Former Arsenal defenders make list of random 2023 summer transfers you might have missed | OneFootball

2023 summer signings Oriol Romeu, Houssem Aouar and Hector Bellerin.

Sometimes we are too fixated on what is going on at our own club or complaining about Saudi Arabia to realise the summer transfer window is a bit bonkers. Believe it or not, there are some deals that have happened outside our little Premier League bubble.

So here are the ten most random non-Our League transfers of the 2023 summer window.

Oriol Romeu to Barcelona We all know Barcelona do not have a massive transfer budget, which means they are usually trying to sign players who are available for the square root of f*** all. They had already added Inigo Martinez and Ilkay Gundogan and this week made ex-Southampton midfielder Oriol Romeu their third signing of the summer.

Romeu left the Saints to join Spanish outfit Girona for €5.5million and after a single season has jumped at the chance to move back to Barcelona – where he briefly played 12 years ago – for €500k less.

Alex Grimaldo to Bayer Leverkusen Having impressed for Benfica since January 2016, Alex Grimaldo has been perennially linked to the Premier League. It was usually Arsenal who were said to be interested, though this never seemed to be reported by a solid source. This summer, David Ornstein claimed the Spanish left-back had talks with Fulham and Nottingham Forest before a Fabrizio Romano exclusive later revealed he would join Bayer Leverkusen.

Grimaldo signed for the Bundesliga side on a free transfer after seven-and-a-half years in Portugal. Decent business, that.

Edin Dzeko to Fenerbahce Two-time Premier League winner Edin Dzeko is now embarking on his latest adventure after running down his Inter contract.

He spent seven years in Italy, playing for Roma and the Nerazzurri, helping the latter reach the final of the Champions League last season. Dzeko scored 14 goals in 52 matches across all competitions in his final campaign at San Siro.

At the age of 37, Dzeko joins Turkish outfit Fenerbahce with plenty left in the tank.

Sead Kolasinac to Atalanta From one Bosnian to another, former Arsenal left-back Sead Kolasinac has got his career back on track after a difficult spell at the Emirates. As per Transfermarkt, Kolasinac’s transfer value when he joined Arsenal on a free from Schalke in 2017 was €15m. When he left for Marseille four-and-a-half years later it was €3m.

The 30-year-old played with Alexis Sanchez, William Saliba and Matteo Guendouzi in France and continued his streak of every permanent transfer being for free when he joined Atalanta earlier this month.

Houssem Aouar to Roma We can safely say Houssem Aouar is never coming to the Premier League, can’t we? He was linked to Arsenal for what felt like an eternity. One summer, Lyon were asking for €60m, a year later it was closer to €40m, before eventually falling down to €15m. And how much did the Algerian international end up leaving for? Diddly-squat.

Aouar joins Evan Ndicka and Rasmus Kristensen at 2023 Europa League finalists Roma, who have spent nothing in signing all three.

Still only 25 years of age, Aouar has plenty of football ahead of him and having recently decided to represent Algeria, because he has no chance of playing for France, he has a great opportunity to reignite those tedious links to the Premier League.

Hector Bellerin to Real Betis There is an unintentional Arsenal link here, but yes, Hector Bellerin has rejoined Real Betis.

The Spanish right-back spent 2021/22 on loan at the La Liga side, helping them win the Copa del Rey. He then signed for Barcelona on a free before a €1m move to Sporting in January. Six months later, he signed a five-year contract with Betis, who Bellerin has been itching to permanently join.

That long-term deal means he will be at Betis until the age of 33. We love a happy ending. Especially for one of the very few good guys in football.

Ben Brereton Diaz to Villarreal This is probably one you didn’t miss, but it is still an interesting transfer.

After lots of speculation about his future at Blackburn Rovers, Chilean international Ben Brereton Diaz became English striker Ben Brereton again when Villarreal gave the player a London-themed announcement upon his signing.

Landing Brereton Diaz on a free is an incredible coup for Villarreal, who have replaced Nicolas Jackson very well.

Renan Lodi to Marseille Brazilian left-back Renan Lodi spent last season on loan at Nottingham Forest, making 28 appearances in the Premier League for Steve Cooper’s side.

The 25-year-old did quite well at the City Ground; he was definitely not spectacular but also definitely not a flop. Despite this, you get the feeling he will do pretty well for a team like Marseille, who paid €13m to sign Lodi from Atletico Madrid.

Ryan Kent to Fenerbahce Rangers paid €7.2m to sign Ryan Kent from Liverpool in September 2019, after the winger enjoyed a terrific spell on loan at Ibrox. He continued his form under Steven Gerrard, though his departure in November 2021 seemed to have a very negative effect on the player.

Kent seemed uninterested under Giovanni van Bronckhorst and then Michael Beale, with Rangers supporters happy to see the back of someone who was once a fan favourite.

€7.2m is a pretty hefty investment for Rangers to make and losing Kent on a free stings a little bit. Saying that, a move to Fenerbahce suits everyone. Kent can play for another massive club with a crazy fan-base while being randomly linked with a move to Leeds United every six months.

Teemu Pukki to Minnesota United Teemu Pukki spent five years at Norwich City, where he was a roaring success. Having uncharacteristically failed to lead the Canaries to promotion last term, the Finnish striker (he’s only 33!) bolted to MLS side Minnesota United.

In a summer full of mental transfers to Saudi Arabia, Pukki has decided to join Lionel Messi in the States. This is the real revolution, folks.