Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez is set to be one of the most desired signings this summer, as Napoli join Liverpool among the list of clubs interested in the Chilean international.
The 24 year-old is not enjoying as many opportunities as last season at the Camp Nou and might have been advised to find a new club, calling the attention of Premier League and Serie A’s top sides, claims Talksport.
Sanchez has struggled to maintain the level shown last season with Barcelona and, playing in many occasion a substitute role, has only managed to net 4 goals in 31 appearances with the Catalans so far this year.
Brendan Rodgers is keen on the Chilean striker and rumours about a loan attempt from Liverpool circled during the last January window. The Reds would be now interested in acquiring the players, although two main obstacles could step on their way.
The first one could be the price, as Sanchez joined Barcelona during summer 2011 in a £23 million deal and Barca might expect to recover a substantial part of the investment. Whether Liverpool will have the funds for a substantial outlay remains to be seen, given their recent financial figures for the year.
Secondly, the Reds would find strong competitors in clubs in Napoli or Juventus, as the Chilean is still highly valued in the Italian league where he impressed everyone during his time at Udinese.
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Nevertheless, Barcelona will have the last word as other factors such as Villa departure or new signings might have an impact in a hypothetical summer departure.
The Premier League is a natural stomping ground for the world’s elite, the players that dazzle and delight before picking up a colossal pay packet at the end of the week.
But what about those individuals that are simply there to ‘do a job’?
You know the ones, the defenders who will launch the ball into the stands at the first sign of danger, or the strikers who are only useful when placed inside the 6-yard box. The manager’s favourites, the cult heroes in the heart of the supporters and those who give us all hope that we could still make it as a professional.
With this in mind, I have decided to collate the top 15 ‘limited’ performers still grazing on the grass of the Premier League.
Click on Shola Ameobi to see the full list
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Reading manager Brian McDermott has credited Newcastle boss Alan Pardew for setting the Royals on the path to the Premier League.
Pardew was in charge at the Madejski Stadium from 1999 to 2003 before leaving for West Ham in acrimonious circumstances. Although it was Steve Coppell who eventually took Reading into the top flight in 2006, McDermott feels Pardew was crucial in establishing the identity of the club. He told Sky Sports:
“Alan Pardew is a good friend of mine and I believe he set the identity for this club over a period of time. The tempo of the team, the passing game and work rate are second to none here and he set that trend. That’s been our identity for the past 12 years. Alan was the man who set Reading on course for the Premier League. I hope he gets a good reception on Saturday, but it will be what it will be. Everyone’s moved on from when he left for West Ham.”
It really shouldn’t have been that surprising when Wayne Rooney netted twice and assisted in another (forgetting completely the early own goal) in Manchester United’s home win against Stoke. After all, were we really expecting the player to carry on in the same manner as the abject display for England against Poland? The attacking support cast is arguably of better quality at United, while the burden to get the goals certainly doesn’t weigh as heavy at Old Trafford as it does on international duty.
Rooney’s display on the weekend should be an indictment of the state of England’s national team: the short of it is that England aren’t as good as FIFA say they are. We’ve been over how good or poor Rooney has been in recent months for his club; the presence of Robin van Persie was sure to spark some sort of reaction, whether negative or positive. But we should also look to the argument again as to why England’s players can’t raise the game for their national team in the same way they do for their clubs.
It should be easy to come to a conclusion: England’s players are not all that great, but when paired with the players of other nations at club level, their very best qualities shine through. We can’t simply blame things such as ProPlus or the lack of a real high quality striker, or even that old argument of whether Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard can play centrally together. However, the whole issue starts to complicate itself when you look at how players such as Gerrard, Rooney, Ashley Cole etc are admired as some of the very best in Europe. Joe Hart is apparently the best goalkeeper in the world, although I’m extremely confident that the majority of those sending out such high praise have never watched a club from the continent with any real interest beyond a Champions League game.
So what’s the problem? England do have good players, but apparently they can’t all play together effectively and to the level that we often see in the Premier League. Maybe the England manager and his predecessors are not all that great. No, that would be too easy. And the idea of dismissing such a decorated manager as Fabio Capello is nonsensical.
Maybe they just don’t care. Maybe England’s players are so beyond any belief of victory on the international stage that they’ve just given up and thus display it through their performances. What about pride and the line we always hear about the joy of representing your country? We hardly see it. There’s nothing to be proud of from the way England’s inflated egos couldn’t muster an attack of any threatening nature against Poland.
And it’s not just limited to the delayed game in Poland, either. The 2010 World Cup was disastrous, the qualifying campaign for the last European Championship saw the national side playing with fire, and will England ever win a penalty shootout? The win against San Marino was a throwaway match that never should have happened anyway.
But these are English players who have won Premier League titles in impressive fashion, as well as Champions League medals, domestic cups and so on. We can’t really deflect the praise away from them and solely onto their team mates. John Terry is so often talked up as one of England’s finest defenders and leaders, and how central were his and Frank Lampard’s roles in the winning days of Jose Mourinho?
Joleon Lescott has been largely excellent for Manchester City over the past 12 months, while Phil Jagielka was heroic in that Everton win against United at Goodison Park at the start of the season.
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Rooney’s performance for United against Stoke was symbolic of what it means to play for England and equally the quality England have in their ranks. These are veterans of the game; Rooney has just celebrated 10 years in the Premier League and is still not really in his prime. If England’s senior players have such a problem with the system that has been used by England managers over the years then why not speak up and make useful suggestions that would benefit and suit all the players? Although, you then go full circle and come to the realisation that a whole hat full of managers can’t be wrong.
Robin Van Persie faces the prospect of being benched for Holland despite his spectacular start to life at Old Trafford.
The 29-year-old was left on the sidelines by new manager Louis van Gaal who instead opted for Klass-Jan Huntelaar to lead the line in a friendly against Belgium last month.
Van Persie shows his class week in and week out in the Premier League but choked badly during Holland’s dismal Euro 2012 performance and may not get a chance at redemption in upcoming internationals.
The Oranje host Turkey on Friday before a Tuesday night trip to Hungary in World Cup qualifying.
The £24 million man has netted 28 times for his country in 68 internationals, but rival Huntelaar has scored 32 goals in fewer appearances.
Speaking to The Sun, the frontman said: “I’m available for any position. I still find it an honour to be here. That will not really change – even if I do not play the next matches.”
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This was supposed to be a season of opportunity for Tottenham, a genuine chance to push on and start challenging with the very best. But as is so often the case with Spurs we are frustratingly back to square one. This is a club that enjoys false dawns like no other, a rollercoaster ride between cynicism and belief that more often than not ends in disappointment.
Spurs’ Premier League top four challenge is in tatters. Whilst Spurs have crumbled under the pressures the sides around have shown the resilience required and it would now take something remarkable for the North Londoners to get back on track.
If the rumours are to believed Sherwood wont last out the summer at Spurs, with a number of names already being lined up as his replacement. Some are willing to write off these final few months and just start from fresh next season, but are they right?
Spurs may be in turmoil but they are also on the cusp of actually achieving something in the Europa League. A European tie against Benfica was the kind of thing to capture the imagination in years gone by for Spurs, but this season it seems to have approached with a degree of animosity. With the league as good as gone it is time for Spurs to shift their focus to Europe and start taking this competition seriously.
The obsession with 4th place has become harmful for Spurs, a club that is losing track of what it is all about and forgetting what made it great in the first place. European football is key to Spurs, and it is high time that fans echoed the words of the late great Bill Nicholson and cherished it once more:
“It’s magnificent to be in Europe, and this club – a club like Tottenham Hotspur – if we’re not in Europe…. we’re nothing. we’re nothing.”
Maybe I’m being a little nostalgic here, a sentiment long lost perhaps. But this is definitely something that still resonates with Spurs fans on European nights and something that needs to be rekindled once again. Garry Mabbutt who played for the club the last time they lifted the UEFA Cup was quick to laugh off those that discredit the competition:
“People have spoken about the different value of competitions, it’s nonsense,” he said.
“Footballers want to win every single competition they’re playing in, whether it’s the Capital One Cup or the Europa League. Look at the Man City team when they won the League Cup.
You look at Vincent Kompany when he lifted that trophy, the look on his face – was that the look of someone who thinks we shouldn’t really be here? No. They won the trophy; they outplayed other teams to win it. For them, the players and the supporters, it was a fantastic day.”
“For any Spurs fans if we could be in Turin at the Europa League final and see Michael Dawson lift that trophy at the end of the season that would be fantastic.”
The issue with the Europa League has always been its length; it is hard to generate excitement when the end goal seems so far away. But when it comes to the last 16 of the competition this should all change, especially when it is against one of the great European sides. Spurs will be looking for redemption for their controversial 1962 European cup defeat to Benfica, and the opportunity to prove themselves against one of the best on the continent once again.
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It isn’t all doom and gloom for Spurs. It may be time to forget about the Premier League, but in the Europa they genuinely have something to get excited about. Winning the competition would be the greatest achievement in the clubs recent history and would help Sherwood to prove his considerable list of doubters wrong.
A European night at the Lane will always be special; it is time for fans to realise this once more.
Having clinched the signing of Emmanuel Adebayor from Manchester City for a deal believed to be in the region of £5m, Tottenham clinched their most important piece of business of the entire summer, so with that in mind, is it all starting to come together at White Hart Lane?
The short answer is ‘maybe’, and while I’m not trying to be facetious (it just comes naturally), there are still a lot of incomings and outgoings to contend with as Daniel Levy seeks to get the best bang for his buck, while new boss Andre Villas-Boas attempts to make his mark on the side he inherited from predecessor Harry Redknapp.
Michael Dawson, somewhat surprisingly, looks as if he’s heading towards the exit door after being deemed surplus to requirements by the Portuguese boss for being too slow and cumbersome. While these are of course legitimate criticisms of Dawson, given the Ledley King had retired before the start of pre-season, he was the club captain elect and while Jan Vertonghen and Younes Kaboul looked the first-choice pairing, it’s a shock that both Steven Caulker and William Gallas are preferred at the moment.
QPR and Stoke are the teams in for him and the £8m mentioned seems a fair fee for a 28 year-old with past injury problems, but it’s still an extremely bold move from Villas-Boas and a great show of faith in Caulker, who spent last year on loan to huge success at Swansea.
Elsewhere, Danny Rose looks as if he’s edging towards a loan move to Sunderland as Kieran Richardson seeks a move further south, while Tom Huddlestone has been made available for loan, with Stoke again interested, not to mention the fact that David Bentley, Jermaine Jenas and Giovani Dos Santos are thought to be available for transfer. That’s a hell of a lot of activity left to potentially go through in just over a week, particularly when you bear in mind that Tottenham did come fourth last season, after spending most of it in third place.
There’s also the giant elephant in the room that is this summer’s most repetitive transfer saga involving Luka Modric’s move to Real Madrid, which looks set to be completed later this week. Replacing the Croatian playmaker will be of paramount importance and the fees mentioned range from £24.5m to £39.5m, which more than anything, just highlights that while nobody really has a clue, that the level of negotiation taking place is of a reasonably high risk level as we edge closer to the end of the transfer window.
Nevertheless, the arrival of Adebayor was a much-needed signing and even with Villas-Boas tinkering the the club’s style and how they press off the ball and higher up the pitch, he is certainly more suited to the lone striker role than Jermain Defoe is, despite a decent goalscoring display in their opening day defeat away at Newcastle. The Togolese forward finished last campaign with 17 goals and 11 assists in the league and he neatly threads the play together well, while simultaneously acting as a focal point for their attacks and his return is a welcome one.
While I don’t buy into the criticisms of chairman Daniel Levy, for the way the club is run is extremely responsible and prudent,Tottenham have been left in a position where they are conducting most of their business after the start of the season, which is far from ideal. Adebayor, much in the same way that Robin van Persie at Arsenal, hasn’t had much of a pre-season to speak of and the deal has taken, partly due to Adebayor’s outlandish request that the transfer fee be paid to him directly, a full two months later than everyone initially though and their progress, in the short-term at least, may still be hindered.
Porto midfield Joao Moutinho has been heavily linked with the club when Modric departs, but given their stance over Chelsea’s pursuit of Hulk, the club are known to be tough negotiators and Portuguese international could cost as much as £30m, but at 25 years-old, he would represent a sound long-term purchase for the future.
There had been rumours that the club had targeted Roma midfielder, the hugely talented Miralem Pjanic as a cheaper alternative, but the player’s agent Michele Gerbino had this to say on the proposed £12m deal, telling reporters: “Tottenham made a move for him, but both Roma and Pjanic thanked them for their interest and politely declined the offer. This is not the time to move or consider any other offers. The lad has tied himself to this project and first of all wants to do well at Roma. Besides, the club locked him down. Basically, he will not be moving. Pjanic had a very positive year, adapting easily to Serie A and you can see that from how quickly he learnt to speak Italian. He’s very happy at Roma.”
With Huddlestone and Jenas both looking to be moved on and with Scott Parker still injured, the club need to get somebody in to replace Modric and Gylfi Sigurdsson, as some may think, was never bought as his replacement as he plays a lot higher up the pitch, merely to supplement the existing options within the squad.
Some strength in depth could also be needed out wide to compliment the existing duo of Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale. Both are key to the shape of the side and whenever one is injured, the entire balance is affected, with Adam Johnson and Willian targeted. The fact that Johnson is available now for a much more reasonable fee of around £10m, as opposed to the ridiculous £15m mooted earlier in the summer, and that he’s already adjusted to the Premier League could see him preferred.
So where else do the club need to strengthen? Up front, with youngster Harry Kane still third-choice, they could still do with another striker, but Leandro Damiao’s price in negotiations with Internacional has fluctuated wildly and it seems as if the club are trying to nail jelly to a wall with that one.
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They also require a new goalkeeper eventually too, although it looks as if they are going to persists with 41 year-old Brad Friedel surely in his final year at the club, maybe even his career, but they’ve so far buckled at Lyon’s £15m valuation on Huge Lloris – it’s not a top priority as a replacement for Modric and another striker perhaps are, but it’ll need addressing sooner rather than later, with neither Gomes or Carlo Cudicini anything more than back-up now.
It’s strange that so close to the end of the transfer window, that the club is still in such a state of flux with concerns to their transfer activity. The next nine days represent a pivotal point in their season both on and off the pitch and if they manage to conclude all of their business in that time, I see no reason why they can’t finish in the top four again this season, but at the moment it’s a big ‘if’, even if the Adebayor deal is a step in the right direction. The current top eight, the majority of teams are in a period of transition, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea the main example, and while Tottenham certainly are themselves, they appear to have more potential at the moment for future deals, which could change where they ultimately finish up by the end of the campaign.
With a large squad and a lot of talented youngsters, it is important that Manchester United send players out on loan to continue their progress and gain valuable first team experience. Below is a list of several players who have been sent out on loan by United and how they are getting on.
Manchester United’s Chilean forward Angelo Henriquez was sent out on loan to Wigan Athletic at the start of the January transfer window. Roberto Martinez brought Henriquez to the DW Stadium as back up to Arouna Kone and for cover when Kone went to the African Cup of Nations. Henriquez has only made two appearances for Wigan, one was a half time substitute in the FA Cup against Bournemouth, the other was against Sunderland. Henriquez scored in the 3-2 defeat to Sunderland, and his involvement in Wigan’s first team will help the 18-year-old’s development.
Fabio Da Silva, Rafael’s twin brother is on loan at Premier League side Queens Park Rangers. With first team appearances hard to come by with Patrice Evra and Alexander Buttner in the squad, Sir Alex Ferguson believed a loan spell would help Fabio. During his time at Loftus Road, Fabio has made 20 appearances for the relegation-threatened club and scored in their 4-2 FA Cup defeat to MK Dons. But his time with QPR has been slightly overshadowed by injuries.
Federico Macheda, famed for his last minute winner against Aston Villa in 2009, has struggled to force himself into United’s first team. Towards the end of January, Macheda was sent out on loan for the rest of the season to VFB Stuttgart. Macheda has made nine appearances for the German side and is yet to register a goal. Stuttgart’s sporting director Fredi Bobic claimed that Manchester United had promised the German side the option to buy the striker at the end of the season, but Macheda has made it clear that he will return to Old Trafford.
United’s Portuguese star Bebe is currently out on loan at Rio Ave in Portugal. After returning from injury after damaging his cruciate ligament, Bebe was sent on loan to the Portuguese side to continue to develop. Sir Alex Ferguson signed Bebe even though he had never seen him play and he has not featured much at Old Trafford. During his loan spell, Bebe scored on his debut in a 1-0 win over Maritimo. He has added another goal in his other seven outings for the side.
Michael Keane has been on loan at Leicester City since early November. The young centre back has featured heavily for the Foxes since he arrived on loan and has been impressing with strong displays and even earned a call up to Stuart Pearce’s England under-21 squad. Keane has appeared for Leicester 20 times and chipped in with a few goals. Most importantly, Keane scored a last minute equaliser against United’s bitter rivals Leeds.
Sam Johnstone is currently on loan at League One side Walsall. The young goalkeeper was England’s under-17 goalkeeper when they won the European Championship in 2010. During his time at Walsall he kept a clean sheet in his first three games, only to concede in Walsall’s last game against Sheffield United.
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Young Italian playmaker Davide Petrucci is on loan at Peterborough United. The young midfielder has been hampered with injuries through his early days as a Manchester United player, but now this seems to be behind him. The Italian has incredible talent and is eager to impress while playing for Darren Ferguson. Petrucci has made three appearances for the Posh and he scored a screamer as they came from behind to beat Leicester 2-1.
Sunderland fought back from 2-0 down against Southampton to make it 2-2 at the final whistle thanks to goals from Fabio Borini and Adam Johnson.
Jay Rodriguez put the away side ahead within seven minutes and then Dejan Lovren scored an acrobatic effort off a corner to put Southampton up 2-0.
However, Borini was quick to respond with Sunderland’s first shot of the match to make it 2-1. The home side continued to battle and it was up to Johnson to slam his shot into the top right hand corner and make it 2-2.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to the main events, including Johnson getting “Hodged”….
7 Minutes in – After keeping sunderland pinned back to their own half, Jay Rodriguez put’s an accurate low drive into the bottom corner of Vito Mannone’s net…
20 minutes in – The away side had 76% possession, making 140 out of 160 attempted passes. Sunderland had made just 31 accurate passes, and were yet to have a shot on goal. Lambert misses a great chance to make it 2-0 in the 21st minute.
30 minutes in – A Steven Davies corner finds Dejan Lovren and the Croatian international pulls off an acrobatic volley to find the back of the net
A few minutes later….Fabio Borini springs into life and pegs back the Saints immediately, his scuffed finish tricking into the corner of the net under Artur Boruc.
Half Time – Suddenly the game begun to balance out a little bit. But Southampton still dominated the ball. 71% possession as both sides approached half time. The sides went in at halftime with the scores 2-1. The first 45 were all about Southampton – keen to keep possession, using a high-pressing game and showing great quality on the ball – but Fabio Borini found Sunderland a vital life-line.
After the interval – Sunderland came out fighting after the interval, Gus Poyet clearly having some strong words at half time. Possession began to balance out but still just a single effort on target for the Black Cats. Southampton then had a number of long-range efforts, namely from Luke Shaw and Callum Chambers. But they couldn’t get past Vito Mannone.
Some good forward play saw Rickie Lambert beat the offside trap and put in Jay Rodriguez, only for the early goalscorer to fire wide from an acute angle. Southampton began to assert their dominance one again but couldn’t find the net. Borini finds the net in the 64th minute but the Assistant quickly raised his flag. Good call. the Italian had just strayed.
After 70 minutes – Sunderland had just 30% possession. But out of nowhere, last weekend’s hero Adam Johnson scores a belter to make it 2-2!
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Followed by an instant Hodging…
Johnson will be hope the Three Lions gaffer is watching after that strike. The Saints goalie has to put in some six-yard-box heroics to stop another one going in his net minutes later, and suddenly we’re set for a very exciting finish with Sunderland gaining all the momentum. Gaston Ramirez makes a great run on the break and could have had free kick on the edge of the box, but the ref judges it a great tackle from Wes Brown. The Argentine winger takes a serious hit from the Sunderland centre-back and has to go off on the stretcher, just minutes after coming on.
Bizarrely, Dejan Lovren also goes down, and finds himself on another stretcher. Big blow for Southampton with just five minutes remaining.
All the injures added up to seven minutes of stoppage time…where nothing really happened.
For those amongst the Premier League elite looking to recruit another goalkeeper this summer, there aren’t too many candidates around likely to boast a résumé that can hold a candle to that of Barcelona’s Victor Valdes.
Following Valdes’ recent announcement to not renew his contract at the Camp Nou past 2014, it’s thought that the Catalan club are happy to listen to offers for a keeper who has won just about everything there is to win within European football.
Since breaking into the first team back in 2003, the 31-year-old has gone on to win a staggering five La Liga titles, three Champions League trophies and victory in two Fifa Club World Cups – not to mention five Zamora trophies, the award handed out to the keeper with the lowest goals-to-games ratio in the Spanish top flight.
And considering the current dearth of goalkeeping quality that seems to exist within the Premier League, you get the impression that Valdes might not have anything in the way of a lack of suitors, should he wish to face a fresh challenge within the realms of English football.
With a host of the league’s top clubs experiencing more than a touch of difficulty between the sticks this term, Valdes couldn’t have picked a better time to seek a ‘new challenge,’ in the near future.
Indeed, while Valdes has publicly gone on record as fancying a change of scenery after winning everything there is to win in Spain, there is a school of thought suggesting the one-time Tenerife trainee is unhappy at his failure to be offered contractual parity with his fellow top-earning countrymen at the club. Such financial issues shouldn’t be much of a problem should he move to one of the Premier League’s big hitters.
With the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United having to deal with their fair share of inconsistency in the goalkeeping department, you would have thought they’d be jumping through hoops to try and attain a goalkeeper with the sort of trophy haul that Valdes has attained.
Yet despite being a mainstay in a team widely regarded as one of the greatest club sides of their generation, Valdes’ individual standing within European football sits in stark contrast to that of his trophy haul. In fact, his talents seem to be viewed with such suspicion within some quarters of English football, attaining Valdes’ signature has even been described as something of a relative gamble.
It’s fair to say that Valdes’ stock within Spanish football has always been devalued somewhat, often unfairly, by the remarkable achievements of his great El Clasico rival and Spanish national captain, Iker Casillas. Valdes isn’t without his faults as a goalkeeper, but having to spend the bulk of his career being compared to one of the greats of his generation, is a comparison that would bathe most goalkeepers in a negative light.
Likewise, there’s an argument to be made that the unparalleled success of the very team that in which he’s played a part of for near on a decade, has in fact unfairly harmed his own reputation.
Bar the likes of a Casillas or a Gianluigi Buffon, there are very few goalkeepers around that could boast something approaching the equivalent talent – if that is indeed possible – of the sort of outfield talent on show at the Camp Nou.
When supporters see the sort of unworldly talent Barcelona usually exhibit in the final third, even though that sort of expectation can’t be realistically applied to a goalkeeper, eyebrows have often been raised at some of the cheap goals that Valdes has conceded over the years. When things have gone awry for the Blaugrana, fairly or unfairly, Valdes has been the easy scapegoat for both supporters and the media alike to turn to.
But for all the often-unfair stereotypes that are thrown Valdes’ way regarding flakiness, his reptutation as something of a weak-link within this Barcelona team isn’t without foundation.
Because should a Premier League team or anyone else in Europe for that matter, fancy trying to tempt Barcelona’s hand, had he left in January he’d have departed La Liga as statistically one of the poorest keepers of the league so far.
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Statistics may only tell half of any story, but with a 1.7 saves per goals conceded ratio, only Deportivo’s Daniel Aranzubia can claim to have a worse ratio within La Liga. Again, while Valdes may have less shots to deal with than your average stopper, a save percentage of just under 65% is one bettered by another 17 goalkeepers in the Spanish top flight.
For all his outstanding ability in the one-on-one and gifted set of reflexes, too often Valdes’ concentration has gone astray and while it’s not easy for a goalkeeper to have to deal with such long period of inactivity as he has to at Barcelona, too often we’ve seen him cost his side valuable points. Certainly last season, Valdes did more than most to cost his side success in both domestic and European competitions.
A move to the Premier League may ultimately prove to be a real roll of the dice for both Victor Valdes and any club that potentially decides to put their faith in the 31-year-old.
For those looking to address a shaky presence within their rearguard, signing Valdes could well prove to only maintain their current status quo between the sticks. For the player, leaving one of the safest goalkeeping spots in European football for a far more physical and volatile league could be a very risky move indeed. Those who dare may ultimately win, but for all the medals that Valdes has attained, he still remains a gamble.