Sunday 11 August 2013

Completing the Jigsaw


With just over 3 weeks left until the summer transfer window slams shut once more I decided to take a look at what I think are the best deals to be done by Premier League clubs so far as well as a few new  signings that I’m not so convinced about. 


Best Business

Great summer signings come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  Perhaps it’s the experienced defender needed in order to replace a retiring club legend.  Or the injection of width and pace that was lacking when it came to breaking down stubborn defences at home.  It could even be that young whippersnapper needed to strengthen a threadbare l squad and make an impact towards the end of crucial games.  Here are my 10 best Premier League transfers of the summer so far in no particular order.
 

Kolo Touré – Liverpool (From: Manchester City, Fee: Free transfer)
Replacing a player with over 700 appearances and a stalwart of the side for over 15 years was never going to be easy but that was the task facing Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers when Jamie Carragher unlaced his boots for the final time as a professional.  The club acted quickly to bring in former Arsenal defender Kolo Touré when his Manchester City contract expired at the end of June.  The 32 year-old Ivory Coast international with over 300 Premier League appearances to his name (as well as over 107 caps for his country) seems to be the commanding presence required to fill the gap left by former Vice Captain Carragher as well as the perfect organiser for a defence now playing in front of an unfamiliar figure between the sticks in the shape of Simon Mignolet.  With his strong aerial presence and a decent turn of pace which belies his advancing years it seems that the Ivorian will be first choice partner for Daniel Agger when the season kicks off next weekend.  He will also help to shore up a defence guilty of conceding a fair few goals from set pieces last season as well as being a useful weapon in the opposition box.  With a few years left in the tank Rodgers will also be hoping that Touré can have a positive influence on the likes of Martin Kelly and André Wisdom so that Liverpool’s central defensive options go from strength to strength over the next few years.  Whilst many fans were sceptical when Liverpool signed a free agent with less than 30 appearances combined in the last 2 years, his pre-season performances suggest that Toure’s signature may turn out to be one of the shrewdest and best-judged summer deals in recent memory.
 

Steven Caulker – Cardiff (From: Tottenham Hotspur, Fee: £8 million)
The decision to let 21 year old central defender Caulker leave was met with disbelief my many Spurs fans.  Not only did he have 3 years left on his contract but his departure sees them lacking depth at the back with the season fast approaching.  Cardiff fans on the other hand were delighted with the acquisition of a player who will surely go on to be a permanent fixture in the England team in years to come.  Having scored on his only international appearance so far he will undoubtedly be eager to perform well for his new club in the hope of gaining Roy Hodgson’s attention once more.  Following a successful season on loan at Swansea where he made 26 league appearances, Caulker returned to his parent club for last season and seemed to be making headway in the pecking order as he tried to make his mark on the Tottenham first team.  He joins a team who are already strong defensively, keeping 18 clean sheets on their way to winning the Championship last season and he will be an excellent partner at the heart of the defence for experienced skipper Mark Hudson.  Given the number of years left on his contract, Cardiff will consider themselves lucky to pick up this young Englishman for the price that they have.  Composed on the ball and strong in the air Cardiff will be hoping that the future England star’s best years are spent in the Welsh capital and that his performances contribute to the club establishing itself as a top flight club.
 

Wilfried Bony – Swansea (From: Vitesse Arnhem, Fee: £12 million)
Swansea smashed their transfer record in July to bring in the 24 year-old Ivory Coast international who has been dubbed the next Didier Drogba. Despite Swansea achieving an impressive 9th place finish last season, they will be hoping that he can provide a solution to the lack of goals which has their main problem throughout that otherwise successful campaign.  Only 47 goals in the league last year (equalling relegated Wigan’s total) will not be good enough this time around if they want to push on and the Ivorian has been signed to take some of the pressure off last year’s signing of the summer Michu.  The Spaniard scored 22 league goals but no other player managed more than and it is expected that the arrival of Bony will also allow last year’s top scorer to drop deeper and play in his favoured position behind the front man where he can make those last ditch runs to get on the end of crosses from wide positions.  Both players will be hoping to take advantage of the creative play of Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge as well as the passing ability of Jonathan De Guzman who has signed on loan for another season from Villarreal. Although goal scoring success in Holland is never a guarantee of a return in the Premier League, Michael Laudrup will be hoping that the 6ft striker will be able to carry on the form that saw him grab 31 goals in 30 league games last season and propel Swansea to an even higher league position.  Early signs are good for this new attacking link-up as Michu and the record signing shared 3 goals in Swansea’s first competitive march of the season against Malmo in the Europa league.  Swans’ fans can be optimistic that this is just the start of a blossoming partnership.
 

Nicolas Anelka – West Brom (From: Juventus, Fee: Free transfer)
The 34 year-old Frenchman returns to the Premier League after an 18-month absence and signs on at his 6th Premier League club.  West Brom acted swiftly to snap up the experienced striker after his release by Juventus and they will be looking to him to fill some of the void left by 17-goal striker Romelu Lukaku’s return to Chelsea after a brilliant season.  Having left Chelsea under 2 years ago, Anelka will surely still have the legs to make an impact on West Brom’s campaign this time around and he will be hoping to add to the 123 Premier League goals that he has managed since first setting foot on these shores 16 years ago.  He will add much needed competition to a depleted front-line and his contribution will be essential given that aside from Lukaku nobody managed more than 9 goals for West Brom in the 2012/2013 season.  Having cost almost £90 million pounds in transfer fees during his career Steve Clarke will be happy to have avoided paying a fee for a man with almost 350 Premier League appearances although a player of his reputation will most likely be commanding a fairly high salary.  Nevertheless with his good movement and creative input West Brom will certainly see a return on their investment as the new signing chips in with frequent goals and assists throughout the season.  Don’t expect him to play every game or track back as the clock passes 90 minutes but his experience will be vital as his new team looks to push on from an impressive league performance last year.
 

Jesús Navas – Manchester City (From: Sevilla, Fee: £17 million (rising to £23 million))
Having finally overcome the crippling home sickness which has stalled his career progress, Jesús Navas left his hometown club this summer in search of overseas domestic honours.  Entering the peak of his career at 27, this is the perfect time for the Spaniard to make his big money move to England and having played first team football since the age of 17 he arrives at Manchester City with a wealth of experience.  Pacey and with a variety of tricks in his bag, Navas may be the piece of the puzzle that City were missing last year as they finished well off the pace of their cross-city rivals.  With David Silva and Samir Nasri preferring to cut inside from wide positions, the 28 time Spain international will provide a different option as he sticks to his line and looks to whip in crosses at every opportunity.  Edin Dzeko and fellow Spaniard Alvaro Negredo will be keen to get on the end of those crosses whilst Sergio Agüero will relish the chance to finish off the accurate cut backs which Navas also favours.  Manchester’s second club struggled at times to break down opposition defences at home as team’s visiting the Etihad looked to keep it tight and put men behind the ball but Navas’ pace will provide stubborn defences with yet another challenge.  The experience that the tricky wide man brings in European competition may also be the key to City finally making their mark on the continental stage.   His lack of goals is easy to ignore when you consider the sheer number of chance that he will create for his teammates and Manchester City are hardly lacking in goal scoring forwards to pick up the slack.  Expect the sevillano to be at the head of the assists chart this season.
 

Gerard Deulofeu – Everton (From: Barcelona (B), Fee: Loan)
Some may think that it’s strange to include such an inexperienced young player in my list, many may even have never heard of this 19 year old product of Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy.  Nevertheless I feel that Deulofeu (spelling checked once again) could have a real impact for Everton this year.  He is quick and creative with a definite eye for goal as has been demonstrated by his good goal scoring record for the Barcelona B team currently plying their trade in Spain’s 2nd division.  Last season saw him score 18 goals in 33 games for the Catalonian club’s ‘reserve’ team as well as appearing in 4 games alongside first team stars like Iniesta, Messi and Pique.  A versatile attacker, Everton manager Roberto Martinez has the option to employ him up front or out wide adding depth in a variety of positions to a squad that was at times stretched last year.  Everton made the least substitutions of any Premier League team and the signing of Deulofeu will take some of the pressure off established wingers Steven Pienaar and Kevin Mirallas whilst his footballing education at Barcelona will see him fit in perfectly with the style of play that the new Everton manager will undoubtedly want to employ.  Although initially unlikely to start big games due to his relative inexperience few full backs will relish facing the young Catalan late on in games and so he has a great opportunity to make a name for himself as an impact sub as the season goes on.  Everton will be looking to him to show that he’s worthy of a starting role.
 

Marc Muniesa – Stoke (From: Barcelona, Fee: Free transfer)
Like Deulofeu above, Marc Muniesa is a product of the Barcelona youth academy and has been a frequent starter in their B team.  Having only made 2 first team appearances at the Nou Camp (including his debut 4 years ago) he has been allowed to leave on a free transfer and Stoke have done a good bit of business to bring in a versatile player of only 21. After returning from being part of Spain’s triumphant U21 team who won this summer’s European Championships he will be eager to kick start his club career and Potters’ fans will be hoping that we can do just that at the Britannia Stadium this season.  New Stoke manager Mark Hughes is expected to try and appease some fans who are demanding a more attractive brand off football than was played previously under departed Tony Pulis and Muniesa’s comfort on the ball will complement the physicality offered by Robert Huth and Ryan Shawcross.  Although his preferred position is central defence, he is equally adept at left full back and his ability on the ball makes him well-suited to the centre of midfield should Hughes need cover there.  He is likely to spend at least some time on the left side of the defence this year as the manager shows reluctance to separate his first choice centre back pairing of Huth and Shawcross given that they conceded only 2 more than eventual champions Manchester United during the course of last season.  What is certain though is that given the chance this young lad will be desperate to show that Barcelona made a mistake in letting him leave on the cheap
 

Kevin Phillips – Crystal Palace (From: Blackpool, Fee: Free transfer)
Veteran 40-year old striker Phillips may have feared that his chances to play in the Premier League were dead and buried.  If this was the case he certainly didn’t show it as he dispatched the winning penalty in the play-off final against Watford to confirm Palace’s promotion back to England’s top division.  It was only fair then that he found himself back at Selhurst Park when his contract at Blackpool expired and he will bring a wealth of experience to a squad fairly inexperienced in this division.  Phillips will obviously not be expected to start of every game but his record last season of 7 in 16 suggests that he still has the finishing ability which saw him become the only Englishman thus far to win the European Golden Shoe when he scored 30 league goals in the 99/00 Premier League season.  He was Crystal Palace’s 3rd top scorer behind departed Wilfried Zaha and injured top scorer Glenn Murray and if his goals off the bench can help his team pick up a few bonus points then they will have a much better chance of making their stay in the top flight last longer than 9 months.  Nor can you ignore his influence on the dressing room, especially young strikers like Alex Nimely and Kwesi Appiah who both made brief cameos for the first team last season.  A natural goal scorer is still a rare commodity in today’s game and I would wager that there is still one more chapter of the Kevin Phillips story that is yet to be told.
 

Fernando Amorebieta – Fulham (From: Athletic Bilbao, Fee: Free transfer)
Another opportunistic free transfer makes it onto the list and again this one comes from Spain.  28 year old Amorebieta arrives in London after a contract dispute with his club saw him become available and Fulham took full advantage to sign up a player who has made almost 200 La Liga appearances for Bilbao since graduating from their academy.  He was particularly impressive during the 2011/12 season as the Basque Country club made it to the Europa League final, beating Manchester United over two legs along the way.  It is at the back that Fulham need to improve this season, leaking a total of 60 goals in the league last year including 10 matches in which they conceded 3 or more.  The 8 time Venezuela international will add more depth to the Fulham squad whilst hopefully providing a consistent partner for Brede Hangeland who found himself playing alongside Philippe Senderos and Aaron Hughes with equal frequency during the course of the previous campaign.  At 6ft 4in tall Amorebieta will provide a strong physical presence whilst joining his new defensive partner as a real challenge for opposing forwards in the air.  With Fulham looking to improve on their 12th placed finish his experience in European competition could prove very beneficial in the future should his new team make the step up and start challenging for a top 8 finish and the European football that comes with it.  Few opposition attackers will relish facing Fulham’s new central defensive pairing this season.  
 

Maynor Figueroa – Hull City (From: Wigan, Fee: Free transfer)
Hull City’s approach to the transfer market this summer has been focussed on signing players with Premier League Experience.  Steve Harper joined after ending his 20 year association with Newcastle United and Figueroa has joined him at the KC Stadium to strengthen a squad lacking in games in the top flight.  The 30 year old Honduran has made 179 appearances in the Premier League for Wigan over the past 6 seasons including the last four in which he made over 30 starts.  Steve Bruce’s team favoured a 3-5-2 formation in the Championship and they are likely to reproduce this set-up as they attempt to mix it with the best teams that England has to offer.  Figueroa’s ability to play at centre back, left back or as a wing-back in a 3-5-2 will make him a very useful member of the Hull squad which may struggle during their first season back up following relegation in 2010.  Having cruelly missed the FA Cup Final with Wigan which preceded their relegation back to the Championship, the 95-cap international will be keen to show that he is worthy of more than playing in a struggling Premier League outfit and Hull fans will be equally keen for him to display his full ability.    As well as his influence on the Hull backline don’t be surprised if he chips in with the odd spectacular goal, a cracker in pre-season being added to the highlight reel which already includes a free-kick from his own half against Stoke in the 2009-2012 season.

 

 
Dodgy Deals

With every good piece of business successfully completed during the summer transfer rush, there are inevitably a few which at first seem like dream signings for local fans but end up turning into nightmares before Christmas (excuse the pun.)  Here are 5 signings that I feel might not quite have the season that they or their new club hopes.


Diego Lugano – West Brom (From: PSG, Fee: Free transfer)
Unlike several of the free transfers already to feature in this article, Diego Lugano is a player that is well and truly on his last legs.  Having struggled to break into the PSG team so blessed with expensive talent, last season saw him finding it difficult to keep up with the pace in La Liga.  His 10 league games on loan at Málaga were far from convincing and adjusting to the Premier League will only be more difficult given the increased pace of the English game.  West Brom already appeared to have an abundance of defensive options before the signing of the 85-cap Uruguayan and it is likely that he will struggle to oust any members of last season’s fairly settled back four all of whom have an age advantage over him.  It is unlikely that he will have agreed to take much of a pay cut at the Hawthorns given that he had plenty of offers on the table upon his release by PSG and so Lugano could turn out to be a very expensive bench warmer for the length of his two year contract.
 

Adel Taarabt – Fulham (From: QPR, Fee: Loan)
Fulham have taken a chance on the mercurial and often inconsistent Taarabt who probably deems himself to be better than the QPR team which he had a part in condemning to relegation.  At 24 years old, it is getting to a crucial stage in the Moroccan’s career and he will be hoping that he shows enough during the next 12 months for Fulham to sign him up on a permanent deal.  I’m not so confident however.  As a player who enjoys being the star attraction (think QPR’s last promotion campaign) he may find it difficult being overshadowed by bigger players such as Dimitar Berbatov and Bryan Ruiz.  Whilst QPR often gave him license to be lazy defensively, that will not be an option at Craven Cottage as this luxury is already afforded to attacking magician Berbatov.  He may also find himself played out of position on the left of midfield given that Costa Rican Ruiz seems to have made the number 10 role his own.  As he showed last year he struggled for consistency when asked to occupy a position out wide and there is plenty of competition in the shape of Damien Duff and young hope Alex Kacaniklic who had his breakthrough season last year.  Should Marton Jol find himself in relegation trouble this year, QPR fans will be only too happy to tell him that Taarabt cannot be relied on to show the fight required to help them survive.
  

Victor Wanyama – Southampton (From: Celtic, Fee: £12.5 million)
Having netted only 49 league goals last season, it was expected that manager Mauricio Pochettino would look to strengthen his attacking options and provide much needed support to 15-goal spearhead Rickie Lambert.  With Southampton failing to turn draws into wins on many occasions last year it came as a shock then when they shelled out a huge transfer fee on Kenya international Wanyama, a player with just two good SPL seasons on his résumé.  At 23 and largely unproven outside Scotland it seems to me that the South Coast club have well and truly bought into the hype generated following his two impressive Champions League performances against Barcelona.  It is strange that they have spent so much of their summer transfer budget on a central midfield player like Wanyama when they already have Morgan Schneiderlin who is a similar age and fulfils much the same role as the Kenyan captain.  Not to mention the negative effect it could potentially have on young English midfielder James Ward-Prowse who has surely been pushed further down the pecking order after struggling to consistently break into the first team last season.  Wanyama will have to go some way this year in order to live up to his high value and I for one am not convinced that he will.


Dwight Gayle – Crystal Palace (From: Peterborough United, Fee: £8 million)
Just two seasons ago Dwight Gayle was playing in the Conference North for Bishop Stortford.  42 goals in 55 games that season got him a permanent move to Peterborough and a year later he finds himself an expensive new acquisition at promoted Crystal Palace.  £8 million is a lot of money for a 23 year old with just one year’s experience playing in the championship especially given that the more experienced and consistent Gary Hooper has been snapped up by Norwich City for just over half the fee that Palace reportedly paid for their new striker.  He is faced with a big task to replicate the form which saw him score 13 goals in the Championship last season whilst also being charged with replacing the goals of top marksman Glenn Murray who is expected to be out until Christmas with a serious knee injury.  Fans at Selhurst Park will be looking for an instant return on their club’s huge investment and the pressure on Gayle could begin to tell if he doesn’t hit the ground running.  In the long run it may prove to be that that £8 million would have been better served strengthening the newly promoted squad on the whole rather than taking a punt on a goal-scoring saviour. 
 

Andreas Cornelius – Cardiff (From: FC Copenhagen, Fee: £8 million)
Just like Crystal Palace fellow newcomers Cardiff City have spent a large chunk of their budget on a raw untested striker in the hope that his goals will keep them out of the relegation zone come the end of the season.  The big 20 year old Dane has only one season in professional football to his name and so represents an even bigger risk.  Expectation will be high on the former FC Copenhagen striker to produce instantly in order to help out a Cardiff City squad which saw no player score more than 8 during their Championship winning campaign.   Their lack of forward options following the release of Heidar Helguson (one of those who scored 8) will see the burden of goal scoring fall heavy on the shoulders of Cornelius and it will be a tough ask to expect him to play the majority of games in what is a much more physical league.  Given his injury history 38 league games may be too much to ask for the 7-time Denmark international and it is already seeming likely that he will miss the start of the season with an injury picked up in a pre-season friendly.  Setbacks like that will make it difficult for him to hit the ground running and it could be that he gets up to full speed too late to have an impact on Cardiff’s league campaign.   Bluebirds’ (sorry Red Dragons’) fans will be hopeful that my prediction is wide of the mark and I’ll happily eat my words if the young man wins the Golden Boot come May after scoring 25 goals.

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