Fernando Torres, Mesut Ozil and more: The Premier League's six most expensive deadline day signings
- Lewis Oldham
- 31 August 2021
We have counted down the most expensive deadline day purchases ever. Arsenal feature heavily.
The summer transfer window will slam shut at 11pm BST in the UK on Tuesday.
Given that clubs have a couple of months to do their business, it remains a constant source of surprise that they are still scrabbling around for signings on the final day.
But year on year, it always happens. As the jigsaw pieces fall into place, owners delve deeper and deeper into their pockets to get deals done at the 11th hour.
And, with several clubs looking short in several key areas - we're looking at you in particular Arsenal - this year promises to be no different.
Planet Sport runs down the six most expensive Premier League deadline days signings and there's good news for Gunners fans, they feature heavily.
6. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal to Liverpool) - £35m
Liverpool had already signed Mohamed Salah (£36million) and Andy Robertson (£8million) before they brought in Oxlade-Chamberlain in August 2017.
The Arsenal midfielder turned down a new deal at the Emirates and an offer from Chelsea to join Jurgen Klopp's side.
Oxlade-Chamberlain enjoyed a strong debut season having been granted his wish to play in central midfield. He bagged five goals (including a stunner against Man City) and eight assists from 46 outings across all competitions.
Sadly, most of Oxlade-Chamberlain's time at Liverpool has been plagued by injury - he has only managed 57 appearances since.
5. Anthony Martial (Monaco to Manchester United) - £36m
The Frenchman's arrival came at the end of a busy window for Manchester United. They had already splashed out around £86.4million on high-profile signings including Morgan Schneiderlin, Memphis Depay and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
The 19-year-old was a bit of an unknown quantity before this transfer. He had only played 49 times for Monaco in Ligue 1 before United spent an initial £36million to make him the world's most expensive teenager.
Martial got off to a fantastic start, scoring on his Old Trafford debut against Liverpool to help his new team beat their arch-rivals 3-1.
The forward has 78 goals and 50 assists for the Red Devils.
However, despite more than 250 appearances for the club, Martial has yet to win over the doubters and the arrival of Jadon Sancho has led to speculation his time at Old Trafford could be coming to an end.
4. Mesut Ozil (Real Madrid to Arsenal) - £42.5m
The first Arsenal signing on this list is a pretty unforgettable one. In September 2013, the Gunners broke their transfer record to sign Ozil from Real Madrid for £42.5million.
The Germany international spent seven-and-a-half years at Arsenal. One of the best playmakers in the Premier League on his day, that day didn't nearly come often enough.
Nevertheless, he won their Player of the Season award in 2015/16 after providing eight goals and 20 assists in the Premier League.
Mikel Arteta's arrival as manager in November 2019 coincided with Ozil falling down the pecking order. He failed to appear for Arsenal in the first half of the 2020/21 campaign before a long-drawn-out exit culminated with him joining Fenerbahce in January.
3. Thomas Partey (Atletico Madrid to Arsenal) - £45m
The Gunners had signed Gabriel from Lille (£27million) and Willian from Chelsea (free transfer) earlier in the 2020 window but their pursuit of Partey went right down to the final day.
The Ghanaian international had been a consistent performer in defensive midfield at Atletico Madrid under Diego Simeone and finally made the move on deadline day after the Premier League side activated his £45million release clause.
His debut season at Arsenal was impacted by injury. However, he impressed in an otherwise disappointing campaign for the club, playing 33 times.
2. Fernando Torres (Liverpool to Chelsea) - £50m
The former Atletico Madrid forward enjoyed a fantastic spell at Liverpool between 2007 and 2011. He struck up a great understanding with Steven Gerrard, scoring 81 goals from his 142 appearances.
Torres' spell at Liverpool ended on a sour note, though. Chelsea had a £40million bid rejected for him a few days before the deadline and that led to him handing in an official transfer request.
Chelsea got their man on deadline day for a then British record fee of £50million. He ended up playing more times for the Blues (172 appearances) than Liverpool, but he was unable to replicate his goalscoring form.
The Spaniard netted 45 times for Chelsea and had spells on loan at AC Milan and Atletico Madrid before he rejoined the latter on a permanent deal in 2016.
His best moment for Chelsea came in 2012 as he scored a last-minute winner against Barcelona to send the Blues through to the Champions League final. Gary Neville's commentary made it even better…
1. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Dortmund to Arsenal) - £56m
The Gunners broke their club-record transfer fee to sign the Gabon striker from Borussia Dortmund for £56million in January 2018.
This sparked other moves as Michy Batshuayi joined Dortmund on loan and Chelsea replaced him with Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud in a deal worth £18milion.
Aubameyang joined the north London outfit after establishing himself as one of the best goalscorers in Europe. He netted 141 goals from 213 outings for Dortmund.
His form has continued for the Gunners, with 88 times goals from his 151 appearances. He als starred in the FA Cup final in 2019/20, with his brace helping Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1.
Aubameyang penned a new three-year deal at Arsenal in September 2020 but endured a disappointing campaign.
He scored just ten goals in the Premier League and he missed March's north London derby due to "disciplinary reasons".
