Brace Yourself – The Summer Transfer Window is Open
The looming end of this year’s club football season is a bit easier to take, as we’ll get to enjoy the EURO 2016. Aside from enjoying this magical tournament during the off-season, we also have the transfer window to look forward to. Summer transfer windows tend to be more exciting and fun than winter transfer windows and you can be sure this summer won’t be any different.
Previous Summer Spending Records:
Premier League’s big spenders were at it again last summer, signing some impressively expensive deals. Manchester City took the top two spots of the most expensive deals in England by signing Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling at £54.4m and £49m respectively. City also took the fifth spot by signing Nicolas Otamendi from Valencia for £33m.
Their closest rivals, Manchester United, were in charge of rankings three and four. First, they said goodbye to Angel Di Maria and bagged £44.3m, as the Argentinian moved to PSG. They then decided to spend some of the money on Anthony Martial, paying £36m for the young star.
Of course, big clubs were spending money outside of the Premier League as well. Geoffrey Kondogbia moved from Monaco to Internazionale for £25m. Atlético Madrid paid similar money to Porto for Columbian Jackson Martínez.
Notorious Deals from The Last Transfer Windows:
Whilst most clubs naturally dream of making the best signings that lead to glory the following season, the deals don’t always go according to plan. In fact, there were some disastrous moves in 2015.
The list could be short, as one deal from the summer makes zero sense. Two words are needed: Radamel Falcao. If we use more article space, we can only ask whether Chelsea scouts had paid any attention to the past two years before they tried to revive Falcao’s career. To Falcao’s credit, his lack of form is mostly down to his previous knee injury. Still it makes you wonder whether the deal was done with brain or heart.
Other notable disasters include Florian Thauvin’s £12m move from Marseille to Newcastle. Though again, there’s not much to cheer for when it comes to Newcastle’s season. Well, Thauvin did score once.
Every Manager’s Wish List:
It’s not very hard to guess what every football manager prays for every night. The mantra probably goes something like: “Give me an unlimited amount of money this transfer window. Oh, and Lionel Messi. If you want, throw Cristiano Ronaldo in there.”
Who are the other names that could be currently on everyone’s target list?
• David De Gea, Manchester United – The United goalkeeper has been one of the best performing stars in the team for the past few seasons and this has earned him the respect of managers. His ability to keep the footballs out of the goal almost had him move to Real Madrid earlier.
• Manuel Neuer, Bayern Munich – The goalkeeper is not only good at stopping balls, he’s a magical talent in the midfield as well. Which is, to be honest, a position he often finds himself, as he loves to be involved in the game.
• Zlatan Ibrahimovic, PSG – The Swedish striker is not only entertaining to watch, but fun to listen to as well. His comments can sometimes give the illusion of a big ego, but underneath the talk, he seems like a great addition to a team.
• Philipp Lahm, Bayern Munich – Lahm has been referred to as the most complete fullback in the world. He transformed into a deep-lying midfielder under Pep Guardiola. His accomplishments speak for themselves and not many clubs would say ‘no’ to his kind of talent.
• Luis Suárez, Barcelona – While Suárez has been featured in the headlines for the good and the bad; he’s definitely a goal scoring machine many clubs dream of. While he’s been doing well in Barcelona, the team is so full of talent that even Suárez can dream of a bigger spotlight elsewhere.
The Most Likely Transfers of The Summer
Although the above names might be the dream list for managers across Europe and beyond, not every name is likely to embark on an actual move. Nonetheless, some big names have long been rumoured to sign with a new team this season.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is undoubtedly a colourful character and it’s not sure whether his dreams of replacing the Eiffel tower with a statue of himself will go through. If PSG manages to pull that one, then he might as well just stay in Paris. Rumors are taking this superstar to Manchestar United, with the club offering him a deal worth £24m. That’d be quite a bargain.
Another bargain would be available in the form of Chelsea-legend John Terry. The veteran has ruled out other Premier League clubs and since he is an older fella, he probably won’t be heading to Barcelona or Milan. Perhaps the lure of the US will win?
Liverpool and Manchester City are reportedly fighting over goalkeeper Marc Andre ter-Stegen. The Barcelona star is set to cost around £20m and could cause quite a battle of the goalkeepers if he decides to head down to City.
It could be a big transfer window for goalies, as Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois is not keen to confirm he wants to continue his contract. This is rumoured to see AC Milan keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma at the London club.
What transfer window would be completely without Mario Balotelli? The football world’s bad boy might well be leaving Europe and going after big money in China. Chinese club Jiangsu Suning is reportedly ready to fork out £225k per week for the striker.
What are your favourite signings from last year and who do you see making the headlines this season?