Five Deadline Day transfers that collapsed

The 2026 January transfer window Deadline Day was frantic.

A host of major deals were completed around Europe, while Premier League clubs also splashed the cash to an extent. Looking back, it was a fairly understated window from English sides, but some certainly did invest heavily.

The likes of Man City, Tottenham, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and West Ham all dipped into the market multiple times, while Liverpool announced a €72 million deal for Jeremy Jacquet. However, the French youngster will only join in the summer.

As is so often the case on the final day of the transfer window, there were also several big deals that did not come off for a variety of reasons. Some failed to materialise because of complications during medicals, others because the necessary paperwork wasn’t submitted on time, and yet more because the wrong paperwork was handed in.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through five Deadline Day transfers that collapsed…

Jean-Philippe Mateta – Crystal Palace to AC Milan

Perhaps the biggest story on Deadline Day was the collapse of Jean-Philippe Mateta‘s agreed move to AC Milan. A club-to-club deal with Crystal Palace was in place, but the Rossoneri pulled the plug after discovering a significant knee problem during the striker’s medical.

For Milan, it was deja vu as they also opted against signing Victor Boniface last summer after discovering a knee issue. For Mateta, it was heartbreaking. Not only did he not get his dream move to Serie A, he is now also at risk of missing the World Cup as his injury may require surgery.

Dwight McNeil – Everton to Crystal Palace

The ramifications of Mateta’s failed medical were massive. Although Palace still completed the signing of Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen for up to €55m, they had to pull out of a deal for Everton winger Dwight McNeil after missing out on the €30m+ fee for Mateta.

An agreement with Everton over a transfer worth just over €20m was done. McNeil was in London and completed his medical. However, Palace sought to change the terms of the deal when it became clear that Mateta would stay and eventually stopped the transfer completely.

McNeil was left devastated, with his girlfriend revealing on social media that Palace’s actions and “broken promises” caused the player significant “distress.”

Youssef En-Nesyri – Fenerbahce to Al-Ittihad

Unlike previous years, the Saudi window closed concurrently with the major European ones on Monday, leaving clubs scrambling for last-minute deals. One such deal was a spectacular swap between Al-Ittihad and Fenerbahce for Youssef En-Nesyri and N’Golo Kante.

The Turkish giants had been chasing Kante for weeks, but Al-Ittihad were reluctant to sell. However, with star striker Karim Benzema leaving for Al-Hilal after a contract dispute, Al-Ittihad agreed to let Kante go on the condition that they receive En-Nesyri in return.

An agreement was reached, but Al-Ittihad submitted erroneous paperwork, and the deadline passed. FIFA has rejected an appeal to belatedly approve the transfer. Al-Ittihad can’t sign En-Nesyri, but Kante has gone on strike and is still pushing to move to Turkey, where the window remains open until Friday.

Abakar Sylla – Strasbourg to Gent

Former Club Brugge defender Abakar Sylla was on his way back to Belgium after three underwhelming seasons at Strasbourg. He was due to link up with his former manager Rik de Mil at Gent, but then Chelsea stepped in at the last minute.

Strasbourg’s BlueCo sister club ordered that the deal be halted because they wanted to use Sylla as a makeweight in talks with Nantes over Tylel Tati, who had become Chelsea’s new top defensive target after they missed out on Jeremy Jacquet.

Sylla, who was reportedly en route to Belgium, had to turn back and instead headed to Nantes on loan. However, Chelsea failed to convince Tati to move because they initially wanted to park him at Strasbourg.

Moussa Sylla – Schalke 04 to NYCFC

Abakar wasn’t the only Sylla who saw a transfer fall through on Monday. Schalke 04 striker Moussa Sylla was also left disappointed after MLS franchise NYCFC pulled the plug on a €7m deal, ostensibly due to complications with his medical.

The collapse of this transfer was more consequential for the selling club than the buying club. NYCFC can still make acquisitions until 26 March, but Schalke missed out on a much-needed windfall.

Their finances haven’t been great in recent years, and they have been trying to cash in on Sylla since the summer. They were so sure of his exit in January that they invested heavily to boost their chances of returning to the Bundesliga, signing Bosnian legend Edin Dzeko, among others.

There is still hope that a buyer can be found in a league where the window remains open. Schalke need the money, although keeping Sylla until the summer could also prove beneficial to their promotion bid.

Football transfer news headlines today

Deadline Day: Every official confirmed transfer around Europe

The 10 most expensive signings of the January transfer window

Five transfers that could still happen after Deadline Day

Five Deadline Day transfers you might have missed

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