football

10 of the best Premier League transfers so far

9 years ago
by Ben Park
KDB.jpg
Written by Ben Park

It’s finally here. A football fan’s Christmas, Transfer Deadline Day. As the summer transfer window draws to a close, many of us, especially me, can’t wait to see Jim White in his bright yellow tie for an eagerly anticipated Deadline Day. Many Premier League clubs are expected to be busy throughout the day, and transfers are expected all over the country. Before the madness of Deadline Day begins we had a look at 10 of the biggest transfers in the Premier League so far.

 

 

10. Xherdan Shaqiri – Inter Milan to Stoke

Who expected this signing? I certainly didn’t that’s for sure. Stoke had originally tried to sign Shaqiri after he left Bayern Munich in January 2015 but when he signed for Inter Milan, many of us thought that deal was dead and just a rumour. However, the 23-year-old has now signed a permanent deal with the Potters and looks a real quality acquisition for the club. The winger won quite a few honours with Bayern and is a seasoned Swiss international all at the age of 23. Shaqiri will play alongside Bojan and recent Signing Ibrahim Affelay, as Stoke are starting to look like a real quality outfit.

 

9. Memphis Depay – PSV Eindhoven to Manchester United

United’s new number 7. Hopefully he’ll be a better acquisition than the last number 7 Manchester United bought. Angel Di Maria limped out of Old Trafford for PSG to be replaced by 21-year-old Memphis. The highly rated youngster was a standout performer for PSV last season, with 22 goals making him the league’s top scorer, as they clinched the Eredivisie title. He is a pacey and skilful wideman with bags of potential and hopefully will be able to do the famous number seven shirt justice.

 

8. Fabian Delph – Aston Villa to Manchester City

One of the stories of the summer this one. Delph openly turned down Manchester City towards the beginning of the summer and said that he “couldn’t wait for the new season with villa” but in a dramatic turn of events the Villa captain signed for city and now has a chance at silverware. It’s a silly move for me because I don’t see him getting into the starting line up ahead of the likes of Fernandinho and Yaya Toure, which is a real  shame because I think Delph is a real talent, and he’s English! Nevertheless a good signing for city and he will really add to their strength in depth

7. Bastian Schweinsteiger – Bayern Munich to Manchester United

This signing is a shrewd bit of business from United. It’s hard to deny that Schweinsteiger is a class, class act. Countless titles and honours domestically at domestic level with Bayern Munich and at international level with Germany. Schweinsteiger will provide a wealth of experience on the pitch and in the dressing room.  Alongside fellow new signing Morgan Schneiderlin from Southampton, United have more than answered the fans cries for central midfield reinforcements.

6. Christian Benteke – Aston Villa to Liverpool

Liverpool have been after an out and out striker to replace the somewhat irreplaceable Luis Suarez – a tough task indeed. Last summer saw the arrivals of strikers Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli to try and do just that. Neither of those purchases quite worked out for the Merseysiders and both players have moved on to West Brom and AC Milan respectively.  Brendan Rodgers in his infinite wisdom, has decided that Benteke, alongside Burnley’s Danny Ings, and Roberto Firmino from Hoffenheim could be the men to strengthen their attack. The big Belgian is a proven goal scorer and will add pace and strength to the Liverpool team but only time will tell whether he’ll be able to replace the ever controversial Suarez.  

5. Yohan Cabaye – PSG to Crystal Palace

Many are calling this transfer the coup of the summer for Palace and I’d have to partially agree. It never quite workd out for Cabaye at PSG following his move from Newcastle but nevertheless he would not have been short of suitors.  Cabaye is a fantastic signing for Palace and proves that they really are a club moving forward. They made serious improvements under Pardew last season and allowed the club to sign players of Cabaye’s ability, and not a bad deal for £10 million either.

4. Petr Cech –Chelsea to Arsenal

An early piece of business saw Arsenal sign the very experienced Czech international. Cech found himself down the pecking order at Chelsea last season following the emergence of the brilliant Thibaut Courtois. Arsenal had their problems in goal last year, with Woijiech Szczesny failing to impress and being caught smoking and David Ospinna also earning few plaudits, so it seems a perfect fit for Arsenal. Credit must be also given to Chelsea for allowing Cech to leave, even though many know that they didn’t want to sell to a rival club. An opening day nightmare against West Ham for Cech lead to many doubting his credentials but good performances since, especially against Liverpool, seem to have restored his reputation as the solid goalkeeper we have grown accustomed to over his many years in the Premier League.

3. Pedro – Barcelona to Chelsea

Pedro was seemingly set to move to Old Trafford before Chelsea swooped in and caught United napping. After the signing of Luis Suarez at the Nou Camp, Pedro found himself short of playing time. Despite being a world class player on his day, it is hard argue with the decision to demote Pedro to the bench when Barcelona’s front trio of Neymar, Messi and Suarez scored a combined total of 122 goals between the three of them. Nevertheless, Pedro is still a class act with numerous honours to his name  with Barcelona and will be a great addition to Chelsea’s already sparkling array of attacking talent.  

2. Raheem Sterling – Liverpool to Manchester City

After a complete PR disaster for Sterling last year, this story seemed like it was going to be a summer long saga. One minute he was leaving, the next he was staying and so on. it was inevitable that Sterling would be leaving after he asked to be left out of Liverpool’s pre-season tour. He eventually moved to City for a reported £49 million, making him the most expensive English player ever. I think Sterling will be a great addition for Manchester City and will make the club real contenders for the title once more.

1. Kevin De Bruyne – Wolfsburg to Manchester City

At around £55 million Kevin De Bruyne’s transfer becomes the second highest transfer fee paid by a British club in footballing history. De Bruyne only joined Wolfsburg in January 2014 for a reported £16.7m from Chelsea after apparently he had “lost his joy” at the club. De Bruyne created the second most chances across the top five European leagues in the 2014-15 season with 112 chances, only behind Marseille’s Dimitri Payet, who has now joined West Ham. Like Sterling, De Bruyne will only add to City’s title chances, with their push for the title already looking very strong having taken 12 points out of 12.

There are of course many other notable movers into and among premier clubs with the likes of James Milner moving to Liverpool, Salomon Rondon to West Brom, Dimitri Payet to West Ham and Andre Ayew moving from Marseille to Swansea on a free, which at the moment seems to be the signing of the summer.

With Manchester United’s crazy number of outgoings and many other clubs still desperate to strengthen in all areas, we could be in for a very busy September 1st. Rumours are flying round the internet left right and centre, it seems we are definitely in for a crazy final day.

You may also like