Fernandez, Sabitzer, Porro, Jorginho: January Transfer Deadline Day 2023 as it happened

Editor F365
Marcel Sabitzer, Jorginho and Enzo Fernandez are all being linked with Deadline Day transfers.

Some January Transfer Deadline Days can be a bit of a damp squib, others can flatter to deceive. Some, however, feature last-gasp British transfer record moves and Spurs ripping up contracts to avoid falling foul of loan rules. This was a good Deadline Day.

 

00:48: Still waiting on Chelsea to join Benfica in confirming the British record signing of Enzo Fernandez, but the details are all here thanks to the Portuguese club’s statement. That €121m works out at about £107m, give or take a million or two. Even in six instalments, it is quite a lot of money. It’s not a bad way to round off the night, is it?

The January Transfer Window winners are here.

And every single January transfer is recorded here.

Everton fans, you won’t need to bother with either of those.

 

00:43: Should we cut them some slack because they had an actual game of football to squeeze in tonight? Perhaps. Will we cut them that slack? No.

 

00:40: Southampton just pure taking the piss here by announcing not one but two transfers well past midnight. Paul Onuachu and Kamaldeen Sulemana are confirmed permanent transfers.

 

00:37: CORRECTION: I’m now being told in no uncertain times I cannot go to bed.

 

00:36: It’s the one I know you’ve all been staying up for, eagerly F5ing away and hoping for some news. Well I’m delighted to bring it to you. Cedric Soares has joined Fulham on a six-month straight loan from Arsenal. We can all go to bed now!

 

00:28: “Sometimes in life, you have to make quick and important decisions. From the moment I heard about this opportunity I knew it was right for me.” Marcel Sabitzer on his deadline-beating deal-sheet loan move to Manchester United.

 

00:27: Your transfer window winners are here. Brighton are the masters, Arsenal are shrewdies, Manchester United have done nicely and Chelsea… well Chelsea are definitely something.

 

00:17: Looks like Hakim Ziyech to PSG is off…

 

00:11: Manchester United confirm the loan signing of Marcel Sabitzer. To my mind that is the best signing of February 2023 so far.

00:05: Shane Duffy’s loan move from Brighton to Fulham has been made permanent, presumably thus freeing up a Premier League loan spot to be taken by Cedric Soares.

 

11:50: Looks like Enzo Fernandez is done. What an absurd window Chelsea have had, not least because we’re not entirely sure whether it’s very good or very bad or somewhere in between. But it has certainly been a thing.

 

11:40: Occurs to us now that the only signing made by Liverpool and Everton between them in the January transfer window was Cody Gakpo, and he joined Liverpool in December. Funny old month.

 

11:34: I know it’s late, but we shouldn’t have to tolerate “Soutted and booted” in Leicester’s tweet about Harry Souttar, should we? There are limits, surely. Anyway. He’s joined from Stoke. Five-and-a-half-year deal. Stoke are in turn trying to get Axel Tuanzebe on loan from Manchester United. That’s a deal sheet job by the sounds of it.

 

11:25: Full list of January activity for the 20 Premier League clubs is here. Still a few more to come, we presume.

 

11:20: Everton are 19th in the Premier League and the the only one of the 20 clubs to sign absolutely nobody this month. And Sky Sports just confirmed the Toffees have no deal sheets in. Very best of luck to you, Sean Dyche.

 

11:19: Still waiting on confirmation of Marcel Sabitzer and Enzo Fernandez but we expect to get it. Could be a late hitch with Hakim Ziyech’s proposed loan to PSG, though.

 

11:15: Get entirely all the way in. What a brilliant slice of transfer antics that is. Real Madrid, PSG, Nottingham Forest. Guess he just wanted to be back at a club that has won a European Cup or two.

11:02: DEAL SHEET KLAXON!

11:05: Forest have got the Jonjo Shelvey deal over the line. He was seen bidding farewell to the fans at Newcastle’s Carabao victory over Southampton tonight.

 

11:00: Obligatory 11pm Keysey…

 

10:53: Loan with a £39m obligation in the summer for Porro, if you’re after the more mundane details rather than Zorro puns. It should be a really good bit of business – potentially one of the month’s very best given Spurs’ long-standing issues at right (wing) back – but my word they’ve done their best to suck the joy out of it over the last week and especially the last hour.

 

10:50: “Can we still do our banter Porro announcement, do you think? After the Doherty thing?” asks someone at Spurs. “Absolutely yes,” comes the answer.

 

10:46: Fabrizio now calling Spurs out directly on Porro, presumably pissed mad that their incompetence meant he had to delete his Doherty loan tweet.

10:39: Everton aren’t going to let Spurs take the banter spoils without a fight, though. They’ve apparently had a little go at signing Olivier Giroud. He is inexplicably not keen, it says here.

 

10:31: In all the excitement of laughing at Spurs (again) we missed Palace confirming the loan signing of Albert Sambi Lokonga from Arsenal. Putting that right now, before we get right back to Spurs chortles.

 

10:28: Enzo Fernandez appears all set to sign an eight-and-a-half-year contract at Chelsea, according to multiple reports. There really is still loads happening as the clock ticks down here.

 

10:20: Go and get the tweet about how whatever else happens – and it very much looks like Enzo Fernandez and Keylor Navas are happening by the way – the joke is always on Spurs.

 

10:16: Spurs still haven’t confirmed Porro, by the way.

 

10:08: Spurs have released Doherty – a fairly regular first-team player with 18 months on his contract – halfway through the busiest of all seasons because they have seemingly only just realised they’d hit their international loan limit earlier in the day. Just a sensational football club.

 

9:57: Slightly unexpected development on Matt Doherty here. His Spurs contract, with 18 months still to run, has been mutualed so he can join another club. The fun part is that as of right now, Spurs officially have Emerson Royal as their only senior right wing-back. Presumably that’s going to change in a matter of minutes, but for now let’s drink it in.

 

9:55: Fab has issued an Enzo Fernandez HERE WE GO! and then immediately caveated it. Can one caveat a HERE WE GO!? Feels like once you’re caps-locking a here we go then we’re beyond caveats.

 

9:46: Nottingham Forest have signed Felipe off of Atletico Madrid. It’s not quite what we had in mind, but not bad. it’ll do for now. Jonjo Shelvey and/or Keylor Navas to follow.

9:39: Won’t lie, could do with one of those big transfers going through now. Flagging here. Come on, football. Give us a Sabitzer or a Porro or a Navas, keep us ticking over.

 

9:32: Chocolate Oranges are available from Rawlinsons.

9:05: A no-nonsense transfer confirmation tweet from Crystal Palace there.

It leaves only Everton to have got absolutely nothing over the line at this stage. The good news there is that Everton’s squad is in such fine shape it needs no mid-season tinkering. And signing nobody is legit probably better than signing Dele Alli.

 

8:50: Still lots of pretty big and tasty deals we hope/expect to go through tonight, including but not limited to: Marcel Sabitzer to Man United, Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea, Pedro Porro to Tottenham, Matt Doherty to Atletico Madrid, Cedric Soares to Fulham, Assorted players including actual Champions League winners to Nottingham Forest, Hakim Ziyech to PSG. And more! Plus there’s always one absurd bit of nonsense that nobody even had an inkling about until half 10 isn’t there? Yeah? So stick around, is what we’re saying here. Please.

 

8:45: Bournemouth confirm what could be a very shrewd bit of business, signing 20-year-old Ukraine centre-back Illia Zabarnyi from Dynamo Kyiv.

 

8:26: Over at the Carabao, Newcastle -and specifically Sean Longstaff – quite correctly making sure that Inconvenient Actual Football is boxed off and squared away with minimal fuss this evening so we can all focus on the far more important business of absolute horseshit.

 

8:23: Can someone please check in on Everton? We are worried about them.

 

8:19: Chelsea being greedy it says here. Can’t believe that. Seems wildly off-brand?

 

8:15: Please get this done. We’ll be good for the rest of the year, we promise. We won’t ask for anything else. We’ll tidy our room every week.

 

8:11: News reaches us from those faintly worrying nerds who spend deadline day tracking flights across Europe that Marcel Sabitzer has landed in Manchester.

 

8:03: A big one ticked off as The midfielder The Jorginho joins The Arsenal from The Chelsea for The £12million.

7:52: Always embarrassing when actual football tries to muscle in on this most important of days, but Newcastle and Southampton are competing for a Carabao final place tonight if that sort of thing is inexplicably of interest.

 

7:43: This is absolutely the most fun transfer of the day. Everything crossed for this one.

 

7:40: This would be a fun one. Everton are apparently “trying” to sign Roma’s Nicolo Zaniolo, who was repeatedly and extensively linked with Spurs before they hijacked Everton’s own move for Arnaut Danjuma. Everton and Crystal Palace now the only Premier League clubs to bring in absolutely nobody this month after Fulham belatedly got their January up and running.

 

7:34: Confirmed: Sasa Lukic is in, in, in at Fulham. They’ve gone with #LuksIn for the hashtag, which is either great or terrible. We’re too tired to tell which.

 

7:14: Confirmed: Ayoze Perez is departing Leicester’s relegation scrap to spend the rest of the season at Real Betis on loan.

 

7:03: Looks like Sabitzer is the one, but Sky Sports’ list of the other players Manchester United have reportedly been offered is just the most deadline day set of names conceivable: Isco, Saul Niguez, Houssem Aouar and Yannick Carrasco. You can actually smell the yellow ticker.

 

6:58: Chelsea have dismissed all approaches for Conor Gallagher this month, but you would imagine at some point Todd Boehly’s masterplan is going to need to involve a few more outs to go with the ostentatious ins.

 

6:56: Ornstein throwing shade at Everton and you have to say fair enough. “Everton explored move for Michy Batshuayi from Fenerbahce – but 28yo Belgium striker happy at Turkish club having found stability & good coach in Jorge Jesus. He would only have switched for a stable project.”

 

6:43: By law, you can’t have a deadline day without him.

 

6:22: All the latest on Marcel Sabitzer to Manchester United can be found here. Firmly on the “Things We Expect To Go Through” list, that one.

 

6:03: Just realised those last two updates could suggest we planned it with the Rome thing. Rest assured that is not the case. You can be absolutely confident there is no planning or thought going into this and on my watch there never will be.

 

5:57: Diego Llorente has joined Roma from Leeds. Loan with a view.

 

5:43: This story about Manchester City, Newcastle and James Maddison is mainly about a summer move, but we’re not averse to a bit of headline shithousery. When in Rome…

 

5:39: The Spence-Rennes loan is a straight loan, no option to buy or such. All the January deals are here, by the way.

 

5:32: Marcel Sabitzer is on his way to Manchester to complete his loan move from Bayern Munich. Seems to be widespread expectation this one gets over the line without a problem.

 

5:17: Confirmed: Antonio Conte’s nemesis Djed Spence has joined Rennes on loan until the end of the season. Absolute roflcopters if Spurs end today by losing two right wing-backs and not getting the Pedro Porro deal over the line. But that’s the sort of foolishness that only befalls foolish clubs. Spurs will be fine. There’s certainly not a long history and literal word created to describe the specific kind of nonsense Spurs inflict upon themselves on a regualar basis.

 

5:03: We’re not giving up on those sweet, sweet Caicedo-to-Arsenal clicks entirely just yet. It’s still good! It’s still good!

 

4:42: Near simultaneous Fernandez updates from the big beasts. “Mad negotiation. But… still on” says Fabrizio Romano and “heightened optimism” the deal can be done according to ORRNNSSTTEEEEIIIIINNNNNN. Could be one of those “do the medical in Portugal” capers as the clock ticks down. Do we dare dream of the ultimate: a British record transfer and deal sheets? We are greedy bastards.

 

4:37: Caicedo to Arsenal completely off according to Romano. Here we no!

 

4:34: Latest on Enzo Fernandez is here. Remember when for a few glorious, fleeting moments back there last year it looked like Chelsea might actually face some kind of repercussions or consequences for having Roman Abramovich as owner? Ah! Well. Nevertheless,

 

4:07: So very much going on here…

3:45: Houssem Aouar linked with a move to the Premier League? It’s 2023, for crying out loud.

3:36: In what would be one of the most sensational moves of the window, Nottingham Forest are ‘very close’ to signing three-time Champions League winner Keylor Navas from PSG, as per Matte Moretto. With Dean Henderson out for a while, this would be an incredible coup.

 

3:30: Time might be running out, but Chelsea are still trying to sign Enzo Fernandez from Benfica. Who will blink first?

3:23: Conor Gallagher will be staying at Chelsea, David Ornstein has confirmed. The Blues are not keen to let him leave on loan and bids for a permanent transfer were apparently ‘well below valuation’.

Sam Wallace of The Telegraph says Crystal Palace are interested in signing the England midfielder on loan, with Chelsea only willing to sell him.

 

3:10: It looks like Manchester United will get a free run at Bayern Munich’s Marcel Sabitzer as the Evening Standard’s Nizaar Kinsella says Chelsea have no interest in signing the Austrian midfielder.

 

2:50: Leicester have signed a striker. One from FDM Field Masters Sporting Club, no less. And they have immediately packed him off to Belgium…

 

2:45: Someone wants a transfer…

Barcelona are keen to give Sofyan Amrabat his big move but the problem, as so often is the case with Barca, is they are on the bones of their arse with barely a lever left to pull. So unless Fiorentina relent, Amrabat won’t be doing keepie-uppies for the cameras at the Nou Camp any time soon.

 

2:30: Ah, FFS. Panic at the Isco medical…

 

2:25: It looks as though Newcastle are struggling to get a midfielder in having allowed Jonjo Shelvey to join Forest.

They would like Conor Gallagher but The Athletic says Chelsea don’t want to loan a player to a side they see as genuine rivals. Which is a nice compliment, but they can’t play it in midfield.

 

2:11: No progress over a move for Sander Berge. Steady told you Fulham would get Lukic.

 

1:50: More detail from Miguel Delaney on United’s midfielder hunt…

The Red Devils also asked about Ryan Gravenberch when they called about Sabitzer but Bayern were reluctant to let the Netherlands star leave. Youri Tielemans was also considered but Leicester want big money despite his contract being up in the summer.

All this because Andy Carroll has plans next weekend.

 

1:35: Buoyed by the success of beating Everton to Rennes winger Kamaldeen Sulemana, Southampton have made a late move to sign Duvan Zapata from Atalanta.

Football Insider says it’s a loan offer with the option to buy in the summer. Saints were keen on Vitinha but the Braga striker is Marseille bound in a £26million move.

 

1:30: Lots of momentum building around Man Utd and Marcel Sabitzer with multiple outlets reporting talks between the Red Devils and Bayern Munich.

This was the stance of the Austria midfielder’s agent at the weekend: “Marcel feels comfortable at Bayern and signed a five-year contract. Up until today, nobody from the club nor us has said otherwise. So these are just stories in the media.”

Sabitzer is unlikely to push for a move, even after Konrad Laimer confirmed his intention to join Bayern in the summer, but the Bavarians could usher him towards the exit and in the direction of Old Trafford.

 

1:25: No movement on Enzo Fernandez. Miguel Delaney and Ben Jacobs are both saying that little progress has been made, despite Chelsea presenting different options over how to structure a deal. Benfica, not unreasonably, just want the release clause to be paid in full. Who will blink first?

 

1:15: Struggling to find new recruits on deadline day, Aston Villa are settling on moving for their own players…

 

1:10: Oh, hello.

Man Utd seem to have got around to dialling Bayern’s digits as they scramble for a midfielder to do a passable impression of Christian Eriksen for a a few months…

 

1:00: The update from Arsenal you’re all waiting for…

 

12:45: YUUUSSSS! It really feels like deadline day now Yannick Carrasco‘s name has been chucked into the mixer.

The Telegraph says Man Utd have been offered Carrasco until the end of the season to cover for Christian Eriksen. Apparently, Erik ten Hag is reluctant, but United have been ringing around Atletico, Barca, Real Madrid and PSG to see if they have any midfielders knocking about. Even midfielders who are really wingers.

 

12:40: No mention yet of Brentford today. Serves them right for taking care of business quietly and efficiently. Boring.

But The Athletic says the Bees are preparing to loan Sergi Canos to Olympiacos for the rest of the season. By the time he returns, Canos’s contract will be up but Brentford have the option to extend it for a year.

 

12:35: “How is he mentally? How are you guys? It’s a huge blow.”

Lads, Eriksen has had worse knocks…

 

12:32: And on whether Manchester United might move for a replacement for Christian Eriksen…

 

12:30: Moves could be in the pipeline for Anthony Elanga and/or Facundo Pellestri after all…

 

12:25: Ibrahima Konate’s injury is bad news for everyone at Liverpool, especially Nat Phillips. he centre-back was hoping to get away today to play some football but the Reds are keeping him around with the centre-back stocks depleted.

 

12:20: Nicolo Zaniolo‘s agent is also in Milan, apparently trying to tempt AC Milan into taking his client off Roma’s hands. Leeds are interested in the winger, who seems to have burned his bridges with Jose Mourinho. Sportitalia, via our friends at SempreMilan, say Zaniolo’s representative is trying to bring the Rossoneri back to the table after they initially backed off upon being outbid by Bournemouth.

 

12:10: PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi had one job in Milan today: secure a deal with Inter for Milan Skriniar. But L’Equipe says nothing could be agreed and the defender will stay at Inter until the end of the season, when he will join PSG as a free agent.

 

12:08: You know who United could use with Eriksen out for most of the season? Jorginho.

 

12:00: More injury news, and it’s a biggie for Manchester United: Christian Eriksen is out until ‘late April, early May’ after being caught in the crossfire of Andy Carroll’s daft rampage around Old Trafford on Saturday night. Might that change the approach on deadline day at Old Trafford?

No.

 

11:45: News from Liverpool of the injury variety. Ibrahima Konate is crocked. But Jurgen Klopp still won’t get any cash to spend before the deadline. It’s a good job things are going so swimmingly for the Reds.

 

11:40: Better news for Southampton. L’Equipe says Kamaldeen Sulemana has chosen them over Everton. Saints will pay £22million for the Rennes winger.

 

11:38: Southampton, Villa and Brighton have all been credited with varying levels of interest in Braga striker Vintinha. But O Jogo reckons Marseille have beaten them all to the Portuguese hit-man.

 

11:30: With his move to Bayern, Cancelo goes straight into the top 10 of the most expensive loan players ever. No.2 also moved this month…

11:25: City not wasting words or best wishes on Joao Cancelo’s exit…

11:15: Arsenal Twitter having a normal one.

 

10:50: Isco to Union Berlin is a move we’re firmly behind and it seems the Spain playmaker will be linking up with Sheraldo Becker in Union’s attack.

Everton have been keen on the striker who has scored seven goals in Union’s ascent towards the top of the table, with only Bayern above them. But Sky Germany says Union have decided to shun any interest from the Toffees. He’ll stay until at least the end of the season. Johnny Nic will be pleased.

 

10:45: An update from Ornstein on Chelsea’s pursuit of Enzo Fernandez. Personal terms are sorted but there is still no agreement with Benfica over size and structure of the fee. The Blues are adamant they won’t go over the £105million it would take to buy out his contract, even if they want to spread the payments over six instalments. Alternatives are being considered. They’d best get a wriggle on.

 

10:40: We can expect confirmation that Joao Cancelo is a Bayern Munich player very soon. His medical is done and contracts are being signed now. But only after the full-back went on a blocking spree of Manchester City fan accounts on social media last night.

 

10:35: A few Premier League clubs were sniffing around Sofyan Amrabat after his mighty fine performances at the World Cup for Morocco. Barcelona are still keen but, since he isn’t free, the fee is a problem.

Fabrizio Romano says Barca wanted to borrow Amrabat for the rest of the season for £3million with the option to buy for a total of £35million. But Fiorentina aren’t having it.

 

10:30: An update from Manchester United: F*** all is happening.

The Daily Mail reckons both Anthony Elanga and Facundo Pellestri will stay despite loan interest – a lot in Elanga’s case – in the pair. Youngsters Charlie McNeill and Di’Shon Bernard are set to spend the rest of the season at Newport and Portsmouth respectively.

Erik ten Hag is due in front of the media at midday to preview tomorrow night’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.

 

10:25: All the deets as we have them on Jorginho crossing the Chelsea-Arsenal divide. Which we presume is somewhere around Soho.

With the Brazilian hurtling across London, Arsenal are prepared to let Albert Sambi Lokonga leave on loan. The midfielder could stay in the capital with Crystal Palace for the rest of the season.

 

10:20: Word is that Atletico wanted Spence initially but the lad at the top of Antonio Conte’s sh*t list preferred the guarantee of regular minutes at Rennes. So the Rojiblancos turned to Doherty. Because they can only sign right-backs from Spurs.

Regardless, Doherty has really landed on his feet. It’ll be a loan deal with no option or obligation, apparnently.

 

10:15: Some more on Pedro Porro. Spurs will sign the right-back on a loan deal with the obligation to purchase, says Sky Sports. Ex-Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin is currently en route to Lisbon to replace the 23-year-old at Sporting.

 

10:10: Another done deal. Everton defender Joe Anderson has joined Sunlun on a three-and-a-half-year contract.

10:05: With Pedro Porro in north London, Spurs are in the business of shedding right-backs. Djed Spence is set to join Rennes on loan until the end of the season, while reports in Spain suggest Matt Doherty may follow Kieran Trippier’s path to Atletico Madrid. He’d probably walk down it if he had to.

 

10:00: Harrison Ashby is a Mag. The fee is officially undisclosed but believed to be in the region of £3million.

 

9:51: Arsenal have agreed a price with Chelsea for Jorginho. The Independent‘s Miguel Delaney says the 31-year-old, who is due to become a free agent in five months, will cost £13million, but Matt Law’s info is different…

Ornstein reckons the figure is £12million and Jorginho will sign a one-and-a-half-year contract with the option of an extra year.

 

9:45: Harry Soutar is warming up his car for when he gets the green light from Stoke to travel to Leicester. A £15million fee has been agreed but the two clubs are yet to decide on how and when it will be paid. Stoke not keen on brass buttons and IOUs, apparently.

 

9:40: Sasa Lukic to Fulham was one of the 10 deals Steady expects to go through today and The Telegraph says the Cottagers are working on it with Torino. Fulham have also been linked with a move for Sheffield United’s Sander Berge, who Newcastle fancy as replacement for Jonjo Shelvey, who is currently at Nottingham Forest’s training ground.

 

9:35: Sophie’s choice for Kamaldeen Sulemana…

 

9:20: We were starting to worry about David Ornstein, but fear not. The Athletic oracle hath tweeted to say that Arsenal have finally accepted that Brighton aren’t going to be persuaded to sell Moises Caicedo – not for the money the Gunners are offering – and that the Premier League leaders are ‘advancing’ in their pursuit of Jorginho.

What if Chelsea are just stringing them along until such a time it’s too late to get anyone else? And Boehly goes and pays £90million for Caicedo. That’s the kind of sh*thousery deadline day demands. That being trie, it seems they are committed to the con because Goal says Chelsea have allowed Jorginho to travel to Arsenal to talk terms while the clubs thrash out the finer details of the deal.

 

9:15: Hakim Ziyech has gone to Paris, but he won’t meet PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi. He’s in Italy to wrap up a deal to sign Milan Skriniar from Inter Milan.

Skriniar is out of contract in the summer and Inter want £17.5million after turning down around half that amount in PSG’s offer last week. Al Khelaifi will seek to find the middle ground, while Inter look for a replacement. They have been linked with Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof because, apparently, they can only sign Man Utd defenders.

 

9:10: Some Marvelous news to bring you…

 

9:00: Transfers! We have actual, real, completed transfers to bring you.

Leeds have bagged themselves a centre-back in the form of Diogo Monteiro from Servette. The defender will join up with United’s Under-23s squad, despite the exit of Roma-bound Diego Llorente.

And Arsenal have done a transfer. They’ve sent Marquinhos to Norwich for the rest of the season.

 

8:55: If it’s bullsh*t you’ve come for, its bullsh*t we’ll give you. Like this: Manchester United could move for Raphinha today, according to The Mirror.

They could. But they won’t.

 

8:45: Conor Gallagher turned his nose up at joining Everton yesterday but those in the know around Newcastle reckon the Chelsea midfielder would be up for a move to St James’ Park. And why wouldn’t you be?

Harrison Ashby certainly is. The West Ham right-back is set to be confirmed as a Magpie today and David Moyes made it clear last night that he had little choice in the matter.

“It was the boy’s decision, the boy didn’t want to stay and he only had six months left on his contract.”

Ashby will cost £3million plus an add-on or two.

 

8:30: Some detail you didn’t realise you needed on Pedro Porro’s arrival in England to sign for Spurs…

 

8:25: January deadline days in recent years have been, for the most part, dull as f***. But this one is shaping up very nicely. The stench of desperation is quite overpowering.

Not from Matt Stead. He reeks of Lynx and ITK. It’s bewitching. Here are the ten deals he expects to go through today.

 

8:20: Staying with Forest…

 

8:05: Nottingham Forest have limited their goalkeeping scouting to Paris, it would seem. The Daily Mail says talks with Keylor Navas have broken down so they are targeting PSG’s third-choice stopper Sergio Rico instead. The only action the ex-Fulham keeper has seen this season is the friendly against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia last week.

 

8:00: Bournemouth aren’t messing about. As well as waiting on Traore, they have also agreed worth over £20million to sign Ukrainian centre-back Ilya Zabarnyi from Dynamo Kyiv. The centre-back will drop his trousers, turn and cough for the Cherries’ docs this morning.

 

7:50: Benfica are making plans in case Todd Boehly does the necessary to sign Enzo Fernandez.

The Portuguese club will go back to Argentina to sign Alan Varela from Boca Juniors for £12million, roughly the same amount they signed Fernandez for last summer. Football is mental.

 

7:40: It promises to be a big day on the south coast, even away from Brighton’s attempts to keep Caicedo out of the Arsenal and Chelsea’s clutches.

Bournemouth’s new owners are looking to splash more of their cash by signing Hamed Traore from Sassuolo. The midfielder, who claims to be the brother of Manchester United winger Amad Diallo, is set to sign for the Cherries for £26million.

Across at Southampton, 90min says Saints are in advanced talks to sign Vitinha from Braga, also for £26million. They have also considered a move for Moussa Dembele who, unbelievably, is still at Lyon.

 

7:35: Hakim Ziyech was up early this morning. Le Parisien is reporting the Chelsea winger has just arrived in Paris to sign for PSG. Initially on loan, apparently.

 

7:30: A quick reminder, should you need it, that the deadline is 11pm. After that it’s all about the deal sheets.

Of course, it would be too much to ask for some uniformity across Europe. Here’s when the other big leagues close their windows…

Bundesliga: 5pm (GMT)
Serie A: 7pm
Ligue 1: 10pm
La Liga: 11pm
Liga Portugal: 11pm

 

7:20: Everton need a striker and, according to The Telegraph, Sean Dyche fancies Che Adams. Southampton don’t want to sell but with the Anthony Gordon money burning a hole in the Toffees’ pockets, they could be tempted.

 

7:00am: Good morning and welcome to deadline day, you insatiable transfer perverts.

We say this every deadline day, sometimes more out of obligation than conviction, but this one has the potential to be big. We could see the British transfer record smashed for a start…

Chelsea are set to be one of the busier clubs, more so with outgoings, regardless of whether they get their mitts on Enzo Fernandez. Arsenal are, for the second consecutive deadline day, scratching around for a midfielder, and plenty of other clubs still have plenty to do before the deadline at 11pm tonight.

To the Gossip we go. Here’s some of the freshest, steamiest bullsh*t around this morning….

It seems likely that Chelsea’s pursuit of Enzo Fernandez will be successful. It’s widely reported that the Blues have agreed to cough up the £105million required to release the Argentine from his Benfica contract, but the payments will be made in instalments rather than one lump sum, with a £10million sweetener for the Portuguese club. Fernandez, we assume, will be heading for west London at some point this morning.

Even if Fernandez arrives, The Guardian says Chelsea could still move for Moises Caicedo. Arsenal have been trying to take the midfielder from Brighton but the Seagulls have been stubborn in refusing to do business for anything other than silly money. The Gunners are reluctant to go as high as £80million. But Chelsea don’t share the leaders’ restraint and could raid Brighton once more.

Arsenal are looking for alternatives to Caicedo, with Jorginho chief among them. Chelsea are apparently willing to sell the Italy star who is approaching the end of his contract in the summer. So too is Youri Tielemans and 90min says Arsenal could finally move for the Leicester midfielder having tailed him for what feels like forever.

Amid Arsenal and Chelsea’s midfielder chases, it has been somewhat forgotten that Liverpool’s engine room needs reinforcements just as badly. The Reds don’t have the same urgency and appear willing to wait until the summer. But El Nacional reckons they could surprise us all today with a move for N’Golo Kante. He too is set to become a free agent at the end of the season.

Over at Spurs, it looks set to be one in, one out when it comes to right wing-backs. The Telegraph says a deal has finally been agreed to bring Pedro Porro to north London from Sporting Lisbon, with figures from elsewhere putting the final cost perhaps as high as £55million. To make room for the 23-year-old, Spurs could send Djed Spence to Rennes, where the 22-year-old will wait out the rest of the season in the hope that Antonio Conte is gone by the time he returns.

It is almost certainly all about exits at Manchester United today. Harry Maguire has been offered one by Inter Milan but the Daily Star says the centre-back has turned down the opportunity. For now. Anthony Elanga has many more offers – as many as 10 apparently, with Borussia Dortmund and PSV among the clubs keen to borrow the Sweden international for the rest of the season.

Newcastle have a huge game tonight but Eddie Howe wants a midfielder in before they kick off the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Southampton, especially if Jonjo Shelvey completes a move to Nottingham Forest as expected. Sheffield United’s Sander Berge is a possibility, according to the Newcastle Chronicle, while the Magpies could raid Chelsea, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek perhaps a loan target.

The Toon, among many others, were linked with Hakim Ziyech but it seems the Morocco star is heading for PSG, initially on loan. Everton were also eyeing the winger and we can expect the Toffees to be making moves after confirming Sean Dyche as their new manager yesterday. No sooner had he been appointed had a bid worth up to £45million been submitted for Conor Gallagher but the Chelsea midfielder needs some convincing.

Leicester look certain to be busy too. The Telegraph says they have made an offer worth £15million for Stoke defender Harry Soutar, while Leeds winger Jack Harrison is also a target. Leeds could soften the blow of losing Harrison by moving for Nicolo Zaniolo, who has made it clear that he wants to leave Roma. But Calciomercato says the Yorkshiremen want to borrow the 23-year-old while Jose Mourinho wants shot of him permanently.

Arsenal Enzo Fernandez

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