Transfer Round Up #4

It's another issue of my Transfer Round-up where I take a look at a chosen 5 transfers to have been completed in this Transfer Window ... Feel free to comment your opinions on any of the transfers I have covered.

Nani – Manchester United to Fenerbahce – £4.2m

In a piece I covered for The Big Interest, I branded Nani as one of the most inconsistent players I have ever witnessed, however I do think Manchester United got the bad end of the stick with this deal. For the Turks, it is a tremendous signing. He has the ability to beat any defender on his day and the Portuguese international created more chances than any other Sporting player in the Champions League last season. He is inside the top 20 all-time Premier League assists with 49 and is also prone to scoring the odd screamer. Despite the all the inconsistencies, Fenerbahce will be glad to have purchased the player.

Robin Van Persie – Manchester United to Fenerbahce - £3.85m

Following in the footsteps of Nani, Robin Van Persie has also joined Fenerbahce. 10^th on the all-time Premier League scorers, he has more goals in the canister for the Turkish side. In the 27 appearances he made last season RVP scored 10 goals and completed 85% of his passes. Since his move from Arsenal, the Dutchman’s statistics have been in a steady decline. In 2012/2013 he scored 0.68 goals per game and created 1.87 chances per game. Compare that to this season, he scored 0.37 goals per game and created 0.97 chances. While he may be in decline, he definitely knows where the goal is and will excel in Turkey.

Toby Alderweireld – Atletico Madrid to Tottenham - £11.2m

The deal to take Toby Alderweireld to Tottenham has largely gone under the radar this summer. Joining the Spanish side in 2013, he made 22 appearances, including in the Champions League Final where he came on as a substitute for Filipe Luis. Falling out of favour with Simeone, he was loaned to Southampton where he made 27 appearances last season. Failing to exercise their right to buy clause, Atletico cancelled the option in order to sell to the highest bidder. For Southampton last season, the 26 year old won 37/70 headers and didn’t make a single defensive error, which probably explains the Saints’ tremendous defensive effort. The Belgian is a good signing for Spurs, and will hope to rectify a leaky defence which conceded more goals than any other top 10 team last season.

Morgan Schneiderlin – Southampton to Manchester United - £24.5m

Manchester United fans where calling for Louis Van Gaal to sign another centre defensive midfielder to aid Michael Carrick and he has answered that call with aplomb. Like Alderweireld, the Frenchman made no defensive errors last season. In addition he had an 89% pass accuracy and averaged 3.04 successful tackles better than Carrick, Blind, Fellaini and Herrera. With United criticised for being too slow in their build-up play, 67.7% of his passes last season were forward. At 25 years of age, Schneiderlin has another 6/7 years at the top and he has the makings of an excellent signing. Last season United averaged 57% possession a match and Louis Van Gaal’s idea of playing passing football will continue with the signing of Morgan Schneiderlin.

Yohan Cabaye – PSG to Crystal Palace - £9.73m

After a despondent season and a half at PSG, Yohan Cabaye has made the trip back to England under the stewardship of former manager, Alan Pardew. Making 57 appearance largely from the bench at PSG, Cabaye will be glad to get back to England in order to have first team football. Even though he recorded an 89% pass accuracy, Cabaye only created 9 chances compared to the 33 chances he created in his time at Newcastle during the 2013/2014 season. Even though Cabaye left the Tyneside club in January, only Moussa Sissoko and Vernon Anita created more chances for Newcastle in that season. Although he hasn’t had the greatest of pre seasons, I expect Cabaye to play a massive role under Pardew at Crystal Palace and he will return to the heights of his days at Newcastle United.

The signings of both Nani and Robin Van Persie represent big positives for both clubs. Manchester United will be able to free up some more money for new players while the big signings will help Fenerbahce try and regain their Turkish league title. Both Morgan Schneiderlin and Yohan Cabaye will play massive parts in the coming season for their respective clubs while Toby Alderweireld will be looking to replicate his fine defensive performance that he put in last season.

All statistics taken from Squawka or Transfermarkt.

Transfer Target #4- Toby Alderweireld

Toby Alderweireld has been widely linked with a move to the Premier League. He has been linked with possible moves to Liverpool and Norwich, but, according to reports, a £6.9m deal was accepted by Ajax in the summer, but Alderweireld and the Canaries 'couldn't agree personal terms'. According to the player's agent, Soren Lerby, the failure of the materialisation of the deal was not down to the standing of the club, but in fact, personal terms.

The Belgian international has been a rock at centre/right back for Ajax, playing 33 out of the 34 league games and conceding a mere 31 goals in the last season. The best defensive record in the league, I must add. This superior defensive record helped Ajax to their 3rd consecutive Eredivisie title. 

In 2004, Alderweireld signed for the Ajax youth academy from Germinal Beerschot and 3 years later, signed his first professional contract. The wait for his debut appearance ended in January 2009 in a 4-2 defeat of NEC Nijmegen. In the 2009/2010 season, Toby secured a regular position in the heart of defence along with future Spurs star, Jan Vertonghen and at the end of this season won the 'Ajax Talent of the Year' award. With his contract running out at the end of this season, Toby has decided not to renew his contract with Ajax. 

At 24 years of age, Alderweireld has made a handful of international appearances, 24 to be precise, since his senior debut back at the end of the 2008/2009 season. With defensive spaces tight in the international set up, this leaves Toby competing with wholesale names such as Vincent Kompany and Jan Vertonghen - a very difficult job to accomplish with this rising Belgian squad.

With the renewal of the contract at Ajax looking minimal Alderweireld is shop window calibre, attracting big names such as Liverpool, Napoli, Bayer Leverkusen and, of course, Norwich City. His height and physical presence would be much needed on Merseyside to help deal with the likes of Robin Van Persie and Peter Crouch, to name a few. With Napoli on the rise, Alderweireld would make a superb signing and would develop under the watchful eye of club captain and World Cup winner, Paolo Cannavaro. Reports on Sky Sports say that if a transfer away from the Amsterdam ArenA does not materialise, then Toby would be happy to remain there and see the rest of his contract out, and check again in the summer.

For a player that wouldn't grab the headlines over here in Britain, if a move over the water does happen, Toby's credentials could soar just as his footballing career has at Ajax. A player I would love to see over in England, even if it is for Liverpool.