The transfer window has officially ended. Oh My, Oh My we are in for some shockers. This moves are some of the worst for both player & club.
GOALKEEPER : NETO - BOURNEMOUTH
There was not a lot of goalkeeper signings & he just happens to be one of the worst. Going from Barca's number 2 to Mark Traver's understudy is not an ideal situation for the Brazilian as he left for game time . He could have just stayed at Barca and added more titles to his catalogue. Not much to say about this.
CENTRE BACK : KALIDOU KOULIBALY - CHELSEA
I could have picked his teammate Wesley Fofana but he represents something for the long term & is a better fit stylistically despite the £10 million pound overpayment.
After losing arguably their best defender in Antonio Rudiger. The West Londoners were expected to splash the cash. Rudiger was not only their best defender but a leader & a joy in the dressing room. Chelsea had to replace his aggression, ball carrying & his versatility as Toni could play at the left & right side of back three.
Then Chelsea bought a defender on the decline in Kalidou Koulibaly. Last season saw a rise in his defensive actions but a drop off in his mobility. His ball progression massively dropped going from 6 carries p/g to 2 carries p/g. His aerial duel success rate of 69% in a less physical league leaves a lot to be desired as he is now playing in more physical league. He already has two poor displays against Southampton & Leeds with the latter resulting in a red card.
 |
| Koulibaly celebrates after scoring on his home debut. |
What makes the deal worse is that he will be getting roughly the same wages Rudiger demanded. A much better player & the actual Silva replacement. If reports are to be believed that they rejected the chance to sign Luca Hernandez & instead signed Koulibaly. A bad deal for all parties.
CENTER BACK : MANUEL AKANJI - MANCHESTER CITY
 |
| Manuel Akanji in Manchester City Colours. |
This is a rare miss for the Cityzens as their business has been pretty good lately. I get that they needed an emergency centre- back but there were better options in the market. The sky blues needed a center back that can play another role (e.g. Pavard can also cover at Right-Back) considering the situation at full back. Akanji is sadly not the answer. Akanji does not only have legs made of glass but is very error prone. If your biggest rivals who are going through a tough time reject the player then why bother. I don't see him replacing the leadership & aggression of Ruben Dias & I don't see him replacing Laporte's progression. When everyone is fit ,he is fifth choice which makes the deal worse as he will be earning €11 million a year which is too much money for a sporadic player.An extremely unnecessary signing.
CENTER BACK : MARCAO - SEVILLA
After losing their best defenders, Sevilla needed a big summer as their title dreams faded. They lost their spine in Diego Carlos, a player who provided expansive distribution & intelligent defending in a reserved system.Those were some big boots to fill for Lopetuigei's men & they responded by buying an unproven player at the highest level in Marcao. I have nothing against Marcao but Sevilla are a Champions League Club & should have acted like one. There were a plethora of options in the market . Like a cheap UCL experienced CB in Maxence Lacroix . Bayern Munich & Paris Saint-Germain were desperate to sell defenders. So you can't tell me there were no options. That's why Sevilla's start to the season has been like their
Business. POOR
LEFT WING BACK - MARCOS ALONSO
This signing makes no sense at all. Barca needed a new left back to replace Alba & if they wanted to phase him out, there is Alejandro Balde in the ranks. Alba is 34 & signing someone a year younger than him doesn't represent long term .Alonso is horrible in a back 4 which is the default shape at Barcelona. He also has discipline problems which resulted in him being left out of multiple matchday squads which doesn't bode well for Barca's youth. The fact he is Madrid through & through does give me hope he will score an own goal and help us to win El Clasico. The only reason this deal happened is Alonso's spanish passport. This is a stain on Barca's impressive window but let's hope Xavi's judgement is right.
CENTRAL MIDFIELD : IDRISSA GUEYE - EVERTON
 |
| Gueye returns to Everton. |
Everton needed a central midfielder that can create in the final third & Idrissa Gueye is sadly not one. The wages & fee could have been used for the loan signing of a creater (Hudson-Odoi). Everton should stop living in 2018 & hire me as their sporting director.
CENTRAL MIDFIELD : LUCAS PAQUETA - WEST HAM
 |
| Lucas Paqueta in West Ham Colours. |
The only signing where I hope I'm wrong. This is a bad move from both parties as Paqueta is suited to a possession based system & the Hammers are not there yet. I don't see how he fits in the rumoured 4-3-3 that David Moyes is going to deploy. Paqueta wants to play for a team that is challenging for top honours & retain his place in the World Cup squad. Joining a team where you clearly don't fit is not the answer. Another season in Lyon would have benefited him & he might have got his big money move in the following summer. Let's hope I'm wrong.
RIGHT WING BACK : NAHUEAL MOLINA - ATLETICO MADRID
 |
| Nahueal Molina. |
Money was scarce for Atleti & when they did spend, they spent it on rather questionable signings & Molina is the worst of the bunch. Molina has a profile that Simeone would hate as he does most of his creative work around the penalty box. Unlike Trippier, he can't create from deep with him ranking below average for progressive passes among full backs & the bottom 8th percentile for long balls. He also ranks in the bottom 3rd for tackling dribblers, winning headers & regaining possession. The only stats that bang are his key passes & xG p90 but it won't work since Atleti fullbacks are rarely found in the box. At 24, he ain't no prospect nor the finished article but with the track record of recent Atleti signings , he is going down the flop route.
LEFT WINGER : MIKKEL DAMSGAARD TO BRENTFORD
 |
| Mikkel Damsgaard celebrates after a free-kick against England. |
Signing a player after a good tournament is one thing but signing a player who hasn't kicked on after a good tournament is baffling & that's what Brentford did with Damsgaard.
His club career hasn't kicked on with him struggling for fitness & consistency at Sampdoria. The only good thing we can remember is his free kick against England at the postponed Euro 20. He isn't a Eriksen replacement or an upgrade on Mbuemo. This £13.6 million could have been spent better elsewhere.
RIGHT WINGER : ANTONY - MANCHESTER UNITED
Antony is a good signing for the right price & this is an extreme overpayment by the Red Devils.He might have a rare skillset in Europe but dropping 9 figures on a player with 18 goal contributions in the Eredivisie is just not it. When you drop £82 million on a player, you must expect it to have no question marks but with Antony, there are many. His adaptability is one concern & most of his goal contributions have come from the great finishing of his teammates something which is non-existent at United. The only positive is that he is young and might end up being worth the hassle.
To not throw more shade on Antony, this is panic buying at it's best by The Glazers. United previously walked away from the deal & the only reason they returned was to appease the fans. Ten Hag wanted Antony & He knows him so lets overpay so it can look like we are "backing" the manager & when the signing fails, no one can blame us as we gave the manager what he wants.
 |
| Antony celebrates scoring on his debut against bitter-rivals Arsenal. |
Why drop 9 figures on a new RW when you need an upgrade on Goalkeeper,Striker & Right Back and the worst part you could have gotten 3 quality players for the price.
United needed a RW that will eventually be converted to a striker(Jonathan David anyone), when Ronaldo leaves next summer & they are currently thin at striker options.To put it simply, Antony is the right signing at the wrong time.
CENTRE FORWARD : GIANLUCCA SCAMMACA - WEST HAM
This move shows that West Ham learnt nothing from the Haller signing. Buying a striker off the back of one good season has proven not to be successful. He overperfomed his xG. Which will be good for The Hammers as they could use a good finisher but he is very different from Antonio. He doesn't have Antonio's burst of pace nor his defensive work rate. He is just misprofiled as a Target Man when he is just a deep-lying forward. He will likely be a backup striker but for the price you might expect more.To put it simply, the next Ibra should have stayed in Italy & he would have gotten his big money move next summer.
THE FULL XI
WHO DID I MISS OUT ON OR WHO IS NOT DESERVING OF A PLACE.
LEAVE YOUR ANSWER IN THE COMMENT SECTION.
Comments
Post a Comment