Uganda: What the Big Four Really Need

Mark Ssali

18 June 2011

They call it the silly season, and not without reason if one considers how outrageous most of the transfer gossip is, but I am being serious here (no sniggering at back please!)

If even the smallest fraction of the speculation in the English, Spanish and Italian media every summer came to pass, the amount of money exchanging hands would tip the scales a million times over.

As it is, even the most serious newspapers and websites in Europe go into tabloid mode at this time of the year, which explains why a story along the lines of Cristiano Ronaldo switching to Manchester City for a fee of £150m with weekly wages of £450,000 a week can see the light of day.

The typical transfer saga is a beast with five heads. One has a club like Man City linked with about 30 players because they have the money; the other has a player like Alexis Sanchez going to about a dozen clubs because his the hottest item on the market; the third has the likes of Samir Nasri originating or fuelling talk of a move when his real intention is a new contract and significant pay rise; the fourth is the Fabregas-like dilemma of a player who wants out but is afraid to offend anyone in case it doesn’t happen; the fifth is the kind that Luka Modric and Wesley Sneijder have to confront, that of claiming they are happy where they are today, happy to move tomorrow, undecided the next day, plain confused the next.

It is not in my interest to regurgitate the preposterous posts one sometimes comes across that have, say, ‘Messi moving to Spurs because the ex-husband of his auntie is set to open up an Argentinean restaurant in North London, with word on the grapevine that the estranged couple could get back together!’

Instead I will play the all-seeing scout for the English Premeirship’s Big Four, trying my best to ignore the players they are linked with and instead identifying which three players each one of them should actually buy.

Manchester United

To say that I was disappointed when Alex Ferguson’s first reaction to that humbling Champions League final loss to Barcelona was to extend Michael’s Owen stay at Old Trafford is to grossly understate matters.

Keeping Owen while pushing Dimitar Berbatov towards the exit baffles at a time when football trends are calling for more technique, and the better option would be to recall Kiko Macheda from loan while sending Danny Welbeck back for another such spell.

With the Rooney-Hernandez-Berbatov-Owen quartet United’s problems are not upfront anyway, and neither are they at the back but in middle, as Barcelona so emphatically underlined.

So, to follow up the Owen ‘deal’ with one for a defender (Phil Jones) and another for a wide player (Ashley Young) is but perplexing, a series of moves geared more towards winning a 20th league title than a 4th Euro crown.

Considering that up to £35m will go into those two signings, with the inevitable acquisition of a keeprer taking it over the £50m mark, it is doubtful that the much-needed central midfielders will arrive. Yet these are the ones Fergie should be going for:

Modric: an initial bid has been thwarted, but Chelsea will certainly go back to Tottenham with improved terms and are likely to get the Croatian Johan Cryuff. Yet United should be the ones pushing for Modric ahead of other options like Wesley Sneijder and Javier Pastore, primarily because bedding in would be easier for him.

Rakitic: If Modric goes to Chelsea, United will push for Sneijder. But if they got one of those it would be impossible to get the other (or Pastore) because of the money involved, and yet United need two thinking players to come in, not just one. Living in the shadow of creative Spaniards, Brazilians and Dutchmen is Modric’s countrymate Ivan Rakitic, signed last January by Sevilla from Schalke, who caresses the ball, passes it and scores for good measure.

Douglas Costa: He was a United guest at Old Trafford last season, but seems to have fallen off the radar. Hopefully this is a case of Fergie being diversionary, because Costa’s is the cultured left foot United could use now that Ryan Giggs is on borrowed time.

Chelsea

The issue of the new manager is virtually sorted, and if links and targets were guaranteed signings Chelsea would already be the best team in England again because they seem to have done better homework than the rest. These should take precedence.

Sneijder: For his maturity, ability to find the killer pass and goal-getting prowess from open play and dead balls, the Dutchman would allow Chelsea a smoother transition from dependence on Frank Lampard, than Modric. Van Der Weil: Paolo Ferreira’s time is up and Jose Bosingwa will never be for Chelsea what he was meant to be. In Gregory van Der Weil they would have got the world’s best right back of the next generation.

Neymar: As was the case with Ronaldinho and Kaka, so many people will be dissuading Neymar from going to England for cultural reasons, football and otherwise. Yet the Brazilian wonderkid would be the perfect foil for Fernando Torres, a priority ahead of Romelo ‘the next Drogba’ Lukaku who can only be needed if the real Drogba leaves.

Arsenal

Just how stubborn Arsene Wenger really is will be gauged this summer, with the board, the executive and the fans piling on the pressure for him to change his transfer policies. Wenger is better than his rivals at keeping tabs on the global talent scene and could spring a surprise, although his critics will frown at unknowns. With budget in mind, here goes:

Cahill: defender Gary that is, not scoring midfielder Tim. Wenger seems hell-bent of Chris Samba, but even if the Congolese hard man is stronger in the air, more tenacious in the tackle and a goal threat, Cahill is younger and more adjustable to the Gunners style.

Hazard/Inler: It is unlikely they will lose both, but should either Fabregas or Nasri leave then creative revelation Eden Hazard would be the typical Wenger man, one looking to take his skills to the bigger platform the French manager provides more than most. If both Fabregas and Nasri stay, then Gokhan Inler would be just the thing for the slot behind those two alongside Alex Song.

Falcao: Wenger has his sights on Hazard’s Lille teammate Gervinho, but if he were ever to break with tradition and break the bank, Falcao would be the right man to take the gamble with. The Porto striker is the combination of fox-in-the-box, technical and versatile front man that Wenger has long craved for but never found.

Liverpool

Jordan Henderson is in the bag and the links with Spanish pair Santi Carzola and Juan Mata are fascinating because the two would team up with Raul Mereiles and Luis Suarez to make an awesome technical mass. But Liverpool are in more need of a left back and two old fashioned wide players to justify the sums spent on Andy Carroll.

Enrique: Forget Gael Clichy, Newcastle’s Jose Enrique would be the perfect catch. Young & Downing: He prefers Man United because he wants Champions League football, yet Ashley Young and his Villa teammate Stewart Downing would be great steals for Liverpool. Central midfield is flooded, but Maxi and Dirk Kuyt are not the wide men to provide the service the big man desperately needs next term.

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