5 players in desperate need of a move this summer
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.