HomeFast & FuriousNOT THE WINDOW WE HOPED FOR

NOT THE WINDOW WE HOPED FOR

By Shreyas Rai

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After a campaign full of dreams, sweat, and silverware, the summer transfer window proves to be the perfect opportunity to rebuild club squads and continue on their successful roadmap. With the summer window halfway through, we look at the worst teams in this summer’s transfer window and why have they have had such a poor window.

 

REAL MADRID

Florentino Perez’s mind is the most unpredictable that exists in world football right now. Los Blancos’ president parted ways with Madrid’s most-decorated manager Zinedine Zidane this summer. Everton’s manager Carlo Ancelotti was given the reins of the Spanish giants, with hopes of conquering La Liga’s throne. While the centre-back partnership of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane was shockingly broken with the duo leaving for France and England respectively.

 

 

The longest serving player for Los Blancos departed with the promise to return to the club, surely not as a player. While Varane’s switch to the Red Devils was considered a steal looking at the championship pedigree the French centre-back brings to England.

 

 

While the world believed Perez is saving up for a glorious bid for Kylian Mbappe, the savings have been racking up for the past three seasons. While no new sparkling signings landed in Bernabeu, the departure of Varane and Ramos could bite the Spanish club in the back. One of the worst teams in this summer’s transfer window, Real Madrid have a daunting challenge waiting for them.

 

INTER MILAN

The Italian club’s quest for another piece of silverware could be a daunting challenge after Inter failed to establish their authority in this summer’s transfer window. Antonio Conte’s departure after winning the title with Nerazzurri raised a few eyebrows, with Simone Inzaghi taking charge of the Italians. Although Lukaku and Martinez didn’t jump ship, Achraf Hakimi found a new home in Paris.

 

 

 

While one player’s departure rarely affects a clubs chemistry, the scenario shrouding Hakimi is different. The connection of Hakimi and Lukaku, was a match made in heaven with the Moroccan constantly darting on the flanks producing mouth-watering deliveries for his strikers, while also producing 15 league goals for Inter just falling short of Gosen’s 17 across Europe. The move to PSG could hamper Inter’s aspirations of lifting the Scudetto once again with Juventus and AC Milan looking hungry for silverware.

 

WEST HAM UNITED

Jesse Lingard’s swashbuckling celebrations, Declan Rice’s and Thomas Coufal’s magnificent midfield partnership, and Antonio’s muscular strength, the London Stadium looked prepared for the Premier League challenge. David Moyes’ heroics gifted the Hammers a season-defining performance finishing 6th last campaign.

But Lingard’s return to the Theatre along with uncertainty clouding Rice’s future at the club, the Hammers could be destined for a downfall.

 

 

Championship outfit West Bromwich Albion recently rejected Moyes’ bid for their shot-stopper John Stones, while the club’s owners are in a constant brawl with the spectators. Felipe Anderson’s struggles at the London Stadium was cut short after he was offloaded to Italian outfit Lazio for the price of pennies.

While dependable centre-back Fabian Belbuana will be seen trying his luck in Russia after he parted ways with the North London club. And try opening the sports column of any newspaper, you’ll find none of the players is being linked to Moyes’ roster which could seem like a matter of concern for a club under immense pressure from the fans.

 

RB SALZBURG

A roster producing the most promising prospects across Europe, Austrian outfit RB Salzburg serves as the academy of magnificent graduates. From Erling Haaland to Naby Keita, Salzburg developed young talent into world-class players. But the summer of 2021 has been shocking for Die Rotten Bullen who have failed to fabricate a new generation of young blood.

While Salzburg’s major income comes from selling the budding European prospects, the Austrian club has lent players for quite lesser amounts than expected.

 

 

Enock Mwepu was purchased by Brighton for approximately 24 million Euros, and if the reports are to be believed his prices could rocket sky high next summer. While striking sensation Patson Daka was traded to the Foxes, Salzburg once again lost the opportunity to earn big zeroes from Daka’s deal. Although Salzburg did add young talents like Poniatowski, Capaldo, and Simic to their roster, they haven’t lived up to the expectations this summer.

 

OLYMPIQUE LYON

While Lille fabricated a fairytale story in Ligue 1, the frustrated Lyon spectators once again waited for the perfect opportunity to praise Les Gones. Lille’s chronicle dethroned PSG, something Lyon had faltered to do for the past few summers. And their failure in the last stages of the Ligue 1, saw Spanish giants Barcelona capture the signature of their talismanic Dutch striker Memphis Depay. But the flamboyant goal-scoring machine left France for free, questioning Lyon’s summer-window tactics.

 

 

While Joachim Anderson and Melvin Bard parted ways with the French club with the former going to Crystal Palace and the latter settling in Nice. The 47 million investment of Memphis Depay would surely hurt Lyon spectators’. Although Damien De Silva and Henrique were purchased by the French outfit, Depay’s departure has struck the balance out of Lyon’s star-studded roster.

 

CHELSEA

The European conquerors splashed large sums of money last campaign buying almost all of the available forwards in the summer window under Frank Lampard. While there was a European trophy decorating Chelsea’s trophy cabinet, Roman Abramovich’s eyes would surely be on the English throne. While there have been links to Sevilla’s centre-back Jules Kounde and Dortmund’s wonderkid Erling Haaland, none of the parties have made official announcements with the rumours flying in the air.

 

 

Although Stamford Bridge’s backline is led by Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta, the ageing nature of the two centre-backs could turn out to be a major headache for Thomas Tuchel. With Fikayo Tomori permanently sold to AC Milan, Tuchel was expected to bolster his backline this summer. Something else that could cause problems at Stamford Bridge is the amount of deadwood currently present in Chelsea’s roster.

From Emerson to Barkley, several players fell out of Tuchel’s plans and the Blues have failed to find buyers for these names. With the silence Tuchel has maintained this summer, Chelsea gallop into the category of worst teams of this transfer window.

 

EINTRACHT FRANKFURT

A constant administration juggles, German outfit Eintracht Frankfurt have had a shambolic summer window. Andre Silva had a jaw-dropping summer with the German giants smashing goals week in and week out. With a big-money move awaiting, Silva was unfortunately sold top Leipzig for a very cheap price.

Deemed as one of the steals of the summer window, if Silva exploits Frankfurt’s defence with his goal-scoring abilities, the owners of the club could be facing immense heat.

 

 

 

Rafael Borre was swept in as the Portuguese’s replacements, but the 25-year-old has faltered at the biggest European stages. Although the addition of Jesper Lindstrom could bolster Frankfurt’s aspirations, the duo of Borre and Lindstrom have big shoes to fill in Germany this summer.

 

LILLE

The directors of a mouth-watering French chronicle, Lille upstaged Paris Saint Germain to capture the French throne last summer. But a catastrophic summer of business has put Lille one step behind their rivals for the domestic piece of silverware.

The dictators of Lille’s game, their French shot-stopper Mike Maignan has been sold to AC Milan. With Milan finding a solution for Donnarruma’s departure, Maignan’s signature turned out to be quite cheap for the Italian outfit.

 

 

While Boubakary Soumare was traded off to English giants Foxes, once again at a lesser price than everyone expected. With defensive rock Jose Fonte and attacking sensation Burak Yilmaz reaching the twilight of their glittering careers, it would be impossible for them to repeat last season’s heroics.

While there has been just one signing produced, new manager Christopher Galtier would hope to keep Lille’s title-winning pieces intact when they began their hunt for redemption in Ligue 1.

 

LIVERPOOL

Jurgen Klopp’s injury galore last summer had questioned the German’s bench strength. After Ozan Kabak and company were purchased in the winter window it became evident that Klopp hasn’t finalised the perfect centre-back replacements.

While the attacking trio’s depleting form soaked up the goals with Firmino and Mane being constantly benched by the German grandmaster. Although Van Dijk’s and Gomez’s return and Ibrahima Konate’s addition bolsters the backline, the forward battery still requires a few replacements.

 

 

And with just a month left, if the Reds don’t find the proper replacement for their strikers they could once again return trophyless at the end of the season. Shaqiri, the lone striking warrior on the bench, has been linked to a move away from Anfield.

And the academy graduates of Wilson and Elliot haven’t shown much promise whenever given opportunities by Klopp. With the season dawning upon us, if Liverpool fails to purchase a backup option for Mane and Salah, they could easily march into the category of worst teams in the Transfer Window.

 

SEVILLA

Another Spanish outfit marches into the catalogue of worst teams in this summer’s transfer window. While Sevilla shocked the world with Julian Lopetgui’s heroics last summer, their astonishing draw against Los Blancos opened the doors for Simeone’s silverware aspirations.

But while the Spanish mastermind prepares for another campaign of diligent labour, the club has had a questionable transfer window. Spanish youngster Bryan Gil who showed glimpses of promise was sold in an exchange deal to Spurs.

 

 

In return, Sevilla earned themselves Spurs’ deadwood Erik Lamela. The Argentine winger has produced a handful of magical moments for the English outfits and his discipline has been a major concern surrounding his outstanding performances. With centre-back Jules Kounde being linked to top European outfits, the French defender could soon depart from Spain increasing Lopetgui’s headaches.

Shreyas Rai

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