Vinicius Jr, Michy Batshuayi, Ante Rebic among 10 European deals you may have missed
Posted Saturday, September 01, 2018 by ESPN
Here are 10 deals from European top 5 leagues which you may have missed this summer.
Leon Goretzka - Schalke to Bayern Munich, Free
One of Germany's best young prospects, it's hard to believe that Bayern were able to snap up the midfielder for free. However, the 23-year-old was only a substitute against Hoffenheim on the opening day, so patience will be required.
Michy Batshuayi - Chelsea to Valencia, Loan
Nine goals in 14 appearances for Dortmund last season (before injury cut his campaign short) was not enough to persuade Chelsea to keep "Batman" on their books. If the Belgium striker can impress then perhaps he will find a permanent home.
Thilo Kehrer - Schalke to PSG, €37m
If you'd read news that PSG had signed a German centre-back for over €35m, you'd probably have assumed it was Jerome Boateng. However, 21-year-old Kehrer, who captains Germany's U21 side, is a versatile addition who should be one for the future.
Vinicius Jr. - Flamengo to Real Madrid, €45m
Vinicius Junior is one of a host of Brazilian stars to make a high profile move this summer.
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It was May 2017 when Real first announced they had agreed a deal for the 16-year-old Brazilian winger. Now he's finally arrived and, while he may be blooded in the Castilla team, it won't be long before he's making his mark on the first-team.
Gelson Martins - Sporting Lisbon to Atletico Madrid, Free
Atletico landed themselves a bargain when Martins cancelled his contract at Sporting and signed a six-year deal to move to La Liga. The cream of Europe had been after the 23-year-old winger and, while Thomas Lemar's move from Monaco took the headlines, the Portugal international should be a good signing.
Aleksandr Golovin - CSKA Moscow to Monaco, €30m
It seemed a certainty that Russia's World Cup star would move to Roman Abramovich's Chelsea this summer but, when no move materialised, Monaco snapped him up to replace the departing Lemar.
Axel Witsel - Tianjin Quanjian to Borussia Dortmund, €20m
In a reversal of a recent trend, Witsel left the Chinese Super League to move back to Europe as Dortmund reportedly paid his release clause. The Belgium midfielder has already starred in Dortmund's win over Leipzig on opening day and the future looks bright.
Ante Rebic - Fiorentina to Eintracht Frankfurt, €2m
Ante Rebic scored twice as Eintracht Frankfurt beat Bayern Munich to win the DFB-Pokal.
Photo by Maja Hitij/Bongarts/Getty Images
Frankfurt knew they had a special player on their hands when they exercised their option to buy him from his Fiorentina loan at the end of the season. After helping Croatia to the World Cup final, Rebic was linked with Manchester United but signed a new deal with his club. He is worth a lot more than €2m now.
Clement Lenglet - Sevilla to Barcelona, €35m
Only at Sevilla for 18 months, the French defender impressed enough to persuade Barcelona to pay his release clause. He faces a fight for his place alongside Gerard Pique or Samuel Umtiti but, at 23 years old, has plenty of time to grow.
Yoann Gourcuff - Rennes to Dijon, Free
Once tipped as the man to replace Zinedine Zidane in the France national team when he burst on to the scene with Rennes in 2003, Gourcuff's career hasn't quite worked out as he would have hoped. Still, the 32-year-old is a classy player and will boost Dijon this season.
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