World Soccer - UK (2021-10)

Themost significantPremier League

transferdealsinthepast coupleof

yearshavebeenthepurchaseof

world-classdefenders.Liverpool’s

thrillingrisetobecomeEuropeanand

Englishchampions wasfoundedon

therockofVirgilvanDijk’sarrivalat

centre-back.RubenDiaswas voted

Player of theYearlast seasonforhis

transformationofManchester City’s

previouslyfragiledefence.

Nobodydoubtsthetruthof this,

andcertainlynobodycandoubt that

ManchesterUnitedwillsignificantly

improvetheirteamwiththepurchase

ofFrancecentre-backRaphaelVarane

foraround£ 42 millionfromReal

Madrid.Itisastunningdeal,

whichever wayyoulookat it.

Varane’spedigreeisabsolutely

exceptional –aWorldCupwinner

andfourChampionsLeaguetrophies

tohis name.Thefinancialnumbers

areequallyimpressiveforUnited;

thehighly-regardedindependent

assessorsatTransfermarktreckon

Varane’sactualmarketvalueis

aroundthe£63m-mark. After

yearsofpayingtoomuchfor

toolittle,thisisanoutstanding

transfercoup.

ThemoodofoptimismatOld

Traffordhasbeenfurtherboosted

byanotherexcellentsigninginyoung

Englandace JasonSancho,whoserare

talenthasbeenunderappreciatedby

footballfollowersinhishomecountry,

andprobablyalsoby nationalteam

bossGarethSouthgate.

United’snaturallyebullientmanager

OleGunnarSolskjaerisfullofhope,

claimingthathisteamcannowbe

crediblechallengersfor thePremier

Leaguetitle.Varane,inparticular,

isseenasthecrucialfinalpiece

inthejigsaw.

Solskjaerabsolutelyneedsthat

assessmenttobecorrect.Ifhedoesn’t

captureat leastonetrophy inthisnew

season,theNorwegianwillbeshown

totheexitdoor. Heknowsthatwell

enough,saying:“Itdoesn’tmatter if

youhaveaten-yearcontract;ifyou

don’tdowell, yougo.Youfeelunder

pressureallthetime.It’snot just

aboutclingingontoyourjob,it’s

abouttheresponsibilityinmyhands.

We’vegotmillionsoffans.”

Theintelligence,speed,perception

andexperienceofVaraneindefence

alongsideHarryMaguirewillhelp

Manchester United.Butis thistruly

thegame-changingdeal,orisit

merelyanotherwheretheclub

areplayingcatch-upontheirrivals,

whohavealreadycuredtheir

defensiveproblems?

THEWORLD THISMONTH

ATTHEHEARTOF THEGAME

Jim

HOLDEN

Itseemssurprisingtomethat

Unitedhaveput somuchfaithin

EdinsonCavaniastheirmainstriker

whenthesummertransferrumble

hascentredonthedestinationsof

HarryKaneandRomeluLukaku;

twoof themostprolificstrikers

inEurope,andtwoplayersat

theheight of theircareers.

Defenders areintegralto

achampionfootballteam,but

goalscorersarethemostessential

ingredient –andmarket valuereflects

this.Kaneisratedat £ 11 0mand

Lukakuat£92mbyTransfermarkt,

whileErlingHaalandisat£120m.

ThenumberforCavaniis£6m.

Thelowvaluefactorsinhisage;

Cavaniisnow 3 4.Itisalsoinfluenced

byhis numberslastseason.Inall

competitionshescored 17 goals

in 39 matches.Notbad,butfar

fromcompellingeither. It wasthe

first seasoninadecadesincehis

earlydaysatPalermothatthe

rangy Uruguayanhadscoredat

lessthanagoaleverytwogames.

Theverybest footballteamsdo

notrelyonveteranstrikers.Juventus

wentoneseasontoolongleaningon

theshouldersofCristianoRonaldo

andlost theirSerieAtitletothegoals

scoredbyLukakuforInternazionale.

WhataboutRobertLewandowski

youmightsay?Sure, hehasjust

turned33,butthePolandsuperstar

is 18 monthsyoungerthanCavani,

andhasaresilientmarketvalueof

£55m.HisrecordforBayernMunich

lastyearwas beyondphenomenal,

breakingtheall-timeBundesliga

recordforgoalsscoredinaseason

setbyGerdMuller 49 yearsago.

ThenumbersofLewandowski

merelyemphasisetherealitythat

goalscorersarethediamonds.

So,whileitisundoubtedlytrue

thatacquiringVaranefor arelatively

modesttransferfeerepresentsa

brilliantcoupinthetransfermarket

forManchester United,theviewhere

isthatthiswill notbethedefiningdeal

ofthesummerof 2021 whenthedust

settlesandallthemoneyisbanked.

Exciting...Sancho

willbeexpected

tolightupOld

Trafford

If[OleGunnarSolskjaer]doesn’tcaptureatleast

onetrophyinthisnewseason,theNorwegian

willbeshowntotheexitdoor

OptimisticOldTraffordputspressureonOle