Premier League signings to take a bow When the clock strikes 11 p.m. BST on Sept 1, it will be the moment when all 20 clubs in Englands top division will have completed their summer dealings. Despite the World Cup, business so far has been brisk. While familiar names like Cesc Fabregas and Didier Drogba are making returns, several players are beginning their England careers. ESPN FC selects the 10 most intriguing arrivals set to make their Premier League debut. Alexis Sanchez(Arsenal) Signed from: Barcelona Fee: £35 million Position: Forward For the second summer in a row, Arsene Wenger has landed perhaps the biggest coup of the transfer window. After being accused of reticence for so long, Arsenals manager has developed an eye for seizing the offcut of a major transfer. Mesut Ozil was snared once Real Madrid had to pay for Gareth Bale, and the same pattern was followed when Barcelona needed 75 million pounds to buy Luis Suarez. Sanchez is not quite Suarez, the player Wenger wanted last year, but his ability to play across the front line and bulwarking energy should hugely increase Arsenals attacking potency. The Chilean, rather overshadowed by Lionel Messi, never quite convinced at Barcelona, but his last season in Catalonia was undoubtedly his best. His final goal for Barca, a thrilling strike from an impossible angle against Atletico Madrid, provided a fine example of his talent. Diego Costa (Chelsea) Signed from: Atletico Madrid Fee: £32 million Position: Striker A year ago, Liverpool felt they were in with a chance of landing Costa. Instead, he chose to stay at Atletico, where his performances took him beyond Brendan Rodgers reach, since Costa had already joined Chelsea by the time Luis Suarez was sold. Chelsea had the deal -- long since signposted -- wrapped up by the time Costa was playing at the World Cup for Spain. His performance in his native Brazil raised a question mark against the player who Jose Mourinho hoped could answer the striking problem he suffered so publicly last season. However, should Costa come close to replicating the form that inspired Atletico to winning La Liga, Chelsea might prove unstoppable, especially as in Cesc Fabregas they have added a proven Premier League star who will be Costas prime supplier of assists. Muhamed Besic (Everton) Signed from: Ferencvaros Fee: £4.8 million Position: Midfielder/defender Much of Evertons summer business has been spent nailing down the team that performed so well for Roberto Martinez last season. Gareth Barry and Romelu Lukaku are now on permanent deals, while Ross Barkley signed a new long-term contract. Besic, meanwhile, looks like a typical Martinez signing. His versatility -- capable of playing centre-back and as a midfield anchorman -- fits the profile required for a squad always thin on resources. Martinez needs someone other than John Stones to back up the experience of Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin and support Barry. Bosnia-Herzegovinas youngest-ever international, Besic is a player whose time in German football -- he was born in Berlin -- was ended after a serious bust-up with Hamburg coach Thorsten Fink, which again is a classic Martinez approach; the Spaniard loves to polish a rough, talented diamond. Emre Can (Liverpool) Signed from: Bayer Leverkusen Fee: £9.75 million Position: Midfielder Rodgers is a man with an eye for fashion, and in landing a German midfielder, he made a voguish coup. Can began his career in the Bayern Munich academy that churned out Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller, Mats Hummels, Toni Kroos and Bastian Schweinsteiger for the World Cup winner, but his playing style most resembles Schweini with added muscle. Plenty of it, in fact. Can has already become something of a Liverpool folk hero for Saturday nights barge into AC Milans Mario Balotelli and an excellent measured pass. There was something of a young Steven Gerrard in that vignette, which, with the captains ability to regularly impose himself undoubtedly fading, may be just what Liverpool need. Of all Liverpools summer additions, Can, 20, looks capable of the deepest impact. Lazar Markovic (Liverpool) Signed from: Benfica Fee: £20 million Position: Winger Rodgers also has an appetite for signing wingers. Having been rebuffed in Januarys ill-fated attempt to get Yevhen Konoplyanka from FC Dnipro, Rodgers readjusted his sights on Markovic. He was eventually signed from Benfica, the former giant that now makes its money as a farm for talent to be sold on to richer leagues. Markovic, who was expected to join Chelsea last year from Partizan, instead alerted other suitors with a promising first season at the Estadio da Luz. He has pace to burn and is able to play off either flank, so Rodgers has a player he believes can interchange with Raheem Sterling in supporting Daniel Sturridge. Another 20-year-old, Markovic is not a player without rough edges; he missed out on Benficas Europa League final through suspension, having been sent off in the semifinal for a fight with Juventus Mirko Vucinic that took place after Markovic had been substituted. Willy Caballero (Manchester City) Signed from: Malaga Fee: £6 million Position: Goalkeeper Financial fair play reduces Manchester Citys hand in this summers transfer business. Brazilian Fernando adds to their rotation of defensive midfielders, while Frenchman Eliaquim Mangala fills a gap at centre-back. Neither is a spectacular signing of the type the club has made its habit since 2008. Caballero, however, was a purchase to raise eyebrows. Manuel Pellegrinis early-season dissatisfaction with Joe Hart in 2013-14 was quelled once the England keeper regained his consistency, but should those levels again drop, Caballero is a much higher-grade replacement than Costel Pantilimon could ever prove. The Argentine is a Pellegrini loyalist, having worked with the Chilean at Malaga with they reached the Champions League last eight in 2012-13. As his perseverance with Martin Demichelis revealed, Pellegrini likes to have such players on his team. Remy Cabella (Newcastle United) Signed from: Montpellier Fee: £10 million Position: Midfielder Newcastles 2013-14 season is widely regarded as being split into two halves: the heady days that preceded the January sale of Yohan Cabaye to PSG and the turgidity that followed. As a midfielder who provides a similar goal threat, Cabella was linked as a replacement for his compatriot but did not arrive in January. Instead, his arrival, alongside those of Siem de Jong, Daryl Janmaat and Emmanuel Riviere, has led to a revival of optimism on Tyneside; owner Mike Ashley did not bring in a single permanent signing in the entire campaign. Cabella was an unused member of Frances World Cup squad, but his promise has been in evidence since he was a starlet of Montpelliers Ligue 1 title-winning campaign. Toon fans hope that this French recruit can be as influential as the departure they still lament. Brown Ideye (West Brom) Signed from: Dynamo Kiev Fee: £10 million Position: Striker I dont know much about Brown Ideye. Ive not seen him live, but people we trust have done, said West Brom coach Alan Irvine of his clubs keynote summer signing. Its not necessarily something that is detrimental to me not to have seen him live, though ideally I would like to because thats how I like to do my work. Such words rang alarm bells about the goings-on at the Hawthorns; Ideye is believed to have been signed for 10 million pounds on the say-so of new director of football Terry Burton while Irvine had seen the Nigerian striker play on a DVD only. The striker was something of a hero in the Ukraine and was a surprise absentee from Stephen Keshis World Cup squad, but Irvine has done little to convince a united ship was behind the new arrival. Ander Herrera (Manchester United) Signed from: Athletic Bilbao Fee: £28.85 million Position: Midfielder David Moyes was last heard of taking a July golfing holiday in Bermuda. The preseason performances of Herrera may have the former boss wishing that he is swallowed up by the Triangle. The Spaniard proved symbolic of Manchester Uniteds transfer failings last summer. While United didnt meet his buyout clause on deadline day, they signed Marouane Fellaini instead. No such mistake was made in June, and under Louis van Gaal, United already look capable of the type of midfield creativity that withered amid Moyes linear thinking. Herrera plays with buzz, works the angles and shoots powerfully from long distance. United still require recruits in other departments to be anywhere near reclaiming their primacy, but a midfielder of inventive vision had been the player most obviously lacking. Enner Valencia (West Ham) Signed from: Pachuca Fee: £12 million Position: Striker Deja vu all over again at Upton Park. Andy Carroll is injured and probably wont be back until Christmas shopping beckons. At least this time West Ham have signed a striker who may be able to play instead of the ponytailed Jonah. Last season, they often played as if Carroll was in the team, even when he wasnt; long balls drifted to an invisible target. Valencias goals at the World Cup for Ecuador suggested a striker of considerable ability and whose style would be suited to Sam Allardyce. The initial plan was for Valencia to augment Carroll, but instead he replaces him. Consoling for Hammers is that Valencia cannot be nearly as bad a stand-in as Modibo Maiga
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:49:17 +0000
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