Arsenal have bolstered their title challenge after rescuing Raheem Sterling from his exile at Chelsea, who are poised to add to their ranks of wingers by landing Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho on loan with an obligation to buy. But Enzo Maresca’s hopes of bringing in a striker were thwarted by the club failing to prise Victor Osimhen away from Napoli.
After another frantic transfer window at Chelsea, and a day full of uncertainty, there was some satisfaction for the club that they were finally able to find a new home for Sterling. Arsenal emerged as the main contenders for the 29-year-old winger, whose hopes of a move had been complicated by his £325,000-a-week contract, and his season’s loan was confirmed shortly before 1.50am BST. There is no loan fee.
Talks with Chelsea accelerated on Friday evening and Sterling was quick to agree to join Mikel Arteta’s side. Arsenal were keen to bolster their title challenge by adding depth to their attack.
Sterling has fallen out of favour at Chelsea and has been told he has no place in Maresca’s plans. He had been cut from the first-team squad and informed he would not play a minute for Maresca, who has said he prefers different types of wingers.
Chelsea have a wealth of options in the wide areas, raising questions over whether there is space for Sancho in their squad. The former Borussia Dortmund winger is not in Erik ten Hag’s plans and was determined to join Chelsea. The deal is set to become permanent for about £25m at the end of the season. Sancho was poised to become the 13th player this summer to join Chelsea, who are believed to have agreed to cover most of his salary of about £300,000 a week.
There had been talks over a swap deal involving Sterling and Sancho earlier in the week. United also explored a separate deal to sign Carney Chukwuemeka from Chelsea. They were not interested in the England left-back Ben Chilwell being included in a deal for Sancho.
Chelsea had increased their options in attacking midfield by signing Pedro Neto and João Félix. Maresca was already able to choose from Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Christopher Nkunku and Mykhailo Mudryk.
There was still a desire to bring in a top No 9 to compete with Nicolas Jackson. Chelsea officials spent all day attempting to sign Osimhen but could not convince him to fit into their wage structure. Osimhen had already seen a move to Al-Ahli fall through. It remains to be seen if he joins the Saudi Pro League side before the transfer window there shuts next week.
Chelsea have been left with Marc Guiu, 18, as Jackson’s deputy. They had also considered Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Aston Villa’s Jhon Durán and Brentford’s Ivan Toney, whose £40m move to Al-Ahli was confirmed in the early hours of Saturday. Maresca’s request for a new centre-back also come to nothing.
Much of the focus at Stamford Bridge was on shifting unwanted players. Trevoh Chalobah, the 25-year-old centre-back, was set to join Crystal Palace on loan and Djordje Petrovic, the goalkeeper, moved to Strasbourg on loan. Everton took Armando Broja on loan with an option to buy after the striker’s proposed move to Ipswich fell through.
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Carney Chukwuemeka was frustrated in attempts to find a new club. The midfielder was the subject of interest from West Ham and Manchester United. Chilwell also stayed put.
Sterling’s arrival at Arsenal allowed Eddie Nketiah to complete his move to Crystal Palace for an initial £25m, with another £5m potentially due in add-ons. The England striker has been tracked by Palace for several years and was keen to move to Selhurst Park after rejecting Nottingham Forest earlier in the window. His departure means Arsenal could recoup almost £90m in this window, having also sold Emile Smith Rowe to Fulham and, on deadline day, Aaron Ramsdale to Southampton for an initial £18m. Reiss Nelson seal a season’s loan to Fulham after rejecting Ipswich.
Arsenal signed the Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto to replace Ramsdale but Arteta had earlier revealed that the Spain midfielder Mikel Merino sustained a suspected fractured shoulder in his first training session on Thursday and would be out for a few weeks. Sterling will not be available for Saturday’s game against Brighton but he will add invaluable experience when available. He is expected to compete with Gabriel Martinelli for a place on the left of Arteta’s attack but can also provide cover for the centre-forward Kai Havertz and for Bukayo Saka on the right.
Nketiah’s arrival at Palace came after the central defender Maxence Lacroix had joined from Wolfsburg. The goalkeeper Sam Johnstone left Selhurst Park for Wolves, who signed the defensive midfielder André from the Brazilian club Fluminense for £21m. Leicester took the striker Odsonne Édouard on loan from Palace.