The international break has delayed debuts for a number of Premier League recruits, with a whole host of deadline day signings forced to wait patiently for their first appearances at new clubs.
Transfer deadline day was one of the most exciting in recent seasons with several sides spending big to land new additions in the final hours of the window.
Six deadline day Premier League signings who could make their debut this weekend:
Ansu Fati
Brighton’s capture of Ansu Fati must have felt like a pinch me moment for the club’s fans, as the Seagulls secured the signing of one of Spanish football’s brightest talents. Fati has signed for Brighton on loan from Barcelona with no option to buy, as the 20-year-old looks to reignite a career which has stuttered ever so slightly since his record-setting emergence at the Camp Nou.
Fati watched on from the stands as Brighton beat Newcastle 3-1 before the international break, an impressive performance from Roberto De Zerbi’s side who have ambitions of gatecrashing the European places once again.
Walking and talking with @ANSUFATI! 🎥🤩 pic.twitter.com/zG19t1UrgZ
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) September 5, 2023
The winger – who was dubbed Lionel Messi’s successor and handed the Barcelona icon’s number ten shirt at the Camp Nou in 2021 – told Brighton’s official media channel that De Zerbi’s confidence in him was a key reason for his decision to move to the Amex.
“Firstly, I spoke to the coach Roberto and he said he has full confidence in me and told me what he thought about me,” Fati said.
“For me, that was a key factor in me coming here. He was the main person who convinced me to come here with what he said, how he sees me as a player, and what I can improve. I think that was the key.”
Ibrahim Sangare
Nottingham Forest had appeared set for a comparatively quiet summer by the standards set upon their Premier League return, but old habits die hard and the club splashed out on SEVEN new arrivals on deadline day.
The most impressive of all was the £30m club-record signing of Ibrahim Sangare from PSV Eindhoven, a midfielder who had long been touted with a move to some of England’s wealthier clubs.
The Ivory Coast international will add immediate presence and power to Steve Cooper’s side, having swapped the Champions League for the City Ground.
Sangare’s arrival was the standout signing of a frantic deadline day that also brought Callum Hudson-Odoi, Andrew Omobamidele, Odysseas Vlachodimos, Nicolas Dominguez, Divock Origi and Nuno Tavares to the East Midlands. Forest – who have started the season strongly – look well-equipped to survive.
Ryan Gravenberch
The fourth and final piece of Liverpool’s midfield rebuild arrived on transfer deadline day, as the Reds signed Ryan Gravenberch in a £34 million deal from Bayern Munich.
Gravenberch had been coveted as one of Europe’s best young talents at Ajax, but his move to Bayern last summer failed to work out as the Dutchman struggled for regular game-time in Germany.
Liverpool have taken a chance on the 21-year-old, who is comfortable in a number of central roles and adds to a youthful engine room in Jurgen Klopp’s new look side. Gravenberch irked the national set-up after turning down a call-up for the Netherlands u-21 side this week, as he looks to hit the ground running in the Premier League.
Ryan on that @OnsOranje connection 🇳🇱🥰 pic.twitter.com/fAHFcwUg5A
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 1, 2023
He could make his debut as Liverpool, on a run of three consecutive wins, take on Wolves at Molineux on Saturday lunchtime.
Sofyan Amrabat
Erik ten Hag secured midfield reinforcements at Manchester United late in the window, after agreeing a deal to sign Sofyan Amrabat on loan from Fiorentina.
The 27-year-old has joined the Red Devils on a season-long loan arrangement for a fee of £8.5m, with the club possessing an option to make the move permanent for an additional £21.4m.
Amrabat arrives after a mixed start to the campaign for United, who have seen Casemiro look out-of-sorts in midfield and summer signing Mason Mount pick up a hamstring complaint.
“I think he fits very good to Premier League football, to Champions League football. I think the demands are strong,” Ten Hag said on the new recruit.
“He is very dynamic, he’s very good in the duels. So we are pleased that we have him at United and I think he will contribute to our high targets we set.”
The Moroccan shone as his nation reached the World Cup semi-finals last winter and could be handed a debut against Brighton this weekend, should he have recovered from an unexplained withdrawal from September’s internationals.
Brennan Johnson
Spurs secured their ninth and final signing of the summer on deadline day after spending £47.5m to sign Brennan Johnson from Nottingham Forest.
The north Londoners reinvested some of their windfall from Harry Kane’s departure to sign the Wales international, who scored eight Premier League goals during an impressive first top-flight campaign with Forest last term.
Johnson – who can operate across the frontline – joins a Spurs side who have started the season well under new manager Ange Postecoglou, with the Australian believing the 23-year-old can add ‘real threat’ to his side.
“He’s just another exciting young player,” Postecoglou told a press conference.
“He’s a real threat in the front third, he’s different from what we’ve already got, he’s young and ambitious. It’s no secret that’s the model for me.
“It’s just as much about the person as well as the footballer, and looking at him he’s going to fit in really well with this group. He’s ambitious and hungry and wants to take his game to the next level.
“The technical and the physical attributes he has, he should fit in really well.”
Matheus Nunes
Not so long ago, Pep Guardiola called then-Sporting Lisbon midfielder Matheus Nunes ‘one of the best players in the world’. Fast forward 18 months and Nunes now has the chance to impress Guardiola on a full-time basis, having signed for Manchester City in a £53m deal, via a single season at Wolves.
Nunes failed to show the best of his capabilities in a pragmatic Wolves side last season, but the Brazil-born Portugal international has the skillset to thrive at the Etihad. An elite ball-carrier, he adds to a number of progressive options in the City squad, as Guardiola looks to improve a side who have become a Swiss Army Knife when it comes to breaking down opposition defences.
🗣️ “I am very happy for Matheus Nunes.” 🤩
Ruben Dias on Manchester City signing his Portuguese teammate 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/6oLaAPNbFw
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 5, 2023
“I’m so happy to be joining Manchester City, the Champions of Europe and a club I’ve admired for a long time,” Nunes told the club’s official website.
“The opportunity to work under Pep Guardiola, one of the greatest managers ever, and alongside some of the best players in the world was something I couldn’t turn down.”
City are the only side remaining in the Premier League with a perfect record, ahead of Saturday’s trip to face West Ham. Nunes will be keen to get his first taste of action in a City shirt.
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