With Chelsea running away with the Premier League title last year in one of the most insipid title races ever, it was obvious some of the usual suspects would bolster their squad in the hope of challenging the Blues this time around. Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool have all been extremely active this window and they don’t seem like they’re going to slow down anytime soon. Well, who doesn’t love a fiery Transfer Deadline Day!
Arsenal – 2015 has been sensational for Arsenal Football Club; they have been in fine form and have arguably played the most attractive football in the Premier League. So far, Arsenal has bought in Cech from their London rivals, Chelsea. Cech’s inclusion guarantees them 6-10 extra points in the season and is by far one of the safest bets at £10m.
I believe Arsene will get one more quality player this window to augment their attacking options. A nasty feeling he might get Verrati though someone like a Lacazette seems much more plausible.
Arsenal In: Petr Cech
Chelsea – The Champions have the strongest squad in the league, with two top class options for all positions on the pitch. Jose’s only marquee signing this summer has been; Falcao as a replacement for Chelsea legend, Drogba. The two-time FIFA Ballon D’or nominee had a forgetful season at Manchester United, but will look to redeem himself this time around. He will however be Jose’s second choice striker behind former teammate, Diego Costa.
Jose will look to get another Left back as a replacement for Felipe Luis before the end of the summer window. Could he hijack Otamendi from United or will he pay a ridiculous amount of money for John Stones?
Chelsea Ins: Radamel Falcao – AS Monaco (Loan), Asmir Begovic – Stoke, Nathan – Atletico Paranaense
Liverpool – After being inches away from winning their first Premier League to being 25 points off the top, Liverpool had a very disappointing 2014-15 season. However, Rodgers has spent some big cash on a few players and has strengthened other areas thriftily.
Firmino, Benteke and Clyne have all been big money, long term signings with reasonable experience. Benteke is a proven goalscorer in England, but some would say £32.5m is a bit too much. Mind you the fans won’t be complaining if he can stay fit and fire in the goals.
Clyne is a solid right back and Liverpool fans will be happy to see someone other than Johnson running up and down the right flank.
Firmino is the most exciting signing of the lot. The former Hoffenheim playmaker was the third highest-rated player in the German league last season, having had a direct hand in 17 league goals. His potential link-up with Brazilian team-mate Philippe Coutinho has unsurprisingly excited Liverpool fans all over the world.
Liverpool Ins: James Milner – Manchester City, Danny Ings – Burnley, Roberto Firmino – Hoffenheim, Nathaniel Clyne – Southampton, Joe Gomez – Charlton, Adam Bogdan – Bolton, Christian Benteke – Aston Villa
Manchester City – City with unlimited cash in their bank were surprisingly quiet for large parts of the transfer window. They recently started their spending spree by breaking their transfer fee record to sign 20-year old English International, Raheem Sterling. My opinion on Sterling hasn’t changed since I wrote this article almost a year back. He might not be worth £49m, but his talent is undeniable.
City were desperate for English players prior to the start of the season and they’re making good progress with their last 3 signings.
Manchester City Ins: Raheem Sterling – Liverpool, Patrick Roberts – Fulham, Fabian Delph – Aston Villa, Enes Unal – Bursaspor, David Faupala – Lens
Manchester United – United’s #1 priority in the eyes of many was to get De Gea a new contract though that hasn’t happened yet, he’s still a Man United player. Their other priorities include having pace on their wings, a stable central midfielder, a forward who can score 20+ goals and a rock solid defender. Being a United fan, I’m extremely pleased with the signings so far. Adding Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin in the middle adds the much-needed stability in midfield. The Red Devils probably wouldn’t have lost those games to Swansea and Leicester if they had them in the middle last year.
Even though they got Germany’s most decorated player ever, the player that excites me the most is Memphis Depay.
Depay is already a regular in the Netherlands squad. He has scored 34 goals over the past two Eredivisie seasons, which is more than any other player despite the fact that he is still only 21 and not an out and out forward.
I believe LVG and Ed are still out there looking for some world class players and I’m confident they ’ll be adding a couple more before the window shuts. Pedro and Otamendi seem the most likely.
Manchester United In: Memphis Depay – PSV Eindhoven, Morgan Schneiderlin – Southampton, Bastian Schweinsteiger – Bayern Munich, Matteo Darmian – Torino
With just a few days to go for the first game, I ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT WAIT!
Roll on August 8th!
Guest blog by John Raphael, read his articles at Derailed douchebaggery