Transfer window is almost over with just a few weeks left now. Some clubs did a fantastic job whereas a lot of clubs struggled as well. Manchester United have been left nothing but frustrated so far whereas Real Madrid even after spending so much is unable to fill the holes which were present in their team. Barcelona and Neymar saga is just getting extended and we have seen a great of football in Gareth bale not getting any suitors for his service yet. Overall, who has been the winner of the transfer market yet?
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Arsenal seems to have a fine mess of the windows. Though they have limited budget of £40 million But, lack of funds can’t explain Arsenal’s mishandling of the business so far. Arsenal’s slow playing of transfer business seems more like incompetence than a strategy.
Take case of Celtic left back Kieran Tierney, the player would be more than happy to join the club, and he would immediately improve the squad at a position of need. But Arsenal have yet to reach a deal with Celtic, Asking price of ÂŁ25 million for a first-team starter is a pittance, especially when the alternative is losing him to another club and remaining weak at his position.
They have looked to sign Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, a player who reportedly wants to join Arsenal, but is way out of their budget.
Arsenal has conducted two piece of business so far: signing 18-year-old Brazilian attacker Gabriel Martinelli, a borderline first-team player at best. It’s also failed to sell any players in order to boost its relatively minuscule transfer budget. With so many holes in the squad left to fill and little time and budget left, Arsenal seems to be in a soup.
Another Recent signing is 18-year-old William Saliba. They lack a strong central defense and Saliba dovetails here. But, catch here is he will go back to Saint-Etienne next season on a year long loan. So, defense hole remains unfilled fro the season. Good thing, the transfer wouldn’t affect the budget much until next summer.
They haven’t been able sell any one also thus far. That EITHER means Arsenal can’t find suitors for players with high wages such as Mesut Özil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, or players like Shkodran Mustafi whose wages far exceed their skill OR they doesn’t want to undergo a significant rebuild this summer.
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I think the following 3 can be considered smart signing by clubs - the best under the radar deals of 2019 which can turn out to be great value for money in future.
Julian Brandt
​Borussia Dortmund have signed the 23-year-old German Julian from Bayer Leverkusen for about £22m. Last year was the best season of his career when he scored 7 goals and assisted 11 in Bundesliga. Looks like an incredibly good deal to sign this talented young player.
Thorgan Hazard
Dortmund pulled off another great signing of 26 year old Thorgan for around £23m to join the likes of Marco Reus and Jadon Sancho. Thorgan is ​Eden Hazard’s younger brother .
His 46 goals and 44 assists in 182 appearances across all competitions for Gladbach will prove to be a great addition.
Jay Rodriguez
Burnley secured the signature of 29 year old Jay Rodriguez for a ÂŁ5m deal with West Brom. He has individually scored impressive 22 times in the Championship last season.
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LOSC Lille forward Nicolas Pépé is all set to join Arsenal as per latest reports. The 24-year-old is expected to undergo a medical on Tuesday afternoon. With a Transfer Fee of £58.5 M, He would surpass Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (30) as Arsenal’s record signing. The club paid about £57 million to Borussia Dortmund for the striker in January 2018. Arsenal are expected to pay the fee in instalments, as they work on a limited transfer budget this summer.
It’s also said SSC Napoli were willing to pay about £73 million for him, but the player chose north London instead of Italy. Pépé reportedly would have initially preferred a move to PSG, but the club from the French capital refrained from going through with the transfer because of the high fee.
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Juventus without a doubt have done the best bit of business. With three quality midfileders in the ranks along with the veteran Buffon back between the sticks, De Ligt will prove to be a rock at the back and can prosper under Juve’s system, and not to forget that Romelu Lukaku is also on the verge of joining them. If you ask me, their signings this season along with the already existing players makes then genuine Champions League contenders
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I think Dortmund has done some wonderful business in the transfer window so far. They got a couple of excellent wingers in Thorgan Hazard and especially Julian Brandt which reinforces both midfield and attacking options. Mats Hummels returned to Dortmund as well which strengthens their defence, an aspect of the game Dortmund needed solidifying after last season. Schulz has also come in as a new left back and they have also bought Mateu Morey from Barcelona B who shows a lot of promise. They also made the transfer of Paco Alcacer who was on loan from Barcelona permanent.
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