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Kylian Mbappe, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Danny Drinkwater - Five debuts to look out for

Sports Mole highlights five high-profile players who could make their debuts this weekend following deadline-day moves.

The dust is finally beginning to settle following the most remarkable transfer window of all time, during which the world record fee for a player was obliterated and Premier League clubs spent well over £1bn.

The silly season was so absurd this time around that Premier League clubs have already voted in favour of the window closing before the 2017-18 season gets underway in a bid to end the disruption of seeing new faces come and old ones leave after the campaign has already begun.

For now, though, clubs will be hoping that their late investments prove to be worthwhile, and a whole host of players will be gearing up for their debuts at their new clubs as domestic football returns this weekend following the international break.

Here, Sports Mole has rounded up five of the most high-profile players who could be making their bows this weekend.



Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Liverpool)

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain of Arsenal in action during the Barclays Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St James' Park on August 29, 2015© Getty Images

For all the talk of talk of Alexis Sanchez joining Manchester City and Philippe Coutinho moving to Barcelona, the biggest deadline-day deal involving a Premier League club proved to be Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's switch from Arsenal to Liverpool.

Joining for a fee which could reportedly rise to £40m, the first challenge for the 24-year-old will be getting into the team at Anfield. Liverpool are on a run of four consecutive victories, the most recent of which was a 4-0 annihilation of an Arsenal side that included Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Jurgen Klopp is unlikely to make too many changes to his side from that match, with Emre Can, Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum expected to keep their places in central midfield, so 'The Ox' may have to wait for his first appearance in a Liverpool shirt.

A start at right-back is a possibility given the long-term absence of Nathaniel Clyne, but Oxlade-Chamberlain is understood to have chosen Liverpool over Chelsea due to the prospect of playing in his preferred central midfield position.

The England international should be involved in some capacity as Liverpool travel to take on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, though, and Reds fans will be excited to see how well he fits into Liverpool's fast and furious style under Klopp.

A tally of just nine goals from 132 Premier League appearances for Arsenal suggests that Oxlade-Chamberlain's end product needs to improve, but a change of scenery could be exactly what the versatile midfielder needs to begin fulfilling his potential.



Danny Drinkwater (Chelsea)

Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater in action during his side's Premier League clash with West Bromwich Albion at the King Power Stadium on November 6, 2016© SilverHub

One of the final Premier League deals to be done this summer was Danny Drinkwater's move to Chelsea, which was eventually confirmed some time after the 11pm deadline.

Eyebrows were raised when Chelsea initially went in for the Leicester City man, but Antonio Conte wanted to strengthen further in central midfield following Nemanja Matic's exit, despite already having N'Golo Kante, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Cesc Fabregas at his disposal.

Drinkwater could face an immediate return to the King Power Stadium when Chelsea take on his former club on Saturday, and should he make his debut then it will likely be alongside Kante - the central midfield partnership which helped Leicester to the Premier League title in 2015-16.

Drinkwater could be denied that possibility due to his ongoing struggles with a groin injury, which has prevented him from making a Premier League appearance so far this season, but he has been training with the Chelsea team this week and has been included in Conte's squad.



Serge Aurier (Tottenham Hotspur)

Paris Saint-Germain's Ivorian defender Serge Aurier celebrates after scoring a goal during the UEFA Champions League group A football match between Shakhtar Donetsk and Paris Saint-Germain at the Arena Lviv, in the Ukrainian city of Lviv, on September 30,© Getty Images

Mauricio Pochettino has been quick to lay down the law for Serge Aurier at Tottenham Hotspur, with the full-back bringing a chequered past with him as part of his £23m move from Paris Saint-Germain.

The Ligue 1 giants once banned the Ivory Coast international for directing homophobic language towards manager Laurent Blanc, while a conviction for assaulting a police officer outside a Paris nightclub last year threatened to derail his move to London at one point.

Aurier has now arrived at his new club, though, and is likely to become Tottenham's first-choice right-back this season following the summer sale of Kyle Walker to Manchester City.

Whether he will make his debut against Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday remains to be seen considering he has not played a club match since May, but he was involved during the recent international double-header against Gabon.



Renato Sanches (Swansea City)

Bayern Munich midfielder Renato Sanches warms up© Offside

The level of spending during this summer's transfer window may have broken all sorts of records, but it could be that a loan move proves to be the most shrewd piece of business.

Renato Sanches was one of the hottest young properties in world football a little over a year ago, but after a disappointing first season at Bayern Munich he was made available for a transfer away from the German champions.

Some of the biggest clubs in Europe were credited with an interest in the 20-year-old, but Swansea City manager Paul Clement used his contacts at Bayern - where he was assistant boss to Carlo Ancelotti before taking over at the Liberty Stadium - to pull off arguably the coup of the summer.

Sanches still possesses all of the attributes required to become a world-class player, and Swansea will give him the chance to get used to regular first-team football once again having made just six Bundesliga starts for Bayern last season.

The Swans host Newcastle United on Sunday, and the home fans will be hoping to see the Portugal international take to the Liberty Stadium pitch for the first time against the Magpies.



Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

Kylian Mbappe poses with a Paris Saint-Germain shirt following his move from AS Monaco© Offside

From last summer's teen sensation to this year's - Kylian Mbappe was arguably the most in-demand player of the summer transfer window following a remarkable breakthrough season with AS Monaco that saw him score 27 goals in 44 appearances to help the club to the Champions League semi-finals and Ligue 1 title.

The likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal were all linked with the winger at one point or another, but PSG flexed their financial muscles to upset the natural order once again on deadline day, bringing the prodigious 18-year-old to the Parc des Princes on an initial loan deal.

The move will be made permanent for an eye-watering £166m next summer, meaning that PSG will boast the four most expensive signings in Ligue 1 history amongst their squad this summer, with Mbappe joining Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Angel di Maria on that list.

It is a strike force which can stand up against any other in world football, and fans could get the first glimpse of it this weekend after Mbappe was included in the squad to face Metz tonight.

The youngster did not show any signs of nerves after becoming the second most expensive player of all time when he scored his first goal for France just hours after sealing his move to PSG last week, and with Neymar having already hit the ground running following his blockbuster £200m switch and Cavani picking up where he left off last season, Mbappe is coming into a team already full of goals.

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2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
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10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle125341313018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham124351519-415
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


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