Transfers make a great summer. From Messi to Pulisic, here are the five best bargain deals of the 2023 summer window.
Daichi Kamada (Frankfurt to Lazio, free)
One of this summer’s biggest mysteries was how Kamada spent more than a month without a club after his Eintracht Frankfurt contract expired at the end of June. The Japanese playmaker has made his mark on the biggest stages, impressing at the World Cup in Qatar after helping his club to win the Europa League in 2022.
Tottenham were among the teams rumoured to be circling when Milan pulled out of a deal to sign the 27-year-old, but Lazio instead stole in to sign Kamada on a free transfer. He has already made an impact, scoring the winner for Maurizio Sarri’s side at Napoli.
Kevin Volland (Monaco to Union Berlin, £3.4m)
The former Leverkusen striker has returned to the Bundesliga with Union Berlin, who have sought to sprinkle a little stardust over their squad. With Hertha relegated, the Champions League debutants want to make the German capital their own, also bringing in Leonardo Bonucci and Robin Gosens. Signed for €4m, Volland made an inauspicious start against RB Leipzig with a straight red card. Still, a player with 77 career Bundesliga goals and 63 assists is unlikely to be kept down for long.
Abde Ezzalzouli (Barcelona to Betis, £6.4m)
Outside of Saudi Arabia, the key theme this summer has been the rising cost of youth players. Barcelona give youth a chance more often than most and if youngsters do leave, it tends to be temporary. One notable exception is Ezzalzouli, the Moroccan winger who Xavi believed was ready for the Barça first team. After a late flurry of incomings, an apparent need to balance the books led to his deadline-day departure. Barcelona have secured a buy-back clause to get Ezzalzouli for just €20m, while Betis have a young talent ready to make an immediate impact.
Christian Pulisic (Chelsea to Milan, £18.9m)
Todd Boehly has now poured more than £1bn into Chelsea, but it wasn’t just their big spending that caught the eye this summer. Boehly conducted a fire sale of unwanted first-team players; several went to Saudi Arabia, while Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek joined Milan. Signed for £57.6m from Dortmund in 2019, Pulisic was sold for a maximum €22m (£18.9m) – this figure feels at least £10m short. Given the Rossoneri’s desire to develop their brand in the US, his presence alone could be worth the cut-price fee. As it happens, he announced his arrival with a superb goal at Bologna.
Lionel Messi (PSG to Inter Miami, free)
Inter Miami didn’t pay Paris Saint-Germain a fee for Messi, but he didn’t come cheap – the World Cup winner is earning a guaranteed £93m over his 2.5-year contract. Messi has scored 11 goals in 11 MLS games and fans are flocking wherever he plays – which points to where his true value lies.
Ranked by Forbes as the league’s 11th most valuable team, worth $600m, Inter Miami expect that valuation to double in a year’s time. Messi, though, is the kind of superstar that can lift a whole league – which explains why the broadcast partner Apple has reportedly offered him a revenue-sharing agreement as part of this unusual deal. Messi was not cheap, but he already looks worth the money.
