So there we go, the summer transfer window for 2016 is now officially shut and what have we learned? That managers at the Etihad Stadium are wasteful, that Jose Mourinho has more money than sense and that, despite a record of £90m spent over the summer, Arsenal fans are completely unsatisfied with Arsene Wenger. Confusing isn't it?
Two transfers have caught my eye. One that had been in the works for a while and one that picked up momentum during transfer deadline day and was officially announced moments before the window callously shut. Those of Paul Pogba and David Luiz. I am determined to make an argument for and against both of these signings, let me know what you think.
Pogba - For
One of the best midfielders in Europe last season and instrumental in France reaching the Euro 2016 Final on home soil. He embodies everything you want in a midfielder. Happy to sit back and challenge for the ball when your team doesn't have it and will be the marauding attacker when you do. At only 23 he has already played in both a Champion's League Final and a European Championship Final. He has won Serie A four times, in the team of the year twice and made it to the FIFPro World XI in 2015. The calibre of Paul Pogba is undoubted. He is a quality signing for Manchester United and will go on to greater wonders with one of the most famous clubs in the world. And at 23, he can only improve.
Pogba - Against
Eighty-nine million pounds. Let's just sit with that for a second. For a player who has won nothing at European or international level. Yes, he made it to the CL and Euro 2016 finals but he didn't win them. He's no Patrick Vieira. He's not a figurehead that people can rally around. He is, at best, a very good squad player. He can't hold a candle to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or Gareth Bale. In July, a Liverpool fan with far too much time on his (or her) hands showed the statistical similarities between Pogba and the most wildly average player to ever pull on an England shirt James Milner. The link is at the bottom of the page and it's hilarious. I'll admit, this is my opinion, but Man U have so chronically overpaid for Pogba, they really are going to struggle to justify it after a couple of barren months.
Luiz - For
Since David Luiz has left Chelsea, he has won Ligue 1 twice, played in a home World Cup Semi-Final and has been named in the Ligue 1 Team Of The Year twice. He is generally acknowledged as one of the best defenders in Europe. Chelsea sold him to Paris Saint Germain for £50m and has re-signed him now for £34m, making a £16m profit, No-one has made that much of a profit since Tottenham sold Robbie Keane to Liverpool in 2008. It's a shrewd move, Luiz has the Premier League experience now tempered with a couple of seasons with a team in Europe and Antonio Conte is no fool. He would have done his calculations and checked the statistics before agreeing to re-sign David Luiz.
Luiz - Against
Any monkey with money can win Ligue 1. No, seriously. Even Radamel Falcao flourished in France. Put him in a proper league (like, say, two seasons in the Premier League) and he is found out quicker than an elephant playing hide and seek in the desert. Sure, David Luiz has won a few leagues here and there and even a Champion's League at Chelsea but he could not be more past it. Look at his performance in the World Cup Semi against Germany. They lost 7-1. And Luiz could not have played worse! The mediocre performances of the strikers in France only flattered his ability as a defender. He's slow, struggles to read the game and can't step up in the big games. Why Chelsea re-signed him is beyond me. He will have only gone soft in France and he will be brutally exposed by even the most Bendtner of strikers now he's back in the Premier League.
What do you think of your team's transfer dealings over the summer? Let me know in the comments.
http://www.101greatgoals.com/top-stories/see-james-milners-liverpool-stats-stack-man-united-target-paul-pogba/
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