Yeremy Pino, Nick Woltemade and Dusan Tadic among this summer's most fascinating transfer deals

We pick out 10 of the more interesting moves to go through during the summer window

The transfer window closed on Monday night after a summer in which the Premier League tightened its financial stranglehold on European football.

Liverpool led the way as their British record £125 million swoop for Alexander Isak took their summer outlay to an astronomical £415m – a record for the amount spent by a club in a single window and a figure even Chelsea could not match.

Amid the excess, there were some quirks. Isak's move, for example, meant that Premier League clubs spent a total of £248.5m on Sweden's starting forward line following Newcastle's £55m capture of Anthony Elanga and Viktor Gyokeres' £68.5m switch to Arsenal.

There was also the right-back merry-go-round involving Real Madrid, Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen. After Real took Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool, the Reds replaced him with Jeremie Frimpong from Leverkusen, who in turn replaced him with Lucas Vazquez from Madrid.

Or there's Wolves signing a player called Wolfe, David Moller to be precise, a man with a wolf tattoo who once said he dreamt of joining Wolves. He follows in the footsteps of John de Wolf, the Dutchman who spent two seasons at Molineux in the mid 1990s.

Inevitably, not all of the money has been spent wisely, and there will be plenty of buyer's remorse in the coming months.

Below is not an attempt to chart the biggest or best deals, more a list of 10 transfers that will provide intrigue now that the window is shut and we can all finally enjoy the football rather than endlessly refreshing X or moonlighting as PSR accountants.

Yeremy Pino

Villarreal to Crystal Palace, fee: €30M

Having seen the beloved Eberechi Eze depart for Arsenal, the Eagles moved quickly for Villarreal's Pino in a deal that caught many by surprise. Not least because Pino has long been touted as one of the hottest prospects in European football, and more likely to end up decorating the half spaces of the Camp Nou or Bernabeu rather than Selhurst Park.

However, an ACL injury in November 2023 sapped Pino's early momentum and he has chosen Palace as the ideal spot for a reboot. Bright, inventive and technically accomplished, Pino could be one of the steals of the summer if he can rediscover the form that earned him 15 senior caps in an ultra-competitive Spain squad.

Nick Woltemade

Stuttgart to Newcastle, fee €80M

While Newcastle have clearly overpaid for the giant German forward, this is also an exciting acquisition. With time running out and Isak flouncing out the door, the Magpies met a price tag executives at Bayern Munich had spent the summer wincing at.

The fact that Bayern – voracious collectors of their domestic rivals' best young talent – wanted Woltemade speaks to his quality, and Newcastle spectators will soon get to see the curious sight of a two-metre German doing Chris Waddle impressions at St James' Park.

That's because Woltemade – top scorer at the summer's U21 Euros – likes to take the ball and run at defenders with an agility that belies his long limbs.

Woltemade is not currently at Isak's level, but is a fairly unique profile and arrives on a steep upwards trajectory having only broken into the Stuttgart team last season.

Lois Openda

RB Leipzig to Juventus, loan with obligation

Having failed in their efforts to re-sign Randal Kolo Muani from PSG, Juve turned to RB Leipzig's Openda.

Signing the fast, tricky Belgian forward could yet prove a masterstroke if he can rediscover his blistering form of the 2023/24 season. Back then Openda racked up 24 league goals and added four more in the Uefa Champions League, including scoring home and away against Manchester City.

In Turin he will form part of a freshly restocked forward line alongside fellow new recruit Jonathan David.

Dusan Tadic

Al Wahda, free transfer

The Serbian magician has rocked up in Abu Dhabi ready to showcase his trademark blend of visionary passing and refined technical ability.

Tadic's career peaked back in 2019 with one of the Champions League's great individual displays in Ajax's 4-1 win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. The notoriously harsh L'Equipe bestowed a 10/10 rating on him that night after he destroyed Real in their own stadium with a goal and two assists.

Wahda start their Asian Champions League campaign against Saudi champions Al Ittihad in the UAE capital on September 15, the chance to watch Tadic in action is worth the ticket price alone.

Julio Encisco

Brighton to Strasbourg, €18m

Julio Encisco is probably the most eye-catching signing of a summer recruitment drive by the freshly monied Strasbourg. In 2023, the club was taken over by BlueCo, the Chelsea ownership group, who have now taken one of their core strategies – sign as many Brighton players as possible – to France with them.

Chelsea trade players on an industrial scale and Strasbourg, as part of that orbit, are likely to emerge as a prime destination for Stamford Bridge rejects. For example, Encisco, the talented Paraguayan international, will be joined at Strasbourg this season by the out of favour Ben Chilwell.

Jorrel Hato

Ajax to Chelsea, €43m

Hato might only be 19 but he joins Chelsea with 111 senior games for Ajax in the bank having made his debut in January 2023, aged 16. He's had a moustache most of that time as well.

Hato is a tough, quick, all-purpose modern defender whose versatility, athleticism and technical ability mean he could probably fill in anywhere across the back or in midfield. Primarily, he operates as a left-back or a left-sided centre-back.

He has the talent to succeed at Stamford Bridge but there's always a chance Hato will be devoured by the club's near constant churn and will resurface in the Bundesliga in a few years with just a handful of League Cup starts to his name.

Franco Mastantuono

River Plate to Real Madrid, €45m

Despite only turning 18 in April, the prodigiously talented Argentine is already firmly in the first-team picture at Real Madrid and a full senior international.

Mature beyond his years and with a cultured left foot, Mastantuono has earned praise from manager Xabi Alonso for his “Argentine competitive spirit”.

Alonso has shown he is prepared to put his faith in the young midfielder, who looks set for a bigger role than initially anticipated in his debut season at the club.

Yusuf Akcicek

Fenerbahce to Al Hilal, €22m

The Turkish defender's move to the kingdom went slightly under the radar with it being announced around the time the deadline passed across Europe.

The young centre-back flourished in Istanbul under Jose Mourinho, with the Portuguese boss drawing comparisons to one of the modern game's great defenders.

“I don't want to compare him to Rapha Varane because he has won four Champions Leagues, World Cup and won everything,” said Mourinho. “But I had Rapha Varane when he was 18 and I was not wrong. And I am not wrong with this kid. [He has a] big personality and is very confident.”

Akcicek was wanted by several top European clubs, but it was Hilal who got a deal over the line.

Enzo Millot

Stuttgart to Al Ahli, €30m

Another young talent to pitch up in the Saudi Pro League is the French midfielder Millot, who has made the move from Stuttgart. Millot's influence at the German club was significant, including a string of impressive displays as they finished second in 2023/24.

The 23-year-old got off the mark for his new club in their Super Cup win over Al Qadsiah and he collected his first silverware when they went on to defeat Al Nassr in the final.

Millot has been described by his new manager Matthias Jaissle as “high quality” and a “really important signing”.

David Moller Wolfe

AZ Alkmaar to Wolverhampton Wanderers, €12m

Signed to replace Rayan Ait-Nouri, this is a case of nominative determinism as Wolfe, who has a wolf tattoo, joins Wolves. Is he a good player? Who knows, but he shouldn't ever play for anyone else.