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Which Football Club had the Best Summer Transfer Window?
If you are a football fan, depending on which team you support, sometimes the games can be tough viewing. Often the gossip pages or transfer news are the best sources of entertainment. With Euro 2020 taking place in the summer, the excruciating wait for club football to return thankfully did not seem too long.
One constant that did not stop during the Euro was the rumor mill of who would be leaving or going where. Although players tended to get their heads down and focus on the job at hand, most online sites and newspapers continued with stories, and fans could bet online on possible club destinations of players if they believed the news to be true.
Sometimes a successful transfer window doesn’t even depend too much on who you bring in, it’s a question of ensuring your best players don’t leave. Disrupting an experienced team, or strengthening one of your close rivals, is certainly not something any club wishes to do.
So, based on that judgment, Tottenham Hotspur of England has done spectacularly well this summer. Containing the prolific goalscoring front duo of Son Heung Min, hailing from Korea, and Harry Kane, England captain, and national treasure, Spurs fans will be lucky enough to see them play together again for the foreseeable future.
The appointment of Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea during last season appeared to be a masterstroke. Struggling under Frank Lampard, the club seemed destined to miss out on Champions League qualification due to their poor position in the Premier League table.
Results improved under Tuchel to ensure Chelsea finished in fourth place and then to highlight their improvement even further, they went on to win last season’s Champions League. Yet despite having a stingy defence, Chelsea’s problem lay with their goalscoring abilities. Having signed numerous attacking players the previous summer, none seemed to be the answer.
Another team’s loss is another team’s gain and indeed there was nowhere in Europe this year this sentiment was felt as much as in Paris. Fans of Ligue 1 football are certainly rubbing their eyes in disbelief at the sight of the line-up Paris St. Germain has managed to assemble for this coming season. After missing out on the title last year, many are curious as to what will happen this year.
While they splashed out 60 million euros for promising defender Achraf Hakimi from Inter Milan, amazingly all the rest of their stunning deals were free transfers. Another arrival from Italy was victorious national squad Euro 2020 goalkeeping hero Gianluigi Donnaruma, who had decided to leave AC Milan. A fine keeper, big things are expected from him in Paris.
My oh my, as the football world had already been sent reeling with Lionel Messi’s decision to leave Barcelona after 20 years of service, rumors began that his rival Ronaldo was unhappy at Juventus, frustrated in his quest to add to his own Champions League trophy tally. His stay there wasn’t working out as well as he had hoped.
With Manchester City circling, Manchester United put in a bid to re-sign their former player now turned global superstar. Fans at Old Trafford were ecstatic as the news began to filter through that he was coming home. A productive goalscoring start has cemented already legendary status at the club. Shirt sales and the attention garnered by the club have more than repaid the small transfer fee paid for an established football legend.
This was announced after Manchester United had already done some astute business in the transfer market. Continuing their relentless chase of Jadon Sancho had finally paid off as they looked to boost their attacking options for the future. Combined with fellow England internationals Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, this trio can strike fear into the opposition for years to come.
With all the clubs above having a successful transfer window, opportunities may be rife next summer for clubs who decided not to flash the cash. Having only signed a defender this summer, Liverpool may be more active in the transfer window next summer. Despite signing Jack Grealish for 100 million pounds, Man City is still in the market for another striker.
And with two of the best available next summer in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, who’s to say purse strings won’t be loosened again. While Mbappe is available on a free transfer, he would command a massive salary. Haaland currently plies his trade with Borussia Dortmund, who are known to drive a hard bargain with transfer fees. Both are fantastic prospects for the future though, and probably worth the investment.
So who was the biggest winner? Only time will tell as the season marches on and the goals or points start to rack up for player or club. The aim of the game is to win trophies so any success on that front will see the players signed lauded as heroes. The fact that Ronaldo and Messi both made such seismic transfer moves the world is fascinated to see what will happen next.
If they didn’t win any trophies would the fans be unhappy? It’s unlikely as the enjoyment garnered from seeing these players turn out for your club may outweigh the disappointment. For sure, these signings have improved the clubs involved. It wouldn’t be a surprise if every player mentioned in this article won a trophy this season. Apart from Son and Harry Kane of course!
One constant that did not stop during the Euro was the rumor mill of who would be leaving or going where. Although players tended to get their heads down and focus on the job at hand, most online sites and newspapers continued with stories, and fans could bet online on possible club destinations of players if they believed the news to be true.
For sure, it’s always a mixed bag by the time the transfer window closes. Feelings of elation or disappointment can hit the fans hard as expectations for the coming season can be shaped by these signings. If rival clubs have made some inspired signings, your team may be up against it from the start.
Keeping Hold of your Best Players
Sometimes a successful transfer window doesn’t even depend too much on who you bring in, it’s a question of ensuring your best players don’t leave. Disrupting an experienced team, or strengthening one of your close rivals, is certainly not something any club wishes to do.
So, based on that judgment, Tottenham Hotspur of England has done spectacularly well this summer. Containing the prolific goalscoring front duo of Son Heung Min, hailing from Korea, and Harry Kane, England captain, and national treasure, Spurs fans will be lucky enough to see them play together again for the foreseeable future.
While Son’s future was resolved easily, a contract extension offered to ensure his continuing stay at the club was signed quickly and amicably, Kane’s future was a bit more unclear. Rumors circulated that he wanted to move to boost his chance of winning trophies. However, in the end, a hefty price tag put off all suitors and Kane accepted he would stay at Spurs for the moment.
Fine Tuning a Machine
The appointment of Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea during last season appeared to be a masterstroke. Struggling under Frank Lampard, the club seemed destined to miss out on Champions League qualification due to their poor position in the Premier League table.
Results improved under Tuchel to ensure Chelsea finished in fourth place and then to highlight their improvement even further, they went on to win last season’s Champions League. Yet despite having a stingy defence, Chelsea’s problem lay with their goalscoring abilities. Having signed numerous attacking players the previous summer, none seemed to be the answer.
Step forward Romelu Lukaku. A previous Chelsea player, who had now gained mountains of experience through the years playing for top clubs and maintained a fantastic goal to games ratio. Costing nearly 100 million pounds, he has had a blistering start at his new club. Online betting sites, such as lvbet.com, view Chelsea as heavy favorites to become Premier League champions this season, and if they do, this man will have a big part to play in it.
Who would have thought it?
Another team’s loss is another team’s gain and indeed there was nowhere in Europe this year this sentiment was felt as much as in Paris. Fans of Ligue 1 football are certainly rubbing their eyes in disbelief at the sight of the line-up Paris St. Germain has managed to assemble for this coming season. After missing out on the title last year, many are curious as to what will happen this year.
While they splashed out 60 million euros for promising defender Achraf Hakimi from Inter Milan, amazingly all the rest of their stunning deals were free transfers. Another arrival from Italy was victorious national squad Euro 2020 goalkeeping hero Gianluigi Donnaruma, who had decided to leave AC Milan. A fine keeper, big things are expected from him in Paris.
And from Spain, the departure of two long-term legends from their clubs, Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos, from Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively. Fans of the club expect a serious challenge to be mounted for the Champions League with these two talented and experienced players on board. The trophy has still evaded PSG’S grasp and Messi is known to be keen to add another to his collection. Will they manage to do it together?
Return of a Legend….. And More!
My oh my, as the football world had already been sent reeling with Lionel Messi’s decision to leave Barcelona after 20 years of service, rumors began that his rival Ronaldo was unhappy at Juventus, frustrated in his quest to add to his own Champions League trophy tally. His stay there wasn’t working out as well as he had hoped.
With Manchester City circling, Manchester United put in a bid to re-sign their former player now turned global superstar. Fans at Old Trafford were ecstatic as the news began to filter through that he was coming home. A productive goalscoring start has cemented already legendary status at the club. Shirt sales and the attention garnered by the club have more than repaid the small transfer fee paid for an established football legend.
This was announced after Manchester United had already done some astute business in the transfer market. Continuing their relentless chase of Jadon Sancho had finally paid off as they looked to boost their attacking options for the future. Combined with fellow England internationals Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, this trio can strike fear into the opposition for years to come.
Of equal importance, Manchester United had finally taken the plunge and bought a top-quality defender to partner captain Harry Maguire. Raphael Varane was signed in a high-profile switch from Real Madrid as he fancied a new challenge in his career. Highly experienced and winner of numerous trophies, it’s felt his presence will shore up the defence and steady the nerves of the players, fans, and the manager!
What’s in store for Next Summer?
With all the clubs above having a successful transfer window, opportunities may be rife next summer for clubs who decided not to flash the cash. Having only signed a defender this summer, Liverpool may be more active in the transfer window next summer. Despite signing Jack Grealish for 100 million pounds, Man City is still in the market for another striker.
And with two of the best available next summer in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, who’s to say purse strings won’t be loosened again. While Mbappe is available on a free transfer, he would command a massive salary. Haaland currently plies his trade with Borussia Dortmund, who are known to drive a hard bargain with transfer fees. Both are fantastic prospects for the future though, and probably worth the investment.
Summary
If they didn’t win any trophies would the fans be unhappy? It’s unlikely as the enjoyment garnered from seeing these players turn out for your club may outweigh the disappointment. For sure, these signings have improved the clubs involved. It wouldn’t be a surprise if every player mentioned in this article won a trophy this season. Apart from Son and Harry Kane of course!
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