Top Ten Transfers
As per tradition, January gave way to February. Nothing special, really. Unless you’re involved in football, in which case everyone gets a little hysterical about who’s just signed for Northampton Town from Burnley (it was Clarke Carlisle, Countdown sensation, in case you missed that one).
Speaking of Countdown, here’s Saint Sport’s humble contribution – with the transfer window firmly shut (unless you’re in Russia or South America), here’s my top ten January transfer deals (and yes, I am focusing on England, even if Inverness Caley Thistle did do a bit of thrifty business this last month).
Which transfers beat the clock?
And no, Thierry Henry’s return to Arsenal doesn’t make the list. I have also left out Robbie Keane (Aston Villa) and Landon Donovan (Everton), who have contributed rather more but go back to the United States in a few weeks.
Other honourable mentions go to Wolves’ acquisitions of Emmanuel Frimpong and Sebastien Bassong (both on loan) which could help them stiffen their rearguard and possibly avoid relegation (Bassong in particular is an under-rated and under-used defender, surplus to Harry Redknapp’s requirements at Tottenham); there was also Pavel Pogrebnyak to Fulham (very good a few years back but faded somewhat recently), Kevin de Bruyne to Chelsea (one for the future) and David Pizarro to Manchester City (cover for David Silva, probably). But now, to business.
1) Bobby Zamora (Fulham – QPR, undisclosed)
QPR need goals if they are to reverse their slide towards the Premiership drop-zone. New manager Mark Hughes knows Zamora well from his Fulham days, so pounced on Zamora’s exclusion from the Cottagers’ first team (presumably having had a tiff with boss Martin Jol).
Zamora is experienced, physically strong and technically gifted. He can score plenty of goals for himself (he was on the fringes of the England squad last year) and also set up chances for his teammates.
A great player to have, especially when you’re struggling to hit the back of the net, and all for an amount estimated to be £4-5 million.
2) Djibril Cisse (Lazio – QPR, £4m)
Someone who is set to benefit from Zamora’s strength and vision is Cisse, whose pace and eye for goal made him a favourite at Liverpool and Sunderland.
He might not be the player he was, but – if he stays fit and hungry for action – he could be an ideal foil for Zamora. They are very different players, and if a good partnership that plays to their strengths comes together, Mark Hughes will be confident of keeping QPR up.
3) Nedum Onuoha (Manchester City – QPR, undisclosed)
Yes, them again. QPR were very busy indeed, because they need to be (and they have the money to spend). Goal-getters like Zamora and Cisse are a must for any decent team, but so are top-class defenders. Nedum Onuoha is certainly one of those.
It’s a mystery why Manchester City left him unused when – in the absence of Vincent Kompany – they had to make do with Stefan Savic, who looks about as steady as the Eurozone economy.
Onuoha was excellent on loan at Sunderland last year, brave and steadfast at the back and scoring a beauty of a goal at Chelsea. He should give QPR’s defence a boost and, whether he be at Loftus Road in the long term or not, has a very promising career ahead of him.
4) Louis Saha (Everton – Tottenham, free) and Steven Pienaar (Tottenham – Everton, loan)
It wasn’t all about QPR. These deals I have grouped together like they were some sort of swap. Maybe they were. As long as they didn’t let Redknapp handle the accounts…
Anyway, a lot of people were bemused by the Saha transfer. But with Robbie Keane already gone and Roman Pavlyuchenko sold last night, Spurs would be short of cover for strikers Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermain Defoe. Saha, if fit, provides that – a striker with proven Premiership class for free is not to be dismissed. On his day Saha is one of the best forwards in the league; not bad to have on the bench.
Steven Pienaar, meanwhile, went in the opposite direction to join his old club on loan. A clever and technically-gifted player, Pienaar will give the Everton midfield some star quality, especially important when Donovan leaves. Goals and assists will surely follow.
5) Papiss Demba Cisse (Freiburg – Newcastle, undisclosed)
Moving to St James for an estimated £10 million, Cisse will partner fellow Senegalese striker Demba Ba up front for the Magpies. Leon Best and Shola Ameobi are all well and good, but Ba has been of a different class this season.
Cisse knows Ba through the Senegal team and they even combined up front at the African Cup of Nations, albeit as Senegal crashed out. If the two work together well at club level, Ba could score even more goals and Newcastle’s season – already going very well – could get even better.
6) Darron Gibson (Manchester Utd – Everton, undisclosed)
“All part of the plan,” said Sir Alex Ferguson after ex-United player Gibson scored the winner against Manchester City last night.
Whatever it was, Everton have got themselves a decent Premiership-standard midfielder for less than £2 million and he has already had a positive impact. His shooting is venomous, his passing and vision good and his tackling ok.
Everton manager David Moyes has made his name by squeezing the best out of decent/mediocre players and Gibson, talented but overwhelmed by the pressure of succeeding Paul Scholes at Old Trafford, could benefit. If so, Everton as a whole are also onto a winner.
7) Gary Cahill (Bolton – Chelsea, £7m)
One for the future, but could also be important this season. Cahill has shown enough in a Bolton and England shirt to suggest that he is capable of partnering and, eventually, replacing John Terry in the centre of defence for club and country.
He is strong, courageous and effective in both penalty areas. He is no slowcoach either, which could be invaluable for Chelsea as Terry slows down and David Luiz gives the ball away because he’s controlled by a kid playing a Playstation/because he’s Brazilian and thinks he’s better than he actually is.
Sure, he’s not had a great season up to now, though that was part of Bolton’s decline as a team, and he will probably be used more sparingly than he would like this year, but he’ll should be a Chelsea stalwart for years to come – which makes £7 million look pretty cheap.
8) Nikica Jelavic (Rangers – Everton, undisclosed)
Another Everton purchase, and this one a much sought-after striker. Jelavic has excelled in Scotland, the Croat showing pace, predatory instincts and deadly finishing for Rangers.
A word of warning: players who have done well in Scotland don’t always translate that to performances down south, where the standard of opposition comes as something of a shock. Kris Boyd, Adam Rooney and Connor Sammon, who all scored bucketloads in the SPL, have come to England and found their scoring boots desert them.
Jelavic will also have to work hard to displace Denis Stracqualursi, who was brilliant against Manchester City. But he is undoubtedly a handy option to have in an otherwise barren striker department.
9) Josh McEachran (Chelsea – Swansea, loan)
We know that Swansea play lovely football. Their midfield in particular excels in accurate passing and intelligent movement. So McEachran, a talented young midfielder who has not seen much action at Chelsea, fits into their pattern of play perfectly. He knows Brendan Rogers from his spell at Chelsea too.
This should be an interesting period for McEachran. The opportunity to get more playing time should allow Chelsea, their rivals and the football world to make up its mind on the player: will he live up to his potential, or be another young starlet who ultimately fails to make the grade?
10) Keith Andrews (Blackburn – West Brom, free)
One of the last deals to go through before the deadline, and a decent one for West Brom. Andrews is an energetic central midfielder who has made it into the Republic of Ireland team.
He is the sort of hard-working and dependable player that Baggies manager Roy Hodgson loves to work with and can get results from. A top player for West Brom to have, and for free as well – he should help them consolidate a good mid-table finish this year.
