Online Reporter
LONDON. − Manchester City completed a sensational £34million deal for French ace Rayan Cherki just in the nick of time.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s proposed move for goalkeeper Mike Maignan got called OFF, and they’ll have to wait until the window reopens after their new bid for Jamie Gittens got rejected.
And, Jobe Bellingham is expected to withdraw from the England U-21 squad to feature in the Club World Cup after completing a move from Sunderland to Borussia Dortmund for £32m.
This unusual two-part summer transfer window has seen its first half come to an end.
The reason this year’s summer market is different is the revamped Club World Cup, which will begin this coming Sunday.
To accommodate clubs wanting to sign players ahead of the controversial tournament, the transfer window opened early on June 1.
But due to FIFA’s rules stipulating the transfer windows in a calendar year when combined cannot be greater than 16 weeks, a break had to be inserted – therefore the first window closed tonight at 7pm BST.
The initial 10-day period applied only to the 20 national associations with teams playing in the Club World Cup to allow them to register players for the group stages of the competition.
That includes England, with Manchester City and Chelsea set to compete in the tournament.
The summer transfer window reopens on June 16 and will remain open until September 1.
Teams participating in the Club World Cup who sign players from this date can register them for the knockout stages of the competition. − The Sun
Bongani Ndlovu
derick.khumalo