Liverpool Transfer News: Was Charles N'Zogbia a Better Fit Than Stewart Downing?

Aston Villa have confirmed today, 25th of July, agreement of fees for the influential French winger Charles N'Zogbia from Wigan Athletic.

N'Zogbia, it must be said, had two outstanding seasons for Wigan and almost made it to Birmingham a lot earlier only for his move to break down in the 11th hour. However, now that the winger's arrival at the rival Birmingham-based outfit is all but certain, it would be worthwhile to look at the conditions under which it has finally taken place (assuming of course that N'Zogbia passes the medicals at Villa and agrees terms).

Aston Villa, after a rather dismal showing in the Premier League last season, have probably lost out most in terms of quality of talent exiting their side this summer. With the likes of Ashley Young and their "Player of the Season," Stewart Downing, both leaving the club, Villa has surely lost out on their wing options.

However, all the sales have meant that the Villans now had cash to splash and their new manager has moved fast to sign the much-reputed winger from Wigan.

All this is very much a known story to all. However, the question that lurks is have Villa made a better deal than Liverpool on the left wing now that they have signed the French international to replace the English one?

The reason I have linked Liverpool to this is because it was widely reported that the Reds had great admiration for the Latics player with both Liverpool's former boss Roy Hodgson and the incumbent Kenny Dalglish having sent scouts to monitor the player and it could well be argued that if Downing didn't decide to budge, N'Zogbia could well have been a Red by now.

That was not to be though. After Liverpool signed Stewart Downing from Aston Villa for a princely sum of around £20 million (with bonuses), the media took a very divided approach; whilst some went on to praise the club for having shown intent, a few others viewed the deal and especially the transfer fees with sarcasm.

The Telegraph's reporter Rory Smith came out with a very good observation on Twitter after reports started to emerge that Aston Villa have agreed fees for N'Zogbia:

"As for N'Zogbia, I prefer watching him to Downing but Downing's a better crosser of the ball. That's the trait #LFC were looking for."

That has been the story of Liverpool's summer so far as most optimists see it. Henderson for £16 million, Adam for £9 million and Downing for about £20 million—all this not to form an unparalleled club in the league, but to form a sort of unit which can make the most of the pass-and-move system, right?

Although I agree somewhat, but even going by all the stats that Downing has, is crossing ability one from the "pass and move" book? I doubt it.

Yes, Downing definitely adds a new dimension to Liverpool FC which has been genuinely short on wingers, and yes, Downing also has very good qualities of pass and move too. What I fear is something that takes me to the problem that Liverpool had with Peter Crouch in the squad, the players had become lazy and all they wanted was to cross to the big frontman and ask him to score from headers.

With the present squad and its abilities and limitations, I believe that it would be more than just those statistics of "successful crosses" by Downing if he has to be as big a hit as we, the Reds fans, would want.

On the other hand, we have the curious case of Charles N'Zogbia, who cost Aston Villa about £10 million less than what Downing cost Liverpool. More importantly, the player has been a revelation for the Latics and had the most successful dribbles in the league last season, which is an awesome achievement at a club which barely escaped relegation on the last day of the season relying heavily again on his able shoulders.

And for all those who say Downing crosses better, look at the scorers Wigan had—to whom would N'Zogbia cross anyway?

Some other critics have hailed N'Zogbia's antics as those of a rebel and consider him to be a threat to the peace and atmosphere at the dressing room. Well, going by that even, Liverpool's all-time biggest signing (money-wise, at least as of now), Andy Carroll, has had more brawl on the streets and his attitude too has been very questionable at times.

So if Liverpool went for him over all odds, and considering his relative inexperience at the very high level, I think N'Zogbia could have been a far better signing, not just statistically but also for the naked eye. Interestingly, even Luis Suarez had a horrendous record with yellow and red cards at his previous club, Ajax; none of it continued to Liverpool, so what could have worsened N'Zogbia I wonder?

N'Zogbia was also accused to be "not a team man" many a times, when all he wanted was to play for a bigger club than Newcastle and Wigan, which, going by his talent, is nothing heinous. He clearly deserves to play for a better club than one which has to fight relegation every year and he has been no Balotelli.

Also, N'Zogbia is just about to be 25, when Downing is 27 and the difference in pace shows (which may not be entirely down to age but style of play, which again, is less attractive). However, the numbers show N'Zogbia as a rising star still, whereas Downing seems a more mature option, whose best may not be in for much longer.

Now, though the deals have almost gone through, it may well be futile to lament if N'Zogbia would have been a better fit to Liverpool than Downing, but come the next season and we shall all be knowing the reality. I personally think signing N'Zogbia for £9-10 million seems a better and certainly more exciting deal to me after watching him play as opposed to Downing's £20 million valuation.

Who knows—Liverpool could have made defensive reinforcements by now had they settled for N'Zogbia, but then...

However, if King Kenny is happy with his lot and Liverpool gets the right results, who complains?