3 of my stand out transfers so far in the Premier League – includes Liverpool and Manchester new recruits
Simon Mignolet to Liverpool
After impressing for Sunderland last season, Liverpool were prepared to spend £9 million on the 25-year-old goalkeeper to become Liverpool’s fourth transfer of the summer. With Pepe Reina, 30, recently joining Napoli on loan, Mignolet will undoubtedly become Liverpool’s first choice keeper.
Mignolet has always been a good keeper, and hopefully this step up to European football, if they get there, will help him to become a great one. Liverpool appear to have a very unreliable defense, so it may be up to Mignolet to help push them into those said places.
Jesus Navas to Manchester City
Pace and crossing are two of the more important attributes in a wingers arsenal, and judging by the Confederations Cup, Jesus Navas appears to hold both those in high regards. His movement up and down the right flank seemed to be as natural as breathing, and his bright blue eyes always seemed fixated on beating his opposite man.
This transfer is a bargain for the Citizens, in my view, and their owners were certainly willing to pay just £14.9 million for the world class Spaniard. A team like Sevilla could have easily demanded a more comanding fee for one of their club legends.
I think that this is so far the signing of the summer, firstly because of the price, and secondly because of what he can add to the Manchester City team. He has experience in European football, winning the UEFA cup with Sevilla in 2006 and 2007, as well as being a part of the victorious World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012 squads with Spain.
My only concern with Navas is whether he will be able to adapt to the Premier League style of football. He has a lot of pace, but left backs in England are able to contain that style of play, more often than not. He will have to be able to cut inside now and again, and can’t be afraid to try new things.
Maynor Figueroa to Hull
After making 41 appearances last season for Wigan, and showing that he is clearly a very good player, it was unsurprising that Maynor Figueroa wanted to remain in the Premier League. But for me, the surprising thing about this transfer was that he seemed adamant about moving to Hull City, a newly promoted team. It seemed clear that he wanted to work under he management of Steve Bruce, the man who brought him to Wigan in the first place. I think that working with Bruce was Figueroa’s incentive, as there must have been other, bigger clubs interested in him.
I thought that Figueroa had a superb season last time out, making last ditch tackles and off the line clearances week in week out for strugglers Wigan. I think that the two clubs who could and should have made a move for the Honduras international were Everton and Liverpool. Everton’s key man, Leighton Baines has been linked with big clubs such as Manchester United, and Figueroa could have been a brilliant replacement for him. Likewise, he is also an accomplished centre back, and Liverpool could have used him as a backup to injury prone Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel.
These three signings will surely be just a few of the great transfer that this window sees, and with a month to go you can be sure to see more good additions to the ever improving Premier League squads.
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