With the close of the transfer window quickly approaching, check out what deals have been completed as teams look to build up their rosters before the Sept. 1 deadline.
[ MORE: Latest transfer news ]
Lazar Markovic, for whom Liverpool spent $30 million last summer, will spend the next eight months of his professional career in Turkey, where he’ll play for 2015-16 UEFA Europa League side Fenerbahce. The loan agreement for Markovic, who scored two league goals in 19 appearances in his first season at Anfield, does not include an option for the Turkish club to purchase the 21-year-old Serbian winger on a permanent basis, as Brendan Rodgers believes his future still lies with the Reds.
Elsewhere in Europe, Fernando Llorente, who spent the last two seasons with four-time defending Serie A champions Juventus, has opted to move to Sevilla after failing to beat a whole host of center forwards in order to lock down a regular starting spot after signing from Athletic Bilbao in the summer of 2013. In total, the 30-year-old striker scored 23 league goals in 65 appearances for the club.
In Major League Soccer news, the Chicago Fire announced that Designated Player, midfielder Shaun Maloney, has been transferred to Championship side Hull City. In his 14 MLS games, the Scottish international scored three goals and notched two assists.
[ MORE: De Bruyne-to-Man City talk persists | More De Bruyne | Heung-Min Son to Spurs? ]
Joey Barton, most recently of the relegated Queens Park Rangers side last season, has been a free agent since the expiration of his contract at the beginning of the summer. On Thursday, Barton put to bed years months weeks days literally no speculation over his future when it was announced that Burnley, who were also relegated from the Premier League last season, had signed the 32-year-old midfielder to a one-year deal.
As for players not moving anywhere anytime soon, Thursday was a pretty significant day for owning clubs to say, “No,” to potential suitors all over Europe.
Bayern Munich extended the contract of Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcantara by two years, thus putting to bed any possible speculation of the 24-year-old’s future with the three-time reigning Bundesliga champions. Meanwhile, Everton chairman Bill Kenwright confirmed that his club have rejected yet another offer from Chelsea for defender John Stones (this one reported to be nearly $60 million), and West Bromwich Albion chairman Jeremy Peace admonished Tottenham Hotspur for the last-hour nature of their pursuit of forward Saido Berahino, saying Berahino will not be leaving the club this summer.
