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Footballers are forever grabbing headlines by breaking some or the other sort of transfer record. Some, like Real Madrid’s winger Ronaldo or Bayern Munchen’s talismanic striker Mario Gomez, turn out to be successes, while others like Andy Carroll’s record transfer from Newcastle United to Liverpool or Andriy Shevchenko’s transfer to Chelsea seem to be acute failures. However, one thing all transfers have in common is that they make these months of trade some of the most exciting in the footballing calendar. Here, I look at players who have proved to be outstandingly economical in terms of their return on investment.
Fabian Giefer
The 22 year old Fortuna Dusseldorf goalkeeper has been one of the buys of the season of the Bundesliga. Turning down a transfer to Bavarian giants FC Bayern Munich, where he would most definitely have been the second choice keeper behind the iconic Manuel Neuer, in a bid to get more playing time seemed a gamble, but one that has definitely paid off. A bargain buy somewhere in the region of 400,000 Euros from Bayer Leverkusen, he took 557 minutes to concede a goal in the beginning of the season. Having the distinction of being the only Fortuna player to have started all 17 league games for his club, he has till date kept 7 clean sheets, behind only Neuer’s 11. With cat-like reflexes, superb positional play and brilliant handling, the penalty box seems like his second home and yet again, the Germans have managed to manufacture a World class goalkeeper.
Dante Bonfim Costa Santos (Dante)
Dante getting pumped up after a last ditch tackle
A cult hero at Gladbach, the gods have continued to watch over this Brazilian defender following his move to Bayern Munich for a fee around 5 million Euros. He was brought in to add depth to the squad following last season’s topsy-turvy finale with Tymoschuk (a defensive midfielder) playing in the centre of defence at the Champions League Final. At the Winter Break of the Bundesliga, Dante was the only player apart from Manuel Neuer to start all 17 games for Bayern, something which hasn’t happened by accident. “If Dante is fit and healthy, he starts” is how manager Jupp Heynckes puts it. With an immense aerial threat, a good reading of the game coupled with brilliant tactical awareness and a surprisingly high pass completion rate (92.3%), he has cemented his place in a Bayern side looking to replicate the glories they achieved in the 1970′s.
Burak Yilmaz
Burak scoring against Manchester United
One of the breakout performers last season, the tall Turk was signed by Galatasaray from Trabzonspor after scoring a club record 33 goals in 30 appearances last season, for an estimated 5 Million Euros. He was the top scorer in the group stages of the Champions League with 6 goals in as many appearances averaging a goal every 83 minutes, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal every 90 minutes. He also has the highest shots to goal percentage on the European stage, with a 26% conversion rate. With stand out performances on the domestic stage , scoring 9 goals in 15 games, he has attracted interest from Liverpool, Arsenal and Juventus. With 5 goals out of his 15 coming as headers, he would definitely be a valuable addition to a Liverpool side that lacks heading prowess. However, having signed Daniel Sturridge for 12 Million and Galatasaray unwilling to let Yilmaz leave, a deal seems unlikely.
Aritz Aduriz
Aduriz controls a long ball
The 31 year old target man transferred from Valencia to his boyhood club Athletic Bilbao as a cover for Fernando Llorente for a fee around 2.5 million euros. Since arriving, he has taken over the responsibility of scoring goals (he has scored 10 of Bilbao’s 21 goals – 47%) from Llorente, who finds himself mostly on the bench following a spat with coach Marcelo Bielsa. On the field, he possesses a massive aerial threat and his likeness to play short passes makes him somewhat of an ideal striker. With a stature similar to his predecessor in the first XI, and with the imminent departure of Llorente on the cards along with a better scoring rate (0.61 goals per game) than what his teammate had at the same time last season (0.51), Aduriz could definitely become a legend in the Basque region for years to come as he is one of the main reasons for the success (however little) that Bilbao have enjoyed this season.
Miguel Perez Costa (Michu) – Buy of the season.
The 26 year old Spaniard who was brought in from Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish League to Premier League outfit Swansea City as a replacement for Gylfi Sigurdsson for 2 Million pounds. Having started 19 matches in the league under Michael Laudrup, he has notched up 13 goals and 2 assists while he has scored once in the Capital One Cup having started most of the matches in the number 10 role behind the striker. On the 23rd of December, he equalled Kun Aguero’s record of most goals by a foreigner prior to Christmas in the league when he scored the equaliser against Manchester United. Having been praised by Sir Alex Ferguson as a “Wonderful piece of business”, and being promised a Spanish National Team call-up by Coach Vincente Del-Bosque, the star of Michu is set to rise even further.
