David De Gea has been under early pressure
MANCHESTER UNITED
Ins: David de Gea (Atletico Madrid – £18m), Phil Jones (Blackburn Rovers – £14m), Ashley Young (Aston Villa – £15m)
Outs: Wes Brown (Sunderland – £1m), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester City – released), Gabriel Obertan (Newcastle United – £3m), John O’Shea (Sunderland – £2.5m), Paul Scholes (retired), Edwin van der Sar (retired), Bebe (Besiktas, season-long loan), Ritchie De Laet (Norwich City, season-long loan)
United’s transfer business was swift and decisive, which is more than can be said for some of their title rivals. Phil Jones and Ashley Young were both secured early in the summer, which goalkeeper David De Gea’s signature was left until after the youngster had returned from an international tournament with Spain. Despite early wobbles, I think the smart money is on De Gea having a good season and a long career at Old Trafford. He caught the eye at Atletico by being an excellent shot stopper and an impressive distributor of the ball, and I can see him starting many a counter attack this campaign. Young Phil Jones is a whole-hearted defender and while he has much to learn, that Fabio Capello has seen fit to call him up either speaks of faith in the stopper or too much faith in his club’s judgement. Either way, the international experience can’t hurt, and he will certainly be missed by Blackburn. Young has hit the ground running, and was one of United’s best players against Arsenal, scoring two stunning goals. The competition he will bring to Luis Valencia and Nani will allow Sir Alex Ferguson to mix things up if any of them are off-form, and if just one of them is firing on any given weekend then they have a matchwinner. On the way out, Wes Brown and John O’Shea have been good squad players for a number of years and it remains to be seen if the youngsters that remain will be as reliable over time. The retirements of Paul Scholes and Edwin van der Sar tear quite a lot of experience from United’s ranks, but they do still have the evergreen Ryan Giggs to turn to. Gabriel Obertan’s disappointing Old Trafford career is over, and they won’t miss him, but what of Bebe? £7.4m last season and shipped to Turkey on loan for the entirety of this campaign. Is it too early to assume we’ve seen the last of him in a United jersey?
Transfer business mark: 8/10
Marveaux had injury problems at Rennes
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Ins: Mehdi Abeid (Lens – undisclosed), Demba Ba (West Ham United – free), Yohan Cabaye (Lille – £4.3m), Rob Elliot (Charlton Athletic – undisclosed), Sylvain Marveaux (Rennes – free), Gabriel Obertan (Manchester United – £3m), Davide Santon (Internazionale – £4.5m)
Outs: Joey Barton (Queens Park Rangers – free), Sol Campbell (released), Jose Enrique (Liverpool – £7m), Shefki Kuqi (released), Kevin Nolan (West Ham United – £1.5m), Wayne Routledge (Swansea City – £2m), Ben Tozer (Northampton Town – free), Xisco (Deportivo La Coruna – undisclosed), Fraser Forster (Celtic, season-long loan), Kazenga LuaLua (Brighton & Hove Albion, six-month loan)
Newcastle’s transfer business has made the headlines more for fan disquiet than its shrewdness, but if they’ve played their cards right then they could discreetly have done some really good business. It’s fairly obvious where they did the majority of their scouting, with three players joining from France’s Ligue Un and two further Frenchmen – Demba Ba and Gabriel Obertan – signing from other Premier League teams. In Yohan Cabaye they may just have pulled off a bit of a coup, the composed central midfielder playing a big role in his former side Lille’s first league title in almost 50 years. For £4.3m the 25-year-old could turn out to be a bargain. Demba Ba was one West Ham’s only bright sparks last season, scoring 7 goals in 12 league appearances; a strike rate which, over a longer period, could be eye-catching. Gabriel Obertan I have my doubts about – he’s got the speed and some tricks but I’m not convinced by his work-rate or intelligence. Still, he’s young and £3m isn’t a huge amount of money considering their £35m Andy Carroll windfall. Davide Santon was once touted as Inter’s answer to Paolo Maldini but has lost his way somewhat. Again, he’s still got plenty of years to put his career right. Finally the free transfer gamble on Sylvain Marveaux looks the least likely to succeed given his poor record with muscular injuries, but with £0 ventured it seems pedantic to criticise. Out of the exit door go the talented but disruptive Joey Barton, the ancient Sol Campbell, and other squad faff like Shefki Kuqi, Xisco and Wayne Routledge. The deterioration of relations between the club and José Enrique was unfortunate as he is a good player, while the decision to remove the influential Kevin Nolan from the wage bill could be a mistake, but all in all I think there’s a good chance Newcastle have done a good job of restructuring the team on a budget. The broken promise of spending the Carroll money will smart, and the failed efforts to sign Bryan Ruiz and Papiss Cisse won’t sate the angry elements of the Toon support, but if the likes of Cabaye, Santon and Ba can make a positive contribution then I can’t see this window being a costly one.
Transfer business mark: 7/10
NORWICH CITY
Norwich newboy Vaughan
Ins: Daniel Ayala (Liverpool – undisclosed), Elliott Bennett (Brighton & Hove Albion – undisclosed), Bradley Johnson (Leeds United – free), Steve Morison (Millwall – £2.8m), Anthony Pilkington (Huddersfield Town – £2m), James Vaughan (Everton – £1.5m), Ritchie De Laet (Manchester United, season-long loan), Kyle Naughton (Tottenham Hotspur, season-long loan)
Outs: Jens Berthel Askou (Vejle Boldklub Kolding – released), Luke Daley (Plymouth Argyle – free), Matt Gill (Bristol Rovers – released), Stephen Hughes (released), Cody McDonald (Coventry City – undisclosed), Anthony McNamee (Milton Keynes Dons – free), Steven Smith (Preston North End – free), Owain Tudur-Jones (Inverness Caledonian Thistle – free), Tom Adeyemi (Oldham Athletic, six-month loan)
New to the Premier League, Paul Lambert has opted to put his faith largely in the squad which got him there, deciding not to add anyone with significant Premier League experience. Spanish defender Daniel Ayala, Belgian Ritchie De Laet and former Everton striker James Vaughan have a sprinkling of top flight games between them, and current full-back Adam Drury was present the last time the Canaries were a Premier League side, but in general it’s a squad looking very light on experience at this level. Rather than go for anyone with proven pedigree in this division – possibly due to the expense, I don’t know – Lambert has opted for players who have shone in the Football League, with industrious forward Steve Morison and intelligent winger Anthony Pilkington the two major signings. James Vaughan is a risk because of his terrible injury record, but if his career can be salvaged then that could turn out to be Lambert’s shrewdest buy, as the 23-year-old did once look a really bright prospect. Kyle Naughton looks a decent young full-back and will add some quality, an attribute which unfortunately seems lacking from Norwich’s squad in general. The jump up from League One to the Championship may not seem that big when you have momentum behind you, but I think Lambert may have underestimated the jump from the Championship to the Premier League. The chasm is huge and he has not bought to bridge it. I think he should have brought in more Premier League experience.
Transfer business mark: 4/10
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