Everton’s €43m Bid for Abde Ezzalzouli and Martinelli’s Record Arsenal Exit
Everton’s €43m late lunge for Abde Ezzalzouli, Manchester United’s long game, Martinelli’s record Arsenal exit, Enzo’s pointed City dream and a United youngster heading for Holland – it’s been a busy few days in the market’s aftermath.
Everton’s bold Abde bid knocked back
Everton tried to smash their way into Real Betis’ plans for Abde Ezzalzouli with a huge late offer in the summer window.
Mundo Deportivo, relayed by Sport Witness, report that Betis received a €43m proposal from the Premier League side for the forward. The package was structured as €35m guaranteed with the rest tied up in bonuses.
Betis didn’t blink.
They pointed straight to Ezzalzouli’s €60m release clause and refused to negotiate below it, shutting down Everton’s push before it could turn into a full-blown saga. For now, the Moroccan stays in Seville – and Everton are left wondering how close they really came.
Ratcliffe’s three-year blueprint: United to load up in defence
Manchester United’s rebuild is being drawn with a ruler, not a crayon.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the club’s new football leadership team under Sir Jim Ratcliffe has mapped out a three-year squad plan aimed squarely at lifting the Premier League title by 2028.
The structure is clear:
- Attack to be strengthened in 2025.
- Midfield addressed this summer.
- Defence to become the priority in 12 months’ time.
The report states that next year’s summer window will be heavily focused on the backline, as United look to complete a carefully staged overhaul rather than another frantic patchwork job. The message is simple: one line of the team at a time, with the title as the end point.
Martinelli to Al Hilal in record Arsenal sale
Gabriel Martinelli is on the brink of closing his Arsenal chapter and opening a new one in Saudi Arabia.
The Brazilian has completed his medical ahead of a €70m move to Al Hilal after arriving in Riyadh earlier this week. All that remains is the formal announcement.
When it drops, it will rewrite Arsenal’s record books.
Martinelli’s switch will become the club’s biggest-ever sale at around £60m, eclipsing the £35m Liverpool paid for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain back in 2017. For Arsenal, it’s a major cash injection. For Al Hilal, another headline arrival. For Martinelli, a dramatic change of stage at just 23.
Enzo Fernandez aims a barb at Chelsea on arrival at City
Enzo Fernandez didn’t just change clubs. He changed tone.
The Argentina midfielder left Chelsea for Manchester City in a British record-equalling £125m deal late on deadline day. Once the ink dried, he made it very clear how he views his new home.
“I’m really happy to be here. I always dreamed of being at a club as big as City,” he said, a line that will sting at Stamford Bridge.
He spoke of gratitude for the opportunity and called it “a very emotional moment” for him and his family, taking this step at 25 in the career he had always imagined. Fernandez added that in just his first hours at the club he could already see “just how big it is” and promised that “we will enjoy ourselves and win lots of things together.”
Chelsea move on. City add yet another elite midfielder who believes he’s exactly where he always wanted to be.
Chido Obi heads to Willem II for first-team minutes
One Manchester United forward is also on the move – but in search of minutes, not headlines.
Chido Obi is set to join Eredivisie side Willem II on loan, subject to registration. The Denmark Under-21 international made eight senior appearances under Ruben Amorim in the 2024-25 campaign, but didn’t feature at all last season and made the bench just once.
He responded by thriving at youth level instead.
Obi became a key figure for United’s Under-21s, helping them reach the FA Youth Cup final and scoring 20 goals across 37 appearances in all competitions. Now comes the real test: can he turn youth dominance into senior impact in the Netherlands and force his way back into United’s long-term thinking?
