We all love the big stories.
The unanimous wave of euphoria that overcomes a supporter base when you see the twitter notification appear on your timeline, the thousands upon thousands of opinions circulating the ungoverned twitter-sphere, and suddenly speculation is drawn into overdrive over a couple of words in a newspaper. It’s staggering how speculative and opinionated the world can be when fed a few words from an mouth of an agent, whose only aim is to engineer a shiny new contract for his player – with a nice big fat bonus to be added to the next holiday in the Bahamas.
Yet no matter how hard one tries, the speculation vacuum is desperately difficult to not only avoid, but escape. The big names only seek to accelerate the rumour circulation tenfold, names such as Marco Reus, Mats Hummels, Angel Di Maria, all hot property on the world market serve to heighten the imagination and stir up fantasy, and more often than not, that’s the ultimate effect of it all. Nothing more.
However, on occasion, despite all pessimistic views attempting to convince people of otherwise, and despite professionals trying to sway the public’s viewpoint to the contrary, these massive deals get so much traction and accelerate to the point where they’re seemingly unstoppable….and two things happen. The player signs a new contract with their parent club; or the player successfully engineers the move that silences pessimists and excites the masses. This is the nature of world football. And it’s a nature we, as football fans, love to delve into from time to time. Like Satan’s fruit in the Apple of Eden, we are enticed by the seductive romanticism of these “world class transfers” and thus allow ourselves to enter the world of speculation and deception. All in the name of fantasy and dreams.
So, let us entertain ourselves in this world of fantasy and rank the five transfers that IF occurring, would have the biggest impact on the receiving club and it’s part in world football. We will list the top 5 dream transfers, why they would have the biggest impact, the likelihood of the transfers actually happening and the change that would occur as a result of the transfers themselves.
**Note: These rankings were achieved through a poll of Last Word on Sports’ expert football writers, including this writer and others from EPL, MLS and World Footy.
5. Marquinhos to Barcelona (Per: Daily Express)
One of the brightest young centre backs on the market, he has fallen victim to incessant and unnecessary greed on the part of PSG when they bought David Luiz from Chelsea for ₤50 million. The most expensive defender in the world may have pushed out the potentially most expensive defender of the future, but a move to Barcelona is seemingly on the cards (per the Daily Express). With Barcelona’s dire situation at the back of the park – “reinforced” seems too soft a term to use for the pairing of Thomas Vermaelen and Jeremy Mathieu – the signing of Marquinhos would be astute business from the Catalan club; especially for a side embargoed for the next two windows.
The catch? PSG won’t sell, at least for now. But if they seriously consider Angel Di Maria to be a viable option in order to strengthen midfield, then it may be a case of sacrifice for the good of the team. Make no mistake, PSG definitely need Marquinhos. Marquinhos, however, needs Barcelona. He is reported to be worth around £43 million to PSG (per Marca)
Likelihood: Very likely
4. Angel Di Maria to Paris St. Germain (Per: ESPN, Daily Star and Daily Mirror)
The most likely of these deals to take place, Angel Di Maria reportedly prefers a move to Paris St. Germain (per the Daily Mirror), has had endless contact with PSG’s negotiation team (per the Daily Star) and desperately wants out of a Real Madrid side he will ultimately fail to crack into, courtesy of ESPN. Incredible, considering just how good he is.
That being said, Carlo Ancelotti won’t let him leave on the cheap, with a reported price tag of ₤55 million pounds, PSG seems like a perfect fit, given the way in which they throw cash around like a ten year old in an arcade.
There is, however, a catch. A rather big one.
PSG’s spending has been caught out by Financial Fair Play, and manager Laurent Blanc has even stated that Di Maria may be too expensive for PSG (let that sink in for a moment). It will hinge on the sale of unsettled striker Edinson Cavani, reportedly piquing the interest of Liverpool (per the Liverpool Echo) who could make a ₤25m pound move to add to their attack, or the aforementioned sale of Marquinhos, who, after spending ₤50m pounds on David Luiz, seems surplus to requirements. L’Equipe reports that if PSG can raise a sum of ₤30m pounds, or thereabouts, the move for Angel Di Maria will be revived. As stated, Di Maria would cost PSG £55 million.
Likelihood: Likely (Given other sales)
3. Arturo Vidal to Manchester United (Per: Metro)
It’s the pick of the “unlikely” bunch, mostly due to Juventus’ persistence that they will not be selling their star midfield pairing. Vidal too, seems content at Juventus, but money talks, and if Juventus eventually give in to the demands of the Red Devils, he’d have no problem accepting the copious amount of cash being thrown his way, despite the lack of Champions League football.
It is a transfer saga that is seemingly destined to drag on all the way to the twenty-third hour of deadline day, though Manchester United should be pressing their interests towards their leaky centre halves before splashing the cash on worldly midfielders. With Darren Fletcher’s selection as captain and Ander Herrera’s terrific pre-season form, this could be another “hopeful, yet distant” signing for United as they claw their way back into the Champions League.
Yet there is still a resounding feeling that if they do manage to pull this off, United are back. Back in style. Vidal would seemingly cost upwards of £40 million (per the Daily Star).
Likelihood: Unlikely
2. Radamel Falcao to Real Madrid (Per: The Guardian)
The one item on Real Madrid’s shopping list left to purchase, it should be no surprise that the Colombian striker, recently coming off a severe knee injury, has caught the eye of Los Blancos. After forking out a whopping ₤63 million on compatriot James Rodriguez, Radamel Falcao may be the one piece of the puzzle left to create the giant of world football that Real seems destined to be. With pockets the size of small nations and a manager hungry to re-create the infamous Galacticos, Falcao would move on a 1-year loan to Madrid from AS Monaco, with an option to buy when Real re-stock their finances (or rather, when FFP allows it) and it really would be the last piece to the Madrid puzzle, making them truly unstoppable. Realistic? Possibly. Necessary? Undoubtedly not.
Likelihood: Unlikely, but the type of deal Madrid would love.
1. Marco Reus to Liverpool (Per: The Guardian)
In a surprisingly near-unanimous vote with over 90% of people suggesting the magnitude of this supposed deal, Marco Reus has been causing a stir all over twitter, and though he’s probably aware of it: he did nothing whatsoever to spark it. Rather, it was the work of a journalist’s fingers that set twitter alight, and from there the revolution of rumours circulated at the speed of light. It seems like a perfect option for Liverpool, the German superstar will leave Borussia Dortmund in the next two years; evidenced by the rejection of two contract extensions and a ₤35 million pound release clause to be set in at the culmination of the 2014/15 season. Whether or not he is a perfect target for a Liverpool side still recovering from the loss of Luis Suarez is fairly redundant however, with Borussia Dortmund seemingly adamant that he and elite partner Mats Hummels are set for a life in Dortmund for at least the next year.
No matter how many times that word “Reus” pops up on Liverpool’s Instagram feed, Jurgen Klopp will be adamant to keep hold of his key player for at least one more year. Liverpool, however, could and should press and press right until deadline day, and if the seemingly unlikely deal is struck, it would shift the title race in the Premier League significantly. Suddenly, with the reinforcements of their defence and world-class attacking options bolstered even further, Liverpool could be on track to finally end that twenty-four year long drought.
But it is one massive If. He would cost Liverpool more than £45 million (per the Mirror).
Likelihood: Highly unlikely
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