Some of Africa's most exciting players are embarking on new starts after securing a move during the transfer window, but the futures of some of the continent's top players, most notably Victor Osimhen , remain undecided.
For every Serhou Guirassy , Wilfried Zaha and Yankuba Minteh who did get a move, there's a Joel Matip, Ademola Lookman or Osimhem whose future now appears uncertain.
Here are the African players who didn't secure the moves they surely needed during the window, the transfers that could still take place, and some of the free agents who may yet prove to be tantalising options for some of Europe's giants.
Osimhen in limbo
Few would have predicted, when Nigeria 's Osimhen clinched the African Footballer of the Year award in December 2023, that less than nine months on he would find his career in limbo.
However, after being linked with some of Europe's biggest clubs during the course of the transfer window - not to mention previous windows - and with rumours swirling of a move to Saudi Arabia , he remains at Napoli .
However, just over a year on after clinching the Partenopei's long-awaited third Scudetto, the Super Eagle now finds himself left out of Napoli's squad list for the Serie A season.
" What chaos! " began a headline in La Gazzetta dello Sport, the prominent Italian sports daily, after deadline day closed without Osimhen having secured a move away from Naples.
The likes of Paris Saint-Germain , Arsenal and Manchester United had been mooted as potential destinations, but the favourites had been Chelsea , who were themselves already in negotiations with Napoli about the sale of Romelu Lukaku .
Antonio Conte had previously made no secret of his desire to recruit his former Chelsea charge and to offload Osimhen.
"I'm happy with the work done by the club," he reaffirmed to reporters this weekend. "If we'd been able to sell Osimhen, it would have been an even better situation, but what happened cannot be changed and we move forward."
The Belgian ultimately arrived at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona - as a replacement for Osimhen - but with parties unable to agree terms, the door closed to Stamford Bridge.
Another suitor - Saudi Arabia's Al Ahli - moved for England 's Ivan Toney , and were at one point understood to be weighing up a move for the Nigerian, but with the Pro League transfer window closing on September 2, they or others are leaving it late indeed to take the 25-year-old to the Middle East.
Osimhen's wages - understood to be €11 million a season - limit the clubs who could commit to signing him, although it's increasingly hard to see how Napoli will secure the player's reported release clause of €130 million given the increasing hostilities between the parties.
Previously club president Aurelio De Laurentiis had insisted that Osimhen would be departing at the end of the 23-24 season, and axing him from the squad while giving his No. 9 shirt to Lukaku suggests he's sticking to his guns.
Could the Qatar Stars League (transfer window open until September 9) or the Turkish Super Lig (September 13) still offer a short-term escape route in the coming days?
Who else needs a move?
Osimhen's international teammate Ademola Lookman was another Super Eagle who was expected to move clubs on deadline day, only to stay put at Atalanta .
Like Osimhen, he's been sidelined by his employers so far this term - amidst ongoing transfer speculation - and only played in his club's 2-0 UEFA Super Cup defeat by Real Madrid .
Lookman was linked with a move to either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain during the latter stages of the window, but ultimately returned to training for Atalanta as La Dea look to reintegrate him into their plans.
Unlike Osimhen, the relationship between player and club doesn't appear to have broken down completely, and so it's now over to the 26-year-old to return to top form, impress domestically and in the Champions League, and put himself back in the shop window for future windows.
The likes of Chinoso Chibueze, Hakim Ziyech , Malang Sarr , Lesley Ugochukwu and Tino Anjorin all secured moves away from Chelsea during the window - either on permanent or temporary bases - but some of the club's bloated squad remain at Stamford Bridge despite little prospect of first-team action this term.
One of those is David Datro Fofana . The Cote d'Ivoire international made three league appearances last term before being loaned to Burnley, where he'd score four goals in a vain attempt to stave off relegation.
A loan move is still looking likely for the forward, and while a temporary switch to either Sunderland or German football fell through on deadline day, a loan move to another European league is anticipated.
Glimpses of excellence from Carney Chukwuemeka last term seemingly haven't been enough for him to force his way into Enzo Maresca's plans and he's been deemed surplus to requirements.
AC Milan , Eintracht Frankfurt , West Ham United and Manchester United were all linked with the wonderkid before deadline day, but at the time of writing, the 20-year-old remains at Cobham.
Will anybody else seek to offer Chukwuemeka a temporary lifeline away from West London?
Elsewhere in the Premier League , Emmanuel Dennis and Tariq Lamptey are two players who may be concerned at their inability to secure a move away from Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Albion respectively before the window closed.
Dennis starred for Watford in the top flight during the 21-22 season, but has struggled to recreate that magic at Forest - he has two in 19 in the league - nor on loan back with the Hornets or in Istanbul Basaksehir last term.
There were expectations that he'd be on the move again this window, with opportunities set to be limited under Nuno Espirito Santo, but the onus is now on the versatile Dennis to prove he can make a contribution to the Tricky Trees' battle against the drop.
Lamptey's stock has fallen in recent years amidst fitness problems - he made just ten starts last term - and Joël Veltman continues to start ahead of him at rightback, while Jack Hinshelwood is another contender for the position.
BBC Sport reported that the club would have been willing to allow the Ghana international to leave, and they may still be open to a loan move with obligation to buy.
Free Agents left on the board
Free agents are able to sign for clubs at any point during the season, and can be registered to play under certain circumstances.
Joel Matip, a Premier League winner and former European champion with Liverpool , is among the big-name African players still without a club, having been released by the Reds earlier this year.
While his time on Merseyside was impacted by injury - he made just 10 league outings last term before suffering a ruptured ACL - Matip remains a composed, experienced option who, at 33, should still have something to offer.
Earlier in the summer, Sky Germany reported that Bayer Leverkusen were keen on taking the ex- Cameroon international back to the Bundesliga , while Barcelona have also been credited - in the Spanish press - with a shock move for the veteran.
Ivory Coast captain Sèrge Aurier , one of the finest African fullbacks of his generation, is another who finds himself without a club after leaving Galatasaray earlier this year.
At 31, he ought to be in his prime, but despite winning the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year, he's hardly in demand after underwhelming stays with Nottingham Forest and in Turkey . Could a return to French football be on the cards?
An African champion in 2022, Cheikhou Kouyaté is still without a club since being cut by Forest, and 33-year-old Victor Moses is also unemployed after parting ways with Spartak Moscow.
While Jordan Ayew secured a late move to Leicester City , his elder brother André is without a club after being released by Le Havre, while Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting is another high-profile free agent after his stop-start Bayern Munich career was brought to an end.
Youcef Atal ( Algeria ), Lebo Mothiba ( South Africa ) and M'Baye Niang ( Senegal ) are other familiar faces on the hunt for new opportunities.
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