Comparing Manchester City's 2015 Summer Transfer Moves to Premier League Rivals
If to stand still is to go backward, then to not sign vast amounts of players every transfer window is often considered to be the same thing.
In modern football, we want our clubs to be constantly recruiting new players, freshening up the squad and giving us new names to discuss, argue about and plaster across the back of our brand-new replica shirts. Anything else is considered disappointing or, even worse, unambitious.
It is surely more important to sign the specific players you want for a specific need, though, and that is exactly what Manchester City have done so far, even if—as we recently discussed—they could well push the boat out further.
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But in signing Raheem Sterling and Fabian Delph for immediate first-team duties and Patrick Roberts and Enes Unal to learn from the vast amount of talented players around them (although Unal has gone to Genk on loan), City have taken impressive steps in bringing in much-needed youth.
Delph is the oldest of the four at 25, while Sterling is rightly considered to be one of the best talents under 21 years old in world football, and he picked up the European Golden Boy Award—previously won by the likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Paul Pogba—to prove that last year.
City often looked tired during the somewhat limp defence of their Premier League title in 2014/15, so this injection of vitality was certainly needed if Manuel Pellegrini’s players weren’t to start looking a little stale.
But what of others?
City’s rivals from last season’s top six have all been splashing the cash this summer, but have they addressed their own gaping needs? Let’s have a look.
The lack of first-team transfer activity at Stamford Bridge has led some to start having a few concerns about the champions, who have brought in Asmir Begovic to replace Petr Cech and Radamel Falcao to take over from Didier Drogba.
Are they upgrades? Maybe, but only marginal ones if so, with Begovic doubtless happier to sit on the bench than Cech would have been and Falcao’s legs a lot younger than Drogba’s—even if they haven’t been functioning too well lately. A new left-back is likely to arrive following Filipe Luis’ exit, although how exciting can a new left-back ever really be?
Sticking with our theme of only buying what you actually need, though, you begin to see Jose Mourinho’s thinking. Chelsea reigned supreme over all of the division last season, so why unnecessarily alter that winning formula?
In comparison to City, though, the signings just don’t seem all that exciting, and creating and maintaining that level of excitement often generates a buzz from which winning emerges.
Chelsea have every right to rely on the same players again, but have they missed a trick here?
Have Chelsea had a better window than City? No.
Arsenal’s most obvious need was a top-class, experienced goalkeeper, and given that they’ve ended up with Petr Cech, that’s a fairly solid entry into the win column.
Prising the Czech away from Chelsea might yet prove to be one of the best things Arsene Wenger has ever done, but despite some excited claims to the contrary, the goalkeeper isn’t going to win the Gunners the title all on his own.
At the time of writing, he remains the only addition who will go straight into the first-team squad at the Emirates Stadium. There are plenty of calls for Wenger to splash the cash on a new forward to augment a squad that, outfield-wise, is still broadly the same as last season’s.
City spent big to revamp their attack when they brought in Sterling, and until this growing sense Arsenal need to do the same has passed, there will continue to be a certain level of angst among the club’s fans as the club bids to get closer to the summit of the Premier League.
Cech is a great signing, but do they need another one?
Have Arsenal had a better window than City? Yes, but only just.
Over on the other side of the Manchester divide, Manchester United have been making headlines with their five summer signings and a few high-profile departures.
In Memphis Depay, Matteo Darmian and Morgan Schneiderlin, Louis van Gaal has brought in players who will help carry out his plans in the coming campaign, more so than some of the headline moves he made last summer.
This time around, those headlines are dominated by the signing of Bastian Schweinsteiger who—although the wrong side of 30—will bring experience and authority to a United midfield that has needed leadership for a while.
Delph is a vastly different type of player, one whose good work for City is likely to go largely unnoticed. In his own way, he could become as important to his new club as Schweinsteiger becomes to United, but there is little doubt which set of fans is more excited by their club’s move.
Have United had a better window than City? Yes.
Improving the defence has been the order of the summer so far for Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino, who has brought in Toby Alderweireld, Kieran Trippier and Kevin Wimmer as the likes of Younes Kaboul and Vlad Chiriches have departed.
Again, this is an example of a club that has identified a weakness and taken steps to rectify it, but Spurs fans will doubtless be keen to see Pochettino splash the cash on a strike partner for Harry Kane or at the very least a player who could lighten the goalscoring burden on a youngster who will be under immense pressure to deliver the goods again.
Midfield, too, would seem to need reinforcements after a raft of departures in that position. As such, Tottenham continue to have a look of a team that might trouble the elite sides in the division in a one-off game but not in a title race.
Have Tottenham had a better window than City? No.
A look at Liverpool’s transfer business isn’t complete without the acknowledgement that losing Sterling to City has both weakened them and strengthened a rival, but the Reds always seemed determined to set the transfer pace this summer and have done well as a result.
Indeed, there’s an argument that taking James Milner on a free from City has performed the reverse effect of Sterling’s move, and it is difficult to imagine the hugely popular ex-City man being anything other than an outright success at Anfield, where he’s set to play in central midfield, thereby plugging the gap left by the departure of Steven Gerrard.
Further forward, the pace of Sterling maybe have been lost, but in Roberto Firmino, Christian Benteke and Danny Ings, the Reds have added creativity, goals and a willing runner to bring off the bench, while Nathaniel Clyne is a vast upgrade to Glen Johnson at right-back.
All-in-all, the Reds look to have done very well from their part-City-funded spree, and with trying to get back into the top four their aim, they seem to have covered their bases impressively.
Have Liverpool had a better window than City? Yes.
And so there you have it. City’s business comes somewhat mid-table when you compare it to that carried out by the teams that finished around them last season, but given the existing talent within the squad, that still stands them in pretty good stead.
As we’ve mentioned above, having a good transfer window doesn’t always equate to a good season, but City’s attempts at rectifying last season’s wrongs have been impressive, and with just one or two more additions, they might have the perfect squad with which to reclaim the title—and put any thoughts of standing still firmly to bed.
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