The summer window was a long while ago now and we had forgotten at least a couple of these ten proposed transfers that didn’t quite come off but would have made all the difference this season had they happened…
Joe Gomez to Chelsea
Having been pimped out to Newcastle by the Reds as part of their failed move for Antony Gordon early in the summer window, Gomez’s supposed ‘commitment’ to Liverpool wavered when it became clear that he was Arne Slot’s fourth-choice centre-back and third-choice full-back on both sides.
Newcastle still had their hat in the Gomez ring late in the window but it was Chelsea thought to be pushing with most verve to sign the 27-year-old, who would have played every game (assuming he had stayed fit) as the Blues’ standout defender and probably would have been named captain by now.
Jarrad Branthwaite to Manchester United
It would take a centre-back with ability approaching that of a prime John Terry to join Manchester United and not immediately succumb to the unreasonable and crushing weight of responsibility that’s caused all others to fail to live up to expectations over the last decade, but Branthwaite’s performance against Liverpool in the last Goodison derby was one worthy of comparison with the Chelsea legend.
He stuck his head where it didn’t belong, made heroic blocks, dominant defensive headers and played a number of excellent passes, including the sublime assist for Beto’s opener. It was a display that went a long way to showing why Everton rejected United’s £50m offer in the summer and why the Red Devils should have perhaps stretched to the Toffees’ £70m asking price.
Raphinha to Newcastle
Having been burned by laughing at an Eddie Howe obsession with signing Anthony Gordon that’s since proven to be a very, very good call, we’re glad we reserved judgement on a reportedly similar infatuation with Raphinha, who looked a bit of a busted flush at a Barcelona side desperate to be rid of him pretty much from the day he joined from Leeds.
Had the Catalans persuaded Nico Williams to join, Raphinha would probably have been playing at St James’ Park this season, and if it were as simple as transposing the season he’s enjoying at Barcelona onto Newcastle then that would have been rather nice.
We love Jacob Murphy as much as the next hipster football fan but he’s not got 24 goals and 15 assists this season. A front three of Gordon, Alexander Isak and Raphinha would have been belting, though any sort of combination of those players now feels far more likely to happen at the Nou Camp.
Victor Osimhen to Arsenal or Chelsea
Arsenal reportedly turned down the chance to sign Osimhen early in the window when Napoli were still after his £111m release clause, while Chelsea made a late bid to sign him when the striker’s price dropped to around £70m.
He went to Galatasaray on loan in the end and has continued to bang in the goals – 17 in 23 games – that both Arsenal and Chelsea could do with now more than ever, with their untimely forward injury crises threatening to entirely derail their respective seasons.
READ MORE: Six unlikely Arsenal striker crisis saviours include boring option Trossard and centre-midfielder
Michael Olise to Manchester City
Manchester City made a Declan Rice-style failed late hijack attempt to steal Olise away from under Bayern noses at the last minute, in a feeble Why Not? way that they now presumably wish they had used rather more vigour in pursuing.
Olise has ten Bundesliga assists while Savinho, Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish have 13 between them, with City’s lack of contribution from those forwards behind Erling Haaland this season forcing them into a £59m January move for Omar Marmoush.
Jacob Ramsey to Tottenham
This one rather passed us by but Tottenham reportedly made a player-plus-cash offer for Ramsey with Giovani Lo Celso heading the other way. After Villa rejected the proposal, rather than chasing an alternative attacking midfielder to replace Lo Celso – who ended up at Real Betis – in his infinite wisdom Daniel Levy decided Ange Postecoglou would probably be alright without one.
Lucas Bergvall, signed before the lame bid for Ramsey, has played rather more than he otherwise would have done for a Tottenham side that would very clearly have benefited from the direct and penetrating runs of the Villa star, though we’re happy his relationship with Morgan Rogers has been allowed to blossom under Unai Emery this season.
Jhon Duran to West Ham
The budding sh*thouse made the irons symbol on Instagram at the height of speculation over a move to West Ham at the end of July, before scoring the winner against the Hammers a couple of weeks later and pointing to his Villa shirt in an I’m Here For The Long Haul sort of way.
He wasn’t, obviously, and no-one was in the least bit surprised when he jumped ship to Saudi Arabia in January, which may well also have happened had he made the move to West Ham in the summer. At least the Hammers would have made a cool £25m profit on their £40m investment in six months had the deal gone through, having reaped the brief reward of what we don’t think anyone will argue are his superior abilities to Michail Antonio.
Scott McTominay to Fulham
The Italian press have dubbed him ‘the new leader of Napoli’ as an ‘undroppable’ driving force in Antonio Conte’s midfield. A banner which reads “Napoli. McTominay. Pizza. In that order” can now be found hanging on the wall of a restaurant close to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. They love him and he loves them.
We imagine his failed move to Fulham couldn’t be further from McTominay’s mind, but we’re guessing Marco Silva thinks about what might have been had they raised their £20m bid to £25m, though whether the Scotland international would have been quite such a dominant midfield powerhouse without the new country, new league, new everything, we can’t and won’t know.
Yoane Wissa to Nottingham Forest
With Chris Wood’s 17 Premier League goals driving Nottingham Forest towards Champions League qualification the Forest transfer chiefs probably aren’t ruing the missed move for Wissa all that much, but the 28-year-old has also been brilliant this term.
He’s got 11 top flight goals himself and could have played to Wood’s left, or just given Nuno Espírito Santo a very useful and very different alternative in the No.9 position, had Brentford accepted what was a pretty miserly £15m bid. Forest then saw a £22m bid rejected in January.
Archie Gray to Brentford
We’re more focused on the difference this might have made to poor Archie Gray than to either Brentford, who would probably have been a bit better, and Tottenham, who would have been even more f***ed.
We don’t blame him for snubbing Brentford and picking Spurs, but wonder whether he would have made the same call had he been told he would be playing out of position for the whole of his debut campaign under Ange Postecoglou, losing seven of the ten Premier League games he’s started.
