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It has been a strange few months for football across the world. The coronavirus has seen seasons completed in the summer, the European Championships put back until 2021, and the final stages of the Champions League moved to August.
In any other year, at this time, we would right into the busy stage of the transfer window. Instead, we’re still in the business end of the season, and still unsure as to who will qualify for the Champions League places and who’s going to be in the top leagues next season.
We have already seen some action in the transfer market. Bayern Munch have spent big on Manchester City winger Leroy Sane, Chelsea have agreed to sign Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner as part of their summer rebuild, while Barcelona and Juventus have swapped central midfielders Arthur and Miralem Pjanic.
There is still confusion over when the transfer window will actually open. UEFA has recommended that the market be closed by October 5, but at the moment, only the Premier League has confirmed when the window will open and that will be on July 27.
It is still the situation that we don’t really know what clubs have to spend. Clearly some are unaffected by the current global crisis, with Chelsea seemingly one of those clubs prepared to go big this summer. However, others may not be in the same financial shape, and we may see a number of big clubs reigning in their transfer spend over the next few windows.
There will be a number of players keen to be on the move too, but some of them may suffer from state the market is in after the coronavirus pandemic. Here are five players who will be looking to move on this summer.
#1 Matteo Guendouzi (Arsenal)
It almost feels sad that things have come to this. There is no doubt that Guendouzi has talent, and we have seen this in his two years at Arsenal. However, his attitude is the real problem.
Guendouzi has often appeared quite abrasive on the field, and this came to a head during the defeat at Brighton just after the lockdown, when he grabbed Neal Maupay by the throat after the final whistle. He has been training alone ever since.
This looks like the end of his time at the Emirates, and it doesn’t feel like there is any way back for him under Mikel Arteta. There will be suitors for the Frenchman around the world. He does have ability. He gets around the park well, and has that quality to make an impact with the ball at his feet.
At 21, Guendouzi has time to turn things around as far as his attitude is concerned, and he must do that if he is to be a top player.
#2 Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
This one is pretty obvious. Bale has been at the heart of some magnificent moments in his seven years at Real Madrid.
He scored one of the great solo goals against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey Final in 2014, netted an extra time header against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final a month later, and scored twice in the 2018 Champions League final against Liverpool, the second of which a quite incredible overhead kick.
But things have soured over the last couple of years. Having quit as manager immediately after that final, Zinedine Zidane returned just nine months later, and quickly made it clear that Bale wasn’t part of his plans.
The Welshman has started just 12 La Liga games all season, and has appeared just twice since the restart, on both occasions from the bench. The real issue for Bale is that someone will have to match the hefty wage packet he is on in Madrid, and there aren’t many clubs around the world capable of that.
#3 Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona)
The fall from grace of Philippe Coutinho has been almost as spectacular as it has been shocking.
The Brazilian midfielder was regarded as one of the finest creative players in the world during his final years at Liverpool, prompting Barcelona to shell out a fee that could reach over £130 million to take him to the Nou Camp. That fee makes him one of just six players in football history to move for over £100 million. However, he has still to justify that amount.
He started 38 La Liga games during his 18 months at Barcelona, scoring 13 goals in that time and providing seven assists. He never fully held down a spot in the side though, and was moved on in 2019.
Things haven’t gone much better on loan at Bayern Munich this season. His numbers of eight goals and six assists aren’t bad, but once again he has been in and out of the side, and the German champions have chosen not to take up the option to sign him permanently.
Coutinho might not be welcomed back at Barca, and the search for a new club will have to go on.
#4 Mesut Ozil (Arsenal)
Few players divide opinion quite as much as Mesut Ozil. His talent is clear. He is one of those special players who can produce a defence splitting pass, can create a goal out of nothing, and find space where it seems impossible.
However, the problem Ozil has always faced is the doubts over his attitude and work rate, and whether he really has the passion to be regarded as one of the world’s top players.
The German midfielder was still favoured by Arsene Wenger, and to an extent Unai Emery, but it doesn’t look like that will continue under Mikel Arteta. The 31-year-old has started ten Premier League games since Arteta’s appointment in December, but he hasn’t appeared at all since the restart. The new manager has favoured young, hungry players, and Ozil just doesn’t fit the bill.
A move would be in everyone’s best interest, but it would need someone to match his current £350,000-a-week pay package.
#5 Jesse Lingard (Manchester United)
Jesse Lingard’s career at Manchester United has been a strange one.
While in recent years we have seen a number of United academy players break into the first team as teenagers, most notably Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, Lingard didn’t really make an impression until he was in his early twenties, following various loan spells.
He has had some fine moments in a United shirt, including netting a stunning winner in the 2016 FA Cup final, and scoring in the EFL Cup final against Southampton a year later.
Yet the attacker has never been a certainty in the United side, and he has dipped in and out of form over the last couple of seasons. He has started only nine league games this season, and has failed to register a single goal or assist.
With the emergence of Mason Greenwood, and improvement in Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, he seems further from the team than ever. It’s not that Lingard isn’t capable of being a very good player, it just may be that he needs a new start.
