Top 10 Premier League Transfers in 2007-2008
A manager’s success is directly tied to the players he recruits, so naturally, the manager needs to make his money count. Clubs always have reservations about making money available to their manager, especially when players like David Nugent are bought for £6 million, but these ten buys were truly divine.
10. Blumer Elano (8 mil) - Manchester City
His shooting ability, vision, passing skill, and commitment were on show the whole season, even while the team faltered in the second half of the season. Manchester City’s form at the beginning of the year was in large part due to Elano’s contributions.
9. Phil Jagielka (4 mil) - Everton
I had reservations about this buy when first announced, but Jagielka became a major part of Everton’s push for Champions League football.
Jagielka played with passion and heart all year; something I enjoy seeing in my Evertonians. He was constantly aware in the back, and had outstanding positioning.
He was a bargain at 4 million pounds and Moyes will be pleased with this buy.
8. Sulley Muntari (7 mil) - Portsmouth
Sulley Muntari is a consistent and controlling midfielder, who has done wonders for Portsmouth. Muntari was aquired from Udinese who collected a nice fee for him, but his impact has been tangible.
His striking ability and his tidy play got Portsmouth to eighth in the table, and to be the FA Cup champions. Portsmouth’s presence in Europe is in part due to Muntari’s stellar play.
7. Carlos Tevez (unattached, loan) - Manchester United
Everybody remembers the Carlos Tevez saga. No one knew who owned Carlos Tevez and court dates had to be set. In the end, he signed a two-year loan deal with Manchester United.
In 48 appearances, he scored nineteen goals. His bullish play and knack for being in the right positions served Carlos and United well. Not bad for United, considering they haven’t paid a transfer fee for him yet.
6. Martin Petrov (4.7 mil) - Manchester City
Martin Petrov was an unknown quantity when he came to the premiership from Atletico Madrid, but the Bulgarian has proven he was worth the money. In 34 matches, Petrov has tallied 5 goals and nine assists. His runs up the left were key to City’s success as he was able to beat defenders on the dribble.
He was one of the few bright spots when the whole team faded at the end of the year, and at 4.7 mil, he was a bargain for the amount of influence he exerted when he played.
5. Owen Hargreaves (17mil) - Manchester United
Owen Hargreaves made the difference for United this year. His tireless play and his ability to hit stunningly effective free kicks were a key component to Manchester United’s double. 17 mil is not cheap, but Hargreaves delivered and more importantly has the potential to deliver for the next 5 years.
His sublime free kick against Arsenal probably won United the league, and his ball winning skills are exceptional. He took a lot of flack before the World Cup because the English public hadn’t seen him play but he has certainly proved his worth since for England and this year for Manchester United.
4. Jermain Defoe (9 mil) - Portsmouth
Jermain Defoe was a fantastic buy for Harry Redknapp. Defoe was languishing on the bench at Tottenham but has rebooted his career under Harry Redknapp’s guidance.
In Defoe’s 12 matches for Portsmouth, he netted 8 goals and led Portsmouth’s rise to number eight in the table. 9 million might seem like a lot for someone who could not start at Tottenham, but Jermain Defoe looks to be fulfilling his potential at Fratton Park.
3. Bacary Sagna (6 mil) - Arsenal
Sagna arrived in the summer from Auxerre, for a sum of £6 million. He was an unknown quantity when Arsene Wenger bought him, but Sagna has since become one of the most consistent and reliable right backs in the EPL. He was a key contributor to Arsenal’s league challenge before being injured.
Sagna was a bargain at 6 million pounds, considering the hugely positive impact he had on Arsenal’s performances this season.
2. Fernando Torres (26 mil) - Liverpool
Fernando Torres was the best player for Liverpool (besides Steven Gerrard) all year. He arrived from Atletico Madrid for an unbelievable £26 million (20m when you factor in Luis Garcia), but has been worth every penny.
His 24 goals in 33 league matches are the most goals scored by a foreigner in his first year in the EPL (beating Ruud van Nistelrooy’s previous record. Imagine Liverpool’s standing in the table if Torres hadn’t put them on his back and carried them upwards.
His pace and positioning combined with his shooting ability made him one of the top buys last summer.
1. Roque Santa Cruz (3 mil) - Blackburn
Roque Santa Cruz, a 26 year old Paraguayan, was hands down, the best buy of the year. Cruz scored 19 goals in 37 league appearances, which makes him the fourth leading scorer in the EPL. What makes this buy so good is the price v goals equation. Take your pick, you can have Cruz’s 19 goals for £3 million, or you can have Fernando Torres’s 24 goals for £20 million. I’ll take Santa Cruz as the best buy of the 2007-2008 EPL season.
Related: Summer 2007 Transfers, January 2008 Transfers.
Who’s in your Top 10 for the best transfers in 07/08? Share your list in the comments below.
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WHERE IS ANDERSON?????
Distin - free
anderson? 17 mil and did nothing?
where is skrtel more like!
Yakubu? 21 goals in his first season for Everton!
where is yakubu? first everton player to score over 20 goals since Beardsley in 1992. Better goal ratio than torres and cheaper. If you are looking at value for money, he should be there.
Distin, Yakubu, Skrtel all would be worthy additions.
With due respect, not so sure of Hargo (although that free kick was sweet) and the City boys…
Distan & Yakubu are both good shouts. Distan was an excellent signing on a free and Yak will always score goals, 21 and I think he spent a lot of his season out of the team due to fitness when he initially joined and at The African Nations Cup.
Defoe, what has he done to warrant his position in the chart??
Agree
Hargreaves, Defoe and Muntari should not be in the Top 10 Buys of 2007/2007 imho.
Add in Yakubu at 11.25 M.
Steven Pienaar at 2.05 M.
Kenwynne Jones at 5 M.
here’s my list:
1)Torres
2)Santa Cruz
3)Tevez
4)Petrov
5)Carson - if Tevez loan deal means he is in the list, then why not Carson?
6)Sagna
7)Distin - Partnered Campbell well in a successful Pompey season
8)Jagielka
9)Reo-Coker - Did something to prove he wasnt a reason for West Ham’s bad 06/07 season.
10)Belletti - not many will agree on him, but bought only in Jan, he hasnt done any wrong and have scored quite good goals too.
Elano - faded away in 2008
Corluka - great defender, but like Elano, he faded
Luke Young - a solid defender at Charlton, and that good why Southgate brought him in.
Kenwyne Jones - can say his efforts and workrate was one of the reason why the Black Cats stayed up.
Knight - O’Neil managed to turned him to quite a good player.
Gordon - if Keane did not fork out quids for him, i think Sunderland could have gone down
OK I’m a United fan but Hargreaves and Tevez? Hargreaves was a good signing considering the money we can afford (supposedly) to spend, but he doesn’t deserve a place in that list, least of all if it’s for Premiership performances only. And Tevez costs us a yearly rental fee and will then cost a full price of anywhere between 20 and 30 million. Both good signings, but not the greatest business. Anderson was a far better signing, considering his age.
Defoe? Why not Diarra, he’s been far better. Torres has been fantastic, but can a 25million signing be one of the best of the season? One of the best players, but not one of the greatest business deals. As has been mntioned, Yakubu should be in there.
Elano shouldn’t be there, he’s half the reason for City’s inconsistency! Although Petrov has been quality. Skrtel deserves a mention, and perhaps Kenwyne Jones who, although he hasn’t scored much has played really well. And Craig Gordon, although he was pretty pricey for a keeper. Lucas Leivia wasn’t a bad signing for Liverpool, either.
Santa Cruz deserves his top spot though. What a buy. How many did he get this season? 25? Who do people think was the worst signing of the season? I’d have to opt for Anelka, although it would have been Bianchi if City hadn’t got their money back.
Ridwan u are a joke. How many goals did Anderson score this season. Oh yeah 0 and he plays in a very attackive posision.
Heres my top 10
1.Santa Cruz
2.Sagna
3.Torres
4.Distin
5.Yakubu
6.Tevez
7.Petrov
8.Jagielka
9.Jones
10.Muntari
(Eduardo would have probably made it if not for that Birmingham wanker)
Shame on you Wrighty…
technically Howard’s transfer was finalised in summer 07 (although he moved on loan in summer 06 and the transfer was agreed upon in feb 07), so if he qualifies to be considered then he should be on the list…
ROQUE ROQUE SANTA CRUZ!
THERES ONLYYY ONEEE SANTAA CRUZZZ!!
Best buy without a doubt.
Santa cruz! definitely the best buy of the season! only 3 mil and 23 goals… and he plays with the Rovers, meaning that he practically plays all by himself, except for Bentley, of course… Torres has Gerrard and at least 3 more players to assist him… Cruz has to be creative and make the best out of any play
i thought defoe was a great buy but no pepole are slagging him off i mean any league 1 player can come in and score i think it was 7 goals in 7 games even though he had only played 2 games all season with tottenham before that….
i would personally take out the big players torres/ tevez it all just depends on ure perspective - are you looking for the best players who have came in and made a impact on the prem living up to their huge price tag or players at a bargain bucket price that have had great seasons
You mugs make me laugh…
Santa Cruz scored 19 goals in the EPL 23 in all comps.
Torres scored 24 in the league and 34 in all comps.
Torres scored more goals in the league than Cruz did in all comps combined…
Aside from the fact that Torres broke RVN’s record for goals in a debut season by a foreign player.
Cruz scored 3 Cup goals and 1 in Europe (UEFA CUP).
Torres scored 3 Cup goals and 6 in Europe (UEFA CL).
I’ll leave it for you to decide which competition features the better competition.
I would like you all to notice the magnitude and importance of a good signing. You all may dispute who really should be on the list, but all the disputed players, and all the players on the list are on teams in the top half of the table. There are no signings being discussed by any of you on teams outside of the top half. A good signing really makes all the difference.
Diarra shld have been there.He was immense for Portugal.I think hargreaves is a wonderful signing,hes hardworking,tactically astute,one of the best tacklers,has good skills on the ball,has a great work rate and then is a dead ball specialist.However,yeah,on the basis of this season alone,he shouldnt be here.
Elano was inconsistent but his preformance in the first half was outstanding.Its his fading away in the latter stages that has put him down
I saw a lot of bad comment on Elano saying he faded, i got another point of view on it.
Already he was injured before december, and then, it’s the key point i think, he come from Ukrainian league, which got a break from mid-december to the mid-february. He played there quite long time, so i guess his body was tired by the new rhythm. So he did quite well, after let’s see what he can do with a year passed in the EPL.
Eduardo Da Silva
I think it is a good list although I dont think Hagreaves has been a stand out player for United not until they tried him out wide anyways.
I think Cruz was a better signing than Nando because Cruz was a complete random buy whilst everyone was after Torres. Yes he may have turned out to be far better than we all thought but so did Cruz.
Santa Cruz, the best buy by farrrrrr!
anybody who thinks Santa Cruz is not the best premiership buy is out of their mind. 3 million pounds is a tiny sum for nineteen goals
cruz is it without a doubt, and i will put sagna there too he not only assisted in providing goals but scored 1 or 2 of them, jones of sunderland worth mentioning too.
Jones slightly faded away as the season went on. He was less and less involved in sunderland attacks.
You’re an idiot if you think Nugent should be ridiculed as a purchase. He’s proved his worth for England, in the FA Cup and in the Championship and Redknapp has simply not given him a chance. Hardly fair to blame Nugent for not being allowed to play!
I promise you, you’ll eat your words when he finally gets to play (or leaves Portsmouth) - and £6m will seem like bargain. I can think of far worse purchases in the list above
Wel Wdc Anderson Sould’ve Been Up Der Because Has Amazing Streagth And Talent N Hargreaves Sould Have Came 1st Because
He Scored 2 Amazing Free-Kick
muntari is best pick of the lot
why? he booted manutd out of fa cup haha!!
and i dont care wat u idiots say
I WILL GO FOR LUCAS LEIVA…GOOD SIGNING YOUNGSTER!!
did’t ronaldo go madrid yet
okay
do u know
shevchenko for chelsea
he was for 30 mil
and dimitar berbatov for tottenham
man utd wil buy him for 25 mill
u guys dont know anything