From the outrageous to the bloody unthinkable, the transfer market went mad this summer. But away from the limelight, there were meaningful and shrewd signings that didn’t receive as much credit. Here are the top 5 bargains of the summer. Loris Karius - Liverpool Age- 23 Position – Goalkeeper Transfer Fee - £4.7 -
Porto’s Colombian striker Jackson Martínez has agreed to join AC Milan, FC Porto’s president, Pinto da Costa confirmed last week. “I learned just now that Jackson has chosen Milan. This is what he wants, the destination is irrelevant as far as I am concerned. I want him to be happy.” The Rossoneri look set to
“Segna per noi” shouted 2,000 AC Milan fans to Filippo Inzaghi as he was unveiled as the club’s new coach back in July. They were asking him to score a goal, a nostalgic request to the former striker who made a living off his predatory instinct. There would be no doubt that Inzaghi would have
The omnipresence of Jorge Mendes in this summer’s transfer window has been hard to escape, even before FIFA and UEFA officially turned the spotlight onto the super-agent with their investigation into the ubiquitous practice of third-party ownership. Mendes has this summer dominated the European transfer market as a representative of among others Angel Di Maria,
It has been an odd start for Ander Herrera at his new club Manchester United. After arriving this summer from Athletico Bilbao, he is part of the new wave within the club that is expected to revive the club’s former glories. However, as their game against Leicester City proved at the weekend they require much
If Danny Welbeck’s move to Arsenal was accompanied by any remaining doubt over where his best position is, he answered the questions emphatically on international duty this week. Sitting beside Roy Hodgson in a press conference before England flew out to Switzerland for their first Euro 2016 qualifier, Welbeck announced “I prefer to play as
Almost constantly levelled at Chelsea last season was the criticism that they were too dull, especially against other top teams where they would “park the bus”. An original Mourinho quote, pictures of a Chelsea bus would almost always appear on social networks as fans ridiculed and pointed out the defensive and apparently boring strategies used
After a nervous opening to Sunday afternoon’s engagement at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light, Juan Mata was on hand to turn home Antonio Valencia’s driven cross to remind everybody of the match-changing quality Manchester United possess in attack. Minutes later Jack Rodwell would head an equaliser, rising unchallenged at a corner to expose the vulnerability at
Ronald Koeman’s introduction to Premier League life would not have received the same extent of media examination as that of his former mentor Louis Van Gaal just 24 hours before him, but both the league’s two new Dutch coaches move on with similar problems but with very different campaigns lying in wait. After Van Gaal,
After the fantastic achievement of last season, when Atletico Madrid were taken to the final of the Champions League and to their first league title in 18 years, it has been a summer where reality has returned to bite the club that is still crippled by debts despite their remarkable turnaround in fortunes under Diego
Romelu Lukaku’s departure from Chelsea leaves this fan with mixed feelings. It seems like more than 3 and a half years ago that most of us including me first heard about Romelu Lukaku, an exciting young talent at Anderlecht. He was scoring for fun, and his age brought him somewhere near the level of excitement
It appears increasingly likely that Alexis Sanchez will be leaving Barcelona in this summer’s transfer window. Having spent three relatively successful years at the Catalan giants the impending arrival of Luis Suarez from Liverpool has seemingly left him surplus to requirements. His arrival from Udinese in 2011 had been billed as somewhat of a coup
After an impressive second half to last season, with a Liverpool side growing in confidence and adapting to Brendan Rodgers ideas, the summer transfer window represented an important crossroads for the club if it is to get back to where it wants to be. It’s not rocket science to know that in order to compete
The transfer of Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid to Arsenal on the final day of the transfer window came as a complete surprise to all football fans. The arrival of Gareth Bale from Tottenham left Ozil surplus to requirements at the Bernebeu although clearly there were financial implications for the club to sell too. Another
For the transfer activity done by Chelsea this summer, totalling nearly £70 million in spend, it is the one that didn’t happen that was most significant. Samuel Eto’o, Willian, Andre Schurrle, Marco Van Ginkel and Christian Atsu were the arrivals as Jose Mourinho added unbridled quality to a squad already packed full of it, but
Ciprian Marica is a 27-year old Romanian international striker. Because he possesses attributes such as speed, movement, and dribbling, he can also be employed as a winger. Recently linked with the likes of Arsenal, Lazio, Inter, Shakhtar, and West Ham, he was released from Schalke a few months ago after his contract with the German
It has been a summer more frustrating than usual for Arsenal fans, buoyed in the optimism that Arsene Wenger would be backed in the transfer market to the tune of £80 million but frustrated by the manager’s stubborn refusal to use it. Luiz Gustavo and Yohan Cabaye offered false hope, there were close flirtations with
Everyone knows that terrible feeling. You wake up in a groggy haze as you realise just how heavy a night you had. Snapshots of embarrassing events from the night before shoot through your mind and then you roll over in fear of what you ended up bringing home. That’s how many Manchester United fans will
As the dust settled on a frantic ending to a bitterly unsuccessful transfer window for Manchester United, the focus was very much on those who David Moyes and co. failed to bring in through the door rather than the one they actually did sign. Not even the distinctive afro-hair and enthusiastic smile alongside Moyes as
Mesut Ozil - a gifted playmaker that played the game with effervescent ease, supplying the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo with passes that a marksman would only dream of. He sadly departs, to the anger and shock of many Madridistas around the world. However, despite all his talent and wonderful ability, the Los Merengues will continue
It finally happened. Arsenal has completed the signing of one of the most creative and consistent players in the world. And the club, in customary fashion, left it till deadline day to announce his capture. And you wouldn’t blame the Arsenal faithful for expressing their delight in this new recruit. The imaginative thought of a
The general consensus amongst Chelsea fans is that the lack of a top quality, yet proven striker, does not hold a place at the club. Cavani was mentioned, Falcao’s was too, while Wayne Rooney’s name never seemed to go away. In the end, the club went for a big and certainly proven name, Samuel Eto’o,
After all the rumours, Toby Alderweireld has finally joined Atletico Madrid. It wasn’t a secret anymore: Alderweireld wanted to leave Ajax this summer. He had informed the club about this and said so publicly on several occasions. With one year left on his contract, and aged 24, he felt this was the right moment for him
What a difference four years make. In the summer of 2009, Kaka was moving from AC Milan to Real Madrid for €68.5 million with his reputation as one of the world’s best affirmed after being recognised by FIFA just two years earlier. Now, in 2013, the football world has seemingly moved on from the Brazilian
In the early days of the Mark Hughes era, Manchester City spent big on several players, in order to get the team to the top level of English football. Whilst this feat may not have been achieved under Hughes, it certainly was under Mancini. One constant in these two men’s sides was Gareth Barry. The