Summer signings – best business (Video)
There is still over a month left until the summer transfer window closes, but I thought I would assess the moves that have already taken place and evaluate who has got the best bargain.
Best business – Mario Gomez to Fiorentina
The former Bayern Munich forward was frozen out at the Allianz Arena due to Jupp Heynckes preference for Mario Mandzukic, supported by an attacking trio. In fairness to the tactician it was certainly a good decision, as the Germans did the treble in style. However, Gomez is a regular international player and has a fantastic scoring record since joining the Bavarians for what was, at the time, a German transfer record of about £30m. Over the past four seasons he has scored 75 goals in 115 league games, but sitting on the bench for large parts of last season was not what he would have expected at the beginning of the season, particularly as he scored 26 goals in 33 games in 2011 / 2012.
Whilst he has the quality to play for any of the biggest sides in Europe, he has somewhat surprisingly ended up in Italy with Fiorentina. Not since the days of Luca Toni have the ‘Viola’ had such a physically imposing and lethal striker at their disposal. For a fee of £13m they have bought a 28-year-old ready made goal machine who is guaranteed to find the back of the net. Whilst not necessarily the cheapest transfer you will see this summer, I believe that this could be a fantastic decision by Fiorentina and it is surprising that teams such as Chelsea and Arsenal weren’t interested, despite the fact that they are openly in the market for a striker of this calibre. Their loss is most definitely Serie A’s gain.
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