Football transfers once again attracted attention this summer, both due to the decisions of players or their managerial teams on where to continue their careers, and because of the staggering amounts behind the new contracts. The English Premier League leads in the sums that its clubs have spent to acquire new players. English clubs have invested around 2.3 billion euros in reinforcements, followed by Italian clubs, which spent 1 billion euros on new contracts, and the French, who are third with 723 million euros spent. This summer, the top spot for the most expensive transfers goes to Julian Alvarez, who moved to Atletico Madrid for 75 million euros, while Dominic Solanke is second, having signed for Tottenham for 64.3 million euros. According to reports, Tottenham was most impressed by the fact that Solanke scored 19 goals for Bournemouth last season, which opened the doors to new clubs for him.
How was the summer for Bosnian and Herzegovinian (BiH) footballers?
Leny Yoro joined Manchester United for 62 million euros, while Pedro Neto joined Chelsea (in a transfer valued at 60 million euros). That Saudi Arabia does not intend to stop when it comes to bringing in famous names from Europe is confirmed by the arrival of former Aston Villa player Moussa Diaby to Al-Ittihad. This transfer, worth 60 million euros, represents the second most expensive signing in Saudi Arabian history. Joao Neves’ transfer to PSG cost 59.92 million euros, while Amadou Onana signed for Aston Villa for 59.35 million euros.
Dani Olmo now wears Barcelona’s jersey. He is one of the players who made the biggest impression at this year’s European Championship and was the subject of a transfer worth 55 million euros, while Teun Koopmeiners (Juventus) was transferred for 54.7 million euros, and Bayern Munich brought Michael Olise into its ranks for 53 million euros.
For BiH internationals, this summer was dry. Most BiH footballers playing abroad remained with their clubs, with the exception of BiH football representative Ermedin Demirovic, who signed a four-year contract with VfB Stuttgart this summer. Although financial details were not disclosed, German media reported that the deal is worth 21 million euros plus bonuses, making it Stuttgart’s most expensive purchase.
The former captain of Augsburg scored 15 goals and recorded nine assists in 33 Bundesliga matches last season. The 26-year-old has made 124 appearances in the German top flight, with a total of 30 goals and 22 assists, and he has also shown good form in the BiH jersey, scoring a goal in the match our country played against the Netherlands.
Who will sign Bajraktarevic?
The arrival of Miralem Pjanic to CSKA has garnered much attention at the beginning of this week. The former national team player, who played 115 matches for BiH, is coming to Russia as a free agent, and according to Russian media, he is expected to sign a one-year contract with CSKA Moscow during which he will earn 1 million euros. Allegedly, the contract also includes a clause allowing for the cooperation to be extended after one year if both the club and the 34-year-old footballer are interested.
It should be recalled that Pjanic has played for some of the biggest European clubs, such as Juventus, Roma, and Barcelona. Before deciding to head to Moscow, his last club was Al Sharjah in Saudi Arabia.
Another Bosnian football star, young Esmir Bajraktarevic, who plays for New England Revolution in the United States (U.S.), could become a topic during the next transfer window, as European clubs are showing interest in this young talent, Forbes writes.
E.Dz.
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