Transfer Blast: Cunha, Huijsen and Alexander-Arnold Among Early Movers

Throughout the Summer transfer window, The Woodwork will be looking at the top five deals of the week. After the early opening of the transfer window to accommodate for the revamped Club World Cup, several big names have already made their Summer moves.

FIFA's decision to introduce a mini transfer window on top of the existing Summer period was to allow clubs to finalise signings before participating in the new international club competition, but three of the five most expensive deals so far have actually been completed by clubs who aren't competing.

As usual, the Premier League and La Liga have dominated the gossip columns, and its the clubs from these leagues who are getting the deals over the line so far. In fact, all five signings in the first top five of the Summer have joined clubs in either England or Spain.

1) Matheus Cunha - Wolves to Manchester United

Bigger names have made the move this Summer, but arguably Cunha has the most potential to change his club. Manchester United had a thoroughly miserable 2024/2025 season, suffering their worst ever Premier League campaign.

The Red Devils will play no European football in Ruben Amorim's first season in charge, but the Portuguese will, for the first time as United manager, have a proven goalscorer he can deploy through the middle.

Cunha has 29 goals in 82 Premier League appearances, but over half of those goals (15) came this season; no Manchester United player scored more than eight in the league this season.

This is of course a shocking stat in itself, but it highlights how desperately Amorim needs a striker, especially as Ramus Hojlund (4 goals) and Joshua Zirkzee (3) had atrocious seasons.

While rumours linking Viktor Gyokeres to Old Trafford remain potent, Cunha's versatility means that Amorim can include him with or without another striker in the team. United's set-up under the former Sporting manager features two advanced midfielders in behind a central striker; Cunha can play in any of those three positions.

But what the Red Devils need the most is a spark. A bit of excitement. Someone who can make something happen or get the team up the pitch when they're pinned in, and Cunha has done just that for Wolves on several occasions, especially over the past two seasons.

His price tag was steep at over £60,000,000, but even if he can deliver another 15-goal season, United would be delighted. Given the Brazilian's potential however, there's every chance he breaks the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career and helps steer his new side back into European football.

2) Trent Alexander-Arnold - Liverpool to Real Madrid

Liverpool fans have been left feeling hurt and betrayed by Trent Alexander-Arnold's decision to leave Anfield and join Real Madrid. Some say it's because he's the Scouser in the team, others see Madrid as a direct rival. But ultimately Madrid have pulled off a masterclass.

Aside from the small fee the Spanish side paid to sign the England international before the Club World Cup, Alexander-Arnold move for free. Whether or not he deliberately ran down his contract, signing a player who has won just about every major honour in the club game for free is an outstanding signing however you look at it.

Of course there are questions over his defensive ability, especially against fast, tricky wingers, but Real Madrid's tactical system is likely to change because of another former Liverpool man.

Xabi Alonso's arrival in place of the legendary Carlo Ancelotti will provide quite the shake-up in the Spanish capital. Los Blancos have been under Ancelotti's guidance for four years, during which he won the Champions League twice, and yet there was a feeling of dissatisfaction this season.

Defeats in both cup finals to Barcelona and a quarter-final exit to Arsenal in the Champions League spelled the end for Ancelotti, and if Xabi Alonso is to implement a similar system to the one he used in his invincible season with Bayer Leverkusen, Alexander-Arnold could be right at home.

Under Jurgen Klopp, Alexander-Arnold was right at home. He had the license to fly forward as often as he liked and when he didn't track back, there were plenty of players ready to cover for him. In Arne Slot's system, this hasn't been the case.

If however Alexander-Arnold were to operate in the wing-back role Xabi Alonso deployed new Liverpool signing Jeremie Frimpong in, there's every chance the England man could fly down the right again, cutting into midfielder or becoming a second winger, without having to think too much about chasing back to stop a counter attack.

There are a lot of ifs and buts when it comes to Alexander-Arnold, Real Madrid or otherwise, but if Xabi Alonso can get the best out of him, this becomes an exceptional signing for the biggest club in the world, free or not.

3) Dean Huijsen - Bournemouth to Real Madrid

This is one of those rare deals where it genuinely feels like both clubs win. Besides the fantastic spectacle of Bournemouth doing business with Real Madrid in the first place, this move provides Huijsen with a big step up and the Cherries with £50,000,000 to spend in the Summer window.

Huijsen had an outstanding season for Bournemouth and was a key part to their bid to secure European football. Although Andoni Iraola's side ultimately came up short in that particular chase, they still had a respectable season. Huijsen's season though was far more than respectable.

After a successful spell on loan at Roma, Huijsen moved to Bournemouth from Juventus just last Summer, but it quickly became clear that the Spaniard was a Champions League calibre centre-back.

His command of the ball emulates the very best central defenders, leading his side out from the back and helping to get his side up the pitch quickly in the way Iraola likes. He's also a threat from set pieces having scored five times across the last two seasons.

For Madrid, Huijsen's arrival comes at the perfect time heading into the Club World Cup, with Antonio Rudiger suffering a knee injury which will keep him out until at least November.

Whether or not their new defender is considered an upgrade won't necessarily be tested until after Rudiger's return, if at all, as Xabi Alonso favoured a back-three with Bayer Leverkusen and could do the same with his new Real Madrid side.

But if such a test does arise, there's little to suggest that Huijsen won't be up for the challenge after a superb debut season in the Premier League.

4) Caoimhin Kelleher - Liverpool to Brentford

Mark Flekken's departure to Bayer Leverkusen had the potential to cause real problems for Brentford, but they've quickly filled their goalkeeping void with a tried-and-tested Premier League goalkeeper.

Alexander-Arnold's departure may have taken the headlines, but Kelleher's was even more predictable given that Liverpool signed Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili last Summer and have no intention to let Allison leave Anfield.

Kelleher has therefore known all season that it would be his last with the Reds, and celebrated in style by winning the Premier League title. For the Irishman, this is an ideal move; the first chance of his career to be first choice in one of Europe's top five leagues.

It's likely to be a baptism of fire as a first-choice goalkeeper for Kelleher, as Brentford are heavily reliant on their goalkeeper. Last season, Flekken made the most saves of any Premier League goalkeeper, and two seasons prior, David Raya did the same. If Kelleher isn't ready for the responsibility of being number one, it will soon show.

That is unlikely though given his experience not only in several Liverpool cup runs, but also in huge games in Premier League title races. Kelleher has made 25 Premier League appearances, and Liverpool have won 17 of the games he's featured in. That's a win rate of 68%, which is exactly the same at Liverpool's win rate in the league this season.

Of course it's unlikely that Brentford would achieve such a high win rate simply by changing their goalkeeper, especially if they were to lose Bryan Mbeumo and/or Yoane Wissa before the start of the season, but with Kelleher between the sticks, the Bees can likely still rely on their goalkeeper as they have done since their return to the Premier League.

5) Liam Delap - Ipswich Town to Chelsea

It's not exactly unheard of for Chelsea to pounce on a player after one good season, but Liam Delap could be different (key word being could).

Ipswich had a dreadful season in the Premier League. Their misfortunes were nowhere near as awful as Southampton's, but this does little to change the fact that the Tractor Boys won just four league games all season.

Delap however was a bright spark, scoring more goals (12) in the Premier League with Ipswich than he did in the Championship with Hull (8) the previous season. His aggressive, direct approach offers something a little different to the monotonous passing game that has become so popular in the Premier League.

Much like Matheus Cunha, Delap offers his new side a bit of flair, that innate ability to make something happen, and all for £30,000,000. You'd be hard-pushed to find another player who could hit double digits in a Premier League season and sell for less than that.

With this deal though, there is a catch. Chelsea already have an abundance of forwards. And midfielders. And wingers...

A squad of their size simply isn't feasible, hence why Enzo Maresca left a number of players out right from the start. Of course Delap, who is just 22-years-old, will be given his chance, but he will have to deliver quickly with the number of players waiting for an opportunity behind him.

He way have to oust a striker ahead of him to begin with too, as Nicholas Jackson scored just two goals fewer than Delap despite missing over two months through injury.

This is certainly the most intriguing move of the window so far, especially with Delap being handed the "cursed" number nine shirt at Stamford Bridge. If he plays regularly, he could be a game-changer for Chelsea, but if, like so many others, he spends most of the season on the bench, he'll consider whether he would've been better off elsewhere.

Deals to look out for

Next week's transfer blast could up the ante significantly with all of the Premier League's top three from the past two seasons looking to complete deals for high-profile attackers.

Bayer Leverkusen have rejected three Liverpool bids for Florian Wirtz, but the Premier League Champions are hopefully of reaching an agreement before the end of the week.

Rayan Cherki has almost completed a move to Manchester City after helping France to finish third in the UEFA Nations League.

And Arsenal are closing in on a deal for RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko, who was close to joining the Gunners last Summer.