After some intense overhauls and jaw-dropping signings, the transfer season has drawn to a close. A lot of teams will be looking vastly different from last season. A ludicrous amount of gambles have been set in motion; the chips are stacked sky high and if one of the big transfers don’t pan out, the patrons will be out for blood. On the brighter side, several long-term wishes were fulfilled with certain signings. Certain teams are looking to completely turn their bad spell around. Real and Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, and Arsenal were involved in some of the biggest moves of the season and there's a good chance this window will go down in history as an iconic one. With a lot of excitement for what the coming season holds, let’s take a look at the top signings of the 2018-19 window.
#10. Dani Ceballos ( Real Madrid to Arsenal FC; loan):
The only loan on the list and arguably the best one of the entire season. Despite Real Madrid severely under-performing last season, this 23 y.o. Spaniard was an ember in the expanse of darkness. He was crucial in the central midfield contributing heavily on both attack and defense. He scored 3 goals in 23 games (10 as a sub), averaging 1.4 tackles and a fantastic passing accuracy of 92.6 percent. He covers a lot of ground and can be aggressive on both attack and defence if need be. He could help out with Arsenal’s defence(something that has been subjected to a lot of criticism) because of his versatility and move forward and help the players up front if need be. Everything points to this being one of the cheekiest loans you'll see.
#9. Harry Maguire ( Leicester to Manchester United for €87 million):
Man Utd broke the transfer fee record for a defender when they finally signed Harry Maguire. It is also the most expensive transfer involving an Englishman. To complete the trifecta of superlatives, it is arguably the most controversial signing of the season. A lot of fans are skeptical of Man United spending a ludicrous amount of money on him rather than look for less expensive options or buy more players in general. The skepticism is amplified by Man Utd’s disappointing 2018-19 campaign where they ended up 6th in the PL. The CB played 31 games in the PL 2018-19 and scored 3 goals with 1 tackle, 1.2 interceptions and 4.9 clearances. Great numbers but with that kind of sacrifice(other players and amount) involved, fans are expecting nothing short of VVD-level performances. The sheer amount, and that’s not just money, that is riding on this is enough to make the list.
#8. Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Crystal Palace to Manchester United for €55 million):
The 21-year-old was Manchester United’s first big transfer of the season and while it did not reach the hype of the Maguire transfer, it was more positively received. Aaron Wan-Bissaka was considered a revelation thanks to his showings in the recent season. He proved to be fantastic young RB and Manchester United rightfully pounced on the opportunity to sign him. The English Full-back showed some brilliant skills on the ball with both top-notch dribbling and pace and even tackling. He had 1.7 dribbles, 2.4 interceptions and 3.7 tackles(averages) in the PL last season and was one of the best players in the Pre-season as well.
#7. Frenkie De Jong( Ajax to Barcelona for €75 million):
The 22-year-old made waves with his performance in the Ajax jersey this past season. He was so good that despite the move practically done and dusted for a long time, people still went crazy when it actually happened. He was one of the orchestrators for Ajax’s brilliant showing the UCL where they beat heavyweight teams to make it to the semi-finals. The Dutch midfielder was simply fantastic in both the UCL and the Eredivisie. In both those competitions, his passing accuracy over in the 90’s despite playing plenty of games. He scored 3 goals and 3 assists in the league and managed 2 and 1.3 dribbles per match in the Eredivisie and the UCL respectively. An expensive haul but a fantastic one judging from what we’ve seen so far.
#6. Joao Felix (Benfica to Atletico Madrid for €126 million):
Portuguese teenager, Joao Felix’s 126 million move to ATM might’ve been the biggest gamble of the season. While he gave splendid performances for Benfica with 15 goals and 7 assists and also a hattrick against Frankfurt in the Europa League, he is far from a proven talent, considering the amount of money it took to buy him. The teenager has invited comparisons to fellow Portuguese player, Cristiano Ronaldo. The fact is that there’s enough arguments both supporting and criticizing this signing and to an extent, all of them sound legitimate. The only thing that will determine whether this move was a triumph or a failure will be how he plays in the future. A lot is riding on the youngster. Will he pull through or will he fall?
#5. Rodri (Atletico Madrid to Manchester City for €70 million):
23-year-old Rodrigo made his way to Manchester City in the window. This was a fantastic transfer simply on account on filling in all the necessary criteria. He is very young, very versatile and was one of the best players in the La Liga this past season. Since Fernandinho, who had a terrific season at Manchester City, it would be a great move for him to pass the mantle onto Rodri in the defensive midfield. While you can hardly count Fernandinho out and he will, at the very least be rotated, 34 is quite old for a footballer and Rodri would be a fine replacement give what we’ve seen him do in the La Liga for Atletico. Brilliant in both attack and defence, he had 3.1 tackles, 1.2 interceptions, and 2 clearances on average while maintaining a passing accuracy of 91.1% with 3.4 long balls per game. All these stats were over the course of 34 games. Any other year and this would’ve easily made it into the top 3 and when the league finishes and we have the gift of hindsight, it might just go down as a top 3-level transfer.
#4. Matthijs De Ligt (Ajax to Juventus for €85.5 million):
Another Ajax sale enters into this list and it’s not hard to see why. The teenager broke Virgil Van Dijk’s transfer record for a defender in spectacular fashion. The 19-y.o. Captained an Ajax nobody put money on for reaching past the knockout stages, all the way to the semi-finals of the UCL. He was instrumental in beating both Real Madrid and Juventus and that’s why this move is clever for Juventus is a twist on the ‘if you can’t be them, join them kind’ of way(here it’s just ‘make them join you’). He scored Ajax’s UCL QF winner against a Ronaldo-led Juventus. You cannot say all those achievements for any other player on the planet. He also won the Eredivisie. And had over 1 tackles and assists (average) in both league and the Champions League. The expectations have shot through the roof and given the calibre of player he is, a lot of people will be clamouring to see him not only meet but surpass those expectations.
#3. Nicolas Pepe (LOSC Lille to Arsenal for €80 million):
The 24-year-old winger from Ivory Coast became Arsenal’s most expensive signing to date in this window. He was fantastic in the Ligue 1 season of 2018-19, placing 2nd on both goals and assists columns despite not playing for PSG( who dominated to French League). He played phenomenally, scoring 22 goals and 11 assists. After being tied to several heavyweight clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool, it was Arsenal who won out in the end. His adept dribbling, passing and finishing skills might make him a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League. It will also be interesting to observe how Unai Emery will utilize and integrate him into the squad along with other star-attackers like Aubameyang, Lacazette, and Ozil in the squad.
#2. Antoine Griezmann ( Atletico Madrid to Barcelona FC for €120 million):
Barcelona fans have been wanting it for ages and it finally happened. Griezmann is officially a footballer for Barcelona. The French forward has been one of the best forwards in the world for the past few years, having won the Football World Cup with France. All his offensive skills from passing and dribbling to finishing have rarely not been top-notch. He scored 15 goals and 9 assists in the league this year and has maintained numbers in that ballpark since before he joined ATM. Despite the unimpeachable track-record, €120 million is a lot of money and Barcelona will be expecting more than just La Liga trophies moving forward.
#1. Eden Hazard ( Chelsea to Real Madrid for €100 million):
Who else but Eden Hazard to take the top spot? Real Madrid fans have been anticipating this move for years and it finally happened. Hazard became an absolute legend at Chelsea and is simply one of the best players in the world. It could be argued that he carried Chelsea to a top 4 finish and a UEL win in the most recent season. It wasn’t gonna take anything less than this amount to bring him over Madrid. The man has been exceptional at every facet of attack, be it passing, vision, finishing or dribbling. The Belgian is widely regarded as the best dribbler after Lionel Messi and we’ll get to see if he can hold his own against the all-time great in the El Clasico now. The former PFA winner has won the Premier League twice with Chelsea and scored a massive 16 goals and 15 assists in his final season on English soil. While a lot is riding on this given the history and RMA’s most recent trophyless season, Madridista’s are very optimistic. In the end, a large amount for one of the best players in the world is what it took to reach the no.1 spot.
Hon. Mentions: Lucas Hernandez (ATM to Bayern Munich for €80 million), Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid to Juventus for free), Youri Tielemans (Monaco to Leicester for €45 Million), Moise Kean (Juventus to Everton for €27.5 Million)
