London: On the final day of the English Premier League transfer window, it was a busy day for Arsenal as they agreed to buy centre back David Luiz from London rivals Chelsea for eight million pounds. Luiz, 32, will sign a two-year contract after his medical at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal sold centre back Laurent Koscielny to French Ligue 1 side Girondins Bordeaux on Tuesday.
The Gunners also secured Kieran Tierney for 25 million pounds from Glasgow side Celtic.
Elsewhere, Manchester United’s Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku arrived in Milan to undergo medical tests ahead of his likely transfer to Inter, Italian media reported.
“Lukaku is ours” chanted Inter Milan ecstatic fans who turned out at the airport to welcome him.
The 26-year-old has not played a single minute of United’s pre-season campaign as talk of a transfer to the Serie A intensified, with Inter Milan the hot favourites.
Italian newspapers have said the fee could be 65 million euros, plus bonuses of around 10 to 13 million euros.
Sports newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport said Lukaku travelled to Milan with his agent and friend Federico Pastorello to undergo stringent medical tests.
Tottenham were also busy as they chased down deals for Giovani lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon, but their hopes of signing Paulo Dybala are fading.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has been under pressure from manager Mauricio Pochettino to build on the progress made on and off the field as Tottenham moved into a new 62,000-capacity stadium and reached the Champions League final last season.
They have made just one summer signing so far, with French international midfielder Tanguy Ndombele joining for a club-record fee from Lyon.
Argentine international midfielder Lo Celso is expected to complete a season-long loan deal that will contain an obligation on Tottenham’s part to make the transfer permanent next summer.
And Spurs’ long-running interest in England under-21 international Sessegnon will be realised in a reported 25 million pound deal.
However, a sensational swoop for Dybala has reportedly broken down, with Juventus unwilling to let the Argentine leave without an adequate replacement, having missed out on Lukaku.
No more business is expected at Premier League champions Manchester City after they secured right-back Joao Cancelo from Juventus on Wednesday.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp confirmed the European champions would not delve into the market at the last minute after making just three low-key additions in teenagers Sepp van den Berg and Harvey Elliott and back-up goalkeeper Adrian.
By contrast, Merseyside neighbours Everton are hoping to complete a host of last-minute deals to add to six arrivals already at Goodison Park during the window.
Everton are hopeful of taking Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo on loan and could still land Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha after the Ivorian submitted a transfer request and did not train with the Eagles on Thursday.
Leicester are also set to use some of the 80 million pounds they received from Manchester United for Harry Maguire on Sampdoria midfielder Dennis Praet for 20 million euros.
Southampton midfielder Nathan Redmond has signed a new four-year contract which will keep him at the south coast club until 2023.
Redmond, who played all 38 league games during the last campaign and was named the club’s player of the season by both the players and the fans, scored six goals and also grabbed four assists as the club finished 16th and survived relegation.
“I’m really happy to have signed, and I’m just wanting to get the season up and going now,” Redmond said. “We’ve got a great group of players here, who I’ve been with for the last three years. I feel like we can hopefully build something special and to be a part of it for the next four years is good for me.”
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuettl said Redmond’s contract extension marked a “positive day” for the club ahead of the new season.
“It is very good news for the club,” the Austrian said.
“He’s a player who showed in the last season that he is very important for Southampton. I think it’s a massive signal for the club and for us all that he wants to follow our way.” Southampton begin their league campaign with a trip to Burnley on Saturday.
