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€28m market value Despite being relegated from the Premier League with West Ham United, young full-back El Hadji Malick Diouf done enough to impress those who remained in the top-flight, and has now sealed a move to Brentford. The Bees reached an agreement to sign the defender for an initial €40.8 million, with a further €5.8m in add-ons. The player has a current market value of €28m, and was signed by West Ham for €22m last summer from Slavia Prague.

Starts this weekend The Bundesliga is the last top five league to get underway this season with reigning champions Bayern Munich kicking off at home to Stuttgart tonight. It’s almost inevitable that Vincent Kompany’s men will continue their monopoly of German football and win their 14th Bundesliga title in the last 15 seasons.

August 28th There's just over a week remaining of the transfer window for the majority of the biggest leagues in the world and business is expected to ramp up significantly over the coming few days. Clubs have already spent billions on new signings and some major deals are still being worked on. Managers will be constantly assessing their squads with sporting directors and recruitment staff scanning the market for potential last-minute deals.

Breaking the bank Last season, it was refreshing to see both Sunderland and Leeds United beat the drop in the Premier League. In the previous two seasons, all three promoted sides were relegated straight back to the Championship. The Black Cats even went one step further and sensationally qualified for Europe. But that came at a cost. Last summer, Sunderland broke the record for the most money ever spent by a club promoted to the Premier League.

Saga of the summer Julián Alvarez’s future has developed into one of the biggest transfer sagas of the summer and it’s unclear how it will be resolved as acrimony skyrockets. It’s been abundantly clear since the beginning of the window that Alvarez wants to leave Atlético Madrid with Spain’s three biggest clubs engulfed in an unprecedented war of words earlier this summer.

Argentine star Promoted Premier League club Ipswich Town have signed 2022 World Cup winner and 2026 World Cup finalist Exequiel Palacios from Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth €22.5 million plus €5m in add-ons. Reports in Germany have the fixed fee at €25m. Leverkusen will also receive 10% of any future transfer. The Argentine national team player becomes the first World Cup winner to play for Ipswich Town.

€12m market value Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez has reportedly been offered to Chelsea by his representatives, and the West London club are now nearing a deal to sign the Argentine. According to a report by The Athletic, Martínez is set to join Villa in a deal worth £7.5m (€8.75m). Martínez will sign a two-year contract with an option for one additional season.

Talent exodus When Unai Emery arrived at Aston Villa in the 2022/23 season, they were in the midst of a relegation battle. Four years on and they are Europa League champions and have been consistently challenging at the top end of the Premier League for the past three seasons. The Spaniard has done an excellent job. However, Villa's 2026/27 campaign got off to a nightmare start as his team were beaten 4-0 at Brighton and new signing João Gomes was sent off on his debut.

Serie A wonderkid Chelsea have reached a verbal agreement with Atalanta to sign talented defender Honest Ahanor. As first reported by Fabrizio Romano, the Serie A club are satisfied with the Blues’ package of around €48 million for the 18-year-old. There’s a good relationship between both clubs after Chelsea signed Marco Palestra from Lombardy-based club earlier this summer.

Plus mandatory fee Tottenham confirmed the signging of Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush on Thursday. The Egyptian international makes the move to the North London club on an initial loan deal, with an obligation to make the move permanent next summer. According to multiple reports, the transfer fee in questions will stand at €58 million. Spurs have already spent €355m on new players in this transfer window, following the signing of Marmoush's Man City team mate, Savinho, for a further €88m.