The silly season got down and expensive this summer with some very high-priced signings. While Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo may have stolen the headlines, fans will be shocked to learn that the Argentine and the Portuguese were not this off-season’s most expensive transfers. In reality Messi left on a free and Ronaldo on a reported 12.5 million Euro transfer from Juventus.
Despite clubs trying to save as much as possible due to the covid pandemic, the usual suspects like Chelsea, Manchester City, and Manchester United all spent the big bucks this offseason to prepare their teams for the new season.
Defenders were in high demand as 6 of the summer’s top transfers were defensive players. While Jack Grealish is the very questionable number 1 transfer of the summer. Here is the list of the top 10 2021 summer transfer signings in Europe!
10. Emiliano Buendía – €38.40 million
The Argentine right back, Emiliano Buendía transferred from Norwich City to Aston Villa for €38.40 million, Buendía played three years for Norwich before his move to Villa. Buendía has also been called up to the Argentine national team ahead of World Cup qualifying.
9. Tammy Abraham – €40 million
English forward Tammy Abraham made the summer move from Chelsea, where he was often on loan to Serie A to Roma. The England striker will look to be a centerpiece of José Mourinho’s team, Abraham already has 1 goal in 2 games to kick off his new Italian career.
8. Ibrahima Konaté – €40 million
The 22-year-old French defender completed his move to Liverpool from RB Leipzig for 40 million Euros. Ibrahima Konaté played 66 times for the Red Bulls and is known for his positional play and pace.
7. Raphaël Varane – €40 million
The French center back was sold from Real Madrid to Manchester United for €40 million, Raphaël Varane was on United’s radar for quite some time and the club was finally able to land the World Cup winner to Old Trafford.
6. Dayot Upamecano – €42.50 million
Yet another French defender jumped ship as Dayot Upamecano moved from RB Leipzig, where he played 112 games to Bayern Munich for €42.50 million. The 22-year-old is just entering his prime and has been called up to the French national team three times in 2020.
5. Ben White – €58.50 million
Ben White moved from Brighton & Hove Albion to Arsenal for a rather high €58.50 million, White had a very good run at Leeds United, but the transfer seems very high on a player who essentially has played for mid table teams in England.
4. Achraf Hakimi – €60 million
The Morocco international right back Achraf Hakimi moved from Inter Milan to suit up with Lionel Messi and Neymar at PSG. Hakimi played only 37 games for Inter Milan and scored 1 goal.
3. Jadon Sancho – €85 million
One of the biggest transfer sagas of the year, Jadon Sancho finally left Borussia Dortmund and returned to England to play for Manchester United. Sancho cost the red devils €85 million, as one of the most exciting young players in the world much is expected from Sancho at Old Trafford.
2. Romelu Lukaku – €115 million
Back for his second stint in England with Chelsea, Romelu Lukaku was sold from Inter Milan where he was a scoring machine to Chelsea for €115 million. Chelsea gets what they have been looking for, for a while now, a powerful goal scoring forward.
1. Jack Grealish – €117.50 million
Jack Grealish is talented, but at €117.50 million? Seems a bit inflated but Manchester City got their man and Grealish is moving from Aston Villa to City. Not much of a goal scorer and only 12 caps for England with 0 goals, he is the number one player on this list ahead of players who have done much more and are younger.