10 Most Surprising Transfers In Premier League History

The modern football world loves a big transfer story. Tabloids and online news sources around the globe often tout numerous rumours around during the now famed transfer windows, before laying claim to being the ones who called it from the start when a move does eventually come off.

Over the years we have seen long drawn out sagas like that of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, or more recently Romelu Lukaku's move away from Everton this summer.

However, not all football transfers can be claimed to have been called by someone in the know. Many times during Premier League history we have been taken aback by a transfer which has come out of the blue and surprised everyone in football.

Whether it be someone moving to a club they swore never to join, a huge and seemingly unnecessary transfer fee being paid, or a club making a move for a player we all thought had simply no chance of happening, there have been plenty of occasions where the Premier League has produced a switch totally out of left field.

One of the more recent surprising moves comes in the form of Serbian international Nemanja Matic being allowed to jump ship from Chelsea and join title rivals Manchester United.

The midfielder had been a key part of Chelsea's dominant title winning team, sitting in the midfield and allowing the Blues' more creative players to express their talents further up the pitch to influence the game.

However, manager Antonio Conte saw fit to allow Matic to move on, and when he became available, former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho snapped him up for around £40m to the surprise of many in football.

Given how he had been such a pivotal part of the club, that he is still in his prime years, and that it strengthened one of Chelsea's title rivals significantly, it definitely goes down as one of the biggest shocks of the transfer market in recent times.