This year almost turned out to be a disaster for football in England. Football was suspended completely in the country for more than 100 days, leaving fans with little more than betting on virtual sports and watching the matches of the Belarus Premier League.
The Premier League season ultimately resumed, and Liverpool was crowned champion on their merits, not just their standings when the season was suspended, like in some other countries.
As a result of the delay, the summer transfer window also started later – on July 27 instead of May, and will end in October instead of August.
The clubs have lost a lot of revenue due to the long hiatus, so many expect them to spend less on new talent this season.
This doesn’t mean we won’t see some spectacular transfers happen in the coming weeks. Here are some of the hottest transfer rumours circulating online today.
Spurs without Winks
24-year-old midfielder Harry Winks has played with the Spurs since 2002, joining the first team in 2014. He played in more than 90 league games with the team and stepped on the turf six times with England’s national team, including a World Cup match in 2018. That’s when BBC Sport’s Phil McNulty called him “England’s best performer”.
Winks signed a five-year contract with the Spurs last year… but if the rumours are true, his time in North London may be coming to an end. Manchester City reportedly have their eyes on him in a transfer rumoured to be worth £40 million ($52.4 million).
Losing Winks will likely not improve the odds of the Spurs to win the next season – but a lot depends on who the North London team will sign, right?
Sancho to Manchester
Despite his Spanish-sounding name, 20-year-old Jadon Sancho is a subject of the Crown: he was born in South London in 2000. Throughout his youth years, he played with Watford and Man City – in 2017, though, he was lured over to Germany to strengthen the ranks of the Bundesliga team Borussia Dortmund. Since then, he played almost 80 league games with the team, scoring 30 times.
And today, it seems that he has found himself in a tug of war: Dortmund wants to keep him, while Manchester United are also interested in him. Dortmund CEO Hans Joachim Watzke made it clear that Sancho stays… but analysts think that he could push for a transfer to United. In any case, it will be exciting to see what happens next.
Dayot to Spurs
Dayotchanculle “Dayot” Oswald Upamecano has been with RB Leipzig since 2017, strengthening the team’s defences in more than 80 league games so far. Earlier this year, though, he’s been linked to the Spurs – but not just them: Real Madrid was also reportedly interested in signing the 21-year-old Frenchman. And so is Arsenal.
Spurs have a gaping hole in their backline after the departure of Jan Vertonghen from the team, so this would be the best time for Tottenham to look for a replacement. But they should move fast: after dominating Diego Costa in a recent match, he has suddenly become an in-demand player.
