If you took the time to have a rumble through Sunday’s tabloid transfer rumours, you may not have known whether to laugh or cry at some of the sum’s being banded about on the back pages.
Manchester City are invariably suffixed to most of the exorbitant fees, but whilst many of the ‘exclusive’ links are nothing more than educated guesses, the figures quoted would represent a rough saleable value. Sergio Ramos for £40m anyone? £45m for a one-season wonder like Alexis Sanchez, Edison Cavani or Radamel Falcao? Read on.
With no hard and fast rules to determine a players value, his actual ability is often independent of the eventual fee needed to prize them away from current employers. As Manchester City can testify to with differing degrees of success, players such as Joleon Lescott, Kolo Toure, James Milner and Emmanuel Adebayor have all been procured from clubs for bloated fees after decent seasons, in mid-terms of contracts and with owners playing hard-ball.
It’s a sellers transfer market but there remains value to be had for the right player at the right time. Over recent seasons you could have assembled a midfield out of Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedeira, Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart for the £45m it would apparently cost City to lure Javier Pastore to Eastlands.
So, using more common sense than cash, here are five alternative transfers City could look at this summer.
Alex (Chelsea £10-15m) - The man’s man’s Sergio Ramos - for a quarter of the price. With Wayne Bridge bound to leave and defensive doubts about Aleksandar Kolarov, Roberto Mancini may opt to deploy Joleon Lescott as his full-time left back next season. Kolo Toure’s future is not exactly crystal, so a defensive accomplice to partner Vincent Kompany must be seen as a priority.
Chelsea’s Brazilian man-mountain has never established himself as first choice at Stamford Bridge but would get into most other defences around the league. Alex would have no problems acclimatising to the pace and style of the Premier League and has ample Champions League experience too. It was only when Alex became injured at the end of October that the former champions began to relinquish their grip on the title.
With David Luiz set to be first choice to John Terry, Alex could be available for a reasonable sum of around £10m. The former PSV man has just turned 29 and could guarantee two or three years reliable service, the only hitch being Chelsea’s reticence to strengthen a team they finished level on points with.
Milos Krasic (Juventus £15m) - City are in desperate need of class on the wings and Czech ace Milos Krasic could be a financially viable option to the kings ransom being asked for Alexis Sanchez.
Indeed, some Serie A’s consigliere’s will have you believe that Krasic is actually the league’s best winger in a black and white shirt. Prior to the 2010/11 season Sanchez was something of a wildcard and even at the start of this campaign he was omitted from starting away games by Udinese boss Francesco Guidolin.
Krasic only arrived at the Olimpico at the start of last season but was one of the only positive aspects of another dire season for the Bianconeri. A seventh place finish means no European football next year and the financially stable footing the Turin giants once held is starting to slip.
Not a prolific scorer, Krasic is a touchline winger or orthodox right-midfielder who’s pace and guile create ample opportunities for others. Citizen’s should remember the former CSKA Moscow man being the only bright spark about an otherwise dismal Juventus side the Sky Blues played in the group stages of the Europa League.
Ever Banega (Valencia £15m) - The Argentine midfielder is a Modric-esque figure in terms of stature but would lack the size of his transfer fee. If Mancini is to persist with two moderately minded midfielders then Nigel De Jong’s mucker needs to give that bit extra with the ball - the bit extra that Gareth Barry doesn’t.
Banega is more Xabi Alonso than Xavi, as he prompts Valencia’s play from a holding role. An infectious runner, Banega’s feisty defensive capabilities are overshadowed by his intuitive and varied range of passing which orchestrates moves from deep.
Another Argentine teen prodigy who’s career stalled when he moved to Europe too soon, the former Boca Juniors graduate has established himself as one of La Liga’s key men outside of the Barcelona-Real Madrid duopoly. Los Che’s precarious financial standing could have them doing business at a reasonable rate.
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid £25-30m) - A classier, more clinical version of the one season wonders Edison Cavani and Radamel Falcao. Benzema was signed from Lyon for a high fee and with higher expectations, however, the 24 year old has never fully won over all his critics at the Bernabeu - namely Jose Mourinho.
An indifferent debut season was compounded with a listless first half of the last campaign. But after Gonzalo Higuain got injured Benzema found a second wind which saw him smash home 26 goals in just 31 starts. Despite that prolific spell in La Liga and the Champions league, there remains doubts about his long term future with Los Blancos. City could get value using the French hitman as an either way makeweight in exchange deals for Emmanuel Adebayor or Carlos Tevez
Diego (Wolfsburg £15m) - the Brazilian maestro would represent a younger, fitter, cheaper alternative to Kaka or a cut size cut-price Javier Pastore. South American showmen rarely prosper in the Premier League so you would have to question the wisdom of paying double or triple the price for a similar gamble?
Over the past five seasons Diego’s been one of the best players in a talented Bundesliga and Juventus’s collective woes makes it difficult to judge his season long stay in Italy. The 26-year-old has fallen out with the management at current club Wolfsburg after the 2009 champions just avoided relegation. Could be purchased for about £15m and City are again armed with numerous makeweights to lessen the blow. Another maverick talent and temperament is maybe not welcome but when at Werder Bremen Diego’s form made him one of Europe’s most effective playmakers.
No comments:
Post a Comment