Bayern Munich have finally had a breakthrough in the transfer window as they are all set to sign Chelsea star Nicolas Jackson on a loan deal to address their squad depth issues.
Before this, the Bavarians had signed only three players, and they desperately need more players heading into an extremely crowded campaign.
Vincent Kompany lacked a backup for Harry Kane and therefore they were in the market to sign another forward and Jackson looked like the perfect option for the Bavarians especially in a loan deal.
As per several reports, Bayern Munich are all set to play €15m loan fee for the Senegal international with an option to make the deal permanent for €80m.
As per statistics, Jackson is on the verge of becoming the fourth-most expensive loan deal in football history.
Therefore, we at The Sporting News are taking a look at the top six most expensive loan deals in football.
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6. James Rodriguez to Bayern Munich (€13m – 2017-2019)
James Rodriguez was a big signing for Real Madrid in 2015 after grabbing the headlines with Colombia in the 2014 World Cup.
However, the Colombian couldn’t really manage to cement his place in the starting eleven and was eventually loaned out to Bayern Munich in 2017 for €13m for a two-season long deal.
Rodriguez took his time to settle for the Bavarians, but Jupp Heynckes got the best out of him as he scored against Los Blancos in a Champions League fixture.
Despite some of his brilliant performances, Bayern Munich didn’t exercise their option to buy, and the Colombian returned to Real Madrid from there he was reunited with Carlo Ancelotti at Everton.
5. Duvan Zapata to Atalanta (€14m – 2018-2020)
While he is not the flashiest name on this list, Duvan Zapata’s loan move to Atalanta from Sampdoria was a weird one as Sampdoria signed him permanently as their loan deal included an obligation to buy and within eleven days, they decided to loan him to Atalanta for €14m.
Zapata became a great signing for Atalanta as his consistency and efficiency in front of goal meant Atalanta signed him permanently in January 2020.
In his six seasons at Atalanta, he featured in 191 games across all competitions, netting 92 goals and hence becoming the Serie A club’s second-highest goalscorer. He was only behind Christiano Doni who tops the goalscoring list with 112 goals for Atalanta.
Zapata currently plays for Torino as he suffered an ACL injury last season after a decent start to his 2024/25 campaign.
4. Nicolas Jackson to Bayern Munich (€15m – 2025-present)
Jackson finds himself fourth in this list mainly due to Bayern Munich’s desperation to sign a forward so late in the transfer window.
The Bavarians hardly had many options as they were strictly looking for loan deals to fill up the depth positions in their roster.
Jackson, who moved to Chelsea from Villarreal in 2023 and instantly made a strong impact for the Blues netting 17 goals in 45 games in his first season at Stamford Bridge.
He followed it up with 13 goals in 37 appearances last season but fell out of favour with Enzo Maresca with his disciplinary issues and the signings of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap this summer.
The Senegalese, who is predominantly a striker can also feature on the left-wing allowing Kompany with more weapons in attack heading into a new season.
3. Giovani Lo Celso to Tottenham Hotspur (€16m – 2019/20)
Giovanni Lo Celso’s move to Tottenham Hotspur happened due to their lack of creative players in the roster and Spurs also failed in their approach of signing Philippe Coutinho or Paolo Dybala.
He joined Spurs in 2019 on a season long loan deal for €16m while the deal also had an option to buy after his impressive spell at Real Betis.
Lo Celso’s move was made permanent next summer, and he went on to spend four seasons in North London before returning to Villarreal on loan in 2021 and ultimately returned to Betis last year.
2. Alvaro Morata to Atletico Madrid (€18m – 2019-2020)
Alvaro Morata is probably the most famous journeyman footballer in recent times as he has featured for several clubs on loan and permanent basis.
The Spain international’s first loan move was back in January 2019 when he joined Atletico Madrid for €18m over an 18-month long deal.
Interestingly, within six months, Atletico Madrid signed him permanently and despite netting quite a few goals, Atletico Madrid decided to loan him again next summer to Juventus on another big money move.
1. Alvaro Morata to Juventus (€20m – 2020-2022)
Morata takes the first spot with his return to Juventus for a loan deal worth €20m and unlike his loan move to Atletico Madrid, his move to Turin didn’t become permanent despite him scoring 32 goals in 92 appearances for the Serie A giants.
While the Spaniard didn’t have his best time on his return to Turin, he wasn’t too bad either but with Juventus losing their grip on Italian football saw him return to Atletico Madrid.
Currently, Morata is plying his trade for Serie A outfit Como on loan under the tutelage of manager Cesc Fabregas.
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