Crystal Palace's signings this transfer window looks good on paper.
Joachim Andersen - Crystal Palace (€17.5m plus add ons)
[article]Crystal Palace have completed the signing of Denmark international defender Joachim Andersen on a five-year deal.
The 25-year-old centre-back joins Palace from Lyon after a competing in the Euro 2020 semi-final this summer.
Andersen’s career began in his native Denmark, but he broke into professional football with Dutch side, F.C. Twente. Shortly after making his first-team debut, Andersen was named Under-19 Talent of the Year by the Danish Football Association.
The centre-back joined Serie A side Sampdoria after 50 games with Twente and played regularly under manager Marco Giampaolo. Andersen’s performances earned him a move to Lyon as a record transfer in summer 2019, and he went on to feature in the 19/20 Champions League – including as a substitute in the semi-final against Bayern Munich.
Andersen then tasted Premier League football with a season-long loan to Fulham in October 2020. He captained the Cottagers and was even nominated for Premier League Player of the Month in February 2021.
That same year, the 25-year-old featured regularly in Denmark’s Euro 2020 campaign, playing as a substitute in all three knock-out games. In doing so, Andersen collected his eighth international cap.
With Andersen becoming the fourth signing so far under Patrick Vieira, Chairman Steve Parish said: "In Joachim, we have added another highly-rated defender to our squad, and as a player with Premier League and international experience, we are extremely pleased to welcome him to Crystal Palace."
Andersen said: “I’m extremely proud to be joining Crystal Palace and to be playing in the world’s best football league.
"The management of the club and Patrick Vieira have given me very strong assurance that they know my qualities, they believe in me and want me to play an important role in the team. I have a very positive impression of Patrick from the conversations I have had with him, and I have heard nothing but great things about the manager, the club and its plans for the future."
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Sam Vokes - Wycombe Wanderers (undisclosed fee)
[article]Wycombe Wanderers have pulled off a major coup in the transfer market, bringing former Premier League and Wales striker Sam Vokes to Adams Park, the club are thrilled to announce.
The 31-year-old leaves Championship club Stoke City to sign an initial one-year deal – with the option of a second year – and was unveiled to Chairboys fans on the pitch ahead of Wednesday’s pre-season friendly against Leicester City.
Manager Gareth Ainsworth said: “Sam has been our number one target all summer and we’re so pleased to bring him to Wycombe Wanderers. This is the culmination of so much hard work from a lot of people around the club, and we particularly owe a massive thank you to Andrew Howard for his incredible effort to get the deal done. It’s taken a lot of time, a lot of phone calls, a lot of late night meetings, but we got there and it’s a brilliant acquisition for this club.
“Sam’s experience speaks for itself, with 64 caps for Wales, scoring in a European Championshp quarter-final, winning promotion to the Premier League three times, and scoring a lot of goals in the top two tiers for Burnley over a seven-year period.
“He is the perfect fit for us in terms of his character and the way he plays, bringing out exciting creative attacking players into play, scoring plenty of goals himself, and he is the ideal man to lead the line for us in League 1 this season.”
Vokes started his career at Bournemouth in League 1 in the 2006/07 season, and a prolific run of form in his second season as a professional attracted the attention of Wolverhampton Wanderers, who swooped to take him into the Championship. He was a promotion winner in his first campaign in the Black Country, and remained at the club until 2012, also spending time on loan in the second tier with Leeds United, Bristol City, Sheffield United, Norwich City, Burnley and Brighton.
He returned to Burnley in 2012 and went on to score 20 league goals in his second season at Turf Moor as the Clarets reached the top flight, and followed it up with another 15 Championship goals in 2015/16 during another promotion-winning campaign, before netting 10 times in the top flight the next year.
Vokes, who earned the first of 64 international caps in 2008, swapped Burnley for Stoke City in the 2018/19 campaign, and featured for the Potters at Adams Park last December before leaving the club this summer.
Sam Vokes is the new number 9 at Adams Park.[/article]
Yasser Larouci - Troyes (free transfer)
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Liverpool have missed out on potentially millions of pounds after losing Yasser Larouci on a free transfer to Troyes.
His contract expired this summer after telling the Reds that he had no intention of renewing his deal last year.
Anfield chiefs desperately tried to sell the defender but to no avail and the 20-year-old has now departed for nothing.
It has meant Liverpool have missed out on a huge payout due to compensation rules in England.
Among the clubs having a look, Leeds United and Brentford had been interested in the youngster and could have made offers last summer after ramping up their efforts.
However, a transfer failed to go through and Larouci remained at Anfield for another year despite his situation.
Liverpool desperately tried to convince the Frenchman to change his mind and had offered him a new contract.
But he rejected any offer outright, insisting that he wanted to leave to start playing immediately in the first-team.
Andy Robertson is firmly first-choice at the club, while James Milner has even been preferred to back-up option Kostas Tsimikas.
It meant that any avenue into the starting XI was always stacked against Larouci's favour.
But his choice of club will surely leave a sour taste in Liverpool's mouth with Manchester City the potential benefactors.
Troyes are one of several club's under the City Football Group, along with the likes of New York City, Girona and Melbourne City, to name but a few.
Larouci has signed a five year contract with the Ligue 1 outfit, who also signed Metinho this summer from Fluminese for around €5m.
It means both players could be at the Etihad one day should they develop how the club want them to.
Furthermore, if Larouci had signed for Brentford or Leeds this summer, Liverpool would have been entitled to a compensation fee.
FA rules state that clubs can expect a sum of money for any player under the age of 24 who leaves on a free transfer for another team in England.
If the two clubs cannot reach an agreement, the matter goes to a tribunal.
The Reds know the process well having done the same for Harvey Elliott, Danny Ings and Dominic Solanke in recent years.
However, with Troyes being in another country, those rules do not apply - instead, the FIFA regulations come into effect which means a much lower fee.
Instead, Liverpool can expect roughly £250,000 - a staggering amount lower than the millions they could have expected otherwise.
The Reds are looking to offload a number of fringe players this summer with Harry Wilson and Marko Grujic already departing.
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