The summer transfer window may have ended over ten days ago but it is only now that teams across Europe will feel the benefit (or drawbacks in many cases) of their new squad members. There was a lot of big spending across the continent, flying in the face of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations—but with the greed of modern football clubs, that’s pretty much to be expected. The Premier League, for instance, spent a record £835 million in the summer; £75 million more than last season.
Undoubtedly, this means there are some absolute some great signings and some absolute steals too in this transfer window—worthy of a transfer window XI. All transfer fees are from transfermarkt.co.uk.
GOALKEEPER—Fraser Forster (Celtic to Southampton, £11m)
There are some critics that doubt whether Forster can step up to the Premier League’s level, because of the weak domestic competition surrounding his previous club Celtic. Yet, if anybody watched his performances in the Champions League for the Glasgow side, then there is no reason for Southampton fans to be concerned.
FULL BACK—Callum Chambers (Southampton to Arsenal, £17.8m)
While Manchester United’s Shaw is a more celebrated figure, Chambers has already proven that he can become a very flexible and versatile player for Arsenal’s defence by acting as a centre back too. Unlike Shaw, Chamber’s has a potential that is under the radar and could be a future star for England and Arsenal’s defence.
FULL BACK—Ashley Cole (Chelsea to Roma, Free)
The saddest part of Jose Mourinho’s return to Chelsea was to witness one of the greatest left backs in the Premier League era to be forced on to a substitute bench. His lack of appearances meant that Cole was not selected for England’s World Cup squad and then subsequently retired from England. Roma, a team that are on the ascension once again, will make full use of a left back that can still play at a high level. Furthermore, they acquired him for free. Even if he is half the player he was, that’s still a huge bargain for the Italian side.
CENTRE BACK—Eliaquim Mangala (Porto to Manchester City, £35.2m)
This is potentially a huge risk for Manchester City, considering their lack of luck when it comes to signing young centre backs. But Mangala could be the player that City needs desperately to partner Vincent Kompany at the back. If he is the answer that City requires for the position then that could make a huge difference for their Champions League campaign.
CENTRE BACK—Eric Dier (Sporting Lisbon to Tottenham, £4.4m)
Eric Dier has to be one of the most underrated signings of the summer. The young English centre back has come from a continental background and his level of discipline has carried him well so far for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. His two goals in two games could be showing great signs for his and Tottenham’s future.
MIDFIELDER—Ivan Rakitic (Sevilla to Barcelona, £15.8m)
In the World Cup, there were two influential players for Croatia—one was Real Madrid’s Luka Modric, the other was Ivan Rakitic. The ex-Sevilla man will have a huge opportunity to shine considering the recent departure of Cesc Fabregas as well as Xavi not playing as many games as he used to. The Croatian playmaker could be a vital player for a few years at the Catalonian club.
MIDFIELDER—James Rodriguez (Monaco to Real Madrid, £70.4m)
Rodriguez has the potential to become the best player in the world. His performances for Colombia were absolutely mesmerising and hopefully he can partner Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale across the attack midfielder to form a new brand of sexy attacking football. The Colombian turned 23 only two months ago and he has many years left to improve his craft even more.
MIDFIELDER—Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona to Chelsea, £29m)
Fabregas was criminally underused by Barcelona, that it was unsurprising that he was frustrated with his childhood club. Many fans expected him to come back to Arsenal and become the influential midfielder they have all missed. Sadly for them, Chelsea picked him up and he could very well be the difference maker for the entire South London club. He’s already linking well with Diego Costa and has managed to transform their attack massively—he could even make Chelsea the favourites for the Premier League title.
MIDFIELDER—Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad to Atletico Madrid, £26.4m)
The French winger has been one of the few talents that was not a part of the new “big three” clubs in Spain. He was a hugely influential and creative player for Real Sociedad scoring 20 goals last season. That sort of tally as well as performances is the sort of player that Atletico Madrid need and hopefully it can transform what was an often turgid attack from the La Liga champions last season.
FORWARD—Mario Mandzukic (Bayern Munich to Atletico Madrid, £19.4m)
Goodbye Diego Costa. Hello Mario Mandzukic. The former Bayern Munich forward was arguably the second best striker in the Bundesliga for the past couple of seasons—getting around a goal every other game. He’s already starting to carry that goal ratio to Atletico which is much needed following the departures of Costa and David Villa this summer.
FORWARD—Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich, Free)
And how do Bayern Munich replace the second best striker in the Bundesliga. By getting the best—that’s how! This is definitely the signing of the summer as it just shows another level of ruthlessness from Bayern by taking their rival’s star striker on a free transfer. And with the creative talent surrounding Lewandowski, the Polish international will get even more goals this season. The Bundesliga will become a monopoly once again and the gap between Bayern and Dortmund is likely to grow wider.
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