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Five players who failed to get the transfer they needed
Carlo Garganese
- Updated: 3 Sept 2025 15:56 BST
- 5 min read
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The summer transfer window represents an opportunity for wantaway footballers to escape their clubs for pastures new.
Whether it be in order to join a bigger club, to gain regular playing time or just to move somewhere that will make them happy, the summer window is the most important time of the year for a player planning their future.
But then there are those who want or need to leave but find themselves stuck at their current clubs by the time the summer transfer window closes.
We take a look at five such players who failed to get the transfer they needed in the summer of 2025.
Ademola Lookman (Atalanta)
Ademola Lookman is arguably the biggest loser of the summer transfer window.
Lookman was desperate to leave Atalanta in order to join a big club and believed he had been promised such a move.
He went AWOL for two weeks after being infuriated by Atalanta's decision to refuse to sell him to Inter Milan.
Lookman fled Italy back to England to train on his own, deleted all traces of Atalanta from his social media accounts, delivered an angry public statement and issued a transfer request.
He hoped this would force a sale but Atalanta remained firm, even rejecting a bid from Bayern Munich the day before Deadline Day.
Now he is stuck at Atalanta unless he moves to Turkey or Saudi Arabia.
Artem Dovbyk (Roma)
Staying in Serie A, new Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini made it clear that Artem Dovbyk was not an important part of his plans at the club.
Gasperini likes his centre forward to be more mobile and better linking up with his teammates, and has made Evan Ferguson his first choice striker.
Dovbyk was put up for sale. Villarreal tried to sign him, while Roma discussed a swap deal with Santiago Gimenez of Milan but that didn't come off either.
Dovbyk is now stuck at Roma under a manager who doesn't want him.
Raheem Sterling (Chelsea)
Chelsea attacker Raheem Sterling faces being marooned at Stamford Bridge this season, with the winger receiving no suitable offers to leave the club.
Sterling, 30, is one of a number of players the Blues had hoped to move on this summer.
Last season, he was subject to a late loan move to Arsenal but after a disappointing campaign at the Emirates there will be no such reprieve this time around.
There had been interest reported from the likes of Fulham, Crystal Palace, West Ham and also in Italy from Napoli, but no deal was ultimately brokered. In part, this was due to complications relating to the player’s sizeable salary.
It looks very possible Sterling will spend the season in the stands just picking up his paycheck.
Leandro Trossard (Arsenal)
For the good of Leandro Trossard's footballing career - especially in a World Cup year - he really needed a transfer this summer.
With the Gunners bringing in a wealth of attacking talent such as Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze to add to the likes of Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli, it's hard to see Trossard getting too much game time.
Indeed he has only featured once as a 37-minute substitute in Arsenal's first three games of the season.
Despite being linked to the likes of Brentford and Aston Villa, Trossard surprisingly signed a new contract - without extending it - on a better salary.
Andre Onana (Man Utd)
Andre Onana has lost the trust and backing of manager Ruben Amorim, who has dropped him in the Premier League season.
On Deadline Day, Man Utd also signed Senne Lammens for €21m from Royal Antwerp in a further sign that Onana's future may be up.
After two miserable seasons at Old Trafford for Onana, change was what the Cameroonian needed.
He could still decide to move to Turkey or Saudi Arabia but he's missed his chance of moving to a top European league and risks being on the bench this campaign.
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