There were many sagas in the build-up to the window. These included players like Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski.
One of the players made a switch. The Polish striker left Bayern Munich to join Barcelona. They had a busy summer and were involved in many hijacks. Fans are often excited when they hear that word about football transfers. They usually appear out of the blue.
There were multiple hijacked deals in the 2022 summer window. Let’s take a look at three of them, all Premier League clubs.
3 – Lisandro Martinez (Ajax to Manchester United)
Lisandro Martinez was a hot commodity going into the summer window. The versatile defender can be used as a centre-back or left-back as well as holding midfielder.
The Argentine’s technical skills are impressive and he was a big draw for many clubs, primarily Arsenal and Manchester United in England.
Arsenal was very interested in Martinez, and offered around PS29m to the Ajax star.
The Dutch giants rejected that offer and the Gunners responded with another bid. This was estimated to be about PS35m plus additional add-ons according to GOAL. After that, a third bid was made with additional add-ons. However, Manchester United moved quickly as the London club tripped over the deal.
Former Ajax coach Erik ten Ha moved for the former Dutch player.
Martinez was signed by Manchester for PS56.7m, and United has agreed to a five year contract. Sky Sports reports.
This was one of most significant hijacks of the summer. The Argentine has already become a favorite among the Old Trafford fans, and it was evident in the first part of the season. Fabrizio Romano,
2 – Raphinha (Leeds United to Barcelona)
, described the Raphinha saga as “one the most insane sagas of all time”.
Although the Brazilian was the subject for interest by a variety of clubs, it came down to Chelsea or Barcelona.
The Premier League team made the first move, and Leeds accepted a PS55m offer for the winger.
Raphinha wanted Barcelona for the entire summer, so they waited to see if their financial problems were resolved.
This summer, the Catalan club activated many financial levers that helped them pay for their transfer deals during this window. Barca essentially sold TV rights and merchandising to raise money to build a team that was competitive for their manager, Xavi.
Barcelona bought the Leeds winger from Chelsea and made a deal for the Brazilian player with a PS55m plus add-ons. Sky Sports reported that this was the Barcelona’s move.
The Chelsea bid was lower than this as the PS55m they paid was the guaranteed fee, which did not include any add-ons.
Raphinha was able to get the move he wanted the most, but it was quite dramatic.
1 – Jules Kounde (Sevilla to Barcelona)
Jules Kounde, without doubt, is one of the most talented, if not the greatest, young defenders around.
Center-back was a position Chelsea longed to address after losing Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger to La Liga. Blues signed Kalidou Koulibaly, a Napoli international, but needed another centre-back to go with Thiago Silva, a Senegal international.
Chelsea lost Matthijs De Ligt, who joined Bayern Munich at the end. Fabrizio Romano reported that a PS55m offer was made for Kounde.
There were still some details to be worked out, but Chelsea was waiting for the final approval from Sevilla.
While they waited, Barcelona stepped in and took over the deal.
La Liga’s giants quickly signed the Frenchman for EUR50m. The fee paid was less than Chelsea would have accepted.
This summer was one where Barcelona proved just how big they are. Unfortunately, Chelsea suffered the consequences.
Two of the biggest hijacked deals this summer involved both clubs, with Chelsea having to settle in for Raheem Sterling and Wesley Fofana as alternative to the Barca new boys. This was actually not a bad deal.
