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Last summer's transfer window played host to an intriguing new trend: player swap deals.
For so long, this type of transfer had been incredibly rare, worth cherishing when they happen. Over the years we've seen some blockbuster moves of this ilk—Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Samuel Eto'o in 2009 among them—but they've been few and far between throughout history.
Then, suddenly, we saw a boom in in 2019.
Barcelona swapped Jasper Cillessen for Valencia's Neto; Napoli traded Amadou Diawara to Roma for Kostas Manolas; Roma gave Luca Pellegrini to Juventus in exchange for Leonardo Spinazzola.