8 you might have missed ft. two World Cup cult stars

Julho 24, 2026 lojamais44@gmail.com

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The World Cup did a pretty good job of making us forget there’s another football season just around the corner.

While everyone’s been talking about Morgan Rogers’ record-breaking transfer from Aston Villa to Chelsea, other sporting directors have quietly been getting on with their summer business. Some familiar faces have switched clubs without attracting too much attention.

Here are eight July transfers you might have missed.

Elijah Just – Motherwell to Swansea

Motherwell fans hoping they might hold onto their star striker for one more season will have had their hopes dashed after Just scored three goals in as many games for New Zealand at the World Cup.

That well and truly put him in the shop window, and Swansea City have swooped in. It seems like a decent landing spot, given their track record of developing Championship goalscorers, from Oli McBurnie to Viktor Gyokeres to Joel Piroe to Zan Vipotnik.

“I want to wish Elijah all the very best for the future,” Motherwell chief executive Brian Caldwell said.

“His 12 months at the club will be remembered fondly by everyone, and he is a humble and genuine person who deserves every success.”

That’s nice, isn’t it? An amicable transfer for all concerned.

Motherwell fans will be gutted to see him go, but at least he didn’t go to Celtic. And he did land them a club-record transfer fee reportedly in the region of £6million. Big money north of the border.

Patrick Beach – Melbourne City to Troyes

Just wasn’t the only Antipodean to use the World Cup as a launchpad for a summer transfer.

Beach was superb for Australia, keeping clean sheets against Turkey and Paraguay before producing another strong display in the knockout stages against Egypt. Who knows if the Socceroos might’ve gone one step further if he wasn’t bizarrely substituted for Mathew Ryan ahead of the penalty shootout. Tony Popovic is no Louis van Gaal.

The City Football Group conveyor belt strikes again, but this feels like a move the young goalkeeper has thoroughly earned. Troyes got promoted back to Ligue 1 at the first time of asking, and that seems a good fit for the highly-rated 22-year-old.

Max Wober – Leeds United to Schalke

It’s funny to think now that Wober was seen as a solid addition to Leeds United’s backline, potentially even a future leader, when he joined the club in January 2023.

The Austria international went on to notch a 12.5% Premier League win percentage (credit to Jonny Cooper) and his career has subsequently stalled with a series of non-starter loans either side of a brief, forgettable return to Elland Road. He managed just 35 minutes and zero starts in an injury-ravaged campaign at Werder Bremen last season.

Leeds have terminated his contract to allow him to move to newly-promoted Schalke on a free transfer. Makes sense for all parties.

Malang Sarr – Lens to NEOM SC

Sarr’s career looked to be drifting nowhere after his difficult spell at Chelsea.

Instead, the defender quietly rebuilt both his confidence and reputation with Lens, re-establishing himself as a dependable Ligue 1 centre-back after years bouncing between loan clubs. He played a key role in the club punching above their weight to challenge PSG for the French title and end the campaign lifting the Coupe de France.

That revival has now earned him a lucrative move to Saudi Pro League upstarts NEOM SC, which feels a bit of a shame. He’ll share a dressing room with *checks notes* Said Benrahma and Alexandre Lacazette. Sounds about right.

Allan Saint-Maximin – Lens to Charlotte FC

Another player we’re a tad disappointed not to be lining up belting out the Champions League anthem for Lens next season.

Saint-Maximin’s post-Newcastle career continues to take another unexpected turn. Jhon Duran, eat your heart out.

The winger enjoyed a decent half-season after returning to France, enough for the club to make efforts to keep him around permanently.

He’s decided against that, though, instead opting for MLS with Charlotte FC. It’s another stop on what has become something of a footballing world tour since leaving St James’ Park, but you’d still fancy him to become one of the league’s biggest entertainers.

Francesco Trincao – Sporting to Al-Ahli

This one is so Saudi Pro League.

Trincao produced the best football of his career over the past couple of seasons at Sporting, helping them win back-to-back league titles and finally delivering on the promise that once persuaded Barcelona to spend big. That inauspicious Wolves stint feels a long time ago now.

Now 26, the Portugal international has become the latest high-profile player to swap the Champions League for the Saudi Pro League after completing a big-money move to Al-Ahli.

The Saudi Pro League might not have had any Benzema/Ronaldo-level blockbuster signings in a while, but additions like Trincao and Crysensio Summerville show they’re not set for a China-esque crash… Yet.

Patson Daka – Leicester to Hamburg

To think some wannabe online scouts once suggested that Leicester City had found their long-term successor to Jamie Vardy. No laughing in the back.

Daka arrived from Red Bull Salzburg with an outstanding goalscoring record and a reputation as one of Europe’s brightest young forwards. It never really clicked.

Three relegation campaigns and a dismal return of 29 goals in 165 appearances later, the Zambian striker has been handed a fresh start with Hamburg. At 27, there’s still plenty of time for him to become the player Leicester thought they were buying. We won’t hold our breath.

Tariq Lamptey – Fiorentina to QPR

We were huge fans of little Lamptey when the Chelsea academy graduate first started to catch the eye at Brighton.

Unfortunately, his career has hit the skids a bit after dismal luck with injuries. Touch wood we’re wrong but it’d be a major surprise to see the same player with electric pace after a cruciate ligament rupture kept him sidelined for almost the entirety of last season.

He strikes a hopeful tone, though, having returned home to West London to sign for QPR after his Fiorentina contract was terminated by mutual consent.

“My recovery has gone well and I’m not too far away now. I’m looking forward to joining with the boys,” says Lamptey.

“Throughout my football journey I’ve always been resilient. You can’t really predict what’s going to happen, but you can only put your best foot forward and prepare as well as possible. And that’s what I try to do.”

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