Transfer Movements so far!

Football Monies..

Loads of movements have taken place both in the EPL and the other leagues. But as usual, the EPL always tops the chart of major transfers. Little wonder because that’s were the BIG money flows. It an attraction to so many players, especially those in search of fame; because China, Qatar and the USA now offer the unbelievable cash reward to players in search for money.

So far so good, as Ian Wright rightly noted, this transfer has seen outrageous money paid for unproven players. I strongly agree with this view. Transfers like those of Hazard, Ventonghen, the proposed movement of the unknown Brazilian duo of Oscar and Willian, lives you shell-shocked. Granted, these are players with great POTENTIALS, but not yet proven in competitive leagues. But for the fact that the other leagues are now aware that the Premier league has so much money at their disposal to throw around, they have capitalize on it and tagged outrageous prizes on any player that interests a premier league club. I hope this trend do not hit an unfortunate rock in the near future. We can go on and on, on this issue...but let’s delve into the main transfer gist.

Giroud

In London, Arsenal have done some swift business early in the transfer market by sweeping Podolski (£ 11m) and Giroud (£13). On the outward movements, Van Persie’s ugly situation still lingers, as news coming out of the Emirates last night states that the Gunners are ready to force their captain to stay through the last year of his contract, and risk losing him for free at the end of next season. Whether that is a brilliant attempt or not, it remains an issue to be seen. Yes, you don’t want to be losing your best players every year...then get quality ones to beef-up the squad and pickup trophies, SIMPLE! Or tie them down before their contract get to the last year. But as usual the all-knowing Arsenal have their own method. We the fans can only sit, complain and watch. Feeders from London also say that inconsistent Carlos Vela has finally tied up his transfer to the Spanish side, Real Sociedad. At least that was good riddance. Denilson has also failed to get a permanent transfer to the Brazilian club where he went on loan last season, but has also secured himself another loan team.

My verdict on Arsenal’s incoming transfers is... am comfortable with Podolski (especially with the prize he came in), but for Giroud, I’ll have to wait and see if he actually settles in. We still have the likes of Chamakh and Gevinho from league one, who are still unsettled.

Newbies

Moving on to Manchester United, Old Fergie has also done some smart early business. He has recruited Arsenal’s target, Shinji Kagawa (£12m) from Dortmund and another 18-year old Nick Powell (£4m) from Crewe. He mentioned that he may get one more hand to the team and shut the door. I know he’s still concerned about a long term replacement for Scholes. Last weekend, Berbatov vented his frustration on facebook, by suggesting that his lack of adequate playing time may seem to signal a time to say ‘goodbye’ to the club. Meanwhile, Park Ji-sung parted ways with the club with a move to QPR for £2m. Fabio Da Silva also joined QPR on loan. Youngster Paul Pogba refused to continue his progress in Man U, and have completed a move to Juventus.

There has been less action at the rival end- Manchester City. No recruitments so far have been made in this transfer window, although there have been alot of fuss on their attempt to secure the services of Arsenal’s captain, Van Persie. But I guess they are more concerned with offloading surplus expensive players in the likes of Adebayor (who’s Tottenham-bound), Cruz, Tevez and Wayne Bridge who has already joined lower division club Brighton...smh... How times change! Did he really enjoy any part of his carrier?

AVB...

After hiring the services of Chelsea’s failed coach A.Villa-Boas -a move I have never seen as a brilliant one- Tottenham has recruited two players already. The inclusion of Sigurdsson (£8.7m) from Bremen and Ventonghen (£8m) from Ajax to the team, signalled the beginning of another spell for the Portuguese coach. In my opinion, he shouldn’t have come over to Tottenham at this moment, for obvious reasons. One, the legacy Redknapp left may be too high and put undue pressure on him. Secondly, his return to England that he left some few months ago, to a club like Tottenham, do not look like a bright idea to me. He should have either taken a break and reassess his situation, or go to a club with fewer expectations, in the likes of Seville, Villarreal, or even Aston Villa. Anyway, the decision is made, let’s see how he succeeds...but I don’t think that marriage will last, especially with Levy being at the helm of affairs at Tottenham. We must not forget to add the imminent exit of their midfield maestro, Luka Modric, who is closing in on a €35m deal to Spanish Champions, Real Madrid. Brilliant move for the young man; if he gets playing time, this move will cover up for the missed opportunity he had to join Chelsea last season.

Big D

Chelsea...the blues! Hmmm....I just hope the exit of their icon, Didier Drogba, the one I fondly called ‘Africa’s Big D’, will not give them blues this season. In any case, they have tried to create a cover for Drogba who was unveiled this weekend at his new Chinese club, .Shanghai Shenhua. After handing the Hero coach Di Matteo a two-year contract, they have brought in the Belgium international, Eden Hazard. Real Bright prospect, but we can only wait to see how he manages the heat of the premier league; especially considering that he came in with the huge cost of £32m...that biggest transfer fee so far this window. They have also hired the hands and legs of Marko Marin (£6m) from Bremen. I think that was a wise buy. There are also speculations of a possible move for one Oscar (£25m) and another rejected £33m offer for Willian. If you ask me, these players are not worth the prize at all. They haven’t gotten the ‘name’...their shirts may take time to sell. They are still too young and unproven to have such tag. Do not also forget that very few Brazilians have settled in leagues outside their South American home, not to talk of England. They are usually home-sick. Be warned, Abramovic....coz I hardly see Di Matteo’s name in transfer issues. On other outward movements, Chelsea released the duo of Bosingwa and Salomon Kalou.  Kalou has since joined French side Lille on a four-year contract.

Liverpool have been cautious in the transfers. The only arrival has been that of Fabio Borini from Roma for £11m. Rogers is more concerned with the task of offloading excess players, with Andy Carroll topping the chart. As to this end, Dirk Kuyt has left the club to join Fenerbahce for about £1m. I still want to express my reservation on how far this Rogers can roger Liverpool to the next level.

There have been managerial movements also in the lower clubs. Swansea have replaced Liverpool’s Brenda Rogers with Michael Landrup; Westbrom have also replaced England coach Roy, with Steve Clark;  Paul Lambert moves to Aston Villa to replace sacked Alex McLeish, while Chris Hughton takes over the position of Lambert at Norwich. We wish them all the best in their ever-changing jobs.

Ibra Exits

Outside England, the club that has created a huge mark in the transfer is Ancelotti’s PSG. As expected, the League one side has taken big strides to get world-class players to side this summer, after their famous Arab owner indicated his interest to transform PSG to a big European side. News coming from France reveals that PSG are concluding a deal for AC Milan duo of Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva, in a deal worth €65m. This revolution at PSG will make them the biggest spending club in the history of French football.

In Spain, Barcelona’s only major inclusion has been the recruitment of Euro top star, Alba from Valencia for €14m. Rivals Real Madrid as mentioned earlier, are wrapping up a move for Tottenham’s Modric.

That’s it for now...but I promise to keep y’all updated on latest moves. No more dulling, No more long posts! But don’t forget to drop your views on the transfers so far... who do you want your club to buy before the transfer window closes?