The transfer window usually dominates the conversation in the summer, but that’s rarely the case during World Cup years, as the market takes a backseat. Business never stops, though, and several deals slipped under the radar during the 2026 World Cup. After five and a half weeks and around 104 matches, the big event has finally concluded, meaning attention can now shift to player movements at the club level.
In the Premier League, an extraordinary amount of money is being spent once again. Tottenham has splashed out on players like Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, Elliot Anderson has moved from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City for a massive fee, and Chelsea has made Morgan Rogers the most expensive British player of all time.
But it’s not just the big spenders who have been parting with cash this summer. Several lower-profile transfers have been completed while everyone’s eyes were on the tournament across the Atlantic.
Here, then, are 10 Premier League transfers you might have missed during the World Cup…
Emersonn (Toulouse to Ipswich Town, £26.5m)
Ipswich quietly broke their transfer record during the World Cup after returning to the Premier League following a one-season absence, going big to sign young Brazilian striker Emersonn (yes, with two Ns) from Ligue 1 side Toulouse in a deal worth £26.5m ($35.5m).
There certainly seems to be some risk attached to this transfer, as the 22-year-old is unproven in the English top flight, and his record of six goals and two assists in the league last season isn’t particularly encouraging. Considering the potential financial consequences of relegation at the end of 2026-27, there’s a lot of pressure on this move to succeed.
Joao Gomes (Wolves to Aston Villa, £38m)
This isn’t strictly a transfer that happened during the World Cup, as the move was announced the day after the final, but Aston Villa certainly put this deal together while the tournament was still ongoing. The Midlands club moved quickly to find a replacement for Youri Tielemans, who joined Manchester United just a week ago.
The £38m ($51m) fee looks a bit steep, but Gomes is a Brazil international and Premier League-proven from his time at Molineux. A tidy midfielder who loves to get stuck into tackles, he isn’t a direct replacement for the more attack-minded Tielemans, but Unai Emery will hope that, at 25, the new man can further develop his game at Villa Park in a more free-flowing team.
Illan Meslier (Leeds United to Arsenal, free)
Arsenal has a new backup goalkeeper in their ranks.
Whether he will be second or third choice behind David Raya remains to be seen, amid uncertainty surrounding Kepa Arrizabalaga’s future in north London. It has been reported that Arsenal won’t stand in the way of the 31-year-old ex-Chelsea goalkeeper if an approach is made.
Oscar Mingueza (Celta Vigo to Crystal Palace, free)
While the rest of the football world was focused on events in North America, Crystal Palace may have pulled off one of the shrewdest moves of the transfer window by bringing in Oscar Mingueza, who was out of contract.
Honed in Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy, Mingueza has been a standout performer in La Liga over the past 18 months and was even linked with clubs like Arsenal and Juventus before landing in south London. Although he missed out on a spot in Spain’s World Cup-winning squad, the 27-year-old is a full international who brings versatility and experience. This looks like a very smart piece of business.
Marco Palestra (Atalanta to Chelsea, £47m)
The first signing of the Xabi Alonso era at Chelsea is a marauding, versatile full-back who was named Serie A Defender of the Year off the back of an impressive season on loan at Cagliari. The 21-year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge for a cool £47m ($62m). Alonso is reported to have approved the transfer, with the young defender seemingly perfectly suited to the Spanish tactician’s preferred back-three or back-four systems, as he can operate on either flank as a wing-back or full-back.
Alvaro Rodriguez (Elche to Bournemouth, £26m)
Bournemouth has built a reputation for unearthing young gems in the transfer market, and they will hope they’ve pulled off another shrewd move by bringing in Elche striker Alvaro Rodriguez. The 22-year-old Uruguayan, who came through Real Madrid’s academy, impressed last season despite Elche flirting with relegation.
Rodriguez provided 12 goal contributions in La Liga, and Bournemouth has taken a leap of faith by investing a significant £26m ($34m) fee in his services. The hope is that he can translate that form to the Premier League as he continues to develop, and he may well be a replacement for 20-year-old sensation Eli Junior Kroupi, who is attracting attention from the so-called ‘big six’.
Bazoumana Toure (Hoffenheim to Newcastle, £43m)
In terms of statement, big-name signings, Newcastle’s transfer window once again hasn’t exactly gone to plan. The Magpies have been beaten to several key targets for the second straight summer after their nightmare in 2025, including Victor Munoz, who joined Liverpool, and the aforementioned Manzambi, who has signed for Aston Villa.
The Tynesiders have, however, gone about adding a number of highly-rated youngsters to their squad, with the most significant outlay going on Bazoumana Toure. Toure was quickly followed into St James’ Park by 18-year-old Ajax midfielder Sean Steur, who cost £23m ($31m) himself.
Callum Wilson (West Ham to Brentford, free)
West Ham may have been relegated, but veteran striker Callum Wilson won’t be going down with them after jumping ship at the end of his one-year contract and swapping east London for west by joining Brentford on another short-term deal. He follows the arrival of Jaidon Anthony in what looks like a bargain £20m ($27m) move from relegated Burnley.
Wilson is likely to play second fiddle to Igor Thiago at the Gtech Stadium after the Brazilian’s prolific 2025-26 campaign, which earned him a World Cup call-up for Brazil, and the England international has set his sights on reaching 100 Premier League goals. He currently sits on 95.
Harry Wilson (Fulham to Leeds United, free transfer)
Could this prove to be one of the Premier League signings of the summer?! Top-flight clubs were queuing up to sign Harry Wilson after his contract with Fulham expired, following a sublime individual season that yielded 11 goals and a further eight assists in all competitions. The former Liverpool man belatedly discovered the form of his life at the age of 29.
Quite unexpectedly, it was Leeds who won the fierce battle for Wilson’s signature as a free agent. Announcing the Welshman’s arrival, the Yorkshire club said the attacker had chosen them over “several offers from elsewhere,” a list that may well include Aston Villa, who were strongly linked earlier this summer and have qualified for the Champions League once again.
The Whites then stole a march on their rivals again to land Bosnian centre-back Tarik Muharemovic from Sassuolo after his impressive World Cup displays.
Zadok Yohanna (AIK to Brighton, £26m)
You’d be forgiven for not having heard of Zadok Yohanna (neither had we, to be honest!), but he might just be the latest in a series of brilliant pieces of business by the masterminds behind Brighton’s endlessly profitable model. The Nigerian winger didn’t come as cheap as some of the club’s biggest success stories, but that’s probably because he has a very high ceiling.
Yohanna was signed from Stockholm-based AIK earlier this summer for a cool £26m ($34m), but don’t be surprised if he’s sold for a significant profit in the next few years. The 19-year-old had already clocked up nine goal involvements in just 12 appearances in Sweden’s 2026 season (which runs from April to November) before linking up with the Seagulls, who had otherwise been focused on reinforcing their backline with Leeds’ Pascal Struijk and Tottenham prospect Luka Vuskovic.
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