NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
The transfer window usually dominates the discussion during the summer, but this is rarely the case in tournament years, as the market is forced to take a back seat. Business never sleeps, however, and several deals have gone under the radar during the 2026 World Cup. After five-and-a-half weeks and around 104 games, the big event is finally over, meaning attention can now turn to what comes and goes at club level.
In the Premier League, once again, an extraordinary amount of money is being spent. We’ve seen Tottenham splash out on the likes of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, Elliot Anderson swap Nottingham Forest for Manchester City for a huge fee and Chelsea make Morgan Rogers the most expensive British player ever after.
But it’s not just the big hitters who have splashed the cash this summer, with a number of relatively lower profile moves going through while all eyes were on the tournament across the pond.
Here are 10 Premier League transfers you might have missed during the World Cup…
Emersonn (Toulouse to Ipswich Town, £26.5m)
Ipswich quietly broke their World Cup transfer record following their return to the Premier League after a season out, splashing out to sign young Brazilian striker Emersonn (yes, with two N’s) from Ligue 1 side Toulouse in a deal worth £26.5m. ($35.5 million).
There certainly seems to be some risk attached to the transfer as the 22-year-old is obviously unproven in the English top flight and his six goals and two assists return in the league last season is not very promising. Factoring in the potential financial impact of relegation at the end of 2026-27, there is a lot of pressure for this move to succeed.
Joao Gomes (Wolves to Aston Villa, £38m)
Not strictly a transfer that happened during the World Cup, with the move being announced the day after the final, but Aston Villa certainly got this deal in place while the tournament was still underway. The Midlands club moved quickly to sign a replacement for Youri Tielemanss, who only joined Manchester United a week ago,
The fee of £38m. ($51m) looks a bit high but Gomes is a Brazilian international and Premier League proven from his time at Molineux. A neat and tidy midfielder who loves to bite into tackles, he is not a like-for-like replacement for the more attack-minded Tielemans, but Unai Emery will hope that the new man, at 25, can develop his game further at Villa Park in a more free-flowing team. He follows
Illan Meslier (Leeds United to Arsenal, free)
Arsenal have a new back-up goalkeeper in their ranks
Whether he is second or third choice behind David Rayaa remains to be seen, amid uncertainty over Kepa Arrizabalaga’s future in north London. It has been reported that Arsenal will not stand in the way of the 31-year-old ex-Chelsea keeper if an approach is made.
Oscar Mingueza (Celta Vigo to Crystal Palace, free)
While the rest of the soccer world was focused on events in North America, Crystal Palace might have pulled off one of the smartest moves of the transfer window by signing Oscar Mingueza, who was
Honed at Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy, Mingueza has been a standout in La Liga over the past 18 months and was even linked with Arsenal and Juventus before landing in south London. Although he missed out on a place in Spain’s World Cup-winning squad, the 27-year-old is a full international who brings versatility and experience. It looks like a very smart business.
Marco Palestra to Chelsea (Atalanta to Chelsea, £47m)
The first signing of the Xabi Alonso era at Chelsea is
A marauding, versatile full-back who was named Serie A Defender of the Year after an impressive season on loan at Cagliari, the 21-year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge for a cool £47 million ($62 million). Alonso is said to have signed off on the transfer, with the young defender seemingly a perfect fit for the Spanish tactician’s preferred back-three or back-four systems, as he can operate on either flank as a wing-back or full-back.
Alvaro Rodriguez (Elche to Bournemouth, £26m)
Bournemouth have developed a reputation for unearthing young gems in the transfer market and they will hope they have pulled off another smart move by signing Elche striker AlvarRodriguez. The 22-year-old Uruguayan, who came through Real Madrid’s academy, impressed last season despite Elche flirting with relegation.
Rodriguez contributed 12 goals in La Liga and Bournemouth have taken a leap of faith by investing a substantial £26m ($34m) fee in his services. The hope will be that he can translate that form to the Premier League as he continues to develop, and he could well be a replacement for 20-year-old sensation Eli Junior Kroupi, who is attracting attention from the so-called ‘big six’.
Bazoumana Toure (Hoffenheim to Newcastle, £43m)
In terms of statements, big name signings, once again Newcastle’s transfer window hasn’t quite gone to plan. The Magpies have landed a number of key targets for the second successive summer following their nightmare 2025, including Victor Munozoz, who joined Liverpool, and the aforementioned Manzambi, who has signed for Aston Villa.
However, the Tynesiders have set about adding a number of highly-rated youngsters to their squad, with the most significant outlay underway.
Toure was quickly followed into St James’ Park by 18-year-old Ajax midfielder Sean Steurur, himself costing £23m ($31m).
Callum Wilson (West Ham to Brentford, free)
West Ham could have been relegated but veteran striker Callum Wilson will not go down with them after he walked away at the end of his one-year contract and swapped east London for the west by joining Brentford on another short-term deal. He follows the arrival of Jaidon Anthonyny in what looks like a bargain at £20m. ($27m) from relegated Burnley.
Wilson is likely to play second fiddle to Igor Thiagogo at the Gtech Stadium after the Brazilian’s prolific 2025-26 campaign, which earned him a World Cup call-up for Brazil, and the England international has set his sights on reaching 100 Premier League goals. He currently sits at 95.
Harry Wilson (Fulham to Leeds United, free transfer)
Could this turn out to be one of the Premier League signings of the summer?! Top clubs lined up to sign Harry Wilson following the expiry of his Fulham contract and a sublime individual season that saw 11 goals and a further eight assists in all competitions, with the former Liverpool man belatedly discovering the form of his life at the age of 29.
Unexpectedly, it was Leeds who won the fierce battle for Wilson’s signature as a free agent. The Yorkshire club announced the Welshman’s arrival, saying the striker had chosen them over “several offers from elsewhere”, a list which may well include Aston Villa, who were heavily linked earlier this summer and have qualified for the Champions League again.
The Whites then stole a march on their rivals again to land Bosnian centre-back Tarik Muharemovic from Sassuolo following his impressive World Cup displays.
Zadok Yohanna (AIK to Brighton, £26m)
You’d be forgiven for not having heard of Zadok Yohanna (neither had we, to be honest!), but he might just be the latest in a string of brilliant pieces of business by the masterminds behind Brighton’s endlessly profitable model. The Nigerian winger didn’t come as cheaply as some of the club’s biggest success stories, but that’s probably because he has a very high ceiling.
Yohanna was signed from Stockholm-based AIK earlier this summer for a cool £26m ($34m), but don’t be surprised if he is sold for a significant profit in the next few years. The 19-year-old had already scored nine goals in just 12 appearances in Sweden’s 2026 season (which runs from April to November) before linking up with the Seagulls, who had otherwise been focused on bolstering their backline with Leeds Pascal Struijkjk and Tottenham prospect Luka Vuskovicic.
