Transfer rumours: Man City turned down Neymar; Man Utd's De Jong regret

Neymar and De Jong ended up staying put
Neymar and De Jong ended up staying put / ANP via Getty Images, Eric Alonso/Getty Images
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Paris Saint-Germain attempted to offload Neymar to Manchester City at the back end of the summer transfer window, but Pep Guardiola turned down the offer and the Brazilian stayed at Parc des Princes.

Man City would go on to do one piece of late business, bringing in Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund.

Across town, Manchester United football director John Murtough believes he should have ended the club's pursuit of Frenkie de Jong sooner, while the board vetoed the chance to sign Hakim Ziyech from Chelsea.

Man Utd also sought to bring in Spain striker Raul de Tomas on deadline day, but could not agree terms with Espanyol.

Bayern Munich were also said to have made another late loan offer for De Jong, only to be knocked back by Barcelona.

Mikel Arteta has admitted that Arsenal tried to rectify their lack of depth in midfield in the final days of the transfer window but were unable to secure any of their targets. The Gunners made three deadline day bids for Douglas Luiz, but all of them were rejected by Aston Villa.

Liverpool were only interested in signing a midfielder on loan in the last few days of the window, which is why they did not aggressively pursue Ruben Neves, who is now set to be offered a new contract by Wolves. The Reds instead brought in Arthur Melo from Juventus.

Tottenham weighed up making an approach for Wilfried Zaha in the last few weeks, but ultimately decided against a move. The Crystal Palace winger has less than a year left on his contract and was also wanted by Chelsea.

Lucas Moura is set to leave Spurs in 2023 and will not sign a new contract. Though he is wanted by Newcastle United and Aston Villa, he is most likely to rejoin Sao Paulo.


Scott SaundersGraeme BaileyToby Cudworth and Harry Symeou bring you a live deadline day edition of Talking Transfers. The team welcome Daniel Childs and Julien Laurens to the show to discuss Chelsea's late window activity, Arsenal's pursuit of Douglas Luiz, Paris Saint-Germain's summer signings & much more! The show is also available on all audio platforms.


Leeds United were unwilling to meet FC Zurich's £7m asking price for Italy starlet Wilfried Gnonto, and instead only paid £4m for an 11th hour deal.

Barcelona completed the free signing of Marcos Alonso from Chelsea late on Friday. The left-back had his contract at Stamford Bridge terminated, allowing Barça to wrap up the deal outside of the window.

Real Madrid legend Marcelo has signed for Greek champions Olympiacos on a free transfer. The Brazilian was linked with Leicester City on deadline day, but the Foxes insist this was merely speculation.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has admitted that the club were forced into selling Billy Gilmour to Brighton as he refused to be sent out on loan again. The Scottish midfielder spent last season at Norwich City.