Conor McStay selects an eleven with a lot of new names to learn in the weeks ahead.
With the halfway point of the summer transfer window just gone, it seemed like a decent time to make a starting eleven of players who have changed clubs in this period. This eleven is taken from clubs all over the world/Europe and is chosen not purely on ability, but from players who have either a large price tag to justify; an opportunity of a second chance; or the next young player to look out for.
GK: Pepe Reina (Liverpool-Napoli on loan)
Seemingly courting for a move to Barcelona which has yet to materialise, or has been delayed by a year, his position was originally undermined by the signing of Simon Mignolet and even more eyebrows were moved by the announcement of a loan move to Napoli. Joining former boss Rafael Benitez, Reina will get another chance of Champions League football, which was notably absent at Liverpool. A player who came under criticism for a drop in form over the last few seasons, with lapses in concentration and poor distribution coming into his game, this move offers the chance of returning to his early Liverpool levels of performance. If this does happen, expect the dream move to Barcelona to come calling. Napoli’s defensive record isn’t exactly stellar, and given how Benitez’s Inter got found out at the back regularly, expect him to have his fair share of work to do.
RB: Daniel Carvajal (Bayer Leverkusen-Real Madrid)
When Los Blancos come calling for a young player, few have the nerve to resist. Even fewer seem to have been able to secure a first team slot. Carvajal’s career path to date is nothing new. Not good enough to make the Madrid team at a young age, he moves to another club. After one good season he is bought back by Real Madrid. Thankfully, Real Madrid managed to show some thriftiness (a quality not usually associated with their transfer policy) meaning that the transfer only cost them €1.5 Million (sold for €5 million with a buy back clause after one year of €6.5 million). That one season at Bayer Leverkusen was impressive, he was voted the third best right back in the league and was involved in a goal every four appearances. With Alvaro Arbeloa coming of age, he has an opportune time to become part of the first team. The question is if he can maintain the high levels of performance that are required at Madrid, under a spotlight that can break lesser players.
CB: Angelo Ogbonna (Torino-Juventus)
Moving across Turin, or across any city for that matter, is never easy. For one of Torino’s best players to do it doesn’t make it any better. However Ogbonna’s biggest challenge is to try and start ahead of three of Italy’s finest defenders. Given Chiellini’s occasional injury problems and another long season ahead of the Juventus, there is no doubt that Ogbonna will feature at some stage. From here, it’s a question of how he can play in a three-man back line which follows a philosophy of playing the ball out from the back. Last year, Lucio got found out in this system and was out of the club by January. With €15 million hanging over his head, Ogbonna won’t follow the same path. He will have to learn quickly, but with Conte as a manager, he has a manager behind him and a team which can lead to him fulfilling his potential to be a long term centre back for the Italian National Team.
CB: Steven Caulker (Tottenham-Cardiff)
Unable to break the Dawson-Vertonghen partnership, Steven Caulker has signed with newly promoted Cardiff for £9 million. He was talented enough to start at most other clubs in the Premiership had any made the same offer, but now that he is at Cardiff his task is to try and keep them up. Given the gap in quality between the newly promoted teams and the rest of the Premier League, this is as big a challenge as any that he has faced in his career to date. Whenever he played for Spurs last year, they conceded more goals on average than when he was on the bench. At Cardiff, pressure will be on him to actually lead a backline and it may just be too much for him to take on at this stage in his career.
LB: Eric Abidal (Barcelona/Free Agent-Monaco)
I apologise if I am harsh by including Abidal in this team, as the fact that he is even playing is extraordinary. But to be playing for Monaco, a team challenging for the title, as a first choice left back may just be a little bit too much too soon. Few players would enjoy playing against Lucas Moura of PSG, but for a 33 year old it there is the possibility of a very long day at the office when the two clubs meet. Perhaps I am being too cynical, given that he is only on a one year deal at the club, and will be used primarily for his experience and personality. This notion can only work if Monaco have a good replacement left back in the team. Given the lack of such a player, signing Abidal and Abidal alone is a risky piece of business.
CM: Igor Denisov (Zenit-Anzhi Makhackala)
The insular nature of Russian players was confirmed by Denisov’s €15 Million move to Anzhi from his childhood club, Zenit St Petersburg. The hope of bringing a title, or Champions League football, to Dagestan has started badly. Four games into the season and Anzhi have two points to their name, following a change in management. If rumours are to be believed he has already fallen out with his new team mates after only being there for two months. Problems with his conduct are nothing new, both at club and international level; he fell out with Zenit very publicly last year after the arrival of Hulk and Witsel on inflated wages. Now, however, he can’t use the excuse of acting out for a new contract or getting the captain’s armband. In fact, this latest incident could put his chances of the Russian captaincy at risk. There is no doubt that he is a very talented player, but now his only option is to shed his tag of a prima donna and drag Anzhi up towards the top half of the table
CM: Clint Dempsey (Spurs-Seattle Sounders)
‘Deuce’ has returned home, only a few years after moving to Spurs to try and break into the Champions League. All at the age of 30, when he still had a few years left in England. Many will wonder why he’s done this. Money? In part, yes. A salary of $4 million a year is hard to say no to for any player. Other factors have to be taken in, one of which is his career trajectory. A move to a different English team was impossible as Tottenham would have asked for too much money and he wouldn’t be a guaranteed starter. SportsIllustrated.com’s Andy Glockner makes a good point that Dempsey has to regularly dominate in a league that’s a lot better and more competitive (and physical) than many believe. He has to show next summer in Brazil that he can succeed at a World Cup despite playing in a league Europeans ignore. Dempsey wasn’t going to get that level of responsibility at Spurs, and he’s already aced it at Fulham. With this approach to Dempsey’s move taken in, you should be able to see why he is in this team.
CM: Fernandinho (Shahktar Donetsk-Man City)
£30 Million for a 28 year old playing in Ukraine was always going to raise eyebrows, regardless of Man City’s endless supply of money. Fernandinho is however, an immensely talented player who should have more than five caps for Brazil. A player who is from the mould of ‘box to box’ midfielders, he is a more athletic alternative to Javi Garcia or Gareth Barry and should be able to play alongside Yaya Toure (who at times seemed to have varied roles within the Man City midfield last year). Vitally, he has years of Champions League experience with Shahktar and as City mount another challenge to make it past the group stages, and with a manager with a few Champions League miracles under his belt it looks like this will be Man City’s best chance yet to make the Knockout stages.
RW: Kevin Gameiro (PSG-Sevilla)
A victim of the nouveau riche PSG, Gameiro now finds himself with the opportunity to re-establish himself at Sevilla, as a direct replacement for Alvaro Negredo. A fast player with good dribbling skills and a good scoring record in France, he can offer a new dimension to Sevilla’s play. With service from Diego Perotti and Jose Reyes there is no reason why he can’t replicate his form at Lorient which caused PSG to sign him in the first place. Whilst regaining a spot in the National Team may ultimately be beyond him, he can at least guide Sevilla to a Europa League spot.
ST: Jozy Altidore (AZ-Sunderland)
It’s widely accepted that strikers who have moved from Holland’s Eredivisie to the Premier League have been either hits or misses, very rarely has there been a middle ground. Two have moved to the Premiership this year: Jozy Altidore and Wilfred Bony. I have greater reservations about Altidore, as much as I like him as a player. In two years at AZ, he scored 51 goals in 93 games in all competitions, which is an excellent record by any standards. These goals came from dead ball situations; headers; and his stronger right foot. The problem lies with the contrast in playing styles between AZ and Sunderland. At AZ he was the focal point of the attack in a team which was attack minded in its very nature. In contrast, Sunderland cannot expect to dominate every game and will rely on the counter attack which places immense pressure on the finishing of the strikers. Whether Altidore is smart enough and clinical enough to play in this system only time will tell.
LW: Juan Quintero (Atletico Nacional-Porto, via loan at Pescara)
The conveyor belt of talent at Porto continues to move having made a healthy profit following Monaco’s purchasing of James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho. The latest gem is arguably one of their most precious in recent years. Quintero has flourished at underage levels for Colombia, winning the 2013 South America Youth Championship as the tournament’s MVP. At the Under 20 World Cup this summer, he shone even as Colombia exited in the first knockout round at the hands of South Korea. In four games, he scored three goals (one of which was voted the best goal of the tournament) and set up another. A season on loan at Pescara last year gave him a taste of European football, albeit at one of the worst teams in Serie A. Having been given the number 10 shirt at Porto, expect to hear a lot more about the man, and for his €40 million release clause to either be raised or used.
