This football summer was, is and will be really short. Back in June, the League of Nations was played and the last teams qualified for the World Cup. And thanks to (or rather because of) Qatar’s world-controversial attempt, all the top leagues will start relatively early, and then rush quite frantically towards their goal.
It is not surprising that in the winter, for long weeks, the best leave their teams and flee to air-conditioned halls to fight for the most valuable trophy on the planet. And maybe that is why, despite the short break, the leading clubs are not idle and are trying to build the highest quality and widest possible squads. In order for them to survive the raging season at all. And especially to succeed. So far, the managers are nowhere near finished, but a few very spicy or even crazy transfers have already been drawn up. We can already almost say with certainty that football in Europe will be fun from the new season. Traditionally, they are most active in England. No wonder. The television rights to the Premier League are worth, in exaggeration, perhaps more than the possessions of the British Queen. And what the local clubs don’t earn, someone will pump into them. A sheik who doesn’t own a club in England isn’t even a sheik.
Manchester City spends the most. For several years in a row. They’re just testing how many pounds can be spent without winning the Champions League. But somehow I feel as if this year they are really building something that won’t burn out in those decisive moments. One name in particular stands out above all, and we can already say that it will be the transition of the summer. Erling Haaland is probably the most wanted player in the world right now. Perhaps only Mbappé can compete with him and he decided to stay with his current breadwinner. And so City decided to acquire the Norwegian sniper. And quite logically, they succeeded. He didn’t cost them much either, because he had a buyout clause set at 75 mega in his contract with Dortmund. I mean. It didn’t cost much. At City, of course. Otherwise, it’s such a bat that you can’t even count how many Fabies there are. In any case, Haaland has significantly improved his salary and is going to a more ambitious team. And hands down, it’s just a cannon. So if he doesn’t shoot the damn cup for City, I don’t know who will.
The pale blue team from Manchester finally has a world striker of the highest caliber. The question is whether it is even important for Pep Guardiola (he can easily play 4-6-0) and how he can use it. But on paper, that power is really huge. And especially the competition. And so, paradoxically, City began to strengthen their rivals in the fight for the league title. Gabriel Jesus understood the layout of the cards rather quickly and headed to Arsenal. There he will be sure of the basic composition. And Arsenal will again have a certain supply of goals. Jesus is the right player for him. Well, Raheem Sterling recently fled to Chelsea. The Blues really had to do something because the last few weeks have been really crazy in the transfer market. Not only did they lose two stable stoppers for free, when Rudiger and Christensen signed contracts in the Spanish big clubs, but the way Lukaku literally swept the London club (by extension Inter) is really worth considering. Over £100 million flushed down the toilet probably doesn’t need reminding. The question is whether the arrival of Sterling and the expected signing of Koulibaly can satisfy the fans and especially bring some sporting success to Chelsea. The fact that City cold-bloodedly send their “unnecessary” players to Arsenal and Chelsea, but in my opinion, proves only one thing. They are simply not afraid of them in the fight for the title. And honestly, I’m not even surprised by them after the past years.
Manchester City’s biggest competitor will therefore be Liverpool, just like last year. But the Reds are also going through a fairly drastic rebuilding. Although they extended the contract with their Egyptian pharaoh Salah for half a kingdom of gold, they relatively scattered the rest of the attack. Origi will chase the wind in Serie A in AC Milan, Minamino in AS Monaco. But especially the loss of Sadio Mané, who could no longer stand to play second fiddle and left to become the main star of Bayern Munich, can be quite noticeable for the club from Liverpool. The question is whether the mentioned trio can be replaced by young Núñez. Although he stood like Haaland (75 mega – that alone is a bit of a mockery), but that alone does not guarantee quality. After one successful season in Benfica (that is, really successful – 34 hits), he will have a hell of a hard time. For me, the Reds still need to strengthen and expand their attacking links. But mainly it will be very difficult to play. The cut was perhaps too deep.
They have completely different worries in the red half of Manchester. For one thing, they will have to accept that Harry Maguire will continue to be the unshakable captain of the club (sincere condolences) and they still don’t know if idol Cristiano Ronaldo will continue at the club. CR7 didn’t sit well with the new coach’s style and is probably afraid that he wouldn’t finish every event of his team. And so the hare has intentions. In Turin, they probably know what it’s like to replace the best player a few days before the end of the transfer window, when he simply refuses to leave. I certainly don’t envy the United managers. On the other hand, they are preparing to sign the reborn Christian Eriksen, but he will not simply replace Ronaldo’s goal-scoring potential.
And this is how the transfer window of London Tottenham looks the best so far. Antonio Conte is known for knowing exactly what squad he wants to build and what pieces he needs in it. And that he also stubbornly enforces all transfers. And if it doesn’t work, he just snaps at the horses. Already in the winter he brought Kulusevski with Bentancur. This turned out to be a great move, especially for the former. Well, Spurs are driving bombs even now. Lenglet, Richarlison, Bissouma and especially Ivan Perišić (arguably the best player of last year’s Inter), these are exactly the footballers for Conte’s football. We’ll see where Spurs take it in the packed Premier League table.
Well, we will leave England and move to the Apennine Peninsula. It is probably no surprise that the “Old Lady” of Turin is the most popular weapon in Italy. Especially considering the fact that last season was one big ordeal for Juventus. Now they bet on experience. Ángel Di María is coming from PSG, although he is already older, but still of absolute quality, and Paul Pogba is returning to the reserves from Manchester. His story is very interesting. He is leaving United for Turin for the second time. Always free. Only when traveling in the opposite direction, Manchester did not forget to pay the then record amount of gold coins for him. The question, of course, is whether the new acquisitions of the striped zebras can shake up the static backup and create some chances for the super-scorer Vlahovič. They certainly have the potential for it. But all of the team’s ills are certainly not resolved. And if the stopper De Ligt still flees to Bayern, Juventus may have a serious problem.
Especially in a situation where Inter Milan is armed again. He got Lukaka at an absolute discount and is still negotiating to bring the skilled Dybala from Turin for free. The Argentinian is practically agreed with Inter, they are just waiting for the departures of Džeko and Sánchez so that Dybal’s salary remains. An attack of Lukaku, Lautaro, Dybala… that would be quite lethal. If the black and blue managed to keep Škriniar, who is roped in by PSG, or replace him with the Turin bull Bremer (God forbid to have both in the squad), it would definitely be an upgrade like crazy. In addition, the defender of AC Milan, who retained the entire championship squad, including the unearthly speedster Lea, will certainly be among the favorites. And the attack was additionally strengthened by the already mentioned Origi. The quality of Serie A will definitely increase compared to last year, we will see a lot of new and old interesting names in the league, and I myself wonder who will celebrate the Scudetto in May.
And the best part at the end? According to the last year of the Champions League, quite objectively yes, because we are moving to Spain, where the reigning champion of champions – Real Madrid – is playing. After years of lukewarm transfer, the White Ballet decided that it could finally resurrect the memory of the recent Galácticos and bring in a proper star. That is, like a really good one, not Eden Hazard. But overpaying PSG in the case of Mbappé is simply not possible. Choir, when Paris has unlimited resources and some financial rules are just documents reminding the association’s effort to save the spotted owl. And so Real builds the squad again gradually and unobtrusively. Unwanted ones leave the team (Jović, Bale, Isco) and the saved money is thrown into extending the contracts of existing stars and stars (Rodrygo). Rudiger will really strengthen the defense and the question is who will Real bring in next. If they have a wide enough squad, he can maybe play better football than with Mbappé.
On the contrary, FC Barcelona clearly wants and must strengthen. Because what happened last year, the fans probably won’t tolerate them a second time. After all, losing wherever you can, even in Vallecano, requires strong nerves. Of course, the question remains not whether Barca wants to strengthen, but whether they can at all. The club is about as in debt as Feldkurát Katz. But that’s really what life is like when people are ripping you off. And it always gets done somehow. So Barca simply bought out Leeds (Raphinha) and is even preparing an offer for Lewandowski. If this transfer goes through, then of course the Catalans have their attack completely resolved for at least two years and can think about the top ranks. But in my opinion, any illusion about economically sustainable clubs, which UEFA has been playing on for the last few years, would simply fall. But that’s what I’m talking about, I’m a fan and I want to see good football. And I’m not paying it, so it’s okay to pay for the debt.
Source: Sports diary of a fan
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