What is the biggest ever Premier League signing? Pogba? Shevchenko? Wirtz? Ozil? Robinho? | OneFootball

What is the biggest signing in Premier League history? Not necessarily the best or most expensive, but the one with the most ‘wow factor’?

The biggest signing in Premier League history

Got chatting today with some people about who would be the Premier League’s biggest ever signing? Not necessarily big in terms of fee or success, but as in the biggest wow factor or how did they pull that off?

It turned out to be a very tricky thing to nail down. Would it be a big team signing a big star, or a smaller club signing someone unimaginable?

Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Manchester United was a mega man coming for no money at an age deemed to potentially be past it. Paul Pogba’s world record transfer to Manchester United also stole hearts and minds when it happened. I personally found Shevchenko to Chelsea to be up there, although is it really surprising?

More recently, Wirtz to LFC really caught people by surprise, both in the fee, the ambition, and seeing Bayern or City not get what they desired. Man United signed Yoro under the noses of Real too, but he was rarely known at the time so perhaps not.

More old fashionedly, it gets far more exciting. Boro’s capture of Ravanelli and Juninho still captures minds in Middlesbrough even to this day. Who can forget Bolton Wanderers signing World Cup winning star Youri Djourkaeff, or Real Madrid’s Ivan Campo. Eric Cantona leaving Leeds for United was a curveball, but hardly a world beater at that time.

Some other honorable mentions would be Sol Campbell’s free transfer to the gooners which caused some commotion to say the least. I also vividly remember the day Arsenal signed Ozil from Real. Signing one of the world’s best playmakers and shattering their transfer record? Yes please.

If I had to pick one though, I think it would have to be Robinho to Man City. This ticks all the boxes – exciting, unforeseen, unbelievable. So much so, not even Robinho seemed aware he was going to City.

What do you think? Calvino (Do I sense a F365 top ten coming along? 😉 )

Sign language

I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the efficiency and sober attitudes coming from the Big Jim Ratcliffes new team. No real conceivable failures in the transfer department since they have come onboard beyond Manuel Ugarte, and the sale of Scott McTominay.

This summer the ambition has been clear: Sign 2-3 center mids, a left back, a back up keeper, and a left winger. 6 weeks into the window, with 4 more to go, and 3/6 have been signed – Darlow as the back up keeper, Santos and Tielemans as two midfield options. So far, so good. If they can get in a solid no. 6 in the mold of a Tchoumeni, Camavinga or Berge, that will be a very impressive midfield rebuild.

Rashford’s return, and seemingly lack of desire from clubs to sign him sort of resolves the left wing issue if he can fix his attitude and club complications. Shaw, Mazraoui, Dorgu and potentially Amass means the pressure for a left back is not huge, though I would love to see Lewis Hall come in.

My concern however is with what they are not targeting. I truly believe in Sesko and think he is in for a very good season. That said, he is basically all we have up top beyond shifting Cunha, or Rashford up there. Zirkzee is still a United player but not even Bruce Almighty with God’s power could make him a Prem grade forward (Good goal vs Rosenberg mind).

I heard a non-european team that qualifies for Europe will lose on average 11 points from the season before. With that knowledge, and the subsequent increase in scheduled games, United are going to need more goals, with a striker an absolute certainty for me. Vlahovic on a free screams no brainer. While Welbeck warms the heart and would be a more than viable back up and mentor. One of them, and Rashford could add a potential 20+ goals, which would lower that 11 point average.

Centerback is also a position I am concerned about, but feel it may be a job for next summer. United have quality, but not consistency, whether that’s from failure of the mind(Yoro), or the body(Martinez/DeLigt). Romero is available and would give United an immediate partnership that is solid and everyone in England would hate, but that would mean United would need to sell someone, and none of what’s on the books could be sold realistically beyond perhaps Martinez, but then what would be the point?

So if they can bring in Tchouameni (80M), Hall (60M) and Welbeck/Vlahovic (10M/0), and keep Rashford, then that would take United’s summer spend to about 225M. Factor in the Hojlund sale, and potential fees for Zirkzee and Vitek, this could be a tidy summer that secures CL football for a second season coming. Calvino ( Sí, he regresado)

Liverpool doomed without defenders

It’s the silly season where people will add a player to a club in “ideal XI” or “dream deal” scenarios while not much is actually happening. That said, I am less than enchanted in rumours linking Liverpool with a move for Barcola, the PSG substitute who is ridiculously overvalued at 170M euros. He has 6 goals in 41 Champions League games. That’s a lot of CL experience but mainly experience of his team-mates scoring lots of goals.

Chelsea are buying experienced players because they realize that their recruitment has been unbalanced.

Liverpool need to spend any money they have on defensive reinforcements, use the 100M to get an experienced centre-back pair from somewhere, because otherwise we’re left with Virgil and the under 20s, and that is going to spell an early exit from the CL and the cups, and a season of toil in the Prem. Paul in Brussels (and then Barcola 26-27 becomes the new Salah and I look really stupid) 

Real deal

If PSG want €170m for Barcola, Liverpool should offer that for Diomande.  He’s the better long term option.  Madrid won’t pay it, Leipzig will not be able to turn it down.

It’s classic Real, trying to get a player cheap. Liverpool should just blow them out of the water. If nothing else, it will piss them off. Rob

Mr Principles

Really enjoyed Will’s contribution this morning, in providing us with his insights on Jordan Henderson.

He’s concluded that the former Premier League and Champions League winning captain wouldn’t have anything to offer the uber successful Chelsea 2025/26 outfit, and doesn’t deserve his respect 😢. Will – making club transfers like Chelsea are playing FIFA clearly hasn’t worked in the past, so maybe trust that Xabi Alonso knows what he’s doing and is trying to bring a bit of experience and know-how to the party.

Maybe leave off talking about principles too, if you’re only going to subsequently wish a serious injury on a person. James

Player welfare

I’m all for player welfare and their need for rest. But let us not get overly excited about this. This is a business like any other; nobody should be under any illusions about that. Players are being paid millions and millions because they are part of the business. The reason for these ridiculous sums being thrown at them is the amount of entertainment they provide. Would they accept half of what they earn for half the number of matches they are playing?

Should fans feel guilty about the number of matches? of course not. It’s like any other corporate culture; with 2 differences: 1. employees in those evil corporations don’t get paid millions. 2. Sadly they are not famous either.

So fans should not be forced to read page after page of criticism trying to make them feel guilty. They are not decision makers and they are not under any obligation to feel sorry for millionaire players. There are far more marginalized groups to feel sympathetic towards. Karen Asad

This means as much

I’m going to take issue with the mail earlier from Tom (Geordie in Toronto) who boldly states that ‘overseas Liverpool fans have unfortunately bought into the whole ’this means more’ bullshit that the FSG regime continues to propagate.’

Firstly, the vast majority of Liverpool fans that I know (both overseas and back in Liverpool, where I am from originally) hated the ‘this means more’ bullsh*t. And I use hated (past tense) deliberately as someone in the marketing department at LFC realised it was bullsh*t and, as far as I can see at least, have dropped it entirely.

The FSG ‘regime’ (illiterate use of this word, but whatever) do not continue to propagate this bullsh*t anymore, it is now only used by supporters of other clubs as a petty insult!

Also, considering that he says that Esco Pablabar IV cannot be a ‘supporter’, only a ‘follower’ because he is in the US, but then talks about an ‘overseas Liverpool fan’ could he define the difference between a ‘supporter’ and a ‘fan’, and whether someone who now lives overseas (like I do) and possibly Esco Pablabar IV (who knows) loses their ‘fan’ or ‘supporter’ status when they move abroad, and they then become the (In Tom’s mind) lesser ‘follower’? I’m confused by his definition of these three groups! A, LFC, Montreal.

What’s with all the hate?

Yer man asks ‘what’s with all the hate?’ About Arsenal…. Hate is a very strict term but I get much dislike the following about them

1. Their whiny little bawbag of a manager who complains about everything (including the shape of the ball when they got beat by Newcastle) 2. Their hypocrisy of crying about Newcastle being overly physical and then reinventing his team as WWE FC 3. They are absolutely awful for the neutral to watch. If I was paying the tip top dollar that their fans are paying for season tickets I wouldn’t be happy with that being served up 4. Their fans, I used to think Liverpool were annoying, but at least they can put the medals on the table to back up their chat. 5. That Robbie wanker who’s about 60 jumping out of a rented super car with an unlit cigar doing a Temu rap video calling out his oops 😮 6. Defending a player who did a very bad thing for years

As my old Irish granny used to say “there’s a lid for every pot” and if you’re happy with all that as an Arsenal fan then crack on, but I’d imagine you’ll get a lot of emails from neutrals and fans of other clubs pointing on similar things to me

Have a lush day everyone Paulie, Whitey Bay (bay)

…..and another thing, stay in your technical area Arterea!

I’d love to be playing in the premier league just so I could half him when he’s on a wander, the wee sh*te