The Guardian's Football Daily newsletter offers a wry, satirical recap of the Premier League's summer transfer deadline day, mocking the hype-laden media circus around it while highlighting some of the window's most notable late twists. Chief among these is Everton's collapsed move for striker Folarin Balogun, who pulled out of a near-complete transfer from Monaco at the last minute, leaving the club reportedly "shocked" and short-staffed up front.

The piece notes that Manchester City's deadline-day signings of Iliman Ndiaye and Enzo Fernández helped push overall Premier League summer spending towards a record £3.5bn. It also details a dramatic tug-of-war between Sunderland and Crystal Palace over Lyon winger Malick Fofana, who was flown to a French airport where rival private jets awaited before Sunderland's owner personally intervened to secure his signature. The article closes by noting Argentina's Leandro Paredes has suggested he may retire from international duty following Lionel Messi's own international exit and a 10-match ban stemming from the "Geopolitics World Cup" final.