5 Best performers among the summer signings: 2018/19
The summer transfer window always comes up with exciting things. It reveals new talents, prospects, and it gives a sneak peek on what the teams have in store for us. The transfer sometimes only adds to squad depth, while in some cases it brings in a player who the team revolves around.
While great players like Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez have never been part of the tug of war between teams, if they had been transferred, there would have been a lot of splashing of cash.
However, players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, and Gareth Bale have been a part of big money transfers. While Cristiano and Bale’s moves to Madrid were highly successful, Kaka did not come up with the flare that he had in AC Milan. So transfers either flop or they end up succeeding overwhelmingly.
This summer came up with exciting signings. Leonardo Bonucci moved back to Turin in a swap deal that saw Gonzalo Higuain don the reds of Milan. Cristiano Ronaldo was involved in yet another big-money move that saw him move to Italy after 9 long seasons in Spain. Barcelona and Everton had an amazing mutual business that saw Andre Gomes, Lucas Digne and Yerry Mina, all move to England. Barcelona also reinforced their team with Lenglet, Arthur, Arturo Vidal and Malcolm all joining the team.
The Malcolm saga was one of the hottest stories and also the funniest in this season’s transfer window. While Bordeaux had a verbal deal to sell Malcolm to Roma, they sold him to Barca when they offered a higher sum of money. All this while Roma fans were almost at the airport to welcome their new signee.
In this article, we will look at 5 summer signings who have impressed so far this season.
Honourable Mention
Cristiano Ronaldo
After nine long seasons that saw him win 4 Ballon d'Or awards, Cristiano Ronaldo bid adieu to Real Madrid and left for Juventus. The Old Lady paid a mammoth £100 million to Real Madrid to claim the services of the Portuguese star. Cristiano had a very slow start to the new season. He got away 23 shots to remain scoreless at one point. The highest number of attempted shots without a goal in Europe.
The game against Sassuolo was when Cristiano broke the shackles in Italy. He scored two goals in the game. He followed it up with single goals against Udinese and against Frosinone. Ronaldo also had a triple assist game against Napoli.
Despite his efforts, Ronaldo only earns an honourable mention here. He is a proven star and is always expected to deliver. Yet his numbers of goals are a bit misleading. Ronaldo has started all Serie A games and got away a ton of shots. For the four goals, he has taken about 60 shots at goal. That gives Ronaldo a conversion rate of almost 6%.
A striker of Cristiano’s calibre should have a conversion rate of more than 10% to 12%. Cristiano had a poor start to his Champions League campaign where he was left in tears following a controversial red card. While he might improve his performances but at the moment, there are several others performing better than expected of them.