Newcastle will break their transfer record for Hugo Ekitike this summer, but Christian Benteke and Morgan Gibbs-White should both be replaced soon too.
Here are all the current club transfer records in case you need a reminder…
Omari Hutchinson replaces Igor Thiago for Brentford
It has been described as a ‘boost’ or ‘breakthrough’ in the protracted Bryan Mbeumo transfer saga but unless Brentford prudently identifying potential replacements for the forward in case of a sale magically imbues Manchester United with more money or negotiating nous, movement on that front will remain sluggish.
Yet it does paradoxically feel as though the longer Manchester United drag out the Mbeumo chase, the likelier they are to eventually land him.
The ignominy of chasing a player all summer, not signing them and being left with precious few attacking options the manager or club has not painfully publicly ostracised will ultimately outweigh any concerns of overpaying. And if not, the thought of reintegrating either Marcus Rashford or Alejandro Garnacho might force Ruben Amorim to dip into his own life savings.
Brentford starting the groundwork on Mbeumo’s successor has uncovered an imminently expiring £35m relegation release clause in Hutchinson’s Ipswich contract, which the Bees ‘fell significantly short of meeting’ in exploratory talks.
Keith Andrews desperately needs a multi-functional forward to kickstart his set-piece revolution even before accounting for any of their own sales, so that Hutchinson valuation might soon start to look mightily appealing.
Josh Sargent replaces Zeki Amdouni for Burnley
The oft-ignored imperative for teams promoted from the Championship is almost always strengthening in defence.
An attacking signing is ultimately far more enticing and beguiling than procuring a rugged centre-half in his 30s but there are few exceptions to the rule that the clubs with the worst defensive records go down despite outscoring at least one team which survives.
But Scott Parker has created an unprecedented situation at Burnley. In conceding a mere and quite ludicrous 16 goals in 42 Championship games last season he has already established fine defensive foundations from which the Clarets can build.
While CJ Egan-Riley has left, James Trafford might follow and the leap in attacking quality in the Premier League is substantial with Burnley unable to rely on replicating that style each week, anything even close to that level of solidity, stability and resolve should be enough if it is accompanied with more firepower.
Josh Brownhill was their top scorer last season and the 29-year-old midfielder’s contract expired this summer. Zian Flemming was the only other player to reach double figures for goals in all competitions.
Even before record signing Amdouni tore his cruciate ligament the clear recruitment focus at Turf Moor was on adding prolific forward options, hence the targeting of a player whose only two goals in his previous 26 Premier League appearances came in the same game.
Leeds target Sargent has, in fairness, pulled rank by thriving in three otherwise largely underwhelming Championship years for Norwich since their relegation in 2022.
Whether 44 goals in 95 second-tier games translates to a £20m top-flight forward is unknown. It doesn’t particularly feel like it but Burnley cannot afford to be picky when completing an ambitious summer.
Ousmane Diomande replaces Christian Benteke for Crystal Palace
As Ronnie Radford once said, the real magic of the FA Cup is being tangled in UEFA fine print and handcuffed by elite clubs floating around your players with interest but no actual intention of ever matching their valuations.
Crystal Palace are suspended in time, unable to guarantee either their own players or prospective transfer targets which European competition they will be involved in next season.
It has contributed to a sense of malaise and stagnation at Selhurst Parkthe only possible prescribed solution for which is to cancel it out with a bout of transfer fever.
Oliver Glasner will be minded to improve on his meagre defensive options, with Nathaniel Clyne unlikely to be called upon at centre-half on a regular basis.
Diomande was pinpointed as their preferred addition long ago but Palace are the latest Premier League club to discover how fun Sporting are to negotiate with. The latest suggestion is that the Eagles do not want to go as high as £40m – Benteke for £27m in August 2016 remains their record signing – but needs must.
Hugo Ekitike replaces Alexander Isak for Newcastle
A lumbering start to the summer was littered with rejection and myriad targets saddled with an unpalatable Premier League tax.
That was not deemed an insurmountable obstacle in the pursuit of Anthony Elanga but Newcastle have started to cast their net further afield in search of Champions League-ready reinforcements.
While Ekitike will hardly come cheap, those five beautiful words from David Ornstein – ‘to play alongside Alexander Isak’ – have painted a hopeful record transfer in an entirely different light.
It has taken the wind entirely out of Liverpool’s sails, sparked an eminently resistible Manchester United hijack and turned Newcastle’s entire summer into a statement of intent, although the sense lingers for some that Ekitike could ultimately be the Isak replacement after a season of rotation.
Newcastle do have a long way to go to convince a player who has rejected them twice, even before talking Frankfurt down slightly from their €100m valuation.
They might have a little more luck with the Champions League-winning add-ons this time.
Jacob Ramsey, James McAtee or Yoane Wissa replace Morgan Gibbs-White for Nottingham Forest
It turns out the only way of impeding the otherwise incessant Nottingham Forest transfer train is to enter them into increasingly more prestigious European competitions.
Those City Ground employees not tasked with scrutinising which technicalities could possibly be exploited to open a back door to the Champions League have been assigned to auditing player contracts for the sort of release clause loophole Arsenal were tripped into by Liverpool.
That has inevitably prevented Forest from making too many additions of their own beyond a Botafogo-based double swoop for two players who will not start regularly if at all.
There is an Anthony Elanga-shaped gap to fill but if Spurs win the legal battle to extricate Morgan Gibbs-White from the Midlands there will be significant investment required in attack.
The add-ons in his move from Wolves in summer 2022 have surely been activated by any or all of survival, European qualification, England representation, 118 appearances, 18 goals and 28 assists, meaning Gibbs-White has cost around £42.5m all in all.
It seems likely that as much would be needed to bring Brentford to the table over Wissa, to engage Manchester City in talks for McAtee, or to persuade Aston Villa that Ramsey is their latest PSR sacrifice.
Ramsey has reportedly been earmarked as Forest’s priority target and Unai Emery might not be able to block another £50m movethus allowing another record-breaking domino to fall when Forest call off the lawyers and let Gibbs-White become the most expensive Spurs player ever.
