Six transfers nobody wants to hear about anymore

Who cares about Modric, Sneijder, or Tevez anymore?

By Zain Alvi | 5th September 2011

Six transfers nobody wants to hear about anymore | read this item

Now that the transfer window has finally closed, there are mixed emotions all around. Some of us are delighted that our football clubs were able to go out there and take care of business. Some others, meanwhile, are not too happy with what their teams did at all.

Then, there are those who are simply relieved that the center of attention for the next few months will be the football on the field and not the transfer activity happening behind closed doors.

Given that there were a few painfully protracted transfer sagas that never fully reached fruition after months of speculation, it is completely understandable that these are the news stories nobody really wants to revisit any more. Six such stories, in no particular order, are as follows:

Eden Hazard (Lille) to Arsenal: Lille sold Ivory Coast winger Gervinho to the Gunners and before they realized, Arsene Wenger was ready to spend a lot more on someone else on the French champions’ roster. The typically budget-conscious Wenger was reportedly willing to part with as much as £35 million for Hazard towards the end of the transfer window after failing to convince Lille to sell the player in preceding months. As it turns out, the 20-year old Belgian international was as tired of the unsettling transfer talk as anyone else and reacted by personally pledging his future to the Ligue 1 outfit.

The Gunners then burned some more bridges by signing Park Chu Young from Monaco even though the player had already completed part of his medical at Lille. On the transfer deadline day, Liverpool joined the circus, sending Joe Cole on loan to Lille, which sparked rumors that they had acquired the first option on Hazard in the future (this was later denied by Lille). No doubt everyone involved here is finally able to breath a sigh of relief for now until the madness is poised to resume all over again in January.

Neymar da Silva (Santos) to anyone willing to fight for him: This is a strange one; the player has not officially been in serious negotiations with anyone but reports have linked him to just about any significant team in Europe. While Barcelona and Real Madrid have reportedly been in a battle for his signature in Spain, Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs are said to be equally keen on signing the young Brazilian.

The 19-year old has already scored six goals in 10 appearances for the national team, prompting comparisons to the likes of Pele and causing legends such as Ronaldo to join the rest of the media in speculating his future prospects. The problem is that this speculation has lasted way too long, precisely over a year now ever since the youngster rose to prominence on the international scene last year. If you thought things couldn’t get any more silly, remember that Santos president Luis Alvaro reacted to the unsettling rumors by urging Neymar to sign a life-long contract that would keep him at the club until he is 80 years old. Sounds like a very practical idea, Mr. Alvaro!

Carlos Tevez (Manchester City) to anywhere away from Roberto Mancini: When Carlos Tevez recently revealed more clearly than ever before that his manager at the Etihad Stadium is the primary reason behind his quest to move away from the Eastlands, this transfer saga at least became rationalized. On second thought, is this even a saga? There isn’t really a particular club (or set of clubs) that want Tevez very badly. Instead, it is the player who just wanted out of the massive project at Manchester City by settling for a move to Corinthians. When that fell through, Inter Milan became the destination of choice but that link broke as soon as Diego Forlan arrived at San Siro with his bags.

Carlitos then apparently read this article we published last year (yes, you read that right) advising him to avoid drastic thoughts about his future. Why do we think so? Well, because he has thought things through carefully and in the end, decided to bring some closure to his differences with Mancini. Fortunately, his family has also joined him in Manchester and the Argentine seems content to lead the club in a year that will be their first in the UEFA Champions League. Phew, at least this one ended happily (for now, that is).

Gary Cahill (Bolton) to anywhere in North London: For young Cahill, there couldn’t have been a worse timing than this summer to get embroiled in a messy transfer saga that promised to land him at either the Emirates Stadium or White Hart Lane. After all, he has been on the brink of international stardom in recent months. Ultimately, he landed nowhere near any of the aforementioned venues as both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur failed to agree a deal with Bolton. Owen Coyle rightly refused to entertain any low-ball offers for the gifted England international, criticizing Gunners boss Arsene Wenger for offering less than half of the player’s £17 million value.

The Spurs couldn’t escape the criticism either, as many pundits were in disbelief over their failure to sign the player even when they were the only ones negotiating for him on the transfer deadline day. Manager Harry Redknapp admitted his disappointment over securing the services of the highly rated defender, which seems to indicate that negotiations might resume in January. This time around, Arsenal would be unlikely to join the Spurs in the race for Cahill’s signature given that Germany international Per Mertesacker already bolstered their defense by joining them last week. Nevertheless, for the sake of Cahill’s sanity, one hopes that any potential suitors are able to close the deal if they bother to initiate it in the first place.

Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan) to either of the Mancunian giants: Everyone associated with Manchester United went through a roller coaster ride this summer, preparing for Sneijder’s arrival at one moment and finding out that he won’t be leaving Inter at another. While Sneijder’s name wasn’t on their books when all was said and done at 11pm GMT on August 31, not a soul was worried at Old Trafford. After all, youngster Tom Cleverley has emerged as an outstanding playmaker, not only seizing the starting role at United, but also becoming an England international in the process.

The 27-year old Sneijder, meanwhile, saw his on-and-off move to Old Trafford gradually reach a halt upon the closing of the summer transfer window. Manchester City got involved somewhere in between but unlike that time when they were able to snatch Robinho away from Chelsea, they couldn’t be much more than an unwanted distraction. Never underestimate Roberto Mancini, though. Not only is the City boss likely to return with a serious offer for the Netherlands talisman in January, but he is also poised to compete with Sir Alex Ferguson till the very end. Anyway, as much as everyone wants this transfer saga to reach its conclusion, who wants to even watch it start all over again? Let’s just celebrate four months of the beautiful sport without having to hear about Sneijder moving to Manchester!

Luka Modric (Tottenham Hotspur) to Chelsea: Has anyone ever craved a short trip across London as much Modric has? I highly doubt it. The extremely professional Croatia international became so desperate towards the final stages of the summer transfer period that he begged manager Harry Redknapp to drop him from a massive Premier League fixture against Manchester City due to trouble focusing on the match.

Not only did Redknapp refuse to entertain his request on that day, but he maintained his stance even after the midfielder’s uninspiring performance during the Spurs’ shocking 5-1 defeat at home to the Citizens. On the transfer deadline day, the likes of David Bentley and Jermaine Jenas were allowed to leave the club (on loan) but Modric was kept at the club despite Chelsea’s continuing efforts to bring the player to Stamford Bridge. Raul Meireles may have been signed in the interim, but expect Andre Villas-Boas to finally seal the deal for Modric in January. Tottenham are poised to then have their own Liverpool moment; like the Reds lost Fernando Torres and rebuilt by signing Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, Redknapp can fulfill his desire of introducing three or four quality reinforcements with the cash received from the massive sale. I am sure everyone is super excited for this saga to reach its inevitable conclusion already!

Do you still want to hear about either of the six players above moving somewhere in the future? Have your say below!

Reader Comments

The below views are those of our readers and do not reflect the opinions of Premiership Talk or its employees.

Tenerife properties says:

September 5, 2011 at 5:06 am

Boring, monotonous drivel, dragged out over 32 bloody months and it happens twice a year. We just get crap rumour after crap rumour and I think it annoys the hell out of everyone. The system needs to be changed. Either close the summer window before the start of the season or more radical – have a permanent transfer window throughout the year. No restrictions on buying and selling. This would get rid of the transfer “frenzy” once and for all and would stop these ridiculous transfer day deadlines and accompanying silly bids.

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