Just when will the 2019/20 football season finish? That is the question on everybody’s lips due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But this issue has not stopped a number of transfers already being agreed for next season.
Penned in to happen on July 1, numerous footballers are still due to swap clubs despite the ongoing situation which has disrupted leagues around the world.
FIFA has proposed that ‘contracts be extended until such time that the season does actually end’, while deals due to come into force in the next campaign should be ‘delayed until the next season actually does start’.
Meanwhile, the transfer window is set to be moved so it takes place between the end of the current campaign and the start of the new one, whenever that may be.
Nonetheless, one player who has already agreed to join a Premier League giant has confirmed he will transfer on July 1 as planned, regardless of the ongoing crisis.
You can read more about that player, as well as others set to complete transfers in the summer, below…
25. Danel Sinani (F91 Dudelange to Norwich City) – UNDISCLOSED
Norwich may have furloughed their non-playing staff, but that has not stopped the Premier League club from making a new signing…
Luxembourg forward Danel Sinani has signed a pre-contract agreement with the club and will move to Carrow Road on a three-year seal before the 2020/21 season.
The 23-year-old is currently playing for Luxembourg side F91 Dudelange and has 24 goals and eight assists in 30 games this season.
24. Pedri (Las Palmas to Barcelona) – £4.5m
Just 17, the youngster is already booked in to move to the Camp Nou this summer.
Billed as the Canarian Iniesta – of course – he’s played 26 league games in Spain’s Segunda Division this season, netting three goals on the way and creating four for teammates.
He’s not short on confidence either. “I have the Barcelona DNA, I think that one day I will be able to enter that team and play within it naturally,” Pedri boldly told MARCA in February.
23. Yan Couto (Coritiba FC to Manchester City) – £5.4m
He may have only played two senior games in Brazil but the right-back is already set to rock up in England.
At the Under-17 World Cup last November he created more chances than any other defender – so he’s right up Pep Guardiola’s alley.
Couto could be the long-term replacement for Kyle Walker with Joao Cancelo struggling for games right now.
22. Matheus Fernandes (Palmeiras to Barcelona) – £6.3m
Currently on loan with Real Valladolid and acclimatising to Spain, the 21-year-old central midfielder will move onto the Camp Nou in the summer.
21. Mikkel Damsgaard (FC Nordsjaelland to Sampdoria) – £6.3m
The Italian outfit love a Dane having recently had Joachim Andersen and Simon Poulsen in years gone past.
Now they’re adding Damsgaard, a left winger with a fine right boot, to their ranks.
20. Abel Ruiz (Barcelona to Braga) – £7.2m
The young striker was once being touted as one of the best talents around but is now in Portugal on loan and will move permanently in the summer.
As always, though, the Spanish giants have included a buy-back clause in the transfer and if he starts banging in the goals they could re-sign him within two years for around £35m.
19. Yann Karamoah (Inter Milan to Parma) – £7.2m
The young winger moved to Italy 2017 from Caen and after three loan spell he is now set to swap Serie A clubs.
An injury has limited to only six league appearances this season but there is hope he can be a hit long-term.
18. Carles Perez (Barcelona to Roma) – £9.9m
After coming through La Masia, the right winger made 10 LaLiga appearances this season, scoring once and creating three goals.
Quique Setien sent him packing almost immediately but they were unable to get a buy-back clause in his deal, which will become permanent in July.
17. Pol Lirola (Sassuolo to Fiorentina) – £10.8m
The young right-back signed for La Viola last summer in what started as a loan deal.
Once on the books at Juventus, he came to the fore with Sassuolo and has developed into a consistent, if unspectacular, Serie A performer.
16. Marko Rog (Napoli to Cagliari) – £11.7m
Things never really worked out in Naples for the Croatian and he’s finally moving to pastures new.
His loan period with Cagliari will be made permanent and it’s the best long-term decision for his career having finally player more than 1000 minutes in a season for the first time – and he turns 25 this year!
15. Gianluca Mancini (Atalanta to Roma) – £11.7m
A huge hit with the side from Bergamo last season, he was wanted by Everton but joined another Italian side instead.
He’s done well this term, which is lucky as he officially becomes a Roma player in July.
14. Alfred Duncan (Sassuolo to Fiorentina) – £13.5m
The Ghanaian international will leave the Modena-based club this summer after five seasons.
13. Antony (Sao Paulo to Ajax) – £14.18m
A right winger, the 20-year-old will leave his home city for the Netherlands in the summer as he looks to build his career.
The Dutch side don’t often get it wrong with signings from South America and their director of football Marc Overmars is happy with the deal.
“We are getting a creative player who can play in every position up front,” he said.
“Some of our players will be leaving this summer – we need to plan for that, so it’s great that we’ve been able to finalise this transfer.”
12. Jordan Veretout (Fiorentina to Roma) – £14.4m
He’s come a long way since his time at Aston Villa.
Now he’s playing for a top European side and will look to further impress once his transfer is confirmed following an initial temporary switch.
11. Helder Costa (Wolves to Leeds) – £15.93m
Whether or not he will be back in the Premier League is yet to be seen but he’s a fine squad addition after an okay first campaign at Elland Road.
10. Andrea Pinamonti (Inter Milan to Genoa) – £16.2m
Now this one is complicated – bear with us.
The 20-year-old hasn’t been a hit on loan with Genoa but when they gained their first point after the January transfer window it activated a permanent summer move.
Inter though were looking to swap Pinamonti with Torino defender Armando Izzo before next season. This will see the Nerazzurri sign the striker back for £18m as a ‘gentleman’s agreement’.
Right then…
9. Roberto Inglese (Napoli to Parma) – £16.2m
He hasn’t done quite as well as he did for Chievo, prior to a move to Naples.
In his two campaigns with Parma he’s got 11 goals in 31 Serie A starts while injuries have also hampered him.
8. Pedrinho (Corinthians to Benfica) – £18m
The Portuguese giants have swooped to land the Brazilian youth international who has had a fine 2019, despite playing out of position.
Keen to play in attacking midfield, Pedrinho has often found himself out on the wings but he’s still managed five goals and four assists in the league last year.
He was once coveted by Real Madrid but will now take his first steps into Europe in another Iberian nation.
7. Simone Verdi (Napoli to Torino) – £18m
Serie A is a fun league for transfers, eh!
Verdi, aged 27, will make a permanent move to Turin for a second time this summer when his obligation to buy clause is triggered.
Torino snapped him up from AC Milan back in 2011 as part of a co-ownership deal but as a youngster he didn’t make much of an impact, with two loans spells at Juve Stabia and Empoli.
Back off to Milan he went after a blind auction – but he didn’t make a single appearance, jetting off on loan to Eibar first and then Carpi.
A permanent switch to Bologna was much better for Verdi and he excelled while showing remarkable talents at free-kicks
After two seasons there a big move to Napoli happened in 2018 but, one year on, he was back on loan to, you guessed it, Torino.
The deal will go through on July 1 but our head hurts.
6. Emre Can (Juventus to Borussia Dortmund) – £22.5m
The adaptable German made 20 appearances last season for the Italians but has been squeezed out by manager Maurizio Sarri.
A loan switch was agreed in January with an option to buy and just 10 days after an impressive debut his option to buy permanently was triggered.
5. Nicolo Barella (Cagliari to Inter Milan) – £22.5m
Linked with clubs like Chelsea and Liverpool in the summer, Barella moved to Inter on loan.
He’s another player signed with an obligation to buy after just one year and following a decent first campaign he’ll hope to step up when the new season eventually starts.
4. Trincao (Braga to Barcelona) – £27.9m
Signing a 20-year-old forward with plenty of potential is hardly surprising for the Spanish giants and he’s going to have a gargantuan £446.5m release clause.
As he’s Portuguese you’ll see him labelled as the ‘next Ronaldo’ but don’t be fooled, this inverted winger, with a fine left foot could well be Lionel Messi’s understudy.
In 17 appearances – but just seven starts – Trincao has managed six goals and three assists in Portugal this season.
3. Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis to Tottenham) – £28.8m
No, you’re not imagining things. the Argentine’s deal will finally be completed in the summer.
Tottenham announced they would make his loan move permanent but it will only go through fully on July 1.
2. Hakim Ziyech (Ajax to Chelsea) – £36m
An actual signing and not just an option on a loan move being triggered, the Blues announced this move in February.
The Moroccan creator has been truly sensational for the Amsterdam outfit since a transfer from FC Twente and he’s been a huge part of their successes offering both goals and assists.
He will now end his memorable spell with the Dutch giants and head to Stamford Bridge, with the move agreed to go through on July 1.
Although the coronavirus pandemic has raised doubts over contract lengths and already agreed transfers, Ziyech has confirmed he will become a Chelsea player, as planned, this summer.
“After I signed the contract that was it – on July 1 I am a Chelsea player. I haven’t given it another thought,” Ziyech told AD.
“It’s nice for me to have some clarity. Nobody knows exactly what will happen to the transfer market. Clubs will be more anxious to attract players for large transfer fees.”
1. Alvaro Morata (Chelsea to Atletico Madrid) – £50.4m
Yep! A year and a half after his loan move from west London, the Spanish striker will officially become an Atletico Madrid player.
It’s nice little fee for Chelsea and given he’s gradually stepping up to the plate for them – scoring their third against Liverpool in their shock Champions League win.