Eight transfer sagas that came to nothing including Bellingham and Werner

The transfer window only opened at the start of the month, but already a whole host of big-money deals have been concluded in the Premier League and beyond.

Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City have all spent handsome sums to strengthen their squad for the upcoming season, but the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea are lagging behind their rivals at the top of English football.

United in particular have been linked with a host of names, including Frenkie de Jong, but are seemingly no closer to bringing anybody through the door. Their pursuit of De Jong has been a tedious one, but it is far from the only transfer saga we've seen this summer. Here, Mirror Football takes a look at some of the biggest transfer sagas that failed to come to anything in recent years...

Jude Bellingham to Manchester United

Jude Bellingham has been linked with just about every top European club since he burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old at Birmingham City, but Manchester United have been persistently linked to the England starlet.

United made a huge play to try and snare Bellingham from Birmingham back in 2020 and even enlisted the aid of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson to try and woo the midfield maestro into joining the club. But after months and months of speculation, United unfortunately missed out on a deal for the sought-after playmaker, who instead decided to move to Borussia Dortmund in a £25million deal.

The links with United haven't stopped since then though, with Bellingham expected to be up for grabs in another big-money transfer next summer after his stunning form in Germany.

Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid

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If you cast your minds back just a few weeks, it seemed inevitable that Kylian Mbappe would be the latest megastar to be lured to Real Madrid.

Although the days of the Galacticos have long gone, Los Blancos president Florentino Perez had set his sights on snaring one of Europe's most coveted players in the form of Mbappe. The interest - which spanned over 18 months - appeared to be reciprocated too; Mbappe seemingly had no interest in committing to a new deal with Paris Saint-Germain and looked set to seal a dream switch to the Bernabeu this summer once his contract in Paris had officially expired.

But Real's prolonged pursuit of the 23-year-old turned out to be a fruitless one. After weeks of speculation claiming that PSG had thrown everything at Mbappe in a bid to persuade him to remain at the club, the Frenchman announced that he'd penned a bumper new three year deal to stay at the Parc des Princes - leaving Real and Florentino absolutely livid.

Neymar to Barcelona

Neymar sent shockwaves through European football when he left Barcelona to join PSG in a blockbuster deal back in 2017 - but he was seemingly angling for a mind-boggling return to the Camp Nou just two years later.

The Brazilian superstar's remarkable £198m switch is still the biggest in history, but his time in Paris has been riddled with injuries and some questionable off-field antics. It had seemed as though Neymar's stay in the French capital was going to be a brief one, with various reports in the summer of 2019 claiming that Barcelona were interested in bringing their former talisman back to the club.

However, a move failed to materialise - and Neymar has remained in Paris ever since. The 30-year-old is seemingly never too far away from a transfer saga though and he has even been linked with a move this summer after recent comments from PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

Timo Werner to Liverpool

Back in the summer of 2020, after months of jostling behind the scenes, Liverpool were seemingly in pole position to acquire the services of RB Leizpig goal machine Timo Werner.

The German striker won a host of admirers during his time in the Bundesliga after notching 95 goals in just 159 games for Leipzig, and the 26-year-old even came close to pipping Robert Lewandowski to the coveted Golden Boot award during his final season in Germany.

Talk of a move to the Premier League was relentless, and Werner did eventually bag his dream move to England - but not to Liverpool. Instead, it was the Reds' top-flight rivals Chelsea who beat them to a £47.5m deal for the striking hotshot; although Werner has since struggled to live up to expectations at Stamford Bridge.

Steven Gerrard to Chelsea

Steven Gerrard and Chelsea is perhaps one of the most famous Premier League transfer sagas of all time - but this time Liverpool got the last laugh on their rivals.

During his illustrious playing career at Anfield, Gerrard evolved into one of Europe's most complete midfield players and won a host of trophies. However, the boyhood Reds was almost lured away by the Blues just weeks after he inspired Liverpool to Champions League glory.

Liverpool rebuffed a £32m bid from Chelsea for Gerrard, who later admitted that he "flirted" with the idea of joining the Blues. Ultimately, Gerrard decided to stay at Anfield and penned a bumper new deal to leave the Stamford Bridge hierarchy furious.

Wilfried Zaha to Arsenal

Wilfried Zaha has established himself as one of the most dangerous players in the Premier League during his time at Crystal Palace, and he has been courted by some of the league's big-hitters on numerous occasions.

Arsenal have reportedly made numerous attempts to try and prise the 29-year-old away from Selhurst Park over the years, but a mega-money switch across the capital has failed to materialise for the talented trickster, who has admitted in the past that he'd be open to a big move.

In a revealing interview back in 2021, Zaha revealed that he even held talks with former Arsenal boss Unai Emery over a move to the Emirates Stadium - but the Spaniard instead pressed ahead and signed club-record flop Nicolas Pepe in a £72m deal.

Wayne Rooney to Chelsea

Wayne Rooney was yet another top-flight megastar who was courted by Chelsea during his playing days, but the former Manchester United and England striker was also chased by Manchester City.

The Blues were desperate to land Rooney back in 2014; so much so that it was recently revealed that ex-United chief Ed Woodward refused to directly speak to the Londoners during negotiations to bring Juan Mata to Old Trafford. But four years earlier, Rooney had looked to be heading for the exit door after a public row about the club's lack of ambition.

That opened the door for City to launch an audacious bid to try and lure Rooney across the city to the Etihad - but the striker was talked round by Ferguson and went on to stay at United for another seven years, breaking the club's scoring record in the process.

Julian Draxler to Arsenal

Just like Rooney, Julian Draxler is another star who had more than suitor in the Premier League - but a switch to England never materialised for the German ace.

Both Arsenal and Liverpool had made attempts to try and land the 28-year-old winger in previous years, but Draxler has stayed loyal to PSG, who he joined back in 2017. It did seem as though Draxler was ready to leave the French giants back in 2021, when he was in the final year of his contract.

The Gunners were heavily linked with a move for the former Wolfsburg man, but Draxler instead opted to pen a new deal, keeping him at PSG until the summer of 2024.