Azeez, Mbaye and Danso headline seven shrewd Premier League deadline-day deals
The 2026 summer window closed on 1 September with its usual late-night drama — headlined, as deadline-day reporting detailed at the time, by Manchester City's stunning £125m move for Enzo Fernandez, alongside major deals involving Jack Grealish, Ben Chilwell and Mykhailo Mudryk. But beneath the marquee moves, a number of clubs did quietly clever business. Brighton raided the Championship and the Bundesliga, Sunderland added two forwards' worth of pace plus a defensive wall, and City and Newcastle spent big on dribblers. Here are seven deadline-day deals that look smart, based on an analysis by Opta Analyst for the Guardian.
Femi Azeez — Millwall to Brighton, £15m
A tricky, exciting, quick and versatile midfielder, Azeez has proven himself in the Championship with Millwall over the past two seasons and now gets his chance to test himself in the top flight. Brighton had been chasing him for a while and struck a deal on deadline day at a very reasonable reported initial £12.5m, rising to £15m. If he can make the step up and produce anything like his second-tier form, he will be a steal.
Azeez is a high-volume producer at the sharp end of the pitch, constantly making things happen that threaten the opposition's goal, but stands out most for his crossing. He ranked top of the Championship last season for open-play crosses (227) and expected assists from crosses (6.71 xA), fourth for dribble attempts (131), ninth for shots (95) and sixth for chances created from open play (58). Only two players created more big chances than his 18, and he ranked fourth for expected assists. His 9.12 xA alongside only seven assists suggests he may benefit from playing alongside better finishers.
Ibrahim Mbaye — PSG to Aston Villa, £47m
A hugely exciting prospect. Despite being just 18, Mbaye has significant and noteworthy experience under his belt: last year he made six appearances, including in the final, for Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations, and this summer he made four appearances at the World Cup. He has also featured in two Ligue 1 title-winning campaigns with Paris Saint-Germain, including 2024-25, when he became the youngest player in the club's history to start a game — and he won the Champions League in both of those seasons.
Mbaye is a dribbling and ball-carrying menace who always looks as if he is about to do something special. Among players to play at least 900 minutes in Ligue 1 last season, he ranked 11th for carries per 90 (20.0) and 12th for progressive carries (10.3) — with most of the players above him in both lists being defenders who naturally have more space to move into. He was third for take-on-ending carries, running with the ball for at least five metres before attempting to beat an opponent with a dribble, at 2.9 per 90. And he has end product to boot: he scored at the Afcon and the World Cup despite limited minutes, and his 0.45 goals or assists per 90 for PSG last season is not to be sniffed at.
Kevin Danso — Tottenham to Sunderland, loan with buy obligation
Danso had a pretty impossible task over his two years at Tottenham. He was the back-up to the first-choice centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, playing intermittently on both sides of central defence in dysfunctional teams jumping between styles of play, and very rarely enjoying a consistent run of games. He was unfairly compared with the players he was replacing for much of his time there, but the truth is he was always reliable enough — and he excelled when Romero got injured during the run-in last season, answering the call in Spurs' time of need as they scraped clear of relegation.
He may not be the best on the ball — though he is hardly terrible — but he is an excellent deep defender. Among those to play at least 1,000 minutes in the Premier League last season, Danso ranked first for clearances (8.2 per 90) and headed clearances (6.3), and was fifth for aerial duels won (4.8 per 90). He could thrive at Sunderland, who spent more of their out-of-possession game time in a low block than any other team in the Premier League last season (25%). Danso could be perfectly at home in this setup, paired alongside Dan Ballard — the player he beat into second place for clearances and headed clearances.
Iliman Ndiaye — Everton to Manchester City, £65m
It was long said during Pep Guardiola's time at Manchester City that attackers had their wings clipped in terms of individual freedom, limited to playing within the parameters of the manager's meticulous gameplan. But dribbling ability became increasingly important in the final years of his reign, with Jérémy Doku and Antoine Semenyo on the wings and Rayan Cherki in between. Doku (162) and Semenyo (144) ranked first and second for dribbles attempted in the Premier League last season, with Cherki ninth (111); they also ranked first (84), fourth (59) and eighth (51) respectively for dribbles completed.
With the deadline-day addition of Ndiaye, City have gone in even harder on dribbling ability under Enzo Maresca. The Senegal international ranked second for dribbles attempted (136) and dribbles completed (73) in the Premier League last season.
Matias Fernandez-Pardo — Lille to Newcastle, £51m
Fernandez-Pardo's versatility is a major attraction. He is comfortable playing off the left and cutting in on to his right foot, or as a No 9. Although not the bulkiest, the Belgium international has explosive pace and promises to be a threat in behind — and he is arguably at his most threatening when running with the ball, because he does so with such purpose.
His 122 carries progressing the ball at least 10 metres upfield in Ligue 1 last term were bettered by only seven players, several of whom were defenders. On top of that, he ranked top for carries into the penalty area (69) and seventh for carries ending with a shot or chance created (39).
Malick Fofana — Lyon to Sunderland, £30m
Fofana appeared to be enjoying a swift rise in 2024-25, only for a serious ankle injury to massively disrupt his development in 2025-26. Sunderland will be hoping they can get him back to the levels shown the season before last, when he was a real livewire on Lyon's left flank: he contributed nine goal involvements — five goals and four assists — in 1,586 minutes in Ligue 1 in 2024-25, averaging one every 176 minutes, while only eight forwards with 900-plus minutes averaged more expected assists per 90 (0.25).
The most eye-catching aspects of his game, however, were his dynamism and pace. He could be difficult to stop once moving, which made him a very useful outlet. Among Ligue 1 forwards with 900-plus minutes in 2024-25, his 16.6 carries per 90 ranked sixth, and he moved up to third for progressive carries per 90 (11.5). Fofana is direct, exciting and has significant potential — a player Sunderland could make a profit on if he reaches the levels previously expected.
Chema Andrés — Stuttgart to Brighton, £20m
Andrés arrived to bolster Brighton's midfield options after Carlos Baleba's exit to Manchester United. Although a different type of midfielder to the Cameroonian, Chema is another with vast potential. A product of Real Madrid's academy, he joined Stuttgart last summer and, during his sole campaign in the Bundesliga, was in and out of the team but caught the eye at the base of their midfield.
Comparisons have been made to Rodri because of his physical attributes and nominal role as a holding midfielder. He does not have anything like the same influence in possession, but Chema is tidy on the ball. It is what he offers defensively that is most notable, however: he has been broadly praised for his anticipation and reading of the game, ranking second among Bundesliga midfielders with 900-plus minutes, since the start of last season, for interceptions per 90 (2.3).
Brighton and Sunderland, in particular, appear to have shopped with a clear plan, targeting specific, data-backed profiles at sensible prices while rivals spent nine figures on bigger names. Come May, these seven quieter deals could prove every bit as important as the window's headline-grabbing ones.