12 of Europe's Best Cut-Price Buys of the 2014/15 Season
This slideshow takes a look at Juan Bernat, Yacine Brahimi and 12 of Europe's best cut-price buys of the 2014/15 season, focusing on those who moved for £15 million/€20 million or less.
With plenty of bargains to choose from, the players in this list were determined by a number of factors, including age, transfer fee and how much of a success they have been at their new club so far. These deals must have been arranged in the summer of 2014 or later, so no Robert Lewandowski, Radja Nainggolan or Sebastian Rode here.
With loan moves not counted, the slides are arranged with the most expensive players first, leading up to those who moved for free. If players have the same price, they will be presented in a descending order of age.
You will also find a list of honourable mentions, for those who did not make it into the final 12.
Anyone you would add to the list? Let us know below!
Honourable Mentions
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- Ayoze Perez: Club Deportivo Tenerife to Newcastle United, £1.76 million/€2 million
- Sebastian Jung: Eintracht Frankfurt to VfL Wolfsburg, £2.2 million/€2.5 million
- Miguel Angel Moya: Getafe to Atletico Madrid, £2.64 million/€3 million
- Pepe Reina: Liverpool to Bayern Munich, £2.64 million/€3 million
- David Ospina: OGC Nice to Arsenal, £3.52 million/€4 million
- Diafra Sakho: FC Metz to West Ham United, £4.4 million/€5 million
- Marco Parolo: Parma to Lazio, £4.84 million/€5.5 million
- Josip Drmic: FC Nurnberg to Bayer Leverkusen, £5.98 million/€6.8 million
- Yann Sommer: FC Basel to Borussia Monchengladbach, £7.04 million/€8 million
- Remy Cabella: Montpellier to Newcastle United, £8.8 million/€10 million
- Gylfi Sigurdsson: Tottenham Hotspur to Swansea City, £8.89 million/€10.10 million
- Emre Can: Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool, £10.56 million/€12 million
- Fraser Forster: Celtic to Southampton, £11 million/€12.5 million
- Lucas Silva: Cruzeiro to Real Madrid, £11.4 million/€13 million
- Dusan Tadic: FC Twente to Southampton, £12.32 million/€14 million
12. Xherdan Shaqiri
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Age: 23
Transfer Fee: £13.2 million/€15 million
From: Bayern Munich
To: Inter Milan
It's still quite hard to believe that Bayern Munich commanded so little for the January sale of Xherdan Shaqiri.
The Switzerland international penned a four-and-a-half-year contract with Inter Milan (a deal beginning as a loan and being made permanent in July) after falling down the pecking order at Allianz Arena, where he won two Bundesliga titles and the Champions League—among other honours—in just under three years with the club.
Only 23, Shaqiri is one of the most exciting young wingers out there. He's experienced, having played against some of Europe's top sides and, of course, has impressed on the international stage—most notably at the 2014 World Cup, with a hat-trick performance against Honduras in Group E.
In his 81 games for Bayern, the former FC Basel man scored 17 times and registered 19 assists in all competitions. He has already made an impact at San Siro, where in three Serie A starts he has notched two assists and a goal, adding a further strike in the Coppa Italia against Sampdoria and one in the Europa League against Celtic.
Given regular playing time, Shaqiri will only continue to get better.
11. Hakan Calhanoglu
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Age: 21
Transfer Fee: £12.76 million/€14.5 million
From: Hamburg SV
To: Bayer Leverkusen
At just 21 years of age and fast becoming one of the best set-piece specialists in Europe, Bayer Leverkusen's summer capture of Hakan Calhanoglu looks like a steal.
The Turkey international went straight into Roger Schmidt's side, bagging two assists and one goal in his first three Bundesliga outings. He has since continued to impress, adding a further four goals and one assist to his league tally at BayArena.
In the Champions League, Calhanoglu has been similarly successful, grabbing one goal and two assists in Group C, before scoring the only goal of the game against Atletico Madrid in a 1-0 win in the round of 16. And what a goal it was.
The 21-year-old, reported to be on Barcelona's radar (per Guillem Balague here on B/R), scored another outstanding free-kick this week, this time against FC Kaiserslautern in the German Cup.
Just two seasons ago, the Leverkusen No. 10 was playing in the third tier of German football with Karlsruher SC. Now he's on his way to becoming a bona fide star.
10. Ryan Bertrand
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Age: 25
Transfer Fee: £11.74 million/€13.34 million
From: Chelsea
To: Southampton
Ryan Bertrand's Southampton loan move became permanent on deadline day this winter, the left-back penning a four-and-a-half year deal at St. Mary's.
Bertrand's initial loan with the Saints was his seventh such move since 2006, when he was promoted from Chelsea's academy to the senior squad. In his years at Stamford Bridge, he made 57 appearances for the Blues—famously making his European debut and 13th start overall in their 2011/12 Champions League final win against Bayern Munich.
His impact on the south coast was so immediate that Southampton fans were soon able to forget about Luke Shaw's departure, the prodigious left-back just one of many faces to leave the club during the summer.
Bertrand has truly flourished as part of the Premier League's meanest defence, who have conceded just 20 top-flight goals all season and currently sit fifth in the table. At 25, he has years ahead of him. He was a thoroughly astute buy from Ronald Koeman's side.
9. Manolo Gabbiadini
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Age: 23
Transfer Fee: £11 million/€12.5 million
From: Sampdoria (co-owned by Juventus)
To: Napoli
Little over two months into his Napoli career, Manolo Gabbiadini is already looking like a superb addition to Rafa Benitez's side.
During his first seven Serie A outings for the Partenopei, the former Atalanta, Juventus and Sampdoria forward scored in three straight games, against Chievo Verona, Udinese Calcio and Palermo, respectively. In the Europa League, Gabbiadini announced his arrival in this year's competition with a goal and an assist in a 4-0 away win against Trabzonspor on February 19.
His tally for the season now stands at 13 goals and two assists in all competitions (for both Sampdoria and Napoli).
A genuinely exciting young Italian talent, whose versatility allows him to play anywhere across the front line at Stadio San Paulo, it's a wonder that Samp and Juve allowed Gabbiadini to leave for such a relatively small fee. Expect his value to skyrocket in coming seasons.
8. Nicolas Otamendi
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Age: 27
Transfer Fee: £10.56 million/€12 million
From: FC Porto
To: Valencia CF
Nicolas Otamendi has been an undisputed hit at Mestalla this season, clocking up 23 starts out of a potential 25 in La Liga and marshalling a Valencia defence that has conceded the second-lowest number of goals in the division.
The centre-back parted ways with Porto following 122 games with the club and, after being sent out on loan to Brasileiro side Atletico Mineiro last term, he was allowed to leave Estadio do Dragao for a relatively small fee in July.
Otamendi has also found the back of the net on two occasions in La Liga in 2014/15, in wins against Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.
The Argentina international is now being linked with a move away from Los Che, with the Mirror's Simon Mullock claiming in January that Valencia are putting together a new contract that will feature a £60 million release clause.
7. Xabi Alonso
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Age: 33
Transfer Fee: £8.8 million/€10 million
From: Real Madrid
To: Bayern Munich
With Toni Kroos sold to Real Madrid and Bastian Schweinsteiger, Javi Martinez and Thiago Alcantara all injured at Bayern Munich, last summer Pep Guardiola's need for a new defensive midfielder was pressing.
Many wondered if the signing of a then-32-year-old Xabi Alonso was the answer when the Spaniard put pen to paper with Bayern late in the window, the Bundesliga season having already kicked off.
If any doubts remained, they soon disappeared as Alonso was voted man of the match in his first two games for the German champions and, after just five outings in a Bayern shirt, he broke the Bundesliga record for highest number of touches (204) in one game, a 2-0 win against FC Cologne.
"200-plus touches?!" remarked team-mate Thomas Muller on Bundesliga.com. "I'd need a whole season to do that."
Alonso has featured in all but one of Bayern's Champions League ties this season and has chalked up 20 Bundesliga appearances (18 as a starter) out of a potential 23.
This World Cup winner, and two-time Champions League and European Championship winner, will be adding the German league title to his already-impressive list of honours by the time the season's out
His signing was not only a bargain, it was a masterstroke.
6. Juan Bernat
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Age: 22
Transfer Fee: £8.8 million/€10 million
From: Valencia
To: Bayern Munich
When Juan Bernat signed for Bayern Munich, the move hardly made waves, with the youngster roundly expected to start life at the Allianz Arena warming the bench while David Alaba continued as first-choice left-back.
However, Bernat instantly became an integral part of Pep Guardiola's side, and until Bayern's most recent Bundesliga outing against FC Cologne, he was the only outfield player at the club who had featured in every game, in every competition, in 2014/15—both as a left-back and on the left of midfield.
"I'm a huge Pep fan. I like his philosophy, it harmonises very well with my own playing style," Bernat told Bundesliga.com upon signing for the German champions.
Converted from a left midfielder into a left-back by former Valencia boss Unai Emery for the 2013/14 season, the Spain under-21 international has come a long way. There's much more to come.
5. Shkodran Mustafi
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Age: 22
Transfer Fee: £7.4 million/€8 million
From: Sampdoria
To: Valencia
The second Valencia centre-back to feature in this slideshow, Shkodran Mustafi's summer switch from Stadio Luigi Ferraris to Mestalla was a great deal with a very low price.
Forced to miss the first four games of the La Liga season, due to a thigh injury picked up at the 2014 World Cup, the Germany defender notched an assist in his third game for the club and scored his first goal exactly one month after making his debut for Los Che. This was followed by two goals in his next game against Villarreal.
He has played every minute of every La Liga game for Nuno Espirito Santo's side since and, beaten in just four league outings, Mustafi has been part of a rock-solid defence that has let in just 21 goals this season. Only Barcelona, with 15, have let in fewer.
4. Yacine Brahimi
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Age: 25
Transfer Fee: £5.72 million/€6.5 million
From: Granada CF
To: FC Porto
Following an impressive 2014 World Cup showing for Algeria, it's a wonder that Yacine Brahimi did not have a number of clubs tussling for his signature and driving up his market value over the summer.
However, the former Stade Rennais and Granada midfielder put pen to paper with Porto on a five-year deal, his contract with Julen Lopetegui's side featuring a £40 million/€55 million buyout clause, according to BBC Sport.
The Portuguese side are specialists in the transfer market, picking up players cheaply, nurturing their talent and selling them on for vastly inflated fees. In Brahimi, they have an outstanding talent, known for his magnificent dribbling skills, who will be sold for a huge amount of money in seasons to come.
With six goals and five assists in 18 Primeira Liga games so far, the Paris-born player is enjoying his most prolific season to date. These figures would also be undoubtedly more, had Brahimi not been on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations tournament across January and early February.
Furthermore, in his debut Champions League campaign, the Algeria international has also turned heads, notching four goals and two assists across six games, with a further one of each coming during the qualification process.
Already being linked with a move away from Estadio do Dragao with a transfer fee of £33 million now attached to his name, according to reports in Italy (h/t Ben Jefferson of the Express), Porto's capture of Brahimi will go down as one of the bargains of the season.
3. Lukasz Fabianski
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Age: 29
Transfer Fee: Free
From: Arsenal
To: Swansea City
A player rarely found making headline news, Lukasz Fabianksi is quietly one of the Premier League's biggest bargains of 2014/15.
Swansea currently sit in eighth place in England's top flight, with a finish in the top 10 looking increasingly likely this season.
Fabianski—completely revitalized by his move away from Arsenal, where he played second fiddle to Wojciech Szczesny—is currently ranked as the division's fourth-best goalkeeper on the official Premier League website.
He has kept 10 clean sheets in 26 games (out of a possible 27) this season and makes an average of 3.23 saves per game, with an average claim success of 95 percent, according to Squawka.
Swansea's success under Garry Monk is down, in no small part, to Fabianski's efforts in goal.
2. Jeremy Menez
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Age: 27
Transfer Fee: Free
From: Paris Saint-Germain
To: AC Milan
Out of favour at Paris Saint-Germain and allowed to depart Parc des Princes for nothing when his contract expired last July, few could have predicted the personal success that Jeremy Menez was to have this term with AC Milan.
His 12 goals for Filippo Inzaghi's team in Serie A is a career best, a far cry from the two goals he scored as he struggled at PSG last season.
Menez is currently Italy's third-highest goalscorer, with the same number of strikes as Napoli's Gonzalo Higuain and Palermo's Pablo Dybala. Juventus' Carlos Tevez leads the table with 15, and Mauro Icardi of Inter Milan has 14.
In addition to the Frenchman's goals and his six assists, the quality of his goals stand out in what has been a drab season for his employers. The former Sochaux, Monaco, Roma and PSG man has scored some beauties in 2014/15, such as this strike against Parma and even this shot, which was eventually disallowed against Roma.
It's been a bad campaign for Inzaghi's AC Milan, and without Menez, their situation would undoubtedly be worse.
1. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting
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Age: 25
Transfer Fee: Free
From: Mainz
To: Schalke
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting's free summer transfer to Veltins-Arena was a great piece of business for Schalke.
The former Hamburg and Mainz forward agreed his three-year deal with Die Knappen after returning from action at the 2014 World Cup with Cameroon, with Jens Keller then in charge of the club.
In a team boasting the attacking talents of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Sidney Sam and Julian Draxler among others, Choupo-Moting wasted no time in bedding in to his new surroundings, registering three goals and two assists in his first six league outings.
With Roberto Di Matteo brought in to replace Keller in October, Choupo-Moting has continued to impress. Currently his side's top Bundesliga scorer, his tally now stands at 10 goals and five assists (in all competitions).
A versatile forward with an excellent work rate, the Hamburg-born player has been used on both wings, as a second striker and as a centre-forward by Schalke this season. Used in every single Champions League game this term, 2014/15 has been Choupo-Moting's first campaign in the competition.
All player and transfer information comes from Transfermarkt.com and Transfermarkt.co.uk, unless stated otherwise.
