Liverpool are wasting no time this summer as they prepare for next season, strengthening right across the board and continuing to eye deals that will make them a realistic candidate for the top four in the Premier League.
Is there ever a negative to getting transfers done early? Manchester City have already made a splash with the signings of Fernandinho and Jesus Navas from Shakhtar Donetsk and Sevilla, while a number of other top Premier League clubs are said to be finalising deals of their own.
Liverpool’s low-key transfer strategy is as much of a risk as splashing £20 million on a midfield hopeful – and they’ve certainly been down that road in the past. The acquisition of Iago Aspas has been one of praise from everyone who followed the Galician forward last season in La Liga, highlighting the Spaniard’s playing resemblance to Luis Suarez and how much quality he will add to the team.
In addition, Luis Alberto is a name who will only go on to have bright future in the game. He was and is far too good for Barcelona B, yet shy of making an impact in the first team at the Camp Nou. That’s no slight on the former Sevilla player; there aren’t too many youngsters who have a clear and mapped out path to first team football at Barcelona.
Were Liverpool jumping the gun on the signing of Kolo Toure, one of the other notable additions of the summer thus far? I can’t see that. With Jamie Carragher out of the picture through retirement, there was a need to bring in a veteran player who will be as much of an asset in the dressing room as he will be on the pitch. For Arsenal fans especially, there is nothing but fond memories for Toure and his time in north London. Manchester City too had a positive relationship with the player, and it’s very difficult to see any drawbacks to Liverpool bringing in a player of his experience. The fact that Toure still has a few miles left on the clock is only a bonus.
While players like Aspas and new goalkeeper Simon Mignolet will play key roles next season, the importance of this summer clearly rests on Luis Suarez and the decision to either sell or retain the star forward. Liverpool have expressed their desire to keep hold of the player, while Real Madrid have been quoted fees that will force them to rethink their approach for the Uruguayan.
It further adds to the club’s need to have all their figures in place ahead of the start of the season. Retaining Suarez is obviously the priority, but considering Liverpool have been in the hunt for £25 million Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the club are clearly not averse to spending heavily if need be. The quick and timely sale of Suarez will allow Liverpool to seek a replacement and have him well adjusted to life at Anfield before the season begins. Were the club to leave it late and still appear unclear about what their transfer strategy was, there would be justified criticism for the club’s lack of forward thinking.
Liverpool are clearly taking no chances with their transfer business, and that should be applauded. Even if Suarez is replaced this summer, the surrounding signings away from the Uruguayan’s saga will stand the club in good stead ahead of next season. Importantly, all the names who have been brought in thus far have a clear purpose in the squad, with Brendan Rodgers doing all he can to acquire players who are able to execute his preferred playing style next season.
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Have Liverpool done well to wrap up their transfer deals this early in the summer?
Until Saturday, Liverpool’s season was going swimmingly. A strong start had garnered 10 points from a possible 12 with a victory over rivals Manchester United the pick of the bunch. This included three clean sheets and a great start to the season for Daniel Sturridge in front of goal. All of this is made even more impressive by the fact that star player Luis Suarez was still serving his suspension for biting Branislav Ivanovic last season.
With Suarez about to return, Liverpool are looking in a good place despite their surprisingly poor performance at home to Southampton in a match where Brendan Rodger’s footballing style of playing the ball out of from the back looked weak to say the least. Great pressure from Southampton forced Liverpool’s back line and goalkeeper into mistakes as they persisted with a risky approach rather than adding a bit of wisdom to their game and knowing when to hoof the ball into row Z. Nevertheless, the tenure of Rodgers needed time and if the first 4 games are anything to go by then Liverpool can have a successful season.
Crucial to Liverpool, like many clubs is stability. Rodgers has been given time to build a squad capable of making a successful run in the Premier League. The last four seasons, in relative terms have not been great for Liverpool by their standards. The last four seasons have mustered 7th, 6th, 8th and 7th position finishes respectively. Yet, the Liverpool hierarchy are displaying great wisdom in keeping with the philosophy of Rodgers despite setbacks like Saturday being a surprise rather than a shock with regards to Liverpool these days. In a way, this shows just how far Liverpool have fallen from the glory days of the 1980s. With Liverpool’s last title win coming in 1990, despite the figures from their finishes in the Premier League indicating that Liverpool are further away from them glory days than at any time in the last 20 years, there is a realisation that Rodgers needs to be kept with to have a chance of that success again.
This season, the Northern Irishman has added to the ranks of Liverpool in a style indicative of wisdom. The addition of Ivory Coast man Kolo Toure brings a wealth of experience to the club and his performances so far have displayed a player that is in the peak of his career rather than on the decline like many pundits assumed. He could have easily headed off to pastures new and relax for the last few years of his career but clearly Rodgers has convinced him to contribute to Liverpool’s cause. For Liverpool to have a successful season, experience at the back is vital.
Perhaps the most successful aspect of Liverpool’s season thus far has been the creativity of players like Phillipe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge in fashioning chance after chance. The quick, incisive play and threaded balls through in behind the defence mean that Liverpool getting on the score sheet looks inevitable in the matches when the duo clicks. However, their freedom of expression would not be as clear without the work of the still effective Steven Gerrard in a role reminiscent of a quarterback in American Football. Gerrard truly is one of the Premier League and Liverpool all time greats, and as with many of the greats as they reach the twilight of their career has successfully adapted his game to suit his attributes most. His role in the team is strikingly similar to that of Xabi Alonso in his last spell at the club- a partnership which involved Gerrard fulfilling the attacking role than the current era of tricky little players like Coutinho now play in the team.
Any move for Liverpool to bring Alonso back to the club would be a step backwards. Not only is he past his best, he is a man that will always be remembered as a player of the Benitez era of grinding out games rather than Rodgers’ passing style. Furthermore, players like Joe Allen who were brought in specifically to spread this philosophy to Liverpool’s players from that era would see their role in the team negated. Psychologically, it would not be a good signal to send to Liverpool’s youngsters. Bringing back Alonso would purely be for the sake of it, and Rodgers is surely too wise a manager to do this.
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Former Everton midfielder Tim Cahill has revealed that he is keen to make a loan move back to the Premier League during the MLS off-season.
The Australian international currently plies his trade for the New York Red Bulls after leaving Goodison Park, and has been a hit since his arrival in America.
The 33-year-old helped his side to win the Eastern Conference this year, but they were eventually knocked out of the play-offs at the first time of asking by the Houston Dynamo.
With the Socceroos already guaranteed a spot at next summer’s World Cup in Brazil, Cahill is desperate to maintain his fitness throughout the festive down period in the MLS.
As a result, he is ready to move back to England on a short-term loan.
“The move depends on getting my body right. But the plan is for the World Cup,” he told the Daily Star.
Cahill is not short of admirers, with former club Everton, as well as the likes of Sunderland, Fulham and QPR all keen to offer him a route back to England.
The Australian would not be the first player to secure a temporary move to Europe during the American pre-season, with David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane just three names to have taken the opportunity in recent years.
Could Tim Cahill be a wise signing for a Premier League side?
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Newcastle United isn’t the kind of club that oozes the idea of stability.
At the managerial helm, they have a boss in Alan Pardew whom through his clichéd soundbites, obnoxious demeanour and subtle undertones of desperation, is perhaps the Premier League’s closest current equivalent of Alan Partridge.
Above him, you have Mike Ashley. A man who is at such constant odds with the St. James’s Park faithful he recently banned journalists from the infamously renamed Sports Direct Arena for reporting on protest campaigns against his ownership.
And somewhere in between lies Joe Kinnear, who as a player, manager, and now transfer honcho, could never be described, in any manner of the word, as ‘stable’.
Last season, as the Magpies finished in 17th place and recorded a disturbing 17 Premier League defeats, in stark contrast to their continental qualification the year previous, perhaps the biggest example of the club’s persistent turbulence, these three stooges became the poster boys for the discontent of the fan base.
Even Graham Carr, the Chief Scout once applauded for his ability to snap up cheap and promising talents from Ligue 1, came under attack for his role in creating a squad filled with Frenchmen, most of which were hopelessly underperforming last term, with pundits such as Gary Neville quipping that Newcastle had lost their vital English identity through the influx of foreigners.
At such a point, especially in the summer, it would have been incredibly easy for Mike Ashley to give Alan Pardew his marching orders, and scapegoat the former West Ham and Charlton manager for the sorry campaign. It’s not as if we haven’t seem a similar pattern of overachievement followed by underperformance from Pardew before.
Fans further baulked as the summer transfer window slammed shut. For three months worth of work during the off-season, Kinnear, Pardew and Ashley had brought in just a single new player to a squad filled with unknown quantities, in the form of loan signing Loic Remy. Questioning whether the club’s management and board shared the same ambitions as the supporters, divisions on the terraces intensified.
But how quickly things can change in the world of modern football; Newcastle suddenly find themselves in sixth place in the Premier League table after 13 games, claiming surprise wins against Chelsea and Tottenham, and reminding the St. James’s faithful of the Magpies side we saw clinch fifth spot two years ago. Not to suggest tensions between fan and boardroom have anywhere near diminished due to results.
So what’s been the turning point? What’s the deciding factor in Newcastle’s fortunes taking a sharp upturn from the troubling season previous?
Well, Alan Pardew is currently the second-longest serving manager in the English top flight, not that that’s too much of an achievement nowadays considering he’s been Magpies gaffer for just two and a half years.
But the correlation is obvious, bearing in mind the Premier League’s first longest-serving head coach, Arsene Wenger, has enjoyed a similar flurry in form this season that’s seen his Gunners side leave pundits eating their words as they claim pole position in the English table, while the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United are still struggling to overcome changes in management and first team personnel from the summer.
It’s consistency and stability, despite Newcastle’s customary negative stigmatism otherwise, that they’re reaping the benefits from this season, just as Wenger is at the Emirates.
The same goes for the Newcastle roster. The likes of Mathieu Debuchy, Moussa Sissoko, Yoann Gouffran, Davide Santon, Fabricio Coloccini, Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheik Tiote weren’t at anything near their best last season, and after such a terrible campaign many expected a mild overhaul of the first team squad in the summer, or at least the arrival of some home-grown talent to balance out the roster. In a sense, the summer transfer window could have represented the end of Graham Carr’s transfer policies.
But just as Ashley stuck to his guns in not relinquishing Pardew of his duties, who was at times last season looking like a sitting duck waiting to be put out of his misery, the club’s management did the same regarding the squad over the summer, and now last year’s flops are emerging as the stars of the Newcastle show.
Apart from Pablo Zabaletta, Debuchy has been the best right-back in the English top flight this year. Davide Santon is finally delivering on his obvious potential, Yoann Gouffran – once described as a Gabriel Obertan who can be bothered to run – has claimed three goals and one assist in his last four appearances, Hatem Ben Arfa has charged himself with the monumental task of winning the Ballon D’or, and Tiote and Coloccini are putting in the levels of performance we’ve come to expect from the defensive duo.
Meanwhile, the Magpies’ only summer addition, loan star Loic Remy, is proving to be the missing ingredient, with eight goals in 10 appearances putting him in sixth in the Premier League’s goalscoring charts.
Once again, we have obvious comparisons with the Premier League’s leaders. Wenger was implored by fans and pundits alike at the end of last season to finally spend big, and he resisted the urge until late in the summer window, eventually forking out £42million on Mesut Ozil.
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It wasn’t quite the spending spree supporters had envisaged, with still obvious weaknesses in depth in several departments, but adding selectively to his squad rather than administering a sudden turnaround has allowed the Frenchman to build astutely, and has undoubtedly contributed to the Gunners’ meteoric rise this season whilst their divisional rivals have squandered.
For a club that’s most closely resembled a plank of wood delicately hanging over either side of a wire-thin tight rope throughout the last 18 months, it’s surprisingly Newcastle’s stability and consistency that’s got them to turn their fortunes around.
Refraining from panic and sensationalism, the Magpies have emerged as a rare beacon of interior loyalty and constancy in a division continually caught up with the notion of instantaneous progression, keeping the faith in their transfer philosophy, management and playing staff, and they are now reaping the just rewards for doing so.
It is perhaps all too all easy to accuse Tottenham of being a little slack this January. The Premier League club were always going to struggle to match the summer activities that saw them spend in excess of £100m for the first time, but have they actually let other clubs grab the initiative this month?
In January there always seems to be a compulsion to spend for the sake of it. Transfers naturally bring a feel good factor to the club and to its fans, but really when you sit down and take stock in the months that follow you often ask yourself, was it really worth it?
There is always this risk with a club like Spurs who do know how to flex their financial muscle and who always have an eye for a deal whatever the situation. Transfers need though to improve on what the club already has, and given the squad that Spurs have assembled this is no easy task.
It isn’t the finished article by any stretch of the imagination, but there is no need to panic with wholesale changes. If anything Spurs need to start dispensing with those that simply aren’t needed, something that will likely start this window as well. Selling the likes of Chadli and Capoue could be just as beneficial to a Champions League charge as bringing in someone new. Excessive competition for places doesn’t help anyone, and if anything could just stifle the momentum that players build up on the pitch. It is all about balance, and this is something Spurs are yet to achieve.
Fans yearn for big deals; many see it as a necessary for immediate success; but who is really to say that Marco Reus at £30m would be any better than a fit and firing Erik Lamela? We’ve all watched Bundesliga and Serie A, and it is easy to make judgements on players, but that doesn’t mean that anything is guaranteed. Adding players out of compulsion not only doesn’t make financial sense; it doesn’t make good footballing sense either.
It may upset a few people, but good business for Spurs this January would represent tying up a deal for a returning Dimitar Berbatov before the month is out. With Jermain Defoe on the way out, the need for a third striker is the most pressing, and one that few would disagree in saying that Berbatov would satisfy.
Looking at the squad as a whole there aren’t all that many weaknesses. If Sherwood can get everyone fit then it is a team to rival any and that without changes should be close to finishing in the top four. The deluded may say that the club should bust a gut for Luke Shaw to replace a less than convincing Rose, but £30m on an inexperienced youngster just isn’t rational footballing business in the eyes of Levy.
Aside from that though there is little of concern, in fact the more pressing thing for Sherwood is to get the most out of what he has already because with the likes of Lamela and Solado at full tilt, Spurs could be a serious handful for sides in the coming months.
Spending little this January isn’t an oversight by Spurs and neither is it showing a lack of ambition. Big January deals don’t guarantee success, and sometimes they can totally backfire if you look at Torres. It can go both ways, and for Spurs it is a totally unnecessary risk given the situation they find themselves in currently, on the cusp of the top four.
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The May post mortem may look back to January as being pivotal, but for me it would be a pretty ignorant way at looking at things. Spurs have the squad to meet their targets, and given that I think the current window just shows prudence above anything else.
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Grass Roots is new mocumentary following fictitious League Two football club Greystone Athletic as they partake in the FA’s investigation into the current state of the English game. Centred on downtrodden club manager Harry Pickles (Ed Aczel), we follow Greystone through the often comic trials and tribulations of life in football’s lower tiers.
Ahead of the Grass Roots launch on London Live this Sunday at 9pm, we caught up with fictional manager Harry Pickles to talk philosophy, wine and WAGs:
Outside of football, who is your greatest inspiration?
Here’s one that might surprise you – Gary Barlow. Both of us have come in from the harsh winters of our lives and ended up reaping the benefits of life experience. He tops charts and I top tables. I think we would get on quite well actually.
How would you describe your management style?
Liberating. I encourage my players to get the ball down and play. I’ve been accused of many things from other managers in the past but we knock the ball around like a pin ball machine at times. To put it into one word, I’d have to say ‘glossy’.
What’s your proudest moment in football?
I once nutmegged Kevin Keegan in a charity match. I won’t forget that in a hurry. It was really funny because afterwards I went up to him and said, “Did you see me pop that through your legs, Kevin?” and he said “Yes”. It was great fun.
Do you have ambitions to manage at a higher level?
Of course. It will be a hard decision to make when that happens.
What is your proudest achievement in the game?
Winning the league last year would be up there. We had some real rotters in the side early doors but I got us playing. The 3-6-1 formation I got us playing in the winter away days worked a treat.
How would you like people to see Greystone Athletic?
From a seat in the stadium please.
What’s the most important aspect of a manager’s job?
Decision making. You make the wrong decision and there can be hell to pay. I once played a prank on my one of the lads and told him to bulk up or leave the club. He got a hernia lifting a medicine ball. You live and learn.
What do you do to motivate the players?
It depends on the player. Some of them need a firm hand. I’m never physical with a player but they need to know I am a threat. The dressing room is the jungle and I am king. Some just need a cuddle. I get my assistant to handle them. Not enough time for me to be acting like Mother Theresa.
How would you feel if a foreign owner wanted to change the club name to the Greystone Giants?
Not for me all this re-branding. Sure re-brand a coffee chain or go from Jif to Cif but Greystone is a heart and soul club that shouldn’t be having its name changed for any reason. Foreign mega bucks or no foreign mega bucks.
What role do WAGs play at your football club?
I encourage them to be honest, but obviously the type of woman is important. I would rather my lads be settled down with a pushy, ‘career minded’ female, or male, than spending all their time in clubs looking for loose women. We don’t have any gay players by the way, but I’d bloody love one.
What’s your attitude to drinking in football?
They have to stay hydrated. Next.
Do you take a hands-on approach with your players?
As I said earlier, for some of the lads I do and for some I don’t. There was one lad who I won’t name who I got very hands on with. Once the court case eventually cleared I think he knew I did it for the right reasons.
Is it possible for a manager to be too close to his players?
Neil Warnock is a chiropodist. That’s the line right there. Nobody should be fiddling with the players feet so intimately. Nothing wrong with a thorough rub down from the physio if the lad has done well, but I keep my hands in my pockets.
Would you describe yourself as a ‘wheeler dealer’?
(Laughs) I guess so. I’ve torn the transfer market a new one on many occasions I can tell you.
What drives you in football?
The thought of becoming a better person. I wake up, 7:30/7:40 latest and teach these lads all the little treasures this beautiful game has. You don’t get that in other sports. Cricket has tea breaks, Rugby can’t be dealing with 90 minutes and golfers wear silly trousers don’t they? No. Spreading the love of the game is where my vocation lies.
Do you think Notorious B.I.G. was talking about the state of modern football when he said “Mo Money Mo Problems”?
Who is he anyway? I don’t understand him. Did he have a speech impediment?
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How would you describe your tactical approach to the game?
It’s traditional with a dash of foreign flair on top. I always set up to win the game. We don’t sit on leads – in fact, I won’t let them sit down on the coach if we lose the lead. They have to stand. They soon learn.
What’s the biggest problem facing English football?
What you should be asking is what our greatest strengths are. We have some really lovely pitches up and down the country and some of the kits these days are a lot more fashionable than the tight 70’s rubbish. I’d go as far to say the Bovril is better than ever too.
Do you believe that a man be bigger than the club? If so, which man?
(Pickles ponders) Can a man be bigger than a club? Yes. Is it healthy is what you should be asking. To that, I say no. The manager might be the driver of the club but you have to have a chairman putting in petrol, and some players giving it a jump start when the battery is flat.
Where do you see Greystone Athletic in 10 years?
Still plugging away. Who knows? If I get afforded the chance to stay here I could see us becoming as synonymous with League 2 as the likes of Rochdale.
Finally, the question on everyone’s lips this summer, do you think England can win the World Cup?
No. I realise that I’m opening myself for criticism and some questionable items to be put through my letter box but if I’m honest, I think it’s Belgium’s time. They had me with their chocolate and waffles but now they even have a football team to go with it. Barring them, I’d like a surprise. The Costa Ricans are a hospitable type of people in my experience so maybe them.
Grass Roots launches on London Live Sunday 20th April at 9pm
Neymar going off on a stretcher must have been every Brazil fan’s nightmare. He appeared to be in a significant amount of pain, but Brazil have proved that their World Cup bid is about far more than a reliance upon their poster boy.
David Luiz and Thiago Silva scored the crucial goals as the hosts beat Colombia 2-1. Luiz Felipe Scolari has guided his charges to his third ever World Cup semi-final (the last two times he got there he knocked out England on the way).
The momentum is with the hosts and there appears to be a real sense of belief and desire that nothing will stop them from winning on home turf.
They may not have reached the dizzy heights that have been expected of them but they have overcome two stern tests in Colombia and Chile. Germany will face an extremely motivated Brazil on Tuesday and Neymar looks unlikely to feature.
When there is will, there is a way and here’s why Brazil are now the favourites for the World Cup come up against.
1. Brazil’s two goals this evening were scored by defenders they have goals all over their team
2. They stopped the star of the World Cup so far James Rodriguez. It can’t get harder than that.
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3. It doesn’t always have to be pretty, they simply know how to win
Arsenal’s £35million of Alexis Sanchez is meant to be a game-changer. Some have labelled it the best Premier League deal of the summer, and indeed, the former Barcelona star does possess the quality to become a talismanic performer for the north London club.
Tactically too, he’s an ideal acquisition. The Chile international, through his tiki-taka heritage, does not only lend himself to Arsenal’s definitive possession-based, technical style, but also offers the pace, penetration and the threat in-behind that the Gunners lacked last season following Theo Walcott’s injury in January, leaving their midfield and attack incredibly one-dimensional.
But like a house without foundations, a match-stick model without glue, a breadless sandwich or Bryan Blessed with his voicebox removed, signing the 25-year-old was essentially pointless if Arsene Wenger doesn’t invest in a defensive midfielder this summer.
Not least because, although Sanchez is a sensational talent, the difference he’ll make for Arsenal in the big games is incredibly minimal. Last season, the north Londoners claimed just six points against top five opposition and lost all of their four away fixtures with an aggregate score of 20-4, while Liverpool were the only side beaten at the Emirates.
And in none of these contests was creativity or goalscoring the predominant issue for Arsenal. Two away fixtures, against Liverpool and Chelsea, were over within the first half hour as the north Londoners continuously struggled to protect their goal.
This was unquestionably Arsenal’s undoing last year in comparison to their title rivals. Eventual winners Manchester City claimed 10 points against top five opposition, beating Liverpool, Everton and the Gunners at the Etihad, Liverpool also amassed 10 points, beating Everton, Arsenal and City at Anfield, and Chelsea’s only top five defeat came in a visit to Goodison. If the Gunners are to improve upon their seemingly perpetual final standing of fourth next season, they have to start winning the heavyweight affairs and stop gifting points to their title rivals, especially on the road.
Away from home and even at the Emirates last year, the Gunners’ defence was relentlessly exposed on the counter-attack against teams with top quality going forward. Chelsea quite simply overpowered them in the middle of the park before hitting back quickly on the break, while Liverpool’s mixture of work-rate, fearlessness and firepower ran them into the ground. There was no figure in midfield taking defensive responsibility, and none capable of matching the pure physicality and energy of the opposition. Buying a new forward, whether he be Alexis Sanchez, Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, will do absolutely nothing to change that.
Most tellingly, either Mathieu Flamini or Mikel Arteta featured in all of Arsenal’s away defeats while both played alongside each other during a 3-0 romping by Everton. Quite clearly, Arsene Wenger’s current holding options don’t provide enough defensive quality to balance out his progressive philosophy.
Which comes as no great surprise – Mikel Arteta, although a talented player and natural leader who fits Arsenal’s style well, cannot compare to his Manchester City or Chelsea counterparts in terms of natural defensive awareness or basic brawn. Likewise, Mathieu Flamini was brought back into the Emirates fold last summer as a low-budget, short-term fix. He’s a useful player to have in the squad, but cannot be considered the ultimate solution to Arsenal’s midfield problems.
The north Londoners need to find a player that brings balance, structure and defensive awareness to their midfield in key games. He must be physical too – Chelsea and Manchester City possess some of the most phenomenal athletes in world football – Nemanja Matic and Yaya Toure to name but two – yet Aaron Ramsey is the only Arsenal midfielder who measures in at above 6 foot. Even the Invincibles had the 6 foot 4, gangly-legged Patrick Vieira and Brazilian water-carrier Gilberto Silva at the heart of their midfield, protecting the defence and going mano-e-mano with the likes of Roy Keane and Dennis Wise.
The Premier League has moved on somewhat since then but these kind of players and personalities remain vital in the big games. Arsenal are absent of a midfielder who can intimidate the opposition’s attack, which has made them exceptionally easy to play against over the last few seasons. Alexis Sanchez may worry the opposition defence but that has never been Arsenal’s problem – Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla, Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey are all very capable of that.
Don’t get me wrong – Sanchez represents a fantastic piece of business that many European clubs will be jealous of. He does add a new dimension to the Gunners going forward, and I do not intent to discredit that, or Arsene Wenger’s decision to buy him.
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But in my opinion, it remains a futile enterprise if Arsenal do not address their most intrinsic flaw this summer. As much as I’m sure the Chile international will net a multitude of goals against the Premier League’s more rank and file sides, he does not change the way Arsenal function in big matches for the better.
He does not provide a greater sense of balance in midfield or improve them off the ball, and until Arsene Wenger finds a signing who does, the inability to beat those closest to them in the table will remain the north London club’s perpetual curse.
It may not be what Southampton particularly want, especially at this stage of the transfer window, and selling another key member of the squad could wreak further havoc on their reputation and morale ahead of the new season. But selling Morgan Schneiderlin is the best option for the club this summer.
The French international has been quite clear about his desire to leave Southampton and has taken steps that will more or less ensure a messy split when a sale does eventually take place. His latest admission that his head isn’t in the right place to compete should be an indicator to the club that this isn’t a player worth hanging on to.
As good as Schneiderlin is, who’s to say his valuation will remain at a constant over the coming year? Southampton will do what they can to get a figure in the region of what they received for Adam Lallana, circa £25 million. But a season of poor form and one hand consistently on the exit door will see the club lose whatever leverage they may still have by this time next year, and they will be forced to sell at a fraction of the price.
There isn’t long left in the window, but with over two weeks remaining, it isn’t a disastrous situation. Defensive midfield isn’t the only position that would need addressing, and in Ronald Koeman, Southampton have a manager with more than enough contacts in the game to suitably replace those who have departed.
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What will be important for the new manager going into the season is ensuring he has a settled squad. Schneiderlin has been one of the most consistent midfield performers in the Premier League over the last two seasons, but his unhappiness could prove to be a problem throughout the year. It’s not worth the hassle of trying to juggle the want-away Frenchman and integrate newcomers into the team and league.
There are others in Europe who have a history of holding onto players who have kicked up a fuss. Athletic Bilbao famously held Fernando Llorente to the final year of his contract as means to make clear that they were in charge of the situation. The club firmly won over supporters in that particular saga before seeing the Spaniard head to Juventus on a free transfer.
But Bilbao’s situation is notably different to that of Southampton. Relatively speaking, the Premier League club are open to buy anyone in world football, whereas the La Liga side have self-imposed restrictions on only signing players with Basque heritage. Transfer fees mean little when the priority is to enhance the academy.
In addition, Borussia Dortmund did something similar with Robert Lewandowski when Bayern Munich came knocking last summer. But again the situation was different to that of Southampton’s. Dortmund won’t allow themselves to lose more than one major player per summer, whereas Southampton’s exodus is extraordinary and a one off.
The combined fees of Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Morgan Schneiderlin alone should see Southampton hold enough to completely revamp the squad – and Europe is never short of bargain players of high quality. Add to that the fees brought in from Luke Shaw and Calum Chambers and the club can plan for well into the future on the recruitment front.
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The only problem that they’re having is in the impression that they’ve caved to the demands of a player.
But there’s far too much in play here that shouldn’t really matter. If Southampton sell Schneiderlin now after saying they wouldn’t, what does that say about the club? Well honestly who cares? Who cares if people think the club can’t keep their word? What if an interested party table an obscene bid for the player, something that shatters all previous expectations? Should they still hold fire because of what people may think about them?
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It’s a lot of nonsense. Selling Schneiderlin, who quite clearly doesn’t want to be there, and getting maximum return for him is absolutely in the best interest of the club.
There’s a lot of speculation about what may happen to Southampton during the season as a result of these sales. But very few are going the other way on the matter, suggesting that the money could be reinvested for the better. The premium attached to Premier League players is insane. No one can argue that there isn’t a player in Europe who can do just as well as Schneiderlin for a fifth of the price. As an example, Muhamed Besic, Everton’s latest signing, looks a great piece of business at £4 million.
One way or another Schneiderlin will leave Southampton. For the club, there’s little point in dragging this episode out for at least another six months, with the player’s value is hugely unlikely to increase further.
The Championship is often overlooked as a Premier League recruitment pool, with sides from the top flight often preferring cheaper, better-proven talents from abroad.But there’s still plenty of talent in the English second tier, should you know where to look, and just to prove it, here’s a list of FIVE Championship prodigies that have reportedly caught Arsenal’s attention over the last 18 months or so.The Gunners snapped up Carl Jenkinson from the lower leagues back in 2011 – could we see one of these hotshots follow the defender’s path to the Emirates in the course of the next few transfer windows?
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TYRONE MINGS
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Kicking off this list is the most recent Championship prodigy to be linked with an Emirates switch – Ipswich Town’s Tyrone Mings:
Many feared the worst when West Ham swooped for the Tractor Boys’ star full-back Aaron Cresswell this summer but Mings has filled the void in abundance, winning the Championship’s Player of the Month award for September after bagging assists against Brighton and Wigan.
The 21 year-old’s defensive displays have been equally impressive this season, as detailed below, and it’s Mings’ ability to contribute heavily at both ends of the pitch, creating 22 scoring chances in 16 outings this term, that’s earning him such rave reviews:
Measuring in at a towering 6 foot 3, the former Chippenham Town youngster already possesses the physique to handle the rigours of the Premier League.
Arsenal’s squad needs some defensive reinforcements in January too, but having penned new terms at Portman Road in September – a very busy month for the defender – the tabloids believe he’ll now cost the Gunners around £10million.
JORDAN COUSINS
Charlton Athletic run one of the most successful academies in the Football League, with some of their more recent Premier League-reaching alumni including Jonjo Shelvey, Diego Poyet and Arsenal’s very own Carl Jenkinson.
And the latest prospect to emerge from the Valley youth ranks is England U21 Jordan Cousins – heavily linked with the Gunners last January:
The 20 year-old is an impeccable athlete with appealing versatility; often considered a defender in his younger years, Cousins has featured predominately in midfield for the Charlton first team and this season surprisingly finds himself out on the wing.
The flanks don’t particularly play to the Junior Lion’s strengths – he’s more stocky and industrial than quick and graceful – but even so, Cousins has claimed the joint-most assists of any player in the Charlton squad this season:
He also scored an absolute stunner against Wigan last term, demonstrating his technical quality:
//www.youtube.com/embed/EmZcLPdeZwE?rel=0
Cousins is certainly a little rough around the edges and a long way off the Arsenal first team.
But he’s held down a slot in the Addicks’ starting XI almost permanently since his Championship debut in August 2013 and is the kind of youngster that could be moulded into anything – be it a holding player, a full-back, a box-to-boxer, an offensive midfielder or even a ball-playing centre-half.
He’s tied down at the Valley until 2016, but Charlton are often forced to surrender their brightest prospects for relatively modest fees.
PATRICK ROBERTS
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It seems virtually every major Premier League club, including Arsenal, wants to get their hands on Fulham youngster Patrick Roberts:
So is this sought after whipper-snapper?
Well, following their relegation doom last season, the Cottagers are rebuilding from the ground up, throwing a number of impressive young talents – some academy products, others brought in from other clubs – straight into the first team fray this year.
The 17 year-old’s only made two starts, in addition to nine substitute appearances, amassing the solitary assist in just 301 minutes-worth of Championship action. That may not seem much to get excited about, but here’s the winger’s vitals this season based on per-90-minute metrics:
Also boasting 12 goals in 26 appearances for England across the junior levels, ranging from U16 to U19, Roberts’ development has been documented for some time.
He was also a key component of the Fulham side that reached last term’s FA Cup Youth Final, even netting in the 7-6 aggregate defeat to Chelsea. Here’s a clip of the Fulham hotshot in action:
//www.youtube.com/embed/liCPHbvALbs?rel=0
Roberts signed professional terms in February however and is under contract in west London until 2016, whilst the tabloids claim Fulham value their man at an astonishing £15million.
WILL HUGHES
If Arsenal aren’t continuing to monitor Derby County’s Will Hughes after being linked to the midfielder last season:
…then quite frankly, their scouting department needs an overhaul.
The Rams reached the play-off final last season and this year look dead-certs for automatic promotion. The 19 year-old’s form has played a significant role in that, contributing six goals and eight assists in his last 61 Championship outings – including this goal against Blackburn in September:
Soon followed by this effort against Fulham:
Here’s a look at Hughes’ vitals over the last 18 months:
As you can see, it’s the England U21’s quality in possession that particularly stands out, allegedly even enticing scouts from Barcelona to Pride Park in November 2012, and would furthermore make him an ideal acquisition for the Gunners.
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Hughes appears destined to reach the top flight at some point and likely the England national team too. Resultantly however, he’s been mooted with fees as high as £15million.
MOSES ODUBAJO
Arsenal have been linked with Moses Odubajo before, and may feel compelled to revive their interest after the Brentford starlet’s solid start to life in the Championship.
The 21 year-old was at Leyton Orient last season, with his twelve goals across all competitions firing them to the League One play-off final – where he netted this stunning volley against Rotherham:
//www.youtube.com/embed/Hg5yKX2WwCY?rel=0
The Bees snapped him up during the summer, despite rumoured interest from Tottenham and West Ham, and the winger-come-full-back has gone on to produce some decent form in the second tier, as shown below:
The Greenwich-born hotshot is quick, industrial, versatile and possesses a decent eye for goal – in other words, there’s a lot the coaching staff at Arsenal could work with.
Having only moved to Griffin Park last summer however, Arsenal will likely have to wait until at least next summer to attain Odubajo’s signature.