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With just over a week remaining before the current transfer window for English clubs closes, we’ve seen plenty of online articles and newspaper columns dedicated to the various big-money moves made by the Premier League’s clubs this summer.
And while everyone who follows football will know about moves like Tanguy N’Dombele signing for Tottenham, Aaron Wan-Bissaka jumping to Manchester United and Christian Pulisic joining Chelsea, there have been a lot of other transfers that have largely flown under the radar – but could still be excellent for the clubs and players involved.
Here are 5 excellent transfers that have flown under the radar this summer.
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#1 Fabian Delph – Manchester City to Everton
While he’s won plenty of trophies at Manchester City, it’d be hard to class Fabian Delph’s time at the Etihad as a total success. After joining City in the summer of 2015, Delph struggled for playing time largely due to the massive squad cultivated at the club, and while he did well as a makeshift left-back in 2017/18, it was always clear that he was better off deployed as a midfielder.
Delph has been used in his favoured deep-lying midfield position for England, but recently his performances on the international stage have been lacking sharpness – something that’s clearly come due to his lack of game time. Thankfully, the former Aston Villa man clearly wishes to play first-team football, which is why his move to Everton could be a really great move for both parties.
Firstly, Delph was hardly an expensive buy at just £8.5m initially, and given that he’s still only 29 years old, the fee should represent a bargain. Secondly, despite his lack of minutes, the majority of Delph’s statistics – a pass success rate of 91.3% last season for instance – suggest that he’s still a top class player.
Better still, Everton have just sold Idrissa Gueye – the man they primarily deployed as a deep-lying midfielder in 2018/19 – to Paris St. Germain, meaning Delph will likely step right into the first team at Goodison Park. Given his leadership qualities on the pitch, the former Villa captain could yet prove to be the bargain of the summer.
#2 Lloyd Kelly – Bristol City to Bournemouth
Despite finishing in a respectable 14th place last season, it was quite clear that things needed to change at Bournemouth this summer. While Eddie Howe’s side proved to be quite a strong attacking force thanks to the talents of Callum Wilson, Joshua King, Ryan Fraser and David Brooks, their defence didn’t prove to be quite so strong, and the Cherries conceded 70 goals last season – more than any side outside of the bottom two clubs Fulham and Huddersfield.
That’s a worrying trend that Howe couldn’t allow to continue – and so in an attempt to shore up Bournemouth’s back line, England u21 international Lloyd Kelly has been brought in from Bristol City for a fee of £13m. One of the few players to be chosen for international duty last season from outside the Premier League, Kelly could turn out to be a massively shrewd signing.
The youngster is likely to become Bournemouth’s first choice left-back, replacing Charlie Daniels and Adam Smith who largely shared the spot between them last season, and judging by statistics, it’s probably a good move for the Cherries. Kelly was dribbled past just 0.2 times per game last season compared to 0.9 for Smith and 0.4 for Daniels, and he also scored highly in terms of interceptions and clearances.
His passing statistics weren’t so good in comparison, but to be fair that’s perhaps because Bournemouth played more of a possession-based game than Bristol City.
Overall, at just 20 years old Kelly is likely to improve dramatically under a manager like Howe, and so Bournemouth may well have found themselves a top-class defender for years to come. The talent and confidence are both there – it’s now time for Kelly to prove that he belongs in the Premier League, and if he can strengthen Bournemouth’s defence he’ll prove to be a great buy.
#3 Trezeguet – Kasimpasa to Aston Villa
Much has been made of Aston Villa’s forays into the transfer market this summer; the newly promoted side have spent over £100m and brought numerous players to Villa Park, with the most discussed moves being their club-record purchase of Brazilian striker Wesley Moraes and the signing of defender Tyrone Mings for a surprisingly large fee of £26.5m.
Somehow though, one of Dean Smith’s signings has appeared to fly under the radar somewhat – and yet it could be one of his best. Last week saw the club sign Egyptian winger Trezeguet – real name Mahmoud Hassan – from Turkish club Kasimpasa for a surprisingly small fee of £8.75m. And should the 24-year old live up to his promise, the Villains may have found a real bargain.
Trezeguet is likely to replace the outgoing Albert Adomah as Villa’s first choice right-winger, and the difference in their statistics last season is staggering; Adomah managed 4 goals and 2 assists in 39 appearances, whereas Trezeguet delivered 9 goals and 9 assists for Kasimpasa in 34 games.
More interestingly, he’s a smart signing by Smith because of who’s already in his squad. If Trezeguet plays on the right wing as is likely, he’ll be linking up with Villa’s first choice right-back in Ahmed El Mohamady – the man he plays with for Egypt at international level, meaning a strong understanding has already been forged between them.
If Trezeguet can hit the ground running and manage to provide some killer balls for Wesley to get on the end of, he could quickly become a cult hero at Villa Park – and may be one of the keys to keeping them in the Premier League.
#4 Youri Tielemans – Monaco to Leicester City
It felt like somewhat of a coup last season when Leicester City were able to secure the services of Belgian international midfielder Youri Tielemans on loan from Monaco, and his performances in the latter half of the season backed that idea up. Tielemans was fantastic for the Foxes, settling into life in the Premier League with ease, and he was able to chip in with an impressive 3 goals and 4 assists in just 13 games.
Leicester fans then could’ve forgiven themselves for expecting him to move on to a bigger club this summer; after all, his cameo at the King Power Stadium felt a lot like the season that Toby Alderweireld spent on loan at Southampton a few years ago – essentially a Premier League shop window for one of the big boys to trial him without actually signing him.
Somehow though, that hasn’t happened, and Tielemans has instead made a permanent move to Leicester for a fee of somewhere around £40m. That sounds like a lot of money, but when the likes of Rodri and Tanguy N’Dombele have moved for upwards of £60m in the same transfer window, it could prove to be a bargain.
The Belgian’s way of playing clearly fit into Brendan Rodgers’ style of football, he linked up well with James Maddison and Wilfred Ndidi in Leicester’s midfield, and his dynamic passing style appears to be well-suited to the Premier League. Quite how more people aren’t talking about this transfer is a massive question mark – he could well be the key to another unlikely title challenge for the Foxes.
#5 Philip Billing – Huddersfield to Bournemouth
While Bournemouth’s defensive woes had a lot to do with their back-line being somewhat weak – outside of the fantastic Nathan Ake, that is – the truth is that Eddie Howe’s side also lacked a lot of bite from midfield. That’s why their recent signing of Huddersfield’s Philip Billing for a fee of £15m could be such a smart one.
Billing – a Danish youth international who will surely break into the full international side soon – was one of Huddersfield’s few shining lights last season as the Terriers finished bottom of the Premier League. It’s hardly a surprise to learn that Billing had the highest WhoScored.com average rating of all of Huddersfield’s squad last season, and it was always expected that he’d move back to a Premier League club in the summer.
So what can he offer Bournemouth? The likelihood is that he’ll offer a lot of protection for the Cherries’ defence, and will also provide a screen for Bournemouth’s more attacking-based midfielders like David Brooks and Ryan Fraser to deliver the goods going forward.
Comparing him to Jefferson Lerma, for instance, who was deployed largely as a deeper lying midfielder last season, Billing had a higher average rate of tackles and interceptions – and also delivered more key passes than his counterpart, all while playing for a far worse side.
At just 23 years old Billing may well still be improving, but already his blend of technical prowess and physical power make him a handful for any side that comes up against him. If he can add some steel to the Cherries’ midfield, he could prove to be the difference between a respectable 14th place finish and something a lot higher.
