CHELSEA tried and failed to sign Sofyan Amrabat on deadline day according to reports.
The Blues saw a last-gasp bid rejected but ended up breaking a British record-fee for World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez instead.
Meanwhile, Manchester United are reportedly lining up a summer deal for Bayern Munich star Benjamin Pavard.
Pavard, 26, is out of contract at the Allianz in 2024 and it has been claimed that United will be keeping an eye on his contractual situation.
And Ghanaian international Andre Ayew has completed his move to Nottingham Forest.
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Rui Costa on Fernandez switch
Benfica president Rui Costa has revealed it was "impossible" to convince Enzo Fernandez to stay at Benfica once Chelsea came in for him.
The Blues signed Fernandez on transfer deadline day in a British record £107million deal.
And Costa said, via Fabrizio Romano: "Enzo Fernandez did not want to stay at Benfica.
"He didn’t give us any chance.
"I did my best, I’m sad but I’m not gonna cry for a player who didn’t want to stay”.
"When Chelsea arrived, it was really impossible to change his mind."
Breaking – Martinelli signs new contract
Gabriel Martinelli has penned a new Arsenal contract, reports claim.
He is now tied down until the summer of 2027.
The 21-year-old has signed a new four-and-a-half year contract at the Emirates, according to The Athletic.
Martinelli’s previous deal expired in 2024, although the Gunners had the option to extend by a further two years.
But the Brazilian ace has now committed his long-term future to the club.
Done deal - Ayew joins Forest
Nottingham Forest have confirmed the signing of Andre Ayew.
He joins on a short-term deal at the end of the season as a free agent after leaving Qatari side Al Sadd.
The 33-year-old said: "It’s a great feeling to sign for Nottingham Forest.
"I know how big the club is and I know how much the club means to the city and the fanbase. It’s always been difficult whenever I’ve played against Forest and at The City Ground and I love the stadium.
"Steve Cooper is someone who knows me very well and knows how to work with me both on and off the pitch. We have a strong relationship, he’s a special coach and a special human being and someone who I really look up to.
"I know what I can bring to the team, I’m ready to give my all and make sure that we are able to stay in the Premier League."
Unlucky for O'Brien
Midfielder Lewis O'Brien faces the prospect of going six months without playing football.
He had a medical with Blackburn and agreed to join the club on loan from Nottingham Forest.
But the required paperwork wasn't submitted in time before the transfer deadline, and the EFL rejected the club's mitigating factors as to the reasons why.
As a result, his move to Blackburn is off.
But it is unclear if O'Brien is in Forest's 25-man Premier League squad.
If he is not, the midfielder faces six months without playing professionally.
Lac of games
Aymeric Laporte is reportedly unhappy with his lack of action at Manchester City.
The defender has started just four Premier League games this season.
His game time between now and the end of the season is set to make up his mind on whether he wants to leave, according to The Athletic.
Laporte previously asked to leave the club in January 2021.
Murphy ‘would have driven’ Caicedo to Arsenal
Former Liverpool ace Danny Murphy has claimed he would “have driven” Moises Caicedo to Arsenal if he was Brighton.
The Seagulls, who sold Leandro Trossard to the Gunners, insisted the Ecuador midfielder was not for sale in January.
The South Coast side knocked back Arsenal's approaches, to the surprise of Murphy.
He said on talkSPORT, Murphy said: “£70million for Caicedo? I’d have driven him there.
“I mean, he could do a cruciate next month.”
Murphy added: “I’m sure he is [a good professional], i’m just saying there’s a possibility it will weigh on him.
“And the fact is £70m – he’s good, but that is more than a fair price.”
Kaka urges Leao to leave
Brazilian legend Kaka has said "it's the right moment" for Rafael Leao to AC Milan, if he sees it as a stepping stone to bigger things.
The Portuguese winger has been linked with both Chelsea and Manchester City.
Kaka told Gazzetta: "He is a fantastic player, I like him so much.
"If he sees Italian football as a transitory moment in his career, then he should leave, now it’s the right moment.
"I think he should stay because I don’t see Italian football as transitory and sometimes leaving Milan is not a good idea.
"I think Leao must consider all options. Milan are giving him many."
In case you missed it…
Arsenal could reportedly swoop for Chelsea loanee Callum Hudson-Odoi this summer.
The 22-year-old is currently on loan at German side Bayer Leverkusen from Stamford Bridge.
And, according to the Guardian, Arsenal are tracking the winger.
Hudson-Odoi is thought to be unlikely to stay at Stamford Bridge in the next transfer window.
Chelsea need to sell this summer to balance the books, and with his deal expiring in 2024, the winger is a prime candidate to go.
Potter speaks on Enzo
Chelsea boss Graham Potter said he is excited to work with the "fantastic" Enzo Fernandez.
The Argentine midfielder joined the Blues on transfer deadline day in a British record £107million move.
Potter said: "I'm the head coach so I don't get too involved in the nitty-gritty of deadline day.
"I am just totally focused on the next day's training and preparing the team for Fulham.
"I've been involved too long to know that there are some things you can't control and I couldn't do anything at that point to change things.
"I found out that we’d signed Enzo when it was all done and I'm very pleased, because he is a fantastic player."
Everton did try for signings
Despite missing out on Andre Ayew, Everton boss Sean Dyche has revealed the club "worked very, very hard" to bring in new recruits.
The Toffees didn't sign a single player in the January transfer window.
But Dyche said: "All I have seen is hard work, particularly in the recruitment area.
"We worked very, very hard [to bring new players in].
"I can assure you the club worked hard because I was here, I was watching it, I was involved in it."
He added: "I was ringing agents. We were doing all of the diligence, crunching all of the numbers, analytics, doing all that we could do to define the players that could help."
Ayew ready for this
Free agent Andre Ayew has reportedly agreed to join Nottingham Forest.
The 33-year-old has agreed a six-month contract with the club, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Ayew has been without a club since leaving Qatari side Al Sadd in January.
And he is keen to reunite with Steve Cooper, who he previously played for at Swansea.
He turned down a move to Everton in favour of Forest, according to talkSPORT.
Ayew captained Ghana at the World Cup in Qatar.
Bas enough for Inter
Italian giants Inter Milan reportedly want to tie defender Alessandro Bastoni down to a new contract.
The San Siro outfit are keen to fend off interest from Manchester City, according to TuttoMercatoWeb.
His current deal expires in June 2024, and the club are claimed to have held talks over a new deal.
Inter are eager to avoid another Milan Skriniar situation, with the defender set to join PSG at the end of the current season when his contract expires.
The Real deal
La Liga president Javier Tebas has claimed Real Madrid are the only team in the league who could sign Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe.
Haaland joined Manchester City in the summer, but was linked with Los Blancos before moving to the Etihad.
While Madrid have been chasing Mbappe for months.
On the chances of Haaland and Mbappe playing in Spain, Tebas told El Chiringuito: "Hopefully it will be like this.
"But these two players could only be at Real Madrid, because the economic situation of FC Barcelona would not allow them to access this type of player.
"Neither this season nor the next. I see it as impossible."
No going Bak
Chelsea flop Tiemoue Bakayoko saw TWO deals fall through in January.
The midfielder is currently on loan at AC Milan from Stamford Bridge, but has fallen out of favour at the San Siro.
And he saw moves to France and Turkey with Lyon and Adana Demirspor collapse, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Bakayoko has not made an appearance for AC Milan this season.
But will stay at the club on loan for the rest of the season, on loan from the Blues.
Man Utd eye Pavard bargain
Man Utd are reportedly considering a bargain swoop for Benjamin Pavard this summer.
The Bayern Munich star is out of contract in 2024.
And his club are ready to sell the Frenchman for £27million to avoid losing him for free.
Chelsea and Barcelona are also thought to be in the running, says Sport 1.
Toffees line up Isco swoop
Everton are reportedly preparing a free transfer swoop for Isco.
The ex-Real Madrid star is without a club after leaving Sevilla.
And he could now be on his way to Sean Dyche's relegation-threatened side.
Everton failed to make any signings in January, despite eventually offloading Anthony Gordon to Newcastle for £45million.
PSG fail again for winger
PSG missed out on Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech after leaving it until deadline day to try and complete a loan deal.
But it’s reckoned the French side also failed to sign Brazilian winger Malcom from Zenit.
It’s claimed they tried using a loophole to get him on a free transfer his Russian side due to the war in Ukraine.
But Zenit had inserted a secret clause that meant PSG had to pay £27million, forcing the Ligue 1 side to pull out.
Moises back in Brighton training
Moises Caicedo is back training with Brighton.
It comes just days after he handed in a transfer request after Arsenal failed with two late bids.
Caicedo was desperate to make the move to the Emirates, with Chelsea also having an offer turned down.
But the Ecuadorian has cleared the air with Roberto De Zerbi and is ready to play for the Seagulls again.
Henderson rejected Man Utd return
Dean Henderson rejected the chance to return to Man Utd in January.
MSN claims Erik ten Hag called the Nottingham Forest loanee after Martin Dubravka went back to Newcastle.
But his attempts to lure Henderson back to Old Trafford were rejected by the goalie.
Hendo is now out injured for five weeks, and risks losing his Forest place to new signing Keylor Navas from PSG.
City plot summer Turkish delight
Manchester City are considering a summer move for Turkish wonderkid Arda Guler, according to reports.
The attacking midfielder, just 17, has won rave reviews since making his Fenerbahce debut last season.
And Turkish media claim City scouts watched him in Fenerbahce's recent wins over Rizespor and Kasimpasa.
Guler has also attracted attention from Arsenal, Liverpool, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
Barcelona in farcical transfer blunder
Barcelona's farcical transfer escapades continue.
That's after they missed the deadline to sign LA Galaxy's Julian Araujo by 18 seconds.
The defender was set to move to the Nou Camp for £3.2million.
But Barca face an anxious wait to discover whether the deal went through after missing the deadline by 18 seconds.
Blues 'failed with Amrabat bid"
Chelsea reportedly tried to sign Sofyan Amrabat on transfer deadline day.
El Chiringuito claims Todd Boehly was keen on adding the Fiorentina star to his squad.
But Chelsea saw their bid rejected, with Barcelona also snubbed.
However, the Blues are being tipped to return for Morocco's World Cup star this summer.
Chelsea fee for Enzo 'crazy'
Former Liverpool man Jose Enrique has slammed Chelsea for paying a record £107million for World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez.
He told BestGamblingSites: "I’m not convinced with the fees they are paying for some of the players. Enzo Fernandez is a good player, but is he worth the price tag?
"It’s going to weigh heavily on him. I don’t know him well enough to guess how he’ll deal with it. He had an incredible World Cup with Argentina, but can he play like that for Chelsea? Time will tell.
"It’s crazy to spend that kind of money on such a young player that hasn’t proved themselves on the big stage for an extended period."
Bellingham tipped for United switch
Louis Saha hopes old side Man United can win the race to sign England and Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham.
Saha told The Games Cabin: "His heart should always go for the team he really loves, where he believes he can achieve a lot of things and where he believes he could improve
“As a fan of United, I would obviously say that United is the ideal destination for Jude. The kid is so talented and he deserves to make his own choice.
"This season, United are so exciting and for a player like Jude, who’s got intelligence, great energy, composure and all the skills you need, then he can go anywhere he wants.”
Gunners line up another Blue
Arsenal are reportedly ready to pounce for Callum Hudson-Odoi this summer.
The Gunners raided Chelsea for vice-skipper Jorginho on deadline day.
But the Guardian claims Mikel Arteta is set to shop at his rivals again by making a move for Hudson-Odoi, who is currently on loan at Bayer Leverkusen.
Chelsea need to sell this summer to balance the books, and with his deal expiring in 2024, the winger is a prime candidate to go.
