The transfer game

 

The highly-anticipated season of the English Premier league (EPL) kicked-off on August 8 with the reigning champions Chelsea defending the title. In the last season, Chelsea maintained a firm lead throughout the season with their all-round quality team and due to the astute managerial dexterity of the great Jose Mourinho. However, having signed no lethal player before losing their first two games, the Blues seem to be in tatters and without the spark needed to thump the rival teams. Mourinho might have lost the focus and gone too far with his confidence in his team when the other teams were spending a staggering amount of money to build a robust squad. To address their winning woes, Chelsea flabbergasted the whole world and hijacked Manchester United’s transfer target Pedro just hours before he was supposed to be unveiled as a United player. Chelsea are also eyeing to swoop the deal for former United player Paul Pogba who is currently playing for the Italian club Juventus. Jose Mourinho is cognizant of the fact that persuading Pogba to Stamford Bridge would pester United. Pogba was offloaded by Sir Alex Ferguson and labelled as ‘inexperienced’.

Chelsea captain John Terry’s miserable performance has also raised eyebrows and exacerbated the misery of Mourinho. After being handed red card in the last match against West Bromwich Albion, a transfer request should not sound music to his ears since he is adding fuel to the fire. Terry has always got Mourinho’s back who has shown faith in him over the years, but cementing a permanent place in the squad looks uncertain for Terry in the long run. Moreover, the centre-half of Chelsea is getting more exposed with the early season sluggishness of Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fàbregas. This untimely frailty is probably a wake-up call, and with the transfer window still open, Chelsea’s interest in Everton’s John Stones is sure to be stepped up before next Tuesday’s deadline.

Manchester United, which stood fourth in the last season and trailed 17 points behind the leaders Chelsea, are in the frontline with their spending spree. The Reds have signed five players by disbursing a whopping sum of 78.4 million, which would definitely increase before the transfer window closes. United manager Louis Van Gaal was appointed after the team administered by David Moyes saw their worst campaign following the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson. The triumphant team of 2012 slumped to a massive downfall and ended seventh in the competition, failing to clinch a single trophy and flunked the crucial Champions League qualification. Revamping the team with Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia as the only players of the Fergie era, Vaan Gaal seems desperate to restore the lost pride of United, as he knows very well that debacle at Old Trafford would haunt any player or manager all his life, no matter how glorious his career would have been. The arrogant gaffer has identified that United are still considerably short of the standards of Chelsea and Manchester City and he is trying to bridge the gap with high-profile and exciting signings. By finishing in the top four, he was able to lure the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger to Old Trafford, and after securing the Champions League spot this week, he will likely succeed in bringing home at least another top-notch. It is obvious that the experience of Schweinsteiger would definitely add quality to the United’s squad. But, signing a midfielder of his age, who is injury-prone and no longer possesses the same panache, would not win matches. With United keeping tabs on the Barcelona starlet Neymar, it seems to be a promising yet difficult move to seal. United are not only short of a world-class midfielder, but they also badly need a phenomenal striker. With the departure of Van Persie to Fenerbahce and the dingy display of the most prominent player Wayne Rooney in EPL, United should sign a worthy striker and midfielder to form a balanced and fatal squad. David De Gea’s future at Old Trafford is also uncertain, who is the most talked-about goalkeeper in the world right now and hasn’t played for United yet in any game. He is also an interest of Real Madrid and United would only offload him if they get the striker Gareth Bale, who is presently not for sale.

Van Gaal is tactically going quite smoothly and patiently, and he apparently doesn’t want to experiment with the configuration of the team. He would rather make a formidable team that could manoeuvre United to a clinical approach in the years to come.

Moving towards Manchester United’s ‘noisy neighbours’ Manchester City, both clubs share a history of rivalry. Their fans hurl abuses over each other. There is no doubt that City would have to move mountains to match the accomplishments of United, but they have proved themselves to be the ‘juggernauts’ in the past five years. City have led United head-to-head by 6-3 in the premier league since 2011. One of the reasons behind the surge in their performance and ranking is ‘money’, which has attracted players from different leagues. Moreover, the managerial capabilities of Manuel Pallergini, have injected a new hunger in his squad. It would be complete injustice if the splendid magic of Argentinian striker Sergio Aguero is not lauded for his incredible contribution in the team’s progress. Augero can be termed as the best City player ever. Manchester City have begun the new season in style, winning all three of the opening matches, hitting the net eight times and conceding no goals. They have signed five players by far, including midfielders Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Fabian Delph (Aston Villa), Patrick Roberts (Fulham), striker Enes Unal (Bursaspor) and defender Nicholas Oatmendi (Valencia). They are also on the verge of signing striker Kevin De Bruyne from Wolfsburg at a whopping sum of 54 million pounds.

It is also pertinent to mention that City are setting a bad precedent by throwing excessive money on players. Sterling, no doubt, is a good player, but he is not worth 49 million pounds.

Arsenal, on the other hand, have been prudent when it comes to spending money, which is quite impressive, considering that they ended third in the last season with a team of young players. Alex Sanchez and Mesut Ozil have been the only high-profile inductions in the last two seasons, who have showed promising start to their journey at the Emirates stadium. Manager Arsene Wenger has also faced backlash for a limited spending. He was even subjected to severe criticism onboard the train last season and booed by his own fans. Arsenal are committed to sign a match-winning striker and are trying to swoop for Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and Paris-Saint German’s Edinson Cavani. Wenger must have felt the heat, and given his experience is wise enough to understand that to clinch the title, he has to replicate some of the tactics of his counterparts – signing quality players and form an even-keeled team.

Liverpool lag behind in challenging the aforementioned teams for the title. The answer to their misery is quite simple – they are in need of two quality strikers and a midfielder. Since the departure of Luis Suarez to Barcelona, who could alone turn the match around in for Liverpool owing to his astounding class, Liverpool haven’t been able to look forward with the striking options. Their latest signing Christian Benteke is a good addition, but it’s too early to say if he could guide the team to the winning ways.

The season of 2015-16 is undoubtedly one of the most exciting seasons to watch. All the title contenders are in pursuit of strengthening their teams and sustaining their hegemony on top of the table. Chelsea didn’t get an ideal start their fans were hoping for, but they will surely bounce back. Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal will pose a threat to each other and unleash all their forces for the title. All in all, it will be an interesting battle to see who outfoxes the rest.