic attacking threat at full-back on both flanks. Both under 25 years old, with their best years ahead of them, and for a combined price of around £70m, it’s strong business from Liverpool. Bournemouth, however, now need to replace two of their four starting defenders from last year, a difficult task for Andoni Iraola and his team.
Habib Diarra - Strasbourg, £30m
Sunderland broke their transfer record for the second time this summer in signing Senegalese attacking midfielder Habib Diarra from Ligue 1 side Strasbourg on a five-year deal. The 21-year-old made 33 appearances last season for Strasbourg, scoring four goals and adding five assists. England fans may recognize Diarra from scoring in Senegal’s 3-1 win at Wembley in June.
“He's a very adaptable player. He's young, very productive and experienced, and he's used to facing very different scenarios for his club,” said French football analyst Baptiste Reynaud when speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle.
Diarra fills the hole in midfield left by Jobe Bellingham, who left the club to join Borussia Dortmund last month. He’s a box-to-box midfielder who can play on the wing or as a ten when needed. He’s physical, defensively persistent, adept at moving the ball up the pitch, and has a few goals and assists in him as well. It’s a smart signing from Sunderland.
Kepa Arrizabalaga - Chelsea to Arsenal, £5m
Arsenal completed the signing of Bournemouth and former Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. The 30-year-old Spaniard had a £5m release clause in his contract.
After a couple of shaky seasons at Real Madrid and Chelsea, Arrizabalaga had a strong campaign with Bournemouth last year, making 35 appearances for Andoni Iraola’s side. Arrizabalaga ranked eighth in the Premier League for save percentage and seventh for saves overall.
He’ll be backing up fellow Spanish goalkeeper David Raya at Arsenal, assuming he doesn’t beat out Raya for the number one position. He’ll be arguably the most qualified backup keeper in the league, but Arsenal were reportedly impressed by his desire to compete for the number one spot, wrote Sky Sports.
Olivier Boscagli - Feyenoord to Brighton, Free
Brighton announced the signing of Feyenoord central defender Olivier Boscagli, who joins on a free transfer. Boscagli spent six seasons at Feyenoord, making 204 appearances. Last year, he scored once and notched six assists in 41 appearances, unusually high creative numbers for a central defender.
The 27-year-old Frenchman is a strong defender with a brilliant passing ability. He ranks in the 99th percentile for pass attempts, assists, shot-creating actions, and progressive passes amongst defenders via Opta Statistics.
Boscagli joins as part of a defensive rebuild for Brighton, who had injury issues in defense last season, and offers a passing range that the other central defenders in the squad do not. It's another smart move by one of the best recruitment teams in the division.
Loum Tchaouna - Lazio to Burnley, £12m
Burnley continued what’s been a busy summer of transfer activity as the newly promoted side signed forward Loum Tchaouna from Lazio for £12m. The 21-year-old Frenchman made 37 appearances for the Serie A club last season, mostly as a substitute, scoring twice and adding one assist.
The French under-21 international who usually played on the right wing ranked in the 94th and 92nd percentile, respectively, for chances created and successful crosses per 90.
However, the question lingers over who he’ll be providing these chances for; the only striker to score more than five goals for Burnley last campaign was Zian Flemming, who was on loan from Millwall. The most experienced strikers currently on the books are Ashley Barnes and Lyle Foster, who scored a combined three Championship goals last year.
Tchaouna is an exciting young talent who should be fun to watch in the Premier League, but the work is far from over for Scott Parker’s team this summer.
Quilindschy Hartman - Feyenoord to Burnley, undisclosed
Burnley completed the signing of Dutch left-back Quilindschy Hartman from Feyenoord for an undisclosed fee. The 23-year-old was a key part of Arne Slott's 2023/24 Feyenoord team.
In that title-winning season, he made 38 appearances for the club with seven assists, but he only made 12 appearances last season after missing out on almost a year of football following knee surgery.
He’s got a cracking left foot, which provides excellent passing range and a threat on goal from distance, but the transition from the Eredivisie to the Premier League doesn’t always flatter players, so he may take some time to settle. Regardless, he’s an exciting player who’ll provide great competition for last year's first-choice left-back Lucas Pires.
Sebastiaan Bornauw - Wolfsburg to Leeds, £5.1m
Leeds United completed the signing of Belgian central defender Sebastiaan Bornauw from Bundesliga side Wolfsburg. Bornauw is the second central defender to sign this summer, following Jaka Bijol, who joined from Udinese.
Bornauw only made 16 appearances for Wolfsburg last campaign after struggling with injury and illness. However, the 26-year-old is no stranger to top-flight football, having played regularly for five prior campaigns in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg and FC Koln.
He’s a no-nonsense central defender who, at 6’3, should be plenty capable of competing in a physical Premier League for a side expected to be nearer the bottom of the table. It’s good cover but most likely not a game-changing signing for Leeds.
Axel Tuanzebe - Ipswich to Burnley, free transfer
Burnley completed the signing of 27-year-old right-back Axel Tuanzebe, who joins from Ipswich on a free as his contract runs out this month. Tuanzebe, a Manchester United academy product, spent two seasons with Ipswich after spells with Aston Villa, Napoli, and Stoke City.
Tuanzebe made 23 appearances for Ipswich last campaign as the club was relegated back to the Championship. He missed 13 games through injury, including a month back in October after a freak accident where he almost lost his thumb, sustaining a cut while washing dishes.
Tuanzebe will compete with Connor Roberts for the starting right-back spot. Roberts made only 14 appearances last season for Burnley, but played two seasons with the club in the Premier League in 21/22 and 23/24. On a free, Tuanzebe brings Premier League experience and adds good depth to the Burnley back line.
Max Weiss - Karlsruher to Burnley, £4.2m
Burnley’s fourth signing of the week was 21-year-old goalkeeper Max Weiss, who joined from Bundesliga 2 side Karlsruher for £4.2m.
The German made 37 appearances for Karlsruher last year, making 113 saves and ranking fifth in the division for saves per 90. The news comes as rumors swirl around Burnley’s number one goalkeeper and England international James Trafford, who's been heavily linked with a move to Newcastle.
Zepiqueno Redmond - Feyenoord to Aston Villa, free
Aston Villa completed the signing of 19-year-old Dutch striker Zepiqueno Redmond on a free transfer from Feyenoord. He’s a raw young talent who scored twice in his first nine professional appearances for Feyenoord.
Freddie Woodman - Preston to Liverpool, free
Liverpool completed the signing of Preston North End goalkeeper Freddie Woodman this week. The 28-year-old Englishman will provide cover for Allison and new signing Giorgi Mamardashvili. Woodman made 37 Championship appearances last campaign, keeping 12 clean sheets.
Romelle Donovan - Birmingham to Brentford, undisclosed
Brentford completed the signing of 18-year-old attacking midfielder Romelle Donovan from Birmingham City. Donovan joins on a five-year deal after joining Brentford B on loan in February, where he scored 11 goals and added 10 assists in just 15 appearances. He’s an exciting young talent whose worth keeping an eye on for the future.
Nils Ramming - Eintracht Frankfurt to Brighton, £725k
Brighton completed the signing of Swedish U19 goalkeeper Nils Ramming, who joins on a five-year deal from Eintracht Frankfurt. The 18-year-old made 30 appearances for Eintracht Frankfurt II last season, keeping 11 clean sheets.
Check back next Wednesday with Grubby Balls for all the Premier League's latest confirmed deals!
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