The 2021 football transfer window is now coming to a close. In less than one week, on 31st August, the period of time during which football teams are allowed to buy and sell their players will end, leaving the teams set for the next season! As with every transfer window, this year came with some expected changes and some surprises. We’ve broken these down into the most interesting points from the current window, for the more casual reader and football fan. Here we’ll take a quick look at the most interesting, shocking or controversial trades taking place this year.
Chelsea welcomes back Lukaku, making him the most expensive player of all time:
Romelu Lukaku has had a full and varied career beginning in his home country of Belgium. From Belgian team Anderlecht, Lukaku first moved to Chelsea back in 2011, but wasn’t featured on-pitch very often and was soon loaned to West Bromwich Albion and Everton for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, respectively. The following year Everton signed Lukaku, and he went on to be the league’s 2nd-top goal scorer. But he wasn’t finished there! Lukaku spent two years at Everton before moving to Manchester United for a further two years (2017-2019), and finally, over to Inter Milan for yet another two-year period (2019-2021). Now, Lukaku has finally returned back to Chelsea for a club-record transfer of £97.5 million, making Lukaku the most expensive player of all time accumulatively over his many transfers.
Messi leaves Barcelona, the team he spent his entire professional career with:
Lionel Messi is a household name, often cited as the best footballer in the world, and one of the greatest players of all time. He’s the captain of his national team in Argentina, but has played for Spanish club, Barcelona, for his entire career. Starting at the Barcelona youth club over 20 years ago, Messi has played for a Barcelona team every year since. Now, in 2021, he’s finally agreed to resettle, accepting a two-year contract (with an option for a third) for a contract worth £25 million from French team Paris Saint-Germain.
Kane finally decides to stay at Tottenham:
One of the most discussed potential transfers of 2021 has been Harry Kane. Kane – the England national team’s captain – has been with the Tottenham Hotspurs for his entire senior career but has been loaned out to multiple other teams in this time. This year looked like the year he was finally set to migrate to a new team permanently, with Manchester City offering a club-record price of £100 million to tempt him over, but Kane has recently confirmed via Twitter that he has now opted to remain with the Hotspurs. Better luck next year, City!
