Aston Villa and Newcastle United both concluded eventful summer transfer windows on deadline day, adding fresh faces to squads that have undergone significant transformation over the past few months.
Villa brought in 18-year-old winger Ibrahim Mbaye from Paris Saint-Germain for £47m and centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis from Southampton for £25m, marking the club's ninth and tenth signings of the summer. The additions came after Villa raised more than £300m through the sale of nine players, including six members of the side that won the Europa League in Istanbul last season. Departures included Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and Emiliano Martínez, with Rogers and Martínez both moving to Chelsea.
Watkins's £50m switch to Saudi club Al-Hilal, following his rejection of a new Villa contract, prompted the club to sign Nicolas Jackson for an initial £47.5m that could eventually rise to a club-record £65m. Villa had already broken their transfer record earlier in the window by paying £52m for Freiburg midfielder Johan Manzambi, who is still recovering from a World Cup knee injury and has yet to feature.
Despite a 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal on Monday, manager Unai Emery expressed satisfaction with how the transfer business had unfolded. "We are happy how we are closing the transfer window," he said. "We are not regretting anything and the players who are joining are players that should be enough to rebuild the team with the structure we want. I think we replaced the players as we planned."
Goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, who arrived from Parma for £30m after a proposed move to PSG fell through, made his first appearance for the club against Arsenal. The 24-year-old, tasked with replacing Martínez between the posts, described the challenge as one he welcomes. "It was my priority to play games so that is why I made the decision," he said, referencing his previous spells in Belgium and Italy. "I just wanted to come here for this club... It is not easy to play after [Martínez] but I want to help the team and be like him." He added that he is eager to feature in the Champions League but first wants to help secure Villa's opening Premier League win.
At Newcastle, the headline arrival was Belgian forward Matias Fernandez-Pardo, who joined from Lille for £51m in the closing hours of the window. The 21-year-old becomes the club's eighth signing of a summer that also saw manager Eddie Howe replaced by Matthias Jaissle and the departures of Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães for a combined fee close to £250m.
Sporting director Ross Wilson revealed the club had tracked Fernandez-Pardo since May. "Matias is a strong example of how a transfer window can unfold with twists and turns along the way," Wilson said. "Back in May he was our top target and we always remained engaged with him... we're clear on our identity and Matias has speed, intensity and work rate in abundance."
Jaissle, who has now sanctioned three major attacking additions including Amar Dedic (£39m) and Nico González (£52m), praised his new signing's versatility. "Matias is a highly technical player with explosiveness in his game," the German coach said. "He can score and assist, he has courage and the ability to take players on."
Fernandez-Pardo himself expressed excitement about the move. "I'm really happy to be here and very proud to be at such a big club," he said. "I didn't hesitate at all. I can't wait to start my wonderful adventure here."
Meanwhile, Nick Woltemade has left Newcastle on a season-long loan to Juventus after struggling to adapt to Jaissle's demanding tactical approach.
Elsewhere on deadline day, Barcelona confirmed the permanent signing of Gabriel Jesus from Arsenal for around €10m, Harvey Elliott joined Valencia on loan from Liverpool, Beto completed a £15.5m move from Everton to Fiorentina, Kevin Danso joined Sunderland on loan from Tottenham with an option to make the deal permanent for £25m next summer, and Fulham completed the signing of Manuel Ángel from Real Madrid.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.