Neymar, Bale and the players that failed to get a transfer

Now that the European transfer window has officially come to a close and all the teams have finished their business, we take a look at the players that were supposed to get a transfer but didn’t get one to materialise. 

Neymar: This saga went on for the entire European transfer window. Barcelona were said to have been interested but they never managed to match the 300 million Euro asking price for the Brazilian forward. 

There were rumours of offers from Barcelona which involved giving players like Ivan Rakitic and Ousmane Dembele along with money but apparently Dembele wasn’t willing to go to the French league.

Previously, Neymar had already drawn the ire of the Paris fans by saying his favourite moment as a footballer was when he won 6-1 with Barcelona in the Champions League.

PSG had also made it clear that his services in the club would not be required as he wasn’t played in the pre-season and has been left out of the squad for the first few games of the season and it remains to be seen what happens now that the window is shut.

Paul Pogba: While the problems at the biggest club in the world might be with the board and the ownership, many fans have believed that it’s down to their record-signing Paul Pogba.

The French midfielder has had some excellent performances but has been seen to lack the fighting spirit to change the tide for the Red Devils and that has caused fans and pundits alike to question whether he wants to stay at Old Trafford.

The final signs came as Paul Pogba’s brother had also told the media that he wasn’t going to represent his current club any longer, with a move away to either Juventus or Real Madrid happening, but none of that materialised, although a move in January can’t be off if an offer comes. 

Gareth Bale: Once, the most expensive footballer in the world, Bale has had mixed fortunes for the Los Blancos. He has been pivotal with important goals in two Champions League finals, out of three which he has won with the club.

But constant injuries have meant that a regular place in the starting XI have been limited, along with manager Zinedine Zidane not having him in his plans and eventually also telling the media that a move away for Bale would be the best solution.

It almost happened too as the former Tottenham man was linked with a move to China with a reported weekly wage of 1 million pounds, but an injury to the new signing Eden Hazard from Chelsea has kept Bale in the side. 

Christian Eriksen: The Tottenham midfield ace has been strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid, and a possible sale of either Gareth Bale and/or James Rodriguez would have opened up the space to bring him in.

The Denmark international has not renewed his contract with Spurs and manager Mauricio Pochettino had even kept him away from the starting XI but that resulted in a defeat against Newcastle at their home ground. 

The North London club brought in Giovanni Lo Celso on loan from Real Betis as a replacement with an obligation to buy next season and the sale of Eriksen in January (the club would hope) would help ease matters. 

Shkodran Mustafi: Mustafi, the most expensive defender in Arsenal’s history has turned out to be one of their worst buys in recent history, and his errors in defense leading to goal have led the fans to boo him during games. 

The coach Unai Emery had also made it clear in a press conference that the defender would not be getting much game time and a move away would be better for him, and clubs like AS Roma and Monaco were apparently interested to loan/buy.

Mustafi’s stats show that there is talent but lapses of concentration have often led to silly errors and goals and although Arsenal have tried to sell him for a long time, they have been unable to do so yet, although a January move could be a possibility. 

Wilfred Zaha: The Crystal Palace winger has been linked with a move away from Selhurst Park to first Arsenal and later Everton and being a childhood fan of Arsenal, Zaha’s brother also said to the media that he wanted a move away.

However, after losing Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United, manager Roy Hodgson and co were desperate to hold on to their star player by wanting up to 80 million pounds for Zaha as Arsenal offered up to 55 million plus a player. 

After Arsenal brought Nicolas Pepe from Lille, Everton tried to sign Zaha, bidding upto 65 million pounds plus a player, but that too was rejected and a late 100 million Euro offer from PSG was expected if they managed to sell Neymar but that never happened.