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The Summer Football Transfer Window of 2020 has just closed and it's time to reflect on some of the high profile transfers we witnessed in the past couple of months. Chelsea spent more than £200m on incoming players while Burnley barely spent a dime this window. For now, let's take a look at the players that grabbed our attention the most.
1. James Rodriguez - Everton
The Creative Colombian has made an instant impact for Everton with 3 goals and 2 assists in 4 Premier League appearances. Carlo Ancelotti has managed to rekindle the spark that we last saw in the 2014 World Cup. After earning a transfer to the Los Blancos he had a rocky start and eventually went on a two-year loan spell to Bayern. Ancelotti, the then manager of Bayern was successful in getting the best out of James, albeit for a relatively short period. Fast forward to 2020, the playmaker has reunited with his old boss and will look to help Everton reach their goal of a top-four finish and qualify for the Champions League.
2. Thiago Alcantara - Liverpool
After winning the Champions League with Bayern Munich, the Spanish Maestro decided to take on a new challenge. There were a few teams interested in a transfer but Liverpool won that battle. Thiago, an academy product of the famous La Masia left for the German champions in the early part of his senior career and then went on to win multiple Bundesliga titles, DFB Pokal, Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, and a host of other accolades. With Liverpool, under the impressive Klopp, Thiago will look to bring control and creativity in the midfield. It was very obvious that Liverpool lacked creativity from the central areas of the pitch and Thiago is ready to delight the audience with his presence.
3. Kai Havertz - Chelsea
Kai Havertz, widely regarded as one of the finest talents to come out of the Leverkusen academy in recent times, has joined Chelsea and the fans can't wait for him to get settled and entertain the Chelsea faithful! Adept at playing anywhere in the frontline and even in midfield areas, Kai boasts versatility along with immense technical caliber. Kai notched up more than 100 appearances for his previous club and he's just 21, which just magnifies the amount of senior football experience he's obtained in such a short time.
4. Gareth Bale – Tottenham Hotspurs
He's back! It's been a while but we are set to witness the second coming of one of the highest-paid wingers in the world, to the Premier League! Gareth Bale has had a love-hate relationship with Real Madrid in recent times, mostly due to his lack of consistency and injury proneness. Spurs under Jose Mourinho have decided to bring their boy back and we hope Bale regains his lethal touch. Shrouded with controversy and ruthlessness in the Spanish media, Bale looked to have lost the motivation he needed to get his mind back to football. He's often been pictured in golf courses while he was officially out injured. With all that gone, at least for the forthcoming season, Bale's remontada is back on the menu!
5. Thomas Partey - Arsenal
The deadline day signing of Thomas Partey could just be the player Arsenal so desperately needed. The all-action midfielder was linked with a move to North London for a long time but it took the final few hours of the transfer deadline day for the move to materialize. Capable of playing in a 2 man pivot or a 3 man fluid midfield, Partey drives the ball forward and provides key passes, and can also act as a shield for the back 3/4 in Arteta's system. Arsenal was interested in signing Aouar from Lyon but when the deal looked unlikely, Arsenal rushed to the La Liga headquarters to activate the £45m release clause. According to David Ornstein, the interest was there from Arsenal since 2018 but it's 2020, and Thomas Partey is finally an Arsenal player!
In the crazy COVID times, perhaps it was a little surprising how so many clubs decided to splash the cash on so many players, but ultimately it proves that despite the severity of a crisis rich situation, teams are desperate to achieve success. Chelsea had an incredible window buying the likes of Ziyech and Werner and you can see why the pundits point them out as potential champions of England come to the end of the season. Liverpool managed to add depth to an already world-class XI with the signing of Jota and teams like Man United and Arsenal managed to strengthen their squads by signing Van de Beek and Gabriel Magalhaes respectively
By Sudip Sadhukhan
(October 2020)
