With little over a month remaining before Europe’s major leagues kick off again I thought this would be a good time to take a casual look at the transfer activity around Europe.
My main observation is that at most big clubs there’s been far more talk than action. Every Tom, Dick and Harry is being linked with big money moves to Manchester, Madrid or Milan.
We’ll start in England where we find speculation at its most rife. Champions Manchester United have started their big spending early, acquiring youngsters David De Gea, Phil Jones and Ashley Young from Atletico, Blackburn and Villa respectively. The pain of being outclassed by Barcelona at Wembley has clearly shaken United into action and all three players could play a very important role for years to come. However Sir Alex Ferguson is yet to address United fans’ biggest concern; central midfield, where they now seem even weaker following the retirement of club legend Paul Scholes.
Across the city at Eastlands, their rivals Manchester City are looking to challenge for the title, however they’ve so far only managed one capture; Arsenal left-back Gael Clichy. Whilst most of the talk has been about possible buys such as Sanchez and Aguero, boss Mancini now has to contend with a want-away striker after Carlos Tevez announced he wishes to leave City to be closer to his family. The team that finished 2nd last year, Chelsea, are still waiting to complete their first big signing of the summer after a bid was rejected for Spurs’ Luka Modric. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is currently using all his energy trying to convince the talented Croat to remain at Spurs who missed out on 4th spot last term. However the North London club have managed to sign experienced goal-keeper Brad Friedel from Aston Villa. Liverpool’s big signing has raised a few eyebrows; an 18m€ swoop for Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson. 18m€ seems a large price-tag for a player that blew hot and cold last season.
Arsene Wenger is facing another tricky summer with Arsenal fans urging the Alsatian to spend big in order to re-assert Arsenal as title-contenders. Despite signing Lille’s Ivorian striker Gervinho for a sensible 11m€, Wenger has his hands full. Clichy’s departure for City is problematic, especially with Wenger battling rumours surrounding Samir Nasri’s future and intense pressure from Barcelona who are chasing Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas.
Wenger’s frustration can’t possibly match that of fans at Premier League new boys QPR. As if a huge hike in season ticket prices wasn’t enough, it now seems the club’s board, which contains some of the wealthiest men in football, is refusing to back manager Neil Warnock. The West London billionaires have so far signed just one player (speedy winger Wayne Routledge from Newcastle) and recently failed to land Peterborough striker Craig Mackail-Smith, who joined Championship new boys Brighton instead.
Elsewhere in the Premier League the North-East is a hive of activity, with Sunderland and Newcastle splashing the cash they received for the likes of Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson and Darren Bent. The Geordies have gone francophone, bringing in Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye and Sylvain Marveaux. Sunderland on the other hand have brought in Craig Gardner and Seb Larsson from Birmingham, along with Coventry keeper Kieran Westwood and aspiring youngster Connor Wickham from Ipswich.
After years of comparatively little activity, Italy’s Calciomercato has burst into life. Two of world football’s hottest products, Pastore and Sanchez, ply their trades in Italy. Palermo have demanded 50m€ for Pastore who’s believed to be on Manchester City and Real Madrid’s wish lists. Chilean superstar Alexis Sanchez is currently at the centre of a bidding war between Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea, whilst still attracting much interest from long-time admirers Real Madrid and rivals Barcelona. All this speculation and yet it still seems plausible that both will still be at their current clubs in September, due to the large asking prices.
Champions Milan have been busy strengthening their title-winning squad. The permanent signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic seems a bargain at 24m€ considering his contribution to the Rossineri last term whilst on loan at the San Siro, and the extortionate price paid by Barcelona for the Swede just two years ago. Chairman Silvio Berlusconi also managed to land veteran French defender Philipe Mexes from Roma and Africa’s top left-back Teye Taiwo from Marseille in a shrewd move aimed at solving a problem position that’s hindered Milan since the days of Maldini. Arch-rivals Inter have been extremely quiet. The club was unable to secure the services of then Porto manager Andre Villas-Boas due to financial constraints. Now they’re struggling to hold onto midfield talisman Wesley Sneijder.
Over in Turin it’s a completely different kettle of fish. Juventus were devastated when they missed out on European football last season. In a bold attempt to revive the Old Lady, the club has spent over 40m€ on Lichtsteiner, Quagliarella, Pepe and Marti. Yet Juve are also lining up an incredible 40m€ bid for Atletico Madrid striker Kun Aguero. This spending spree is a sign of real intent and ambition by the Juventus board, especially if they beat Chelsea to the signing of Aguero.
Other notable moves in Italy are Borriello’s 10m€ switch to Roma from Milan. The athletic striker has shown that he has an eye for goal and will fit in well in the Italian capitol, especially if Mirko Vucinic chooses to stay in the Eternal City. Another star striker that will be hoping to shine in the Stadio Olympico is Miroslav Klose who left Bayern Munich after a tough season to join Lazio. Udinese, who were at times exceptional last season, hope to lure Spanish u21 international Jeffren away from the Camp Nou.
Usually at this time of year eyes turn towards Madrid to see which galacticos Real purchase. However this year another M has been stealing the Spanish limelight; Malaga. The Costa del Sol side have seen big investment recently and they’re going all-out in an attempt to challenge La Liga’s bigger clubs. Mathijsen, Toulalan, Joaquin and van Nistelrooy have all been lured south. Mathijsen showed in the 2010 World Cup that he is a very wise defender. Joaquin has been exciting La Liga viewers for years at Betis and Valencia. Van Nistelrooy has already proved himself to be a goal-machine in Spain. Toulalan adds grit and steel in a league where a bit of midfield muscle goes a long way. Watch this space; Malaga are ambitious and chasing success.
No transfer discussion would be complete without a word about Mourinho’s Madrid. After snatching Ozil and Khadeira last season, Real have returned to the Bundesliga in search of talent. They found it in the shape of experienced and underrated Hamit Altintop and skilful Sahin. Sahin is destined to emulate his Dortmund success at the Bernebeau, however I struggle to see where Altintop fits in a midfield where competition for places is already fierce. And wouldn’t you know it, as I’m writing this article Real have announced a mammoth signing. 30m€ for Benfica’s Coentrao. The attack-minded left-back has been superb for the last two years and deserves his big move. Now we patiently await a great contest between Marcelo and Coentrao for that coveted left-back position.
Activity has been in short supply at the Camp Nou this summer. With the best squad in the club’s history brushing Europe aside, and a B team full of ambitious, talented youngsters, it’s hard to see what the club can do to improve on last year’s success. Pep Guardiola seems to believe that Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas is the answer. 40m€ is the asking price but so far Barcelona have been very cagy in their approaches. Fabregas undoubtedly wants to return to the club that nurtured and educated him as a youngster, and Barca know he’d be a popular purchase. But Arsenal certainly aren’t going to sell Cesc on the cheap. This one could go down to the last day.
Elsewhere in Spain things are equally quiet. Atletico Madrid are trying to find replacements for De Gea and Ujfalusi. They may have a ready-made replacement for De Gea in the form of Sergio Asenjo, back from a loan spell and ready to prove that he really has the talent we all thought he had when he moved to Madrid. Valencia’s big signing is Daniel Parejo.
Germany’s also been relatively quiet so far. Undoubtedly the biggest signing has been Manuel Neuer, who left Schalke for Bayern Munich for 22m€. The young German goal-keeper was attracting much attention from numerous large European clubs, but chose to stay in his homeland. I have no doubts that he will shortly become the world’s best goal-keeper, and this move looks like being a real bonus for Bayern. Have they found a new Oliver Kahn?
Champions Borussia Dortmund have been trying hard to hold onto their star players. The loss of Sahin is a huge loss for Dortmund, but they’ve secured the services of Ilkay Gündogan for 4m€ from Nuremburg. Bayer Leverkusen welcome Schurrle back to the club after the young winger spent a great season on loan at Mainz. Mainz also lose Lewis Holtby to parent club Schalke. Schalke are thought to be chasing highly-rated but injury-prone Brest striker Nolan Roux. Having followed Roux throughout his short career I’m amazed no other big clubs are after him. He’s a natural goal-scorer that would fit in brilliantly in the Bundesliga.
After a tough season fighting relegation Wolfsburg want a fresh start. The release of Grafite and Karim Ziani, two of the club’s biggest names, is a big step, however it’s essential that they find a striker to score Edin Dzeko’s goals or else Die Wolfe will be back at the bottom again. Werder Bremen are also looking for a fresh start and have shipped off three of their longest serving players; Frings, Niemeyer and Pasanen. They’ve also spent 5m€ on Bayern product Mehmet Ekici. This creative midfielder will shine under an attack-minded manager like Thomas Schaaf. I can’t wait to see him excel in the green and white of Werder Bremen. After a troublesome season Stuttgart have bought William Kvist from Copenhagen to solidify a leaky defence.
Every summer some clubs clearly establish a strategy for getting the kind of players they desire. Some clubs have a “type” that they try to recruit. Hamburg’s “types” seem to be young Chelsea players. They’ve already acquired the services of defenders Jeffrey Bruma and Michael Mancienne, but now it seems they’re also extremely interested in young French winger Gael Kakuta. It will be very interesting to see if this investment of faith in youth pays off for the Hamburgers.
France is rarely even noticed during most transfer windows. Rarely is there much to discuss in Ligue 1 as far as transfer activity is concerned. However this year it’s all changed. France has suddenly become very interesting. The main reason for this is the takeover of underperforming PSG by a Qatari consortium. Their first move was to appoint 1994 World Cup winner Leonardo as a director of football at the Parc de Prince. These developments have unsurprisingly raised expectations in the capitol. Rumour has it that PSG are lining up a swoop for exciting Brazilian youngster Lucas. Possibly even more impressive than that is the talk of a 50m€ bid in the near future for Ligue 1’s brightest prospect, Lille’s Eden Hazard. The figures being discussed are astronomical by Ligue 1 standards, and it raises hopes of Ligue 1 being able to compete with other European leagues.
Elsewhere in France Marseille have shown their displeasure at losing their title by making a triple swoop for Amalfitano, Morel and Nkoulu. In sharp contrast to Marseille’s spending Lyon are laying low, not acting the part of the wounded lion like twelve months ago. As things stand directors at Lyon are waiting on former manager Claude Puel who has sued the club for 7m€ following his dismissal at the end of last season.
Lille are in a difficult position. Much like Borussia Dortmund in Germany, the rare title win has brough with it much unwanted attention. Gervinho has already gone to Arsenal, and Eden Hazard is being courted by numerous big clubs across Europe after his stylish performances throughout the season. Already Lille’s greatest ever player at the tender age of 20, the 50m€ price tag shows how highly he’s rated at LOSC. The purchase of tricky attacker Dimitri Payet from St. Etienne is a very positive one by flamboyant boss Rudi Garcia. Payet impressed last season for club and country and his move to the ch’ti is testament to his performances for les Verts.
There are interesting developments further down the league table. Lorient boss Christian Gourcuff has lost many key players and is struggling to replace them. The Breton outfit have lost their deadly combination of Gameiro, Amalfitano and Morel, a combination that was responsible for 58% of Lorient’s goals last season. One team celebrating a coup is newly promoted Evian Thonon-Gaillard, who this week unveiled controversial former French international Sidney Govou as their newest signing.
So it’s been a mixed bag across Europe, and there’s still plenty of time left to complete deals. Here’s hoping for an exciting month of pre-season football and transfer gossip.
