Transfer deadline day has come and gone and Premier League clubs (even Arsenal!) were not afraid to splash some cash.
We all remember the long, drawn out, inevitable transfers such as Paul Pogba to Manchester United. But here are three last-minute deadline day deals that caught us all by surprise.
1. Jack Wilshere (Arsenal to Bournemouth)
Mario Balotelli's move from Liverpool to Nice has been finalized, which has unleashed a takepocalypse among soccer writers jockying to say the most outlandish things in the world about the 26-year-old Italian like they think whoever comes up with the hottest Balotelli take gets to be king of the press box.
So here's one more, f*** it.
Take: this move is good for all parties.
BOOM.
This move is good for Liverpool because they got an expensive player who wasn't ever going to play off the books.
The LA Galaxy have mercifully gotten rid of Nigel de Jong, shipping the Dutch midfielder to Turkish club Galatasaray at the transfer deadline.
The 2016 summer transfer window is officially closed. There have been many exciting transfers as well as some truly terrible, overpriced ones. We're only a few weeks into the new season so we don’t know for sure how these transfers are going to work out, but we've come up with a list of 10 transfers which we anticipate will prove worthless.
#10: Maarten Stekelenburg | Fulham to Everton
David Luiz, the foremost offensive center back in the world, is returning from whence he came. Luiz is reported moving back to Chelsea from PSG, reversing the move he made in 2014.
We could not be happier about this, as Luiz is one of the most entertaining players in the game. His unique skill set (for a center back) guarantees you one thing: there will be goals.
Having fallen down the midfield pecking order at Arsenal, Jack Wilshere reportedly demanded a loan move during crisis talks with manager Arsene Wenger. Dropped from the England squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers by recently appointed manager Sam Allardyce, Wilshere rightly realized that he needed more minutes to win back his international place.
Rumors have circulated the entire summer about James Rodriguez and his possible future away from the Spanish capital. To date, both Zinedine Zidane and Rodriguez's agent, Jorge Mendes (and even the player himself), have said that James Rodriguez will be staying at Real Madrid. However, that has never stopped any transfer deals from happening, especially last-minute ones. At this point, our opinion is that he will stay at Real Madrid for three reasons:
We interrupt your reading of Christian Pulisic transfer rumors to bring you another Christian Pulisic transfer rumor.
This one brought to you courtesy of Liverpool, who are coached by former Borussia Dortmund manager (who was manager when Dortmund signed Pulisic) Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool have made an £11m offer for Christian Pulisic, Borussia Dortmund's 17-year-old winger.
Take this with a grain of salt, no, take this with a mountain made of salt: Stoke City have reportedly offered Borussia Dortmund $22 million for 17-year-old American midfielder Christian Pulisic.
For many, Bastian Schweinsteiger will always be synonymous with the new German side that dazzled at the 2006 World Cup with childlike enthusiasm. The 21-year-old's performance, along with the likes of Philipp Lahm and Lukas Podolski, foreshadowed a period of German brilliance that would reach its zenith at the 2014 World Cup.