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