The transfer window usually dominates discussion during the summer, but that’s 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 some 104 matches, the big event is finally over, which means attention can now turn to the comings and goings at club level.
In the Premier League, an extraordinary sum of money is being spent once again. We’ve seen Tottenham splurge on the likes of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, Elliot Anderson has swapped Nottingham Forest for Manchester City for a huge fee and Chelsea have made Morgan Rogers the most expensive British player of all time after
But it’s not just the big hitters who have been splashing 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, then, are 10 Premier League transfers you might have missed during the World Cup…
Ipswich quietly broke their transfer record during the World Cup following their return to the Premier League after one season away, going big to sign young Brazilian striker Emersonn (yes, with two Ns) from Ligue 1 side Toulouse in a deal worth £26.5m ($35.5m).
It certainly seems that there is some risk attached to the transfer, given the 22-year-old obviously isn’t proven in the English top-flight and his return of six goals and two assists in the league last season isn’t particularly promising. When you factor in the potential financial implications of relegation at the end of 2026-27, there is a lot of pressure for this move to work out.
Not strictly a transfer that happened during the World Cup, with the switch announced the day after the final, but Aston Villa certainly put this deal in place while the tournament was still ongoing. The Midlands club moved quickly to sign a replacement forYouri Tielemanss, who only joinedManchester Unitedd a week ago,
The £38m ($51m) fee looks a little steep, but Gomes is a Brazil international and Premier League-proven from his time at Molineux. A neat and tidy midfielder who loves to bite into tackles, he isn’t a like-for-like replacement for the more attack-minded Tielemans, but Unai Emery will hope that, at 25, the new man can develop his game further at Villa Park in a more free-flowing team. He follows
Arsenal have a new back-up goalkeeper in their ranks after
Whether he is second or third-choice behindDavid Rayaa remains to be seen, amid uncertainty surroundingKepa Arrizabalaga’ss future in north London. It has been reported that Arsenal will not stand in the 31-year-old ex-Chelsea ‘keeper’s way if an approach is made.
While the rest of the footballing world was focused on events in North America, Crystal Palace might have pulled off one of the most shrewd moves
