The final hours of the summer transfer featured chaos in Liverpool and calm in Madrid.
The defending Premier League champions finally secured a record-breaking £125m transfer for Alexander Isak with Newcastle as part of a blockbuster summer for Arne Slot.
The Isak deal smashed the English top-flight record for a second time at Anfield this summer following the June arrival of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.
However, there was frustration for Slot, as a swoop for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi fell apart less than an hour before the deadline.
The England star had agreed a £35m move to Merseyside - with less than a year on his contract at Selhurst Park - but the club opted out at the last minute.
Despite previous statements from chairman Steve Parish over needing to sell Guehi to avoid a free transfer next summer, the rumoured threat of head coach Oliver Glasner resigning and a lack of replacement scuppered the deal.
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Guehi will now decline any extension to his contract and play on at Palace in 2025/26 but moves are already being made over his future next season.
Where will Marc Guehi play next season - Real Madrid to rival Liverpool?
Real Madrid and Liverpool could open up a fresh 'free transfer' battle in the coming months with reports from The Telegraph claiming the La Liga giants are now tracking the 25-year-old.
Los Blancos have also been linked with an offer for current Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate who is also out of contract.
Despite ending the 2024/25 season without a trophy, there was no late transfer flurry, with the majority of the club's business wrapped up in June.
Xabi Alonso is unlikely to go for both - despite Liverpool reportedly admitting defeat in their attempts to retain Konate - and Guehi could now trigger a renewed rift between the clubs.
Trent Alexander-Arnold's switch to the Spanish capital continues to linger in the air after Liverpool eventually secured an exit fee - to allow him to play at the FIFA Club World Cup - despite Real Madrid's confidence over landing him for free.
Alonso is looking to the future, with David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger potentially moving on as free agents in 2026, and Guehi is viewed as a possible partner for Dean Huijsen at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
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