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Tag: transfers

  • Five Best Under-21 2019 Transfers

    Five Best Under-21 2019 Transfers

    Another busy transfer window is coming to an end, it has already ended in England. Here are five of the best and top under 21 years old transfers for the summer of 2019.

    Joao Felix is probably a very obvious name for such a list. His €120 million transfer from Benfica to Atletico Madrid comes with huge expectations. The 19 year old Portuguese second striker is more or less the replacement for Antoine Griezmann who left for Barcelona. Atletico have made a lot of change this summer and Felix is obviously the most important of the long list of changes.

    Moise Kean left Juventus for Tottenham, a somewhat surprising move. Marco Silva, Everton’s Portuguese coach, has stated that the 19 year old was bought to play the center forward position and provide the goals that Everton were sometimes lacking in previous season. His relative cheap transfer of under €30 million may allow him to fulfill his ‘next Italian star’ potential with a bit less of pressure.

    Tammy Abraham is technically not a transfer as he was on loan at Aston Villa, from Chelsea. With a transfer ban on their heads Frank Lampard, the new Chelsea coach, has had to rely on some of the many players that Chelsea would keep loaning to build his 2019-2020 team. The 21 year old forward scored 26 goals in 40 games for Aston Villa and now will often lead the line in the premier league.

    Ryan Sessegnon was able to escape the clutches of Fulham after the heavy spending team flopped last season and go relegated back to the English Championship. The highly rated left sided player is a rising star in English football and will play for a coach that is not averse to use young players often. He cost Tottenham around €27 million and Poch and Spurs have strengthened well this summer.

    Merih Demiral is a young Turkish defender that was transferred twice this sumer. The first transfer was made when his loan to Sassuolo from Alanyaspor was made permanent only for Juventus to buy him from Sassuolo for €18 million only days later. The 21 year old will have veteran presence to teach him the art of defending and will grow and learn fast defending in the Serie A.


  • Transfer rater: Pellegrini, Spinazzola, Suarez, Manolas

    Transfer rater: Pellegrini, Spinazzola, Suarez, Manolas

    Konstantinos Manolas is off to Napoli

    It is July 1st 2019 and the European transfer window is open. As usual lot of changes will happen and unimaginable money will be spent for the upcoming season.

    Teams like Real Madrid are on a spending spree, Barcelona making changes after a disappointing European season. Others like Arsenal and Milan will need to find creative ways to improve. Liverpool get ready to take a shot at overcoming Manchester City in the premier league. PSG continue the search for European glory.

    Two related but officially separate transfers that have been confirmed are the swap of left backs between Roma and Juventus. Twenty year old Luca Pellegrini was sold by Roma to the Turin team for €22 million and at the same time 26 year old Leonardo Spinazzola went the other way €29.5 million. The latter has seven Italian caps and didn’t play much for Juventus, spending many seasons away on loan. The former is more of a prospect. The deal being concluded separately makes a big difference in the teams’ finances as they can both claim a majority of the amount received as profits for UEFA’s Financial Fair Play purposes. Both players had been on the books of their now former teams for a long time and a big portion of their transfer fees count as gains. A very good deal for both sides. One gets an experienced full back and the other gets a prospect to play behind Alex Sandro on the pecking order.

    Denis Suarez, 25, spent the second half of the 2018-2019 season on loan at Arsenal. The Barcelona midfielder failed to get much playing time due to not being 100% fit. His stock has fallen and now Barcelona in the midst of a mini rebuild have sold him to Celta Vigo for less than €13 million. The deal will have a relatively small net gain on Barcelona’s finances but if Suarez regains some of his promise he will be a good player for Vigo’s midfield for many years to come.

    Roma’s decision to sell 28 year old Konstantinos Manolas to Napoli is a bit strange, even though the Naples team had triggered his release clause so Roma found themselves handcuffed. The €36 million received is a very good amount but that strengthens a direct rival and leaves Roma’s defensive line weaker too. Roma are now surely buyers as only having Juan Jesus and Federico Fazio is a weakness. Ivan Marcano is there as well but likely to exit as well. To sort of make up for it Roma have bought 21 year old defensive midfielder Amadou Diawara from Napoli for €21 million.

    It is very early in the window and late August is weeks away. A few teams like Real Madrid have jumped quickly and fast but others will need to be more careful and need time to find realistic deals.

  • Top 10 Most Expensive Transfers, Rated

    Top 10 Most Expensive Transfers, Rated

    Joao Felix is on the verge of making a €120 million transfer from Benfica to Atletico Madrid. The Madrid team triggered the 19 year old second striker’s recently signed release clause. Antoine Griezmann could also enter the record books this summer. The Frenchman’s move from Atletico to Barcelona provides the cash to Diego Simeone and Atletico to spend on the aforementioned Portuguese. It is a good time to take a look at the current top 10 most expensive transfers.

    Neymar tops the list as the then 25 year old moved from Barcelona to PSG for €222 million. The forward has had a somewhat injury riddled two seasons but has scored 51 goals in 58 games, in all competitions. The French team haven’t gotten much closer to their aim of winning the Champions League. The transfer is probably a B- at best.

    Kylian Mbappe had everybody reaching for the Financial Fair Play rule book when he made a €180 million move to PSG, in 2017 and initially on loan. Once again PSG haven’t won more with the French international but he has provided the goals and plenty of them. His transfer is a B+.

    Philippe Coutinho made a move to Barcelona from Liverpool for around €118 million. The perception of the transfer and it usefulness to the Catalans has been questionable at best. He could be on the move again this summer having been expected to provide more. Few would be willing to give this transfer anything above C.

    Ousmane Dembele falls into the same category as Coutinho. His €105 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona was initially injury interrupted. He has scored 18 times in 65 games since 2017. Another C for this transfer.

    Manchester United spent a lot to get Paul Pogba back from Juventus, years after he left to Italy for free. The €105 million was a record in 2016. United have won little since and have not adjusted to the post Alex Ferguson era. The player himself has not had a constant place in any given formation the team has played since his arrival. The expense and the return make this a poor transfer. A D is not too harsh.

    Eden Hazard spent seven years at Chelsea helping the team win two Premier League titles and two Europa league titles. Often the star with a few dips in form he nevertheless was the creator and the star of the London team. His €105 million move to Real Madrid this summer is a success for both the player and his now former team. This gets an A for now because Real are getting an under 30 player with more years in him.

    Cristiano Ronaldo moved from Real Madrid to Juventus for €100 million in 2018, nine years after he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid for €94. The earlier transfer has of course been a big success and put the player fully on the map. Two La Liga titles are less than the impression one has of the recent Real Madrid. Four Champions League titles however are Ronaldo and Real Madrid’s to brag about. He moved to Juventus in 2018 hoping to replicate the Champions League success in Turin. The failure to do so can still be rectified. The transfers both get an A grade.

    Gareth Bale moved from Tottenham to Real Madrid for €100 million. In his six years there he has sometimes fallen out of favour with coaches but has scored 102 goals in a total of 231 appearances. The player was not a major influence in the 2016-2017 La Liga winning season as he spent months out with an ankle injury. The Welshman provided decent returns in the four Champions League titles while at Real but he won’t be remembered as much due to Ronaldo’s contributions in the same competition and period. This transfer gets a C.

    Gonzalo Higuain spent two full seasons at Juventus after moving from Napoli for €94 million. The season before moving, 2015-2016, he had been Serie A’s top scorer (aka capocannoniere) with 36 goals. He scored 24 and 16 goals in the two subsequent seasons where Juventus won the title. The transfer gets another C.