The strangely specific transfer obsessions of elite clubs, and what the summer window taught us about them

Everyone has a "type." This conception of penchant extends acold and wide, to each walks of life, and tin ringing particularly existent successful soccer, wherever managers and clubs cannot fell what they genuinely desire.

Sometimes, the privation is simple: the champion players successful the world, immoderate the cost. But astatine times it's weirdly specific, specified arsenic Real Madrid targeting escaped transfers, oregon Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta's sensation successful defenders.

This transportation model erstwhile again laid bare the infatuations -- and astatine times, borderline obsessions -- that person developed wrong the sport. So, with lingua firmly lodged successful cheek, let's instrumentality a look astatine what this summer's moves revealed astir elite clubs' obsessions.

Mikel Arteta and the hybrid halfway back/fullback

In Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard & Co., Arteta has immoderate of the world's astir luxurious attacking talents to enactment with. He besides has a marque caller striker successful Viktor Gyökeres to unleash and an unthinkable midfield excavation to telephone upon. But you cognize what truly excites him? Players who tin play some halfway backmost and fullback.

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The Spaniard has stuffed his squad afloat of them implicit the years. It started with Ben White and continued with Jakub Kiwior, Jurriën Timber and Riccardo Calafiori. Then precocious successful this summer's window, Arsenal added Piero Hincapié from Bayer Leverkusen.

Arteta astir apt awards bonus points to a woody if the subordinate tin screen some fullback positions (like Timber), oregon if they're left-footed (like Calafiori and Hincapié) arsenic this makes them adjacent much versatile oregon coveted. Even Arteta's much "regular" fullbacks hardly look traditional: Oleksandr Zinchenko and Myles Lewis-Skelly emotion to invert into midfield and arguably look much astatine location successful cardinal positions.

Chelsea and signing teenagers whenever they can

In 2022, their archetypal summertime transportation model successful complaint of Chelsea, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital splurged connected a bid of experienced talents. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (33), Kalidou Koulibaly (31) and Read Entire Article