By Alpha Abu
Various clubs in the top European leagues traded players in this summer transfer window; parting company with those not in their plans or recruiting footballers that they expect would improve team performance. The official European transfer window closed on Monday 5th October though in England clubs in the Premier League can still do business with teams in the English Football League until Friday 16th October.
The final five days of the transfer window in England attracted some interesting signings and most notable of all was Arsenal’s capture of Thomas Partey from Spanish giants Athletico Madrid. The Gunners gave£ 45.3m for the robust Ghanaian midfielder, a deal that has brought to the fore Mikel Arteta’s intent on building a side that would be challenging for honours sooner than later.
Arsenals have no doubt improved rather encouragingly, since former player Mikel Arteta took charge. Confidence is gradually returning to the side again and the addition of holding midfielder Partey would bring assuring stability in the middle and give the more ambitious forward line the impetus to explore at will. Arsenal have even loaned two notable players Matteo Guendouzi and Luca Torreira to Hertha Berlin and Athletico Madrid respectively. It will be interesting to watch how the season turns out for the London side.
The uneasiness at Old Trafford continued up to the international break, moreso with the embarrassing home thumping by Spurs. Supporters of Manchester United have lost faith in coach Ole Solskjaer and would want him replaced. The Red Devils hit the panic button as seen in their frantic foray into the market resulting in the buying of players in the closing stages of the window; 27 year-old Porto left back player Alex Telles , teenage right winger Facundo Pellistri from Uruguayan side Penarol , Amad Diallo who is a right winger from Atalanta and the free transfer of Veteran star Edinson Cavani. They have finally sold loanee Chris Smalling to Roma and endorsed the loan switch of Diogo Dalot to AC Milan. One could easily tell that that there is a desperate attempt to bring in players who will compete with Wan- Bissaka and Luke Shaw, the duo having been exposed in matches of late.
Everton with some superb signings already this summer ,also finally added Ben Godfrey from Norwich to their side for a transfer fee of £ 20m, and allowed Moisea Kean to go to Paris Saint Germain on loan. Chelsea as the biggest spenders this summer are so satisfied that they have allowed Ruben Loftus- Cheek to settle down at Fulham on loan as well.
Rhian Brewster was sold by Liverpool to Sheffield United for £23.5m, the only significant trading by the Premier League Champions, 3 days before the transfer window closed.
The premier league will resume next week after the international break but the results of the last matches have left many pundits totally lost as to who will lift English Football’s ultimate prize. The favourites are getting whacked and suddenly it’s as if mid- table regulars Everton are beginning to show some strong ambition in results, and it is no surprise that they top the table going into this recess. Clubs have only played three to four matches and it is too early to pass judgment but the performances of teams like Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City in particular, have engendered a rethink about making predictions at this point that might turn out to be a complete farce. Potential champions have been humbled already and that’s why many say English top tier league is the most difficult to win. Maybe there is going to be a surprise winner this time, just as Leicester did in the 2015- 16 season. Is it going to be Tottenham , Everton or Arsenal or will the fancied sides with the appalling results they have suffered in matches so far, accept what is obviously a reality check and approach matches with much respect for the opposition in the coming weeks? Well that is what coaches like Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola , Frank Lampard and even Brendan Rodgers have to realize. The signs are that we are in for high drama in this 2020-21 season. Talking about winning the league should be shelved for now as the less fancied sides are now entering into matches with their sleeves fully rolled up. It is going to be an exciting league season indeed!
Copyright © 2020 Politico Online
