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TRANSFERS
- 3 hours ago
Five Deadline Day transfers that COLLAPSED
Tom Weber
- Updated: 2 Sept 2025 17:48 BST
- 5 min read
Analysis
Summer Deadline Day 2025 delivered plenty of drama, with Liverpool shattering the British record on Alexander Isak.
However, the Reds didn't have it all their way on Monday as they missed out on their top defensive target Marc Guehi at the 11th hour. This wasn't the only deal that failed to get done in time on what was a manic end to the window.
Below, FootballTransfers runs through five deals that collapsed on Deadline Day...
Marc Guehi - Crystal Palace to Liverpool
Where else to start but with the biggest one? Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi looked set to finally get his move to Liverpool after weeks of talks when the Eagles authorised him to undergo his medical.
With the deadline approaching, everything appeared to be in order, but the final green light from Palace was missing - and it ultimately never came as the Selhurst Park club missed out on their top replacement for Guehi.
The England defender had even recorded a goodbye message with Palace's media team, but after a lengthy discussion with coach Oliver Glasner and chairman Steve Parish, it was decided that he could not be allowed to leave without a suitable replacement.
Igor Julio - Brighton to Crystal Palace
The man to blame for the collapse of Guehi's move to Liverpool is Brazilian centre-back Igor Julio, who was looking to get out of Brighton after struggling for game time at the Amex.
Palace agreed a loan deal with their M23 rivals, and Igor was in the process of completing his medical when West Ham came calling. Feeling that the prospects of game time would be better in East London, the veteran opted to join the Hammers instead.
This decision left Palace scrambling to find an alternative, but with just a couple of hours to go in the window, this proved to be an impossible task.
Tyrique George - Chelsea to Fulham
With Jamie Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho having joined Chelsea this summer, Tyrique George was left facing the prospect of being pushed to the very periphery of Enzo Maresca's squad and decided to pursue a move away.
Talks with Roma and RB Leipzig in the final weeks of the window yielded no results, so it came down to Deadline Day. Fulham, who were struggling to agree deals for Shakhtar Donetsk star Kevin and AC Milan winger Samuel Chukwueze, opened talks to sign George.
An agreement was reached with Chelsea, but the deal was not finalised before the deadline. Fulham ended up signing Kevin and Chukwueze at the 11th hour, and they also kept Harry Wilson after blocking his proposed move to Leeds.
David Datro Fofana - Chelsea to Charlton Athletic
The second Chelsea player on this list is forgotten striker David Datro Fofana, who has somehow failed to secure a transfer away from the Blues despite being completely out of the project.
Fofana was in talks with several Ligue 1 sides during the summer, but neither Toulouse nor Nice could agree a deal to sign him. On Deadline Day, Celtic and Championship side Charlton Athletic held talks over a move.
Celtic came in with a late loan offer after seeing their deal for Kasper Dolberg hijacked by Ajax, but Fofana had already given the nod to Charlton at that point. However, the Addicks failed to hand in the necessary paperwork on time, so Fofana remains on the books at Chelsea.
William Osula - Newcastle to Eintracht Frankfurt
Newcastle's strange summer transfer window could have become even stranger on Deadline Day as they were in talks to offload another striker after Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak.
Third-choice forward William Osula - who had become first choice while Newcastle were scrambling to bring players in - had been attracting interest from the Bundesliga, with Bayer Leverkusen and particularly Eintracht Frankfurt keen on the youngster..
The latter opened talks with the Magpies on Deadline Day to strike a club-record deal well in excess of €30m for the Denmark youth international. Ironically, Osula would have supplanted former Newcastle target Hugo Ekitike as Frankfurt's record signing.
Having managed to secure Yoane Wissa, Newcastle showed a willingness to discuss this move given the hefty money on offer for a largely unproven player, but time ran out before the two clubs could manage to find common ground.
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