Five players who failed to get the transfer they needed

Tom Weber

Updated: 31 Aug 2024 14:39 BST
4 min read

The 2024 summer window was another huge one, but not all the players who needed a move did get one.

The bygone transfer period was dominated by some huge sagas, with clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd all completing several major deals. All of these clubs, however, also had players they desperately wanted to offload.

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At Chelsea, in particular, coach Enzo Maresca was very blunt about which players would not feature under him if they remained at Stamford Bridge. Most, like Raheem Sterling and Romelu Lukaku, ran for the hills in the wake of his brutal public statements.

Not everyone did manage to get out in time at Chelsea and elsewhere. So here at five players who, for whatever reason, did not manage to get the transfers they needed...

Ben Chilwell (Chelsea)

One of the players the aforementioned Maresca publically addressed was left-back Ben Chilwell. The Chelsea star is usually a key player for the Blues when fit, but the problem is that he very rarely is these days.

Moreover, Maresca openly admitted that the former England international does not fit his tactical ideas and would be better off finding a new employer. This did not materialise, however.

Despite tentative links to Man Utd, no club seemingly had any concrete interest in taking the 27-year-old on board and he will now remain in Chelsea exile at least until January.

READ MORE: Latest Chelsea transfer news

Victor Osimhen (Napoli)

The biggest transfer story of the summer undoubtedly involved Victor Osimhen. Chelsea's top target for months, the Napoli striker eventually looked on the verge of joining Saudi giants Al-Ahli.

However, the deal collapsed after the Italian side made new demands and Chelsea could not strike an agreement with the 25-year-old. Osimhen has ended up in Napoli limbo and is, unsurprisingly, furious about this.

The relationship between player and club is completely broken and Osimhen has reportedly been informed that he will never feature for Napoli again.

Jakub Kiwior (Arsenal)

A player who will struggle for game time, Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior was frequently linked with a move back to Serie A but nothing ultimately materialised.

The signing of Riccardo Calafiori has made the Pole surplus to requirements and it looked almost certain that he would seal a transfer away from the Emirates after being omitted from Arsenal's opening game of the season.

But as Deadline Day came and went, no concrete interest was forthcoming and Kiwior will now have to massively fight for his place.

Mykhailo Mudryk (Chelsea)

Mykhailo Mudryk has so far enjoyed the backing of Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, but he has done nowhere near enough to convince the Italian that he should have any major role to play under him.

Maresca has publically criticised the Ukrainian but without banishing him from the team like he did with others. Nevertheless, given just how poor the winger has been since joining Chelsea in January 2023, one can't help but feel that a move away - even if just on loan - could have been beneficial.

Antony (Man Utd)

The same applies to Antony at Man Utd. One of the biggest flop signings in Premier League history, the Brazilian clearly needs a change of scenery if he wants to have any chance of reviving his career.

A an exit, temporary or permanent, could have helped Antony achieve that. Nothing materialised, however, despite some late links with a loan move to Real Betis and he will now have to scramble for minutes at Old Trafford.