Transfer season is upon us, and while our insatiable appetite for football has to be satisfied by mere speculation and the hope of a marque signing, the media does its best to attract interest with the best rumours they can find. Only some of those will become a reality, however, and only a proportion of the players involved will go on to be successful at their new clubs. Transfer fees can weigh heavy on a player's mind and increase pressure to perform, as well as highlighting the most almighty of flops. Just ask Fernando Torres. Or Bosko Balaban.
With the season now over, hindsight allows us to reflect on where teams went wrong - or right - last summer and use that to decide whether a change of tack is necessary this time around. In many cases though, we can only sit back and admire the acumen of chairmen, managers and scouts alike, with plenty of transfers paying dividends and success stories being written. There were some fantastic signings last summer with players enjoying impressive debut seasons at their new clubs and plenty making a huge difference for their new employers across the top 5 European leagues.
The best goalkeeper in his first full season at a new club was Sochaux's Simon Pouplin, who was a key player after his summer move back to France from Freiburg, starting 34 of a possible 38 league games as his side avoided the drop on the final day of the season. Whilst also successfully claiming the most crosses in the French top flight this season (78), Pouplin also saved 119 shots. That might be fewer than 5 other stoppers, but it is a tally only 9 fewer than Ochoa and Thuram, who made the most (128). Now settled back in his home country, Pouplin will look to build on his success next season.
The best performing newly signed right-back was Daniel Carvajal, who was signed from Real Madrid's B team last summer, and his successful season at Bayer Leverkusen has seen him win a move back to the Spanish giants. He could well be playing for the first team next season, where Alvaro Arbeloa arguably provides insufficient quality and Michael Essien and Sergio Ramos have had to deputise at times. Carvajal excelled both defensively and going forward as Leverkusen finished 3rd in the Bundesliga, with only 3 players making more interceptions than him (118) and only 6 players in the whole league picking up more assists from open play (7).
Singularly-named Naldo and Chico make up the centre-back pairing, with the Brazilian and Spaniard having signed for Wolfsburg and Swansea only last summer. The former wasn't far behind Carvajal in the interceptions rankings in the Bundesliga (104), whilst also winning an impressive 3.3 aerial duels per game, something that will have aided him in the opposition box as he chipped in with 6 goals - as many as any other centre-back in the league. Chico had a consistent if possibly slightly uninspiring debut season in the Premier League, adjusting quickly to life in the Premier League. He won possession time and again, with more tackles (3.3) and interceptions (3.5) per game than any other Swansea player, whilst also maintaining an impressive pass success rate of 89.3%, typical of a Swans' player.
Splitting his time between left- and centre-back, Jan Vertonghen has displayed his versatility throughout his first season with Tottenham, in the process showing his defensive prowess as well as his ability on the attack. Rather unlucky to have his strike at Old Trafford chalked off as a Jonny Evans own goal, the Belgian still managed 4 more Premier League goals this season as well as 3 assists. He made nearly as many successful dribbles (28) as he did appearances (34), whilst also ranking 4th for tackles and interceptions, with 204 in total over the course of the season.
Juan Guillermo Cuadrado enjoyed a great season on loan at Fiorentina, though his future is as of yet unclear and he may not be there next season to try and avenge their 4th place finish and subsequent failure to qualify for the Champions League. Playing primarily as a right wing-back, the Colombian was a constant attacking threat, successfully dribbling past an opponent more times than any other player in Serie A (118), and his 4 assists in 22 appearances in that position is highly impressive.
Santi Cazorla arguably proved a sufficient replacement for Robin van Persie at the Emirates, ranking as one of only 4 Premier League players to reach double figures for both goals (12) and assists (11) this season. Most notable about his achievement in doing so, though, is the fact that each of the other three players (Mata, Rooney, Walcott) have had plenty of time to get used to the pace of the English top flight. Cazorla, meanwhile, hit the ground running with a WhoScored man of the Match award on his Arsenal debut and continued to perform throughout the year, ending the season with the only 4-assist haul in a Premier League game all season, in the 4-1 win over Wigan.
Joining him is Chelsea's on loan Belgian Kevin De Bruyne, who was hugely impressive at Werder Bremen this term. His 10 goals and 9 assists accounted for 38% of their Bundesliga goals and were a vast part of the reason that Werder staved off the threat of relegation. His threat to the opposition goal was always visible, with the youngster having attempted the 2nd most passes in the opposition half (1351) in the Bundesliga whilst also only laying on fewer clear cut goalscoring chances (15) than Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery (21).
What a first season at Borussia Dortmund it has been for lifelong fan Marco Reus. After completing a move from Gladbach a year ago, the German forward became an integral part of Jurgen Klopp's Champions League and Bundesliga runners-up. With Mario Gotze on his way out the door, there will be greater onus on Reus for goals and creativity, and he will certainly be up to the task. Whilst also possessing deadly pace, Reus has wonderful technique, highlighted by his league-high 3 goals from direct free-kicks and the second most assists from set pieces (5). He is a fantastic talent who thoroughly deserves the praise he gets, while one can only hope he stays at the team he supports rather than following the money to one of Europe's financial superpowers.
Robin van Persie went from being the main man at Arsenal last season to the most important player at Old Trafford this term. Ultimately, his 26 goals won United the Premier League title, and he was the only player in the whole squad to feature in every game. Whilst also scoring the most clear cut chances in the top flight this season (17), the Dutchman missed the most too (23), though rather than highlight a glaring profligacy from the forward, it merely shows just how clever his movement is and resultantly, how frequently he gets into threatening positions. For the second season in a row, injury hasn't curtailed his campaign, and as things stand, Robin van Persie looks one of the best purchases of recent times, in spite of his age and rather hefty price.
Finally, what was probably the most high profile move of last summer was also, arguably, the best. Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined filthy-rich Paris Saint Germain and helped them to a Ligue 1 title and to within touching distance of an historic win at Camp Nou in the Champions League quarter final. Having scored (30) and assisted (8) 55.1% of his side's goals, he was one of the most important players in the top 5 European leagues as Carlo Ancelotti built his title winners around the Swede. Ibrahimovic, though, is one of the most renowned careerists in the world of football and could even be on the move again during the off season.
Each of these players has performed remarkably well in their first seasons at new clubs, but consistent throughout them is a willingness to move. Whilst fans will be keen for their star signings to build on successful opening campaigns, by making moves last summer the players showed that they can be tempted into transfers when the deal is good enough. So, let the rumours and dealings commence.
