The 2018-19 season of the Premier League is all set to start this weekend.
For the last two-three months all the clubs have been busy scouting for the best player, completing deals to acquire their desired players and coming up with best possible squad for the upcoming season.
This has been the story every summer transfer window when millions of pounds change hand as the Premier League clubs vie for the best footballers.
Premier League clubs have completed 310 deals , worth £1.21bn as on 8 August.
Till last year the Premier League transfer window used to be open till the end of August like any other league in Europe but this time the window has been curtailed and will close on 9 August.
So, all Premier League clubs need to finish their buying and closing deals on purchases within the deadline, after which they are only allowed to sell players till 31 August.
With the transfer deadline in the Premier League less than 24 hours away, here’s a look at the top purchase the Premier League clubs have managed to make.
Alisson Becker (£65m)
Brazil may have had a disappointing end to their campaign in Russia but the same can’t be said for their goalkeeper Alisson. The Brazilian became the most expensive goalie after Liverpool decided to shatter the world record transfer for a goalkeeper and agreed on a £65m deal with Italian side AS Roma.
Apart from paying an initial £56m for Alisson, Liverpool will also pay £9m in add-ons, which includes bonuses for Champions League qualification and winning the competition, the Premier League or Europa League. Roma will also will be playing Alisson’s former club Internacional £2.2m of the initial £56m fee.
Alisson has signed a six-year contract with Liverpool and the Anfield club will be dishing out £4m annually for his services.
Despite a mediocre World Cup, Klopp renewed his interest in Alisson after the dip in form of Loris Karius, as witnessed in the Champions League Final against Real Madrid. Chelsea’s interest in Alisson in the event of Thibaut Courtois’ departure for Real Madrid, also hastened the process.
The transfer fee for Alisson shattered the previous record of £34.7m, which Manchester City paid for Ederson last season and Juventus’ £32.6m for Gianluigi Buffon in 2001.
Riyad Mahrez (£60m)
After pursuing him for more than a year, Manchester City has finally managed to crack a deal with Leicester City to sign their 27-year-old winger Riyad Mahrez for a club-record fee of £60m.
The Algerian, who played a pivotal role when Leicester were crowned Premier League champions in 2016, has signed a five-year contract with ‘The Foxes’. Mahrez will be getting an annual salary £10.4m at City and will don a No. 26 jersey.
Leicester had rejected an offer of £65m in January, after they demanded £80m to let Mahrez go in the middle of the season.
Mahrez, who was named the CAF African Footballer of the Year as well as the PFA Player of the Year in 2015-16, came to Leicester in 2014 and scored 42 goals in 158 appearances across all competitions. He still had two more seasons left on his contract till the summer of 2020.
Naby Keita (£52.75m)
Liverpool had closed a £52.75m deal for acquiring the services of Naby Keita from German club RB Leipzig last summer in August. In fact, they tried to bring in the Guinea international last season in the second half after they sold Phillippe Countinho to Barcelona.
Liverpool had a tough time convincing RB Leipzig last season to release Keita in the second half despite offering a premium over the release clause. After activating the release clause, Liverpool offered to pay Leipzig the premium depending on their position on the Bundesliga table.
If Leipzig finished in the top four Champions League places, Keïta’s valuation would have jumped to £59m. However, that price would have dropped down to £52.75m if the club finished either 5th or 6th.
Eventually, the German club finished sixth and now the 22-year-old will be making his debut at Anfield this August for a transfer fee of £52.75m.
Any further information about his contract tenure and wages is still not confirmed.
In his 71 appearances for RB Leipzig, Keita has scored only 17 times.
Jorginho (£50.4m)
In a last-minute development, Chelsea pipped Manchester City to acquire the service of Jorginho for the upcoming season.
The midfielder came on board after Chelsea agreed to a deal of £50.4m with Italian side Napoli. Jorginho has signed a five-year deal at the club worth £5.3m.
Initially, Manchester City were favourites to sign the central midfielder, but Chelsea cut out a deal with Napoli for both player and manager – Maurizio Sarri.
The Brazil-born Italian midfielder played a key role in the Serie A club’s success and Sarri will be hoping he can repeat the success in the Premier League.
Fred (£52m)
In June, during the World Cup in Russia, Manchester United managed to sign Brazilian playmaker Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee of £52m.
The 25-year-old will be playing at Old Trafford for the next five years and will reportedly draw a salary of £9.1m annually.
Fred, a highly sought after midfielder, had a fruitful spell in Ukraine with Shakhtar. At United, Fred will look to complement other midfielders’ qualities with his creative brain and passing vision and can lend another dimension to their game.
Xherdan Shaqiri (£13m)
Liverpool continued their buying spree this summer when they completed the signing of Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke City for a fee of £13m – which can easily qualify as a good bargain.
The 26-year-old signed a five-year contract after Liverpool triggered a £13 million clause in his Stoke City contract, which dealt with Stoke’s relegation. He still had two years left in his contract with Stoke.
Shaqiri’s attractive price made him a good proposition for many European clubs, especially after the World Cup where he was in the news for all the right as well as wrong reasons.
The Switzerland international has been on Liverpool's radar since 2014 and had his heart set on a move to Anfield when the club's interest first emerged this summer, despite Lazio also showing interest.
Shaqiri will be drawing a salary of £5.2m annually.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)