Transfer deadline day for the summer of 2026 brought everything we could have really asked for and more. We had a record breaking deal completed, a player not knowing which club he was joining until late on, and a saga between several clubs which ultimately resulted in nothing, while other clubs settled for nothing despite their needs for late additions.

As a result of this drama, we’ve gone through the 5 biggest talking points from the final day of the transfer window this summer, looking at those big moves, big drama and big misses of the summer window with questions to be answered over how this could effect things this season.

If you have anything from deadline day that we haven’t mentioned here, or have any thoughts on the moves that did/didn’t take place on the final day, then get in touch with us on Instagram (@NextGoalWin), Bluesky (@NextGoalWinner) and our YouTube page (@NextGoalWinner).

Enzo Fernandez

If Manchester City hadn’t already spent enough on their midfield this summer with Elliott Anderson, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Iliman Ndiaye the deadline day record breaking £125million move for Enzo Fernandez certainly rounded things off. With Enzo Maresca keen to bring in a player he knows from his Chelsea spell, it had seemed certain for most of the window that the 25 year old Argentine would be moving away with Real Madrid always feeling the most likely landing spot, but as their attention switched, Manchester City had a clear run at their target with only the finances playing a role in the move being delayed until the final day of the window, but the player has plenty to offer and can slot in perfectly as City look to replace the likes of Rodri in their midfield.

Malick Fofana

Malick Fofana had a mad deadline day, with the player expecting Sunderland to become his new club from the start of the day, but as Crystal Palace tried to hijack the move, the player completed a medical without actually knowing where his landing spot in the Premier League would be. A player who has had several links across the summer, and a player with plenty of potential at just 21 years of age, and joining Sunderland for their campaign involving European football, Fofana is a player with potential but also European experience as he has played for Lyon in the Europa League in the last 2 seasons and already has 4 Champions League qualifier appearances this season. While the saga over the potential hijack made this a really interesting narrative to follow on deadline day, Sunderland getting their man feels like a huge boost to their squad for a huge season ahead.

Everton’s Drama

If the Malick Fofana drama wasn’t enough, Everton took part in plenty of deadline day action themselves, with the 1st September seeing moves away confirmed for Nathan Patterson, Beto and Iliman Ndiaye, they made confirmed moves for Jack Grealish and Ainsley Maitland-Niles in on deadline day, but the move that never materialised was Folarin Balogun. Balogun had a big summer with his role at the World Cup, but Everton holding a medical flagged a concern which meant they initially pulled out of the move for the Monaco forward, however with Beto leaving and a possible move for Joshua Zirkzee being shut down, they went back late in the day for Balogun but the player decided to reject the move following the initial issues being flagged up.

While the Balogun failed move not only leaves Everton short with just Thierno Barry as their only recognised senior forward for a full season, but Monaco and Chelsea were also impacted, as the French side were willing to let just 1 of Balogun and Lamine Camara leave, and once the Balogun move fell apart they agreed a move with Chelsea for Camara, but with the flip-flopping on Balogun from Everton, then the Camara move also fell apart, leaving Everton and Chelsea without their men and short in attack and midfield respectively, while Monaco missed out on their much hoped for financial boost from either sale as they now face a task to find a new landing spot in areas where the window remains open.

If you kept up with this across deadline day then fair play, because the notifications we had read became more and more complicated as time went on, but ultimately all of this coming to nothing feels the most ‘deadline day history’ moment of recent years.

United Struggle

We know Manchester United put all their focus into a midfield rebuild this summer, but the left-back remained a huge concern, and despite their long-term target of Lewis Hall being shut down earlier in the window, there was late speculation for Alejandro Balde from Barcelona and then a surprising late loan option for Rayan Aït-Nouri from neighbours City, however United couldn’t get either deal done and now the club and especially fans feel they could be short in a key area this season, with Shaw likely unable to play 60 games across a long season.

Another failed incoming for United was 18 year old Louis Page of Leicester City, who already has 26 senior appearances for the now League 1 side, and with United unhappy at the fee of around £12-15million being touted, they missed out on one of the brightest prospects in England as they looked the favourites for his signature ahead of Arsenal and a few others, but this may be revisited if the player continues to develop as thought, but possibly with an even higher fee likely in the future.

There were also struggles in the outgoings of the club as the failed left-back incoming means Harry Amass remained at the club amid rumours of a move to Burnley being talked about, along with the late failed move for Joshua Zirkzee and Everton as United rejected this due to being unable to find a suitable replacement late on. This summer once again highlighted how far behind United are in their outgoing business as much as anything they have coming in.

Question Marks

Finally, deadline day leaves us with plenty of question marks, with Tottenham making some odd moves late in the window including Mykhaylo Mudryk on a loan with £75million buyout option, and also their raid on Chelsea continuing with Tosin Adarabioyo on a permanent deal making another big signing but with lots of questions over their actual quality and potential.

While these confirmed moves raise questions, the ones that didn’t materialise late on raise an equal question. Julian Alvarez remains at Atletico Madrid despite the links away to Barcelona and Arsenal, as the reigning Premier League champions could feel a little disappointed as they had been heavily linked to Vinicius Jr and then Julian Alvarez but end with neither and have since lost Gabriel Martinelli as an option on their left side of attack, putting a lot of pressure onto their new man Christos Tzolis on that side of the attack.

Additionally, Liverpool may have been a little disappointed that their business ended with Bradley Barcola as they could have hoped for a late move to re-enforce their squad depth, and Chelsea are another side who despite spending a large amount on several players once again saw links with Georginio Wijnaldum as a late sign of desperation as their aforementioned move for Lamine Camara fell apart.

All of this makes the season ahead hugely interesting, as some sides are coming away from the summer feeling they’ve spent big and spent well, but even those at the top of the table may have moments where they lacked business and given the post World Cup season and long seasons expected for most, they could feel a little short in the season unless their January business can improve things mid-season.