The Premier League’s summer transfer window closes today and despite a whirlwind few months, there are still players expected to move before the deadline.
With the caveat that the chaotic world of transfers means information can change every hour, the players below are heading into the final day of business with their futures still uncertain.
For regular updates through deadline day, follow our transfer live blog, which will bring you the latest from David Ornstein and all The Athletic writers as we push towards the 11pm (BST) deadline.
Joao Palhinha, Fulham
Despite being without their talisman Aleksandar Mitrovic, who left Fulham for Al Hilal this month for a club-record £45million ($57m), the west London outfit continued their impressive form during their 2-2 draw with Arsenal last week.
While Marco Silva’s side adjust to life after Mitrovic, one player served as an admirable reminder of the side’s existing quality during that fixture — namely, Joao Palhinha.
Yet, having lost their star forward, Fulham appear set to face a battle in their attempts to hold on to another prized possession as Bayern Munich are pushing to sign Palhinha before Friday’s deadline.
Bayern head coach Thomas Tuchel is keen to sign a defensive midfielder, while the club are also in talks with Liverpool regarding the sale of Ryan Gravenberch.
Palhinha has attracted interest from a number of clubs throughout the summer. For example, Fulham rejected an offer in the region for £45m from West Ham in July.
Bayern, however, appear ready to increase their attempts at signing the 28-year-old. From Fulham’s perspective, the deal hinges on the club’s ability to find a replacement.
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But while the club are reluctant to sell, the Portugal international is open to the move. And Silva acknowledged that “anything can happen in the next 36 hours”.
The 28-year-old, who signed from Sporting Lisbon for £20m last summer, has been a key figure since his arrival at Craven Cottage. He helped the club to a 10th-placed finish and made the most tackles of any player in the Premier League last season. Palhinha only missed three games during that campaign, all of which Fulham lost and conceded 10 goals in the process.
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But with Friday’s deadline quickly approaching, it remains to be seen whether Bayern are willing to meet Fulham’s pricey demands, and how the Premier League club might respond with their own activity.
Peter Rutzler, Rapha Honingstein
Sofyan Amrabat, Fiorentina
Will Manchester United be able to bring in another midfielder in the form of Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat?
Mason Mount from Chelsea was a major midfield signing this summer. But they have also added goalkeeper Andre Onana (to replace the departing David de Gea) and Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta, though the 20-year-old’s injury has delayed his debut for the club.
Talks between United and Fiorentina for Amrabat remain ongoing, but a €2million bid from United to loan Amrabat was turned down by the Serie A club this week.
Financial fair play regulations have been a factor for United and they offered to make the payment for the 27-year-old midfielder in two installments of €1million, which is a long way short of what Fiorentina were looking for. They saw the offer guaranteeing them only €1million due to there being a break clause (effective in January) in the offer.
The player is valued at €35million by Fiorentina, who would prefer a permanent sale.
But will that work for United and Erik ten Hag?
James Horncastle
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool
Liverpool have had a mixed summer on the transfer front, losing Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to the Saudi Pro League while missing out on Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo to Chelsea. They have brought in replacements, but the future of Mohamed Salah remains uncertain.
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We reported last week that Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad have reignited their interest in the Liverpool forward, but Liverpool maintain the 31-year-old is not for sale.
It is unclear if a deal for Salah will materialise, although Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was adamant last week that the Egypt international was “100 per cent” committed to Liverpool.
An added consideration for Liverpool is that clubs in Saudi Arabia have a week longer — until September 7 — than British sides to lure players.
Liverpool are in talks with Bayern Munich over the signing of midfielder Ryan Gravenberch.
Salah has started all three of Liverpool’s games this season, with his only goal so far coming in a 3-1 win against Bournemouth.
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And at this stage, Liverpool do not even have a bid to consider for the Egypt international — but will we see any sudden shifts in what would be among the seismic moves of modern-day football?
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Joao Felix, Atletico Madrid
It is over six weeks now since Joao Felix said he would love to leave Atletico Madrid for Barcelona, and even longer since Atletico coach Diego Simeone made it clear he would rather the Portuguese left too.
But it was always likely to go right down the wire, due to Barcelona’s financial issues and Atletico’s love of driving a hard bargain, especially with the Camp Nou outfit.
The last few days have seen Barca scrambling to get together money to sign both Joao Felix and Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo — both represented by Portuguese super agent Jorge Mendes.
Mendes sorting the departure from Barca of yet another client, young forward Ansu Fati to Brighton has made some space on the wage bill, but president Joan Laporta and other board members may still have to give personal guarantees of up to €20m to meet La Liga’s FFP rules.
If he had to choose, coach Xavi would prefer Cancelo to Joao Felix, but Laporta likes the attacker, and Atletico realistically do not want to keep a high-earning player whom Simeone does not want around the club.
It would be no surprise if the high-stakes poker game is only resolved in the last hours of the window tonight.
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Dermot Corrigan
Philippe Coutinho, Aston Villa
Aston Villa are open to Philippe Coutinho leaving the club, with interest from the Middle East. Clubs in Saudi Arabia and now Qatar have made contact and are in talks to sign the Brazillian.
However, their transfer window remains open after Friday’s deadline in Europe, allowing Coutinho more time to find an agreement.
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Removing high earners is one way for Villa to alleviate Financial Fair Play regulations and help head coach Unai Emery build the squad in his image.
The signing of Nicolo Zaniolo is another player who pushes Coutinho down the pecking order in the attacking positions. There are doubts as to whether Coutinho can last a full game at Premier League intensity these days, especially under the type of remit Emery expects.
This was none more evident than in his second-half cameo against Everton a fortnight ago, where he suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out for a few more weeks.
Coutinho is among the squad’s top earners at around £135,000 per week and with three years to run on his contract, Villa would ideally like to remove his salary from the books.
Clubs in Turkey showed interest but Coutinho’s wage demands put that out of the question. A reunion with Steven Gerrard at Al Ettifaq was briefly in the picture earlier this summer.
Jacob Tanswell
Randal Kolo Muani, Eintracht Frankfurt
Randal Kolo Muani walked out on Eintracht Frankfurt on the eve of their Europa Conference League play-off second leg against Levski Sofia on Thursday.
The French forward has reportedly travelled to Paris after negotiations between Paris Saint-Germain and Eintracht on Tuesday had ended without agreement. There’s a €30m gap between Frankfurt’s price (€100m) and the French champions’ offer.
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Frankfurt are angry about the 24-year-old going AWOL. “We know his real character and don’t recognise him,” Eintracht sporting director Markus Krosche said. “Right now, there’s a lot of noise around him, which explains this wrong reaction. We have told him and the people around him our stance in no uncertain terms.”
A late resolution to the impasse is still possible if Paris up their offer and Frankfurt can get a replacement in but time’s running out.
Rapha Honigstein
Sergio Ramos, free agent
The 37-year-old is still a free agent and, if things don’t change too much, he could stay that way even after the European market closes.
After finishing his contract with PSG at the end of June, the Spanish defender has spent two months studying a multitude of offers with his brother and agent, Rene, but his main desire was to continue competing in an elite league.
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Even so, he was realistic, and knew that if he could not continue in a top team he would like to finish his career in MLS and, more specifically, he was attracted to Los Angeles.
However, the dates and above all economic conditions, have made Ramos understand that if he wants to live the American dream he may have to wait longer than expected — at least until the winter market without a team, as sources from his entourage assure.
In that situation, other options such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia have also appeared on his horizon. However, it was not only a decision for the player, but it affected his family and Ramos has preferred to wait until the end of the market to contemplate all the offers and make the most informed choice.
Guillermo Rai
(Top photos: Getty Images)