As the European Leagues come to a conclusion, countless clubs plan to improve their team’s performance by optimizing their squads. This includes getting rid of unnecessary players as well as recruiting new ones during the summer transfer window. Many others also look to upgrade their clubs in other ways such as obtaining a new manager.
One of the most anticipated deals that might be made this summer is the move of Eden Hazard, the captain of Chelsea. After seven years at the English club, the Belgian star might be headed to Laliga to play for Real Madrid following the footsteps of his ex-teammate and friend, Thibaut Courtois, who formerly played as Chelsea’s keeper. Nonetheless, Hazard has a difficult decision to make. After countless seasons with the Premier League team, the 28-year-old has made a home for himself at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea’s main striker and captain. At this very club, Eden Hazard developed the speed, passing, and dribbling skills that he is known for. However, his talents are going to waste as he is surrounded by players that cannot help him achieve his potential. Although transferring to Madrid would mean leaving behind his companions at Chelsea, Hazard would be going to a team that may much better suits his talents and brings out the best in his performance. However, there is yet another addendum to Hazard’s dilemma. As a result of breaking many transfer rules, Chelsea is currently facing a two-window transfer ban. Losing Hazard, who is responsible for the majority of their goals, would mean a great decline in the quality of Chelsea’s performance due to their inability to sign any players to bounce back from Hazard’s loss. Nonetheless, former Chelsea player Wright-Phillips has encouraged the forward to make the right decision regarding his fate this summer.
Additionally, a deal that is confirmed to happen is Serbian forward Luka Jovic’s move to Real Madrid. A five-year contract worth €50 million has been signed by the 21-year-old who was the third-best scorer in Bundesliga. In 2017, Jovic was loaned to Eintracht Frankfurt where he became one of the most prominent players in Bundesliga during the 2018/19 season. In 31 appearances in the German league, the youth has scored 17 goals and another 10 in the Europa League, catching the attention of soccer legend and Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane at the mere age of 21. With his amazing speed and one-touch finishes, Jovic has much to add to the Madrid roster and may even solve the forward crisis that Madrid is facing.
In the deals mentioned above, Real Madrid’s presence is prominent during this summer’s transfer window. Succeeding their frankly terrible season, new manager Zinedine Zidane is looking to make many improvements in the club’s roster, using his £300 million budget in transfer overhaul. With the additions of Jovic and Hazard, the French soccer legend seems to be specifically aiming to solve Madrid’s striker crisis, which as mentioned above has caused the scarcity of their goals and is responsible for the various losses that Madrid has suffered.
Another popular transfer deal is Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann’s La Liga move. After having made over 250 appearances of Atletico, the French superstar announced his move this summer on Twitter on May 14. For €120 million, La Liga winners Barcelona plan the addition of the 28-year-old, who comes from the La Liga runners-up team to their squad. Previously, Griezmann got close to attaining his dream of playing with Barca star Lionel Messi at Camp Nou exactly one year back. Nevertheless, he revealed his decision of sticking to Atletico Madrid in a documentary named ‘The Decision’. In the past year or two, the French forward has had many connections with countless teams, yet none of those transfer rumors seem as prominent as his possible transfer to Barcelona, which despite not being a complete deal is most probable. However, there are also other clubs that Griezmann could join such as Real Madrid or Paris-Saint-Germain in his homeland.
Meanwhile, after ending their Premier League season with a remarkable losing streak ranking at 6th place this season, Manchester United is yet another team that is sure to make some reforms. To fix this very problem, Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been granted £250 million by executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward who observed the Red Devil’s recent failures. The Norwegian manager is expected to make reforms in almost every aspect of the squad. Some of the potential candidates to join United this summer consist of defensive midfielders Declan Rice and Saul Niguez from West Ham United and Atletico Madrid respectively, midfielder Bruno Fernandes, forward Nicolas Pepe, Swansea winger Daniel James, and many more.
Meanwhile, other teams with small transfer budgets may lay low this summer. One example of such a club is Liverpool, who had an incredibly successful season. With only one Premier League loss, Liverpool ended this season with 97 points, only one point behind first place. Furthermore, the Reds also had a prosperous Champions League season having made it to the finals which are set to take place on June 1. With their astonishingly cramped budget, former Liverpool player Phil Thompson has advised manager Jurgen Klopp on acquiring a specific pair of players, namely a forward and a midfielder. He further emphasized that a player with a ‘creative spark’ is sure to bring in many more goals. On the other hand, Klopp is reportedly planning to have an idle transfer window.
Similar to Liverpool, Manchester City may also have an uneventful summer when it comes to transfers. Following their first place finish in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola was looking to add another midfielder to his roster. He specifically had his eyes on Lyon’s Tanguy Ndombele. Nevertheless, the French team has already rejected his €50 million offer and requested at least €70 million for the midfielder. It is likely that Guardiola will not further pursue this deal given the abundance of midfielders already present at the Etihad Stadium. Nonetheless, other teams such as Tottenham, PSG, and Manchester United have taken interest in his talents on the field and shown incentive of pursuing the 22-year-old.
With the countless transfer possibilities, this summer’s transfer window is sure to be eventful. While some teams’ involvements in deals are prominent, others lay low to practice and improve, providing fans with new players and underdogs in the next season.
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