Transfer in Focus: End of the Window Special Look
Let's have a look at some of my favourite transfers from this summer.
Hello all. I’m Casey Evans and this is Played on Paper, a pay-to-read football newsletter written by yours truly. If you’re reading this, you’ve either received it in your inbox, had it shared with you or you’ve come across it on social media.
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Now that’s all out of the way, let’s get into it….
The Summer transfer window has finally slammed shut for most of the world’s clubs so now we as fans can reflect on what were a manic few months.
We saw Chelsea spend the GDP of a small country yet again to rebuild their squad, while the Saudi PIF made its presence felt; investing heavily to bring a collection of (upcoming and ageing) stars to their league.
We also saw several teams spend big money wisely to bring in a whole host of interesting players, while some didn’t quite do the business necessary to achieve their goals.
I touched on some moves over the past few months, but I thought that it would be best to do one more article touching on some of my favourites from the 2023 summer transfer window.
So without further ado, let’s get started with:
Ibrahim Sangare to Nottingham Forest
Tifo’s Golden Boy has finally got a well-deserved move and Alex Stewart couldn’t be happier.
Yes, it is to Nottingham Forest rather than a team that will be competing in European Cups, but I think many fans and pundits alike are incorrectly labelling them as relegation candidates this season.
Taiwo Awoniyi is providing them with the goals up top while Morgan Gibbs-White is giving their midfield the necessary creativity it needs. They also have a number of midfielders who give them solidity in defensive situations.
Sangare gives them something they have been missing - ball progression. He is an excellent carrier of the ball and will help Forest safely get the ball forward against stronger opponents.
My only major question mark surrounding this transfer has not to do with Sangare himself but regards how many midfielders Forest have signed this summer.
Forest added Sangare, Nicolas Dominguez and Andrey Santos to an already stacked paddock of midfielders and while it’s clear the likes of Cheikou Kouyate and Orel Mangala will drop to the bench, you think that the squad bloat could cause problems at some point.
Anyway, it’s nice to see Sangare in the Premier League finally and hopefully he will be able to show his talent week in and week out.
Gianluca Scamacca to Atalanta
Another casualty of David Moyes’ tactical denial, Scamacca has escaped West London back to Italy and I believe Atalanta achieved a real coup in signing the Italian forward.
Nearly every top side in Italy needed a striker this summer and while I would have liked him to go to AC Milan where he could have linked up with Rafael Leao and new signing Samuel Chukuweze, Atalanta is a great secondary option.
He made his first start for Gasperini’s side this weekend against Monza and scored a brace in his side’s 3-0 win.
It’s clear that like Sebastian Haller before him, Scamacca was either completely misprofiled by West Ham and Moyes or put into a team that couldn’t properly facilitate him.
Overall it’s good to see him back in Italy and I’m sure he’ll be back to his best this season.
Jude Bellingham to Real Madrid
I don’t think much more can be said about this transfer other than Real Madrid have acquired a genuine superstar.
Though it was clear to everyone why he was so highly rated during his time at Borussia Dortmund, he seems to already stepped up multiple levels during his opening few games for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Echoing something said by Grace Robertson, I also enjoy that England’s best player doesn’t play in the Premier League, meaning that every fan can have an unbiased consensus on him.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the young English midfielder is a contender for the Ballon d’Or in a few years, especially if he can replicate his club form for England and add an international trophy to the ones he will likely win at Real as well.
Sivert Mannsverk to Ajax
From probably the most high-profile midfield transfer this summer to one that has flown under the radar.
Mannsverk is an exceptional defensive midfielder and has impressed scouts and coaches alike during his time in Norway playing for Sogndal and Molde. Despite being linked with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United, it was Dutch giants Ajax who moved to sign the 21-year-old midfielder.
Mannsverk is usually deployed at the base of the midfield. He has the physicality and defensive awareness to shield his centre-backs and prevent opposition attacks, but he also has the technical ability to be a net positive in possession and progress the ball up the pitch.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he impresses at Ajax this season and the clubs that didn’t take a chance on him this summer look to pick him up for an incredibly inflated fee.
Victor Boniface to Bayer Leverkusen
When I was thinking of a Bundesliga transfer that stood out to me this summer, I had half a mind to Leonardo Bonucci’s move to Union Berlin on here for the sheer vibes alone.
In the end, I decided to leave the fanboying over that particular deal to the lads over at Stadio (and I look forward to listening to the podcast where they discuss it).
Instead, I’m going to talk about Victor Boniface’s arrival at Bayer Leverkusen and how his arrival could potentially shake up the Bundesliga this season.
We all joke about Nigeria’s conveyor belt of strikers, but it’s clear that the country are doing something right along the line when it comes to creating top-quality number nines.
Boniface is just the latest to come onto the scene. While his compatriot Gift Orban was grabbing the majority of the headlines in Belgium, Boniface was having a great campaign for Union Saint Gilloise.
The 22-year-old scored nine goals in the league but it was his form in the Europa Conference League that caught the eye as he scored six in 10 games.
Like many of his fellow Nigerian strikers such as Victor Osimhen and Taiwo Awoniyi, Boniface’s skillset is a perfect blend of physical attributes such as pace and strength combined with a strong technical base which allows him to show off his ball control and finishing.
If you want a good example of this, look up his goal against Darmstadt in the Bundesliga (I would link it but Twitter doesn’t like embedding on here anymore).
Boniface already has four goals in as many games for Xabi Alonso’s side and I think he’s going to score quite a few more by the time the end of the season rolls around.
Ernest Nuamah to Olympique Lyon
While I think Nuamah is a good player, my interest in this transfer is mainly in how the move was executed.
Lyon moved for former Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic earlier in the window in a move that would have cost upwards of €20m. However, despite owner John Textor’s desire to bring him in, Lyon’s problems with FFP halted the move.
Fast forward to the end of the window and Lyon were finally able to address their winger problem by bringing in Nuamah, but the deal to sign him was unconventional, to say the least.
Nuamah was signed by 11th-placed Belgian side RWD Molenbeek for €25m from FC Nordsjaelland and then instantly loaned to Lyon. And as some of you have probably already guessed, RWD Molenbeek are also owned by Textor.
While I’m glad that a talented young player is getting to step up to a bigger league, the transfer itself allows us to take a look at what football has become; a game that is defined by loopholes.
Bart Verbruggen to Brighton
Roberto de Zerbi shocked a lot of Premier League fans by dropping Robert Sanchez for Jason Steele at the back end of last season.
Steele is not the best shot-stopper, but he is incredibly adept at playing out from the back. He can quickly and accurately distribute the ball and this plays into De Zerbi’s tactics, as he is trying to bait the opposition’s press and play through it.
Verbruggen is one of Europe’s highest-rated young goalkeepers and it was a coup for Brighton to sign him this summer.
The Belgian keeper has all the attributes needed to succeed in the Premier League and under De Zerbi and at 21 years old he has a lot of room to grow and develop even further.
Well, that’s all for the Transfers in Focus series until January. Sorry about the delay for this week’s newsletter; I’ve just started a new job so I’ve been very busy.
I will strive to try and keep regularly posting these, but I apologise if I can’t keep the regimented schedule of every Friday.
Anyway, have a good week everyone and I hope we’ve got a good season of football ahead of us.