Transfer Business Ramping Up for Premier League Clubs: Done Deals July 2nd - 9th
- Angus Kearney
- Jul 9
- 11 min read
With just over a month to go before the start of the new Premier League season, and clubs kicking off their pre-season training camp, transfer business is ramping up. Below are all the confirmed transfers from Premier League clubs this week.
Martin Zubimendi - Real Sociedad to Arsenal, £51m
Arsenal confirmed the signing of Real Sociedad and Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi, who joins on a five-year deal worth £51m. The signing comes after Arsenal confirmed the release of Jorginho and Thomas Partey, who was recently charged with rape and sexual assault.
The 26-year-old spent his entire career with Real Sociedad, making 236 appearances and scoring ten goals. Last year, he appeared in 36 of 38 La Liga games for the club, making 33 starts. Zubimendi has also played 19 times for Spain, including a man-of-the-match performance against Portugal in the 2025 UEFA Nations League final.
The Arsenal board originally discussed Zubimendi as an alternative to Declan Rice back in 2023, but they opted to go for the Englishman. However, as Declan Rice has grown into the role of a number eight, Zubimendi reemerged as an option in holding midfield.
He’s a high-energy midfielder with strong defensive awareness and tackling, and the ability to play smooth passes in crowded midfield areas, or carry the team forward on his own. He ranked in the top quartile amongst midfielders for interceptions, blocks, clearances, and aerials won, according to FBRef.
He’ll be joining up with former teammates Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard, who Arteta will hope can ease his transition away from his boyhood club. He should be an improvement on Thomas Partey and Jorginho for the Gunners.
Jamie Gittens - Dortmund to Chelsea, £51.5m
Chelsea continued their busy summer, signing left-winger Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund. The 20-year-old Englishman is a Manchester City academy product who joined Dortmund back in 2020.
Gittens struggled for his first few years in Germany, sidelined by injury at times, but enjoyed a breakout season last year, where he made 49 appearances with 12 goals and three assists.
However, most of Gittens's success came under coach Nuri Sahin in the first part of the season. After Sahin was replaced by Niko Kovac, who preferred to use full-backs to wingers, Gittens’ form dipped as he was asked to play out of position.
As a traditional winger, Gittens excels, adept at attacking his fullback and quickly bringing the ball up the pitch. Gittens ranked in the 91st percentile amongst wingers for progressive carries per 90, and the 99th percentile for successful take-ons, beating his man an average of 3.5 times per match last year.
Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca is a huge fan of wingers. But with Jadon Sancho leaving the club, Mykhailo Mudryk suspended, and Noni Madueke seemingly on his way to Arsenal, his options in the position started to look thin.
For Gittens, this means he should see playing time from the off, but at twenty years old, with no Premier League experience, confidence is key, and Maresca will need to ensure that any subpar performances don’t affect the young winger. Regardless, it’s exciting for both Chelsea and England fans to have him in the Premier League.
Thierno Barry - Villareal to Everton, £27m
Everton confirmed their first real new signing of the summer in striker Thierno Barry, who joins from Villareal in a deal worth £27m. Everton previously had only added the permanent signature of Charly Alcaraz this window, who spent the second half of last season on loan at the club.
The 22-year-old French U21 player joins after one season in La Liga, in which his 11 goals and four assists in 37 appearances helped lift Villareal to Champions League qualification. Villareal signed Barry for £14m last summer, after he started his 2024/25 campaign with eight goals in three games for Basel.
The signing comes after the announcement that striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin would be leaving Everton after nine seasons and 273 appearances. This meant that Everton were left with just Beto, who enjoyed a positive second half of the season under David Moyes, and youngster Youssef Chermiti were the only two strikers left at the club.
Barry provides a younger alternative to Beto, though in many ways, they present a similar threat. Both are target men, standing 6’4 inches tall, with a strong aerial presence and solid one-touch finishing. Barry is arguably more technically gifted, specifically his first touch and ability to flick the ball onto attacking midfielders, but we’ll see if that translates to the pace of the Premier League.
For Everton, this is all good news. Beto’s strong season last year means that he is likely a guaranteed starter for this first match; it’s unlikely they will play at the same time. This grants Barry time to adapt to new surroundings under less immediate pressure. The fact that he scored 11 goals in his first La Liga season also suggests he’s a quick learner, and at 22 years old, there’s a strong resale value there as well.
Antoni Milambo - Feyenoord to Brentford, £18.8m
Brentford confirmed the signing of 20-year-old central midfielder Antoni Milambo, who joins from Dutch side Feyenoord for £18.8m. The signing comes amidst strong rumors that first-choice central midfielder Christian Norgaard is on his way to Arsenal.
Milambo made 42 appearances for Feyenoord last season, scoring seven goals and adding seven assists. He also appeared three times in the recent U21 European Championships for the Netherlands.
Brentford typically employs a 4-2-3-1 formation, and Milambo's addition adds depth to the competition for the two starting central midfield spots. Even if they lose Norgaard, new manager Keith Andrews still has Mathias Jensen, Frank Onyeka, Vitaly Janelt, and Yegor Yarmlyuk in that role.
Milambo will likely take some time to adapt to the pace of the Premier League, but he has all the natural talent to evolve into a first-choice box-to-box midfielder for the Bees. He’s best used running with the ball at the opposition, rather than as a passing link between defense and attack. He’s also got an eye for goal, often finding the right position to pick up a cutback pass or deflected shot. It’s another promising signing for a club adept at acquiring young talent on the market without breaking the bank.
Chemsdine Talbi - Club Brugge to Sunderland, £19.5million
It was a busy week for Sunderland, who confirmed three new signings. They also announced that Florence Ghisolfi would be trading his position as Director of Football at AS Roma for the vacant role at Sunderland. The most expensive of these signings was the acquisition of 20-year-old Moroccan winger Chemsdine Talbi from Club Brugge for £19.5million.
Talbi made 44 appearances in a breakout season with Club Brugge last year, scoring seven goals and registering five assists as the club finished second in the Belgian first division. He’s a tricky winger with quick feet and a strong right foot, who prefers to play on the right side but can be deployed on both wings.
Talbi will compete with Patrick Roberts, who played the majority of last season's minutes on the right side, as well as Ian Poveda, who missed most of the year through injury, and Chris Rigg, who also deployed on the right at times.
It’s another young, promising player signing for Sunderland, the kind who will benefit from time in the Premier League, but also presents resale value and an option in the Championship should they go back down. Sunderland are operating the most cunningly in this window of the newly promoted teams.
Noah Sadiki - Union Saint-Gilloise to Sunderland, £17.5m
Noah Sadiki also joins Sunderland from Belgian side Union St. Gilloise for £17.5m. Sadiki spent two years at Union St. Gilloise, making a whopping 108 appearances, and helping lead his side to their first Belgian Pro League title in 90 years in 24/25.
The 20-year-old isn’t a massive contributor when it comes to goals and assists, just the two goals and three assists in those 108 appearances, but he’s an incredibly well-rounded midfielder. He ranks highly in progressive passing and carries statistics, and while he only notched three assists last year, he did rank second at the club for overall chances created with 44. Football correspondent Seb Stafford-Bloor described Sadiki as “an artisan in possession,” high praise.
However, it’s his work rate and fitness that translate best to the Premier League. Sadiki plays at a rapid clip, both with the ball at his feet and when tracking down the opposition’s ball carriers. Alongside Enzo Le Fee and Habib Diarra, Sunderland's other summer signings, the club now has a host of good options in midfield. Sunderland will be one to watch at the start of the next season.
Maxim De Cuyper - Club Brugge to Brighton, £17.3m
Brighton announced the signing of Club Brugge and Belgium left-back Maxim De Cuyper on a five-year deal for £17.3m. De Cuyper made 54 appearances for Club Brugge last season, with five goals and four assists. He made 12 appearances in the Champions League as the club reached the Round of 16.
De Cuyper is a creative left-back, whose attacking statistics jump out more than his defensive ones, which will be something to watch as he makes his Premier League transition. He ranked in the 99th percentile for progressive passes and shot-creating actions per 90 amongst defenders playing in similar leagues, via FBRef. However, he only averaged around 2 tackles per game and less than 1 interception, which places him firmly in the bottom half among his peers.
Pervis Estupinian was Brighton’s first-choice left-back last season, and it’s unlikely De Cuyper will unseat him if he remains fit, but Estupinian has dealt with injury issues in the past, missing five games last season and 17 the season before that.
De Cuyper is certainly an improvement in their options at the position. Last year, their back-ups were mainly makeshift left-backs, Igor Thiago, who is normally a center-back, Tariq Lamptey, who prefers to play on the right, and Jack Hinshelwood, who is more naturally a midfielder. De Cuyper is an immediate squad boost, who has the chance to develop into a first-team player in the future.
Jørgen Strand Larsen - Celta Vigo to Wolves, undisclosed
Wolves triggered the signing clause in striker Jørgen Strand Larsen’s contract this week. The 25-year-old Norwegian spent last season on loan with Wolves from Spanish side Celta Vigo. The BBC reported that the deal is worth £23m, though that number was not confirmed by the club.
Strand Larsen scored 14 goals and added four assists in 35 Premier League appearances for Wolves last year, which broke the record for most Premier League goals scored by a Wolves player in his debut season. Seven of those goals came in the last nine games of the campaign when the striker hit a great run of form following the suspension of Matheus Cunha.
At 6’4, Strand Larsen is a proper number nine who proved himself capable of leading the Wolves' attack in that aforementioned period without star man Matheus Cunha. As Cunha left for Manchester United, Strand Larsen will once again be asked to raise his game, something he appears fully capable of doing.
Gabriel Gudmundsson - Lille to Leeds, £10m
Leeds United completed the signing of Lille left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson. The 26-year-old Swedish international joins in a deal worth £10m. Leeds’ first-choice left-back last season, Junior Firpo, left the club on June 30, so Daniel Farke’s side were in the market for a new left-back. Gudmundsson is an experienced option; he made 137 appearances for Lille in four seasons in France and has been capped 15 times by Sweden since 2022.
Statistically, he ranks highly in progressive passing and carry statistics, showing he can help get the team up the pitch. However, these haven’t translated to goals and assists, with just four goals and two assists in his 137 Lille appearances. Defensively, his numbers are also lackluster, ranking in the bottom 50% amongst full-backs in Europe's top five leagues for tackles, clearances, blocks, and aerials won per 90.
Gudmondsson isn’t an expensive signing, and he could prove to be a valuable asset, but for a newly promoted club who haven’t made many other moves this summer, it doesn’t push the needle on their odds of staying in the Premier League.
Kyle Walker - Manchester City to Burnley, £5m
If you had to double-take when you saw the picture of Kyle Walker in the new Burnley kit, you likely weren’t alone. The six-time Premier League champion with 96 England caps completed a £5m move to newly promoted side Burnley this week.
Walker fell out of favor at Manchester City, where the right-back made 319 appearances in eight seasons. The right-back went on loan to AC Milan for the second half of the season, where he made 16 appearances in a disappointing season which saw Milan finish eighth, outside of European qualification places.
Walker is the second right-back to join this summer after Axel Tuanzebe joined from Ipswich earlier this month. He brings a wealth of Premier League experience to Scott Carson’s Burnley team, which is something the dressing room will benefit from. However, at 35 years old, and for a player whose pace was one of his most important attributes, his best days are likely behind him. But if Burnley sees even a 50% version of Kyle Walker, they’ll benefit from his presence greatly, and at £5m it’s a win-win.
Igor Jesus - Botafogo to Nottingham Forest, undisclosed
Nottingham Forest confirmed the signing of 24-year-old Brazilian striker Igor Jesus, who joins from Botafogo for an undisclosed fee. Jesus most recently starred at the Club World Cup, where he scored two goals in four games, most notably scoring the lone winner against Paris Saint-Germain.
Nuno Espírito Santos’ side doesn’t desperately need a striker. Chris Wood was one of the club's players of the season, finishing fourth in the race for the Golden Boot with 20 league goals. However, with Taiwo Awoniyi suffering a serious abdominal injury after colliding with the post against Leicester in May, they will need some more depth in the position at least for the first half of the season.
Jesus will provide both depth and serve as a player the club aims to develop into a first-team regular in the future. He’s got a keen eye for goal and strong technical skills. He’s also impressed at the international level, where he’s made four appearances for the Brazilian national team, scoring once. It’s a good coup for Nottingham Forest.
Reinildo Mandava - Atletico Madrid to Sunderland, free
Sunderland also completed a deal for free agent Reinildo, whose contract recently ran out at Atlético Madrid. The 31-year-old Brazilian left-back joins on a two-year deal after making 103 appearances in four seasons in Spain.
Statistically, his performances took a hit last year, with no goals or assists, and ranking close to the bottom 50% in most of his defensive statistics, apart from interceptions. However, with eight seasons of experience in Europe's top five leagues at Athletico Madrid and Lille before that, Reinildo brings a veteran presence to the Sunderland dressing room.
Last season, 23-year-old left back Dennis Cirkin started 39 matches for Sunderland at the position, so Reinildo can provide a veteran alternative to Cirkin at that position. It’s also worth noting that on a free, there’s little for Sunderland to lose.
Diego Leon - Cerro Porteno to Manchester United, £7m
Manchester United completed the signing of 18-year-old Paraguayan left-back Diego Leon in a deal worth £7m. Leon played 35 games for Paraguayan first-division side Cerro Porteno, scoring 4 goals.
He’s an attacking full-back with impressive pace and finishing ability, as he initially developed as a winger. However, his defensive ability could use improvement, wrote the BBC.
“There is, obviously, the need for patience with Leon's progress, as he integrates into a new environment in Manchester, but he has the sort of ambition and potential that mark him out as an exciting capture,” wrote Manchester United in a club statement.
Kota Takai - Kawasaki Frontale to Tottenham, £5m
Tottenham Hotspur announced the signing of 20-year-old Japanese center-back Kota Takai in a deal worth £5m. Takai joins from J League side Kawasaki Frontale on a five-year contract.
Takai made 81 first-team appearances for Kawasaki Frontale, winning the J League Young Player of the Year award in 2024. He also earned his first caps for the Japanese national team in 2024.
Spurs suffered injury setbacks at the position last season, often forced to play Archie Gray out of position at center back. Described as “an imposing figure at the back” by Tottenham Hotspur, it will be interesting to see if Takai is used regularly by Thomas Frank.
Daniel Cummings - Celtic to West Ham, free
West Ham confirmed the signing of Scotland U-19 forward Daniel Cummings on a free transfer. Cummings joins from Scottish Premier League Champions Celtic, where he made one appearance for the first team and 28 appearances for Celtic B, for whom he scored 23 goals. Cummings will link up with the West Ham U21s.
“He is a young, talented player, and the sort of player I love. He works hard, he's aggressive, and he has a big presence. We knew he was a talent, and we really believe in him. We hope he can come here and show everyone what he's got because he's got a great pedigree for it,” said sporting director Mark Noble in a club statement.
Check back next Wednesday with Grubby Balls for all the Premier League's latest confirmed deals!
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