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January 2011 Transfer Window
2011 January transfer window
Andy Greeves
Even by English football's standards, the 2011 January transfer window was extraordinary. Over £210m was spent by clubs in the Premier League and Football League in last month, breaking the previous January transfer window record - £175m spent in 2008.
The record transfer fee paid by an English club was shattered twice in a day on 31 January 2011, with Andy Carroll's £35m transfer from Newcastle to Liverpool gazumped moments later with Chelsea's earth shattering £50m signing of Fernando Torres.
The huge transfer fees paid during the month have brought questions about the game's sanity in a time of global austerity, let alone scrutiny of the big money movers. Andy Greeves assesses the big deals of the transfer window and weighs up whether the big buys of the window will be able to refund their hefty price tags.
Fernando Torres – Liverpool to Chelsea, £50m
The biggest move of transfer deadline day, indeed the biggest move of the season so far, was Fernando Torres' switch from Liverpool to Chelsea.
For the Reds, the decision to sell one of world football's most accomplished strikers and replace him with two largely inexperienced, albeit talented, forwards is a gamble of huge proportion. The transfer is not without risk for Chelsea too. Torres' poor form over the past twelve months has been well publicised and Roman Abramovich will be desperately hoping he hasn't signed another Andrei Shevchenko.
Despite the stupendous transfer fee, a fit and on form Fernando Torres is the kind of world class forward who could fire the Blues to success in all competitions. His and David Luiz' signings could even be influential in Chelsea getting back in to the title race this season.
Andy Carroll - Newcastle to Liverpool, £35m
This time last year, Andy Carroll was playing in the Championship for Newcastle and had scored just four goals in the division. Now, with just half a season of Premiership experience and 11 goals in the top flight, he is the eighth most expensive footballer of all time. Carroll's story rather sums up the madness of January 2011's transfer window.
There is no doubting Carroll's ability. He a rare example of a style of forward that was once common place in English football – a good old fashioned, tough, goal scoring 'number nine'.
But at 22 years of age, Carroll is still 'one for the future' in most people's eyes. He's unlikely to be afforded time to develop at Liverpool though – he's been signed for the here and now and very much as a direct, if not similarly styled, replacement for Fernando Torres.
If Carroll manages five seasons plus in Reds shirt, where he regularly scores 15 to 20 league goals each campaign, then £35m might not seems such a ridiculous price tag for his services. It is certainly going to be a sink or swim period for Carroll in the next twelve months though, as he attempts to prove his worth to the Anfield club.
One thing is for sure. His departure has left a massive void at St James' Park and Alan Pardew's failure to sign an instant replacement for the big front man could prove costly.
Luis Suarez - Ajax to Liverpool, £22.7m
Suarez was one of the stars of the 2010 World Cup, scoring three goals for Uruguay in six appearances at the tournament.
He arrives at Anfield having been a major success in the Dutch Eredivisie for Groningen and Ajax. His 81 goals in 110 appearances for Ajax make for impressive reading as does his 16 goals in 38 games for the Uruguay national team.
A move to the Premier League is a big step up for Suarez though and there will be questions about the forward's temperament, especially given his recent antics in a league game against PSV Eindhoven when he bit opponent Otman Bakkal. He was also famously sent off in the World Cup against Ghana and subsequently was pictured celebrating Asamoah Gyan's penalty miss from behind the goal, much to the disgust of spectators.
The lively striker will certainly make for interesting viewing at Liverpool and if he hits form, he could go a long way to banish the memory of Fernando Torres for Reds fans.
David Luiz - Benfica to Chelsea, £25.5m
Brazilian David Luiz has all the credentials to be one of the finest defenders in the world.
The versatile player, who usually plies his trade at centre-half, can also play as a full-back or holding midfield and has won many plaudits in Portugal for his sensational performances for Benfica. He leapt to fame as a teenager in his native Brazil, having been the star player in the Vitoria team which won the 2006 Campeonato Brasileiro Serie C.
Standing at 6ft 2in and with strength and pace in abundance, Chelsea will hope that Luiz and John Terry will become a central defensive pairing to rival Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.
Darren Bent - Sunderland to Aston Villa, £18m rising to £24m
Darren Bent angered Steve Bruce and supporters at Sunderland by handing in a transfer request earlier in January, despite his club being sixth in the Premier League at the time. A day after airing his discontent at Sunderland, Bent joined Aston Villa who were then fourth from bottom of the division. Many questioned whether his move to move to Villa was done for entirely footballing reasons.
The striker's move from the North East to the Midlands cost an initial £18m (rising to a possible £24m depending on appearances). This means at just 26, the striker's combined transfers to date stand at a massive £62m.
For all his goals, Bent isn't a striker that comes easy on the eye. He struggled to win over the fans at Tottenham during his time there and has only won seven England caps to date, despite regularly featuring highly in the goal scoring charts.
Bent will undoubtedly get a good number of goals for Villa but the age-old question persists. Are goals alone a good enough return from a striker who's overall play is average at best? Villa's league positions over the next few seasons will be the answer to that.
Edin Dzeko -Wolfsburg to Manchester City £27m
For anyone who questioned Manchester City's title aspirations before, the signing of Edin Dzeko surely proves beyond all doubt that the Eastlands' club means business.
Dzeko is widely regarded as one of European football's hottest prospects and having scored 66 goals in 111 appearances for Wolfsburg, he has the stats to back up his fantastic reputation.
If there is any weakness in the 24-year-old's game it is probably his lack of pace. The likes of Teddy Sheringham and David Beckham have successful demonstrated in the Premier League in the past though that having an extra yard in your head is every bit as important as lightening speed on the pitch. Certainly, there's fewer sharper minded footballers around currently than Edin Dzeko.
Sulley Muntari - Inter Milan to Sunderland - Loan until the end of the season
There has been little fuss made about Sunderland's loan signing of the experienced midfielder Sulley Muntari, but as the Black Cats push for a Europa League spot, this could have been one of the best bits of business in the whole of the January transfer window.
The 26-year-old former Portsmouth star has slipped down the pecking order at Inter Milan recently, but could still do a fantastic job in the Premier League. His superb engine and excellent tackling ability makes him the perfect kind of holding midfielder for English football. He also has a decent goal scoring record for a defensive midfielder.
Muntari joins fellow Ghanian internationals Asamoah Gyan and John Mensh at the Stadium of Light and his move could be made permanent at the end of the season.
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© Andy Greeves & Soccerphile.com
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