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Top 5 transfers of the January 2015 Transfer Window so far: Part Two!

By on January 30, 2015

Given (not Shay) how popular my first article on transfers proved to be, I have decided to give more of what the people want by sticking to my winning formula as only Louis Van Gaal would change a winning formula! This article outlines my next top five transfers of the January 2015 transfer window so far; however, this article is slightly different as it features some of those deals you may have missed:

Transfer number six, please:

Valdes is an Old Trafford Keeper!
Manchester United signed former Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes on a free transfer this January. The Spanish keeper had been training at Old Trafford prior to signing to maintain and build up his match fitness after a long-term injury. The signing of Victor Valdes will give David De Gea competition and an occasional break as he has been played more than Uptown Funk for Manchester United recently. I am not saying that De Gea needs to ‘do a Raheem Sterling’ and have an enforced holiday in Jamaica, but injuries do occur and there is also an even bigger threat to United than injuries; Real Madrid.

Madrid have been linked with the Red Devils number one and even though United refuses to sell Real ‘a virus’, they do tend to sell their most important players to Madrid. Some of those deals have been more successful at the Bernabeu than others, such as the recent Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who transferred to Madrid in the summer of 2009 for £80 million. De Gea now has the same length contract as his newly signed counterpart Valdes and has been linked with a record move for a goalkeeper, at £50 million, or involved in a swap deal with Welshman Gareth Bale, however, most United fans would rather keep De Gea and see him as a more important figure for the future than any potential new signing would be. Victor Valdes played for Manchester United’s Under-21 team in their 2-1 win Liverpool – he apparently gave a rousing half-time speech to the young Old Trafford starlets, which former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola taught him during his time at the Nou Camp. Valdes was the sort of signing Liverpool could have done with this month, as Simon Mignelot and Brad Jones have made more mistakes than the online Daily Mail this season. Valdes is likely to be backup at Old Trafford, when the 33-year-old may have been first choice elsewhere, such as at Anfield, but it was the fact that he had worked under Louis Van Gaal previously and United gave him a chance to train with them, when he had no club, convinced him that Manchester would be his home for the next 18 months at least.

Transfer number seven, please:

Ode to a Bernabeu/Cash for Silva!
The famous poet John Keats wrote an Ode to a Nightingale, but in 2015, it is an Ode to a Bernabeu as Norwegian teenager Martin Odegaard has completed his move to Real Madrid. The 16-year-old midfielder signed a contract with the Champions League winners after passing a medical exam (for a normal 16-year-old, a medical exam is a Biology or PE GCSE!). Real have not disclosed details of the financial terms but Spanish media reports they have paid about £2.3 million for the former Stromgodset player, which could prove to be a bargain, if, as predicted, he becomes a future star and potential Galactico.  He would then be the cheapest Galactico ever, especially compared to the fees Madrid paid for the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale!

Odegaard is reported to be earning £80,000 a week at Madrid – when I was 16, £5 was a lot of money for me (England cricketer Stuart Broad may argue that is a lot of money as well)! To put it into context, the spotty teenage Odegaard could pay for me to go to university almost three times over in one week’s salary. Odegaard will have to somehow keep his feet on the ground to fulfill his true potential and have the complete success which will surely be available to him, even with that rumored cash flow!

More clubs wanted to sign him than Ryan Giggs has winners medals and more clubs scouted him than Leeds have had managers in the last 10 years! Odegaard has been compared to Lionel Messi, but unlike Messi, he has joined Barcelona’s arch-rival youth side in the form of Real Madrid’s Castilla B team. The three-time caped Norway international was not the only young addition at Real this winter, as Madrid added another young player, who is no fake you buy off the market – he is now Real Silva!

Instead of Real Madrid going for cash-for-gold, Real have instead used cash-for-Silva as Real Madrid have reached a deal to sign midfielder Lucas Silva from Brazilian club Cruzeiro on a long-term contract for a reported transfer fee of £9.7 million. The 21-year-old has signed a contract keeping him with the European champions until June 30, 2020. Silva has represented Brazil at Under-21 level and has helped his club side win the league in 2013 and 2014. Real have spent a combined total of £12 million on the pair of new signings this month.

Transfer number eight, please:

Stoke have pulled the Woll over our eyes!
Some may have thought that Stoke City were having a bad January transfer window, having missed out on big name signings such as Xherdan Shaqiri, but the one signing they did bring into the Britannia Stadium has made an immediate impact as Philipp Wollscheid joined on loan from Bayer Leverkusen and has already put in some solid performances at the back. Manager Mark Hughes will hope to turn the loan into a permanent move, especially with centre-back Robert Huth on spotty form. In fact, Huth got into a little bit of trouble for some gender-related tweets while there is also the matter of him being linked to a move to Cardiff this month, adding to the need for a defender signing to replace him, leading to Ryan Shawcross and the German international Wollscheid providing the first choice centre-back pairing. Mark Hughes’ men remain in the FA Cup and Wollscheid has experienced the taste of the oldest cup competition in the World since signing for Stoke.

Transfer number nine, please:

Goalscoring has been Aston Villa’s Achilles Gil!
Aston Villa and goals do not usually go together, and that is why Villa manager Paul Lambert has brought in creative Spanish midfielder Carles Gil for £3.2 million from Valencia on a four-and-a-half-year deal. Fernando Torres was more likely to score for Chelsea than Villa were likely to ripple the back of the net in the Premier League this season, but Gil has already made a positive impact in his first two games at Villa Park.

Gil gave Villa more impetus when he came off the bench to make his debut against Liverpool and scored a wonder-goal in the FA Cup victory over Bournemouth. Villa had scored so few goals this season that they were actually considering resigning Emile Heskey (not really, but they strangely have let Darren Bent go out on loan to Derby and he is scoring goals!). Gil has been as slippery as an eel in his two games so far in the claret and blue shirt and this January signing could prove to be the difference between Villa staying up or not.

Villa could have done with signing someone like Jermain Defoe, but he joined Sunderland instead, just in time to make his debut against his former club Tottenham Hotspur as the Black Cats did a swap deal with Major League Soccer side Toronto in which their misfiring forward Jozy Altidore headed in the opposite direction.

Transfer number ten, please:

Arsenal has got the gift of the Gab!
As Dippy the Dinosaur prepares to leave one of London’s famous landmarks, Gabriel Paulista has joined one of London’s finest as the uncapped Brazilian has joined Arsenal for £11.2 million from Spanish side Villarreal. The yellow submarine were not a sinking vessel this season, but the Gunners can offer UEFA Champions League football and he could even soon become Arsene Wenger’s first choice centre-back. Some may argue that Per Mertesacker doesn’t move as quickly as Dippy the Dinosaur, plus, before winning the 2014 FA Cup, you would have had to go to a history museum to see Arsenal’s last trophy.

Paulista can play in both the centre-back and full-back roles, with the deal including Joel Campbell heading in the opposite direction to Villarreal on loan for the rest of the campaign. Campbell is the second striker to leave the Emirates stadium on loan this winter, as Lukas Podolski headed for Inter Milan on loan, but Arsenal have enough attacking options.  Rather, a holding defensive midfielder and another centre-back have been the Gunners priority for what seems like an eternity although Wenger may even argue he signed both a defender and a defensive midfielder in this window, as 17-year-old Polish midfielder Krystian Bielik arrived for £2.4 million before the Paulista deal took place. The Gunners boss will also be relieved that Paulista managed to get a work permit considering multiple permit issues holding up the deal.  Paulista will follow in the footsteps of Gunners greats Martin Keown and Steve Bould after he was handed the Number 5 shirt, and is available for selection for Arsenal’s Premier League home game against Villa, in what could be his debut for the club. Overall, it has been a good window for Arsenal so far and the rebirth of Francis Coquelin has almost been like a new addition to the squad.

Transfer Deadline Day is on Monday 2nd February 2015.

About Richard Lewis

Richard Lewis can relate almost anything to football and quite often does! You may have seen Richard's previous ideas and work in the BBC Match of the Day Magazine, from 2011 to present. He is a Manchester United and England fan, but has gone to see Leyton Orient play with his O's season ticket in the 2013/14 campaign. Aside from football, Richard has written articles on Doctor Who and studies English Language and Linguistics at the University of Westminster. Aspiring sports journalist.