In May 1977, Bob Paisley was in his third season in charge of Liverpool. He had already led the Reds to 4 trophies, including a ‘double’ of the First Division title and the UEFA Cup in the 1975/76 season. The 1976/77 season would see Paisley help Liverpool to another special achievement, this time a double of the league and European Cup.
The Reds, however, were in a bind.
In those times, writes Ian Herbert in his book ‘Quiet Genius: Bob Paisley, British Football’s Greatest Manager,’ spring time was a busy time for Paisley. “High corporation tax rates made the club determined to minimise the profits they made and find any available means of doing so,” writes Herbert.
“At that time, all of a player’s transfer fee could be written down into a year’s accounts, rather than spread across the period of the player’s first contract, as it eventually would. In a good year of revenue earning, buying in the spring helped reduce the profit and tax liability.”
Liverpool’s efforts to ease their tax troubles were helped by their deal to sign a 21-year-old defender with languid demeanour and remarkable ball control from Scottish club Partick Thistle.
His name was Alan Hansen and the transfer fee agreed was £100,000.
On a subsequent visit to Liverpool to finalise personal terms with the club, Hansen found himself in the imposing boardroom at Anfield, Liverpool’s home stadium. Also with him were Scot Symon, then manager of Partick Thistle, Liverpool’s chairman, John Smith, and the club secretary, Peter Robinson. “The meeting to tie up all the loose ends,” recalled Hansen later, “could not have taken more than 10 minutes.”
After agreeing personal terms, the next item on the agenda was the matter of how Liverpool would pay Thistle the £100,000 transfer fee. “Scot (Symon) was under the impression that they would want to pay it in instalments,” writes Hansen in his memoir, ‘A Matter of Opinion.’
“But Peter Robinson turned to John Smith and said, ‘Will you sign a cheque?’ He nodded and handed over the full payment as if he was paying for a pint of milk at his local corner shop.”
Forty-six years after the transfer (its inflation-adjusted worth today is around £794,000), Liverpool’s deal to sign Hansen for £100,000 remains one of the steals of the 20th century.
Hansen writes that one of the things he remembers most about the journey back to Scotland was how Scot Symon “kept taking the cheque out of his pocket to look at it.”
Hansen’s transfer to Liverpool was sealed on May 5, 1977, just 24 hours before the Reds’ tax-year ended.
Forty-six years after the transfer (its inflation-adjusted worth today is around £794,000), the deal remains one of the steals of the 20th century. Hansen went on to become a fixture at the centre of the Reds defence for 13 seasons, winning 27 trophies during his time at Merseyside including 8 First Division titles and 3 European Cups.
He is also tenth in the list of all-time appearance makers for Liverpool, with 620 matches across all competitions.
In this spirit, with the start of the new football season in Europe just around the corner, let’s look at a playing 11 made up of bargains of the transfer market so far. To identify the best value-for-money signings, transfers worth €20 million or more have been excluded. The candidates predominantly belong to the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A and German Bundesliga, with one transfer from the Portuguese Primeira Liga also featuring in the list. Free transfers have also been included.
Formation: 3-4-3
Goalkeeper: Guglielmo Vicario
Nationality: Italian; Age: 26
Transfer: Empoli to Tottenham Hotspur
Transfer Fee: €19.22 million
Jose Mourinho was impressed. “Scoring against their goalie tonight was nothing short of a miracle. He looked like the best goalkeeper in the world,” said the Roma coach after his side had beaten Empoli 2-1 in a Serie A match in September 2022 in Tuscany, Italy. Guglielmo Vicario had pulled off some sumptuous saves during his team’s defeat, which caught Mourinho’s eye. But the goalkeeper bettered himself during the reverse fixture, which took place at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome in February 2023.
Though Empoli lost the match 0-2, Vicario grabbed the headlines with a stunning triple save in the second half. In the 46th minute, Vicario first parried a left-footed rocket from Paulo Dybala on the right side of the Empoli penalty box, before diving to his right to block a shot from Gianluca Mancini, who tried to scoop the rebounding ball off the ground into goal.
The danger still hadn’t passed though. Tammy Abraham darted forward to head the loose ball into goal after Vicario had blocked Mancini’s shot – only to be denied by Vicario’s outstretched leg. The 26-year-old, while being laid on his back, managed to fend off Abraham’s effort with his foot, and the ball was eventually cleared off the box by Empoli players.
“I think that after the two seasons that he’s had here, he deserves to go to a big club,” Empoli coach Paolo Zanetti said about Vicario last month. “My hope is that he can go somewhere to play at a very high level of football. That’s where he deserves to be, and not just because he’s a great player on the pitch.”
At Tottenham, Vicario will get the chance to finally play for a big club. The Udine native has never played for any of Italy’s youth national teams, though Azzurri coach Roberto Mancini has called him up twice, without playing him both times. “People think that scoring a goal is better than saving a shot,” Vicario told the official Serie A channel in August 2022. “I go against the grain because I derive a lot of pleasure from the disappointment felt by players who fail to overcome obstacles. That’s always driven me on.”
Centre-Back: Yann Bisseck
Nationality: German; Age: 22
Transfer: AGF to Internazionale
Transfer Fee: Around €7 million
Bisseck captained the Germany Under-21 team’s defence of their European Championship title this summer, and saw the champions crash out in the group stages. In a disastrous campaign, the vaunted German team failed to register even 1 victory in their 3 group stage matches.
It didn’t hurt Bisseck’s reputation though. Shortly after Germany’s elimination, Inter paid Danish club AGF around €7 million to trigger Bisseck’s release clause and sign the centre-back. The transfer proved an excellent piece of business for AGF, who had paid around €1.7 million for Bisseck just a year earlier to sign him from FC Koln.
“If I was told when I went to AGF that I would have had this chance at some point, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Bisseck said prior to signing for Inter, when rumours suggested that he was set for a transfer to a major European club.
“But I know that I can’t lose my mind. The next step is very important to me, the sporting perspective is absolutely key in this,” he said.
Bisseck need have little concern that Inter would be a good fit for him, considering the Nerazzurri also play a 3-man backline under Simone Inzaghi, a tactical system the young German is familiar with from his time at AGF.
Standing at 6-feet-5-inches and already an imposing physical presence, Bisseck will try to fill in the considerably big hole left in Inter’s defence by the departure of Milan Skrniar, who has joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.
AGF director Stig Inge Bjørnebye commented prior to Bisseck’s transfer to Inter on how difficult it would be to replace the German defender.
“It is important not to think we can just replace Bisseck because that is almost impossible,” Bjørnebye told TipsBladet, a Danish magazine. “But we must bring in people who fit the way we want to play. We shouldn’t be chasing a direct replacement who can just do everything the same way, because it’s very difficult.”
Centre-Back: Caglar Soyuncu
Nationality: Turkey; Age: 27
Transfer: Leicester City to Atletico Madrid
Transfer Fee: Free
Soyuncu was the only non-Liverpool player to feature in the backline of the 2019-20 Professional Footballers’ Association’s Team of the Year, the season in which Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool won the Premier League title at the expense of Manchester City. It was Soyuncu’s second season in England, and with Jonny Evans as his partner at centre-back, the Turk helped Leicester to a fifth place finish in the Premier League and Europa League qualification.
Former Leicester City defender Gerry Taggart was impressed by Soyuncu just 2 matches into the 2019/20 Premier League season.
“There are two attributes you cannot give a player,” Taggart said on Leicester’s Matchday Minus Two programme in August 2019. “The main one for me is aggression, and the second one is reading the game.
“Forget about his technical ability, we know he is technically good on the ball, but it’s that aggression, he wants to go and win, he is a born winner. With the pace and with the game knowledge that he will learn, he has all the ingredients,” he said.
If we talk about the most important factors in my signing, undoubtedly it has been Diego Simeone because I have always wanted to work with him.
Caglar Soyuncu on his reasons behind signing for Atletico Madrid
Soyuncu’s ease on the ball, his ability to dribble his way out of trouble and agility on the field prompted Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers to observe, “For a modern-day centre-back, he’s exactly what you want.”
Soyuncu’s form dipped in the following season however, and Rodgers used the Leicester fan favourite only scarcely during last season.
“What you’re always looking at is the two. When you’re putting centre-halves together, it’s about the two, it’s not about two individuals,” explained Rodgers last October. “They’ve got to work together.”
Soyuncu was eventually brought back into the Leicester playing 11 towards the end of last season by Dean Smith, who replaced Rodgers as manager after the Northern Irishman was sacked. The Turk performed creditably, but was unable to stop the Foxes from getting relegated to the Championship.
The 27-year-old joined Atletico Madrid on a free transfer this summer, and has the chance to play in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in his career next season. Soyuncu, who has a formidable physical presence and never shies away from a tackle, is expected to complement Atletico’s combative style of play.
“If we talk about the most important factors in my signing, undoubtedly it has been Diego Simeone because I have always wanted to work with him,” Soyuncu told Atletico’s official YouTube channel at his unveiling.
Simeone himself was typically blunt when commenting on the Turk’s transfer to Atletico. “Soyuncu is already signed and is going to help us,” the Argentine coach told Spanish radio last month.
Soyuncu’s acclimatisation to the Spanish game may be complicated by Simeone’s use of a three-man backline, which he resorted to many times last season. However, the former Freiberg centre-back has experience playing in such formations for Turkey on international duty, and is expected to adapt with little trouble.
Centre-Back: Daley Blind
Nationality: The Netherlands; Age: 33
Transfer: Bayern Munich to Girona
Transfer Fee: Free
Girona, who finished tenth in last season’s La Liga season, were the fifth most heavily scoring side in the league, after Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal, netting 58 goals. However, only 4 teams had a worse defensive record than the Catalans, as they conceded 55 goals. Blind, with his vast experience of playing in defence as well as midfield and featuring in more than 100 international matches for the Dutch national team, will help Girona at both ends of the pitch.
The upcoming season will be Blind’s first experience of playing in Spain. “I had a good conversation with Michel (the Girona coach), we talked about football and interesting things,” said Blind at his unveiling as a Girona player. “We have also talked about the positions in which I can help, depending on the needs (of the team)”.
The 33-year-old Blind came through the youth ranks at Ajax and is known for his ball-playing ability. When played at centre-back, he can help the team in build-up play and even join the midfield, giving Girona an extra man in the middle of the park.
The Dutch defender had joined Bayern Munich in December 2022 in a shock transfer from Ajax after falling out with the coach Alfred Schreuder. However, Blind rarely played for Die Roten, featuring in only 5 matches and starting only 1.
Blind, who can play at centre-back, left-back, defensive midfield and left midfield, has often been a victim of his own versatility. His coaches have tasked him with plugging in holes wherever they happen to open up in the team, and the Dutchman has gone about his job with distinction.
Blind has, though, expressed a preference in the past for one position in particular. “I think I can still play at left-back and in midfield, but right now I feel good at centre-back,” the Amsterdam native said in 2016 while at Manchester United. “It’s wonderful to have the game in front of me, and be a part of building from the back with my forward passes to start attacks.”
Though he was often played at left-back at Ajax for the past couple of seasons, at Girona Blind is more likely to play in his favoured position, as Michel tries to stabilise his defence and fortify the backline.
Right-Midfield: Rodrigo Zalazar
Nationality: Uruguay; Age: 23
Transfer: Schalke to Braga
Transfer Fee: €6 million
Zalazar was one of the few Schalke players to emerge from the 2022/23 Bundesliga season with their reputation unscathed, as the Ruhr-based giants were relegated for a second time in 3 seasons. One of the reasons Schalke dropped back into the second division was Zalazar’s injury, due to which he missed 9 matches last season. On the whole, Schalke’s number 10 started only 15 matches in the 22/23 season, during which he made 6 assists and scored 1 goal.
Zalazar is a box-to-box midfielder, exceptionally strong in running with the ball and holding off opposition players in the process. His 5-feet-11-inch frame hides a deceptively strong body, and he displays the tenacity often associated with Uruguayan players. Zalazar is the son of renowned Uruguayan player Jose Zalazar, and was overjoyed when included in the reserves list of the Uruguay squad ahead of friendlies against Iran and Canada in September 2022.
“For every player, being in the national team, even if it is the prelist, is a super special moment. I couldn’t believe it, it was a special and super nice moment for me,” said Zalazar to Radio Sport 890, an Uruguayan radio station.
“I called (my father) by video call, but he was in a restaurant with my mother; so she walked out of the restaurant, she called me back within five minutes and they were both squealing with joy,” he said.
Zalazar eventually made his Uruguay debut in June, scoring twice in a 4-1 win over Nicaragua. The midfielder will play in the UEFA Champions League for the first time next season, as Braga finished third in the Portuguese Primeira Liga last season.
Zalazar’s all-action playing style has been compared to Real Madrid midfielder and compatriot Federico Valverde, who’s just a year older than Zalazar but is a fixture in the Uruguay side.
“I consider myself a box-to-box midfielder who can attack and defend, a style similar to Valverde’s, (but) not so good because Valverde is a different thing,” Zalazar said in his interview to Radio Sport 890. While Braga may have secured Zalazar for a meagre €6 million, his real worth lies in the release clause attached to his contract: €50 million, the highest in Braga’s squad.
Defensive Midfield: Konrad Laimer
Nationality: Austria; Age: 26
Transfer: RB Leipzig to Bayern Munich
Transfer Fee: Free
Laimer has been described as a ‘pressing machine’ for his ability to relentlessly harry opponents into giving the ball away and Leipzig will be disconsolate at losing him on a free transfer, and that too to their biggest domestic rival.
The 26-year-old Austrian has the intelligence and athleticism to play as a deep-lying playmaker or box-to-box midfielder and excel in both roles.
“I can play many positions — for example as a number 6 or a number 8. I feel comfortable everywhere in midfield. I always give everything,” said Laimer recently at Bayern’s pre-season training camp.
“We haven’t had that many (training) sessions yet. It’s a very intense training. You can see where we’re going.”
Bayern’s pursuit of Laimer began last summer, when the German giants, then under the management of Julian Nagelsmann, tried to sign the Austrian. Nagelsmann had coached Laimer at RB Leipzig and was aware of what he brought to the table. However, Leipzig rejected 3 bids from Bayern last summer, and eventually the midfielder joined the Bavarian giants on a free transfer.
Of late, speculation has surprisingly surfaced in Bavaria around the transfer status of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka, 2 players considered ‘untouchable’ by Bayern not too long ago. Though it is unlikely that both of them will leave this summer, Laimer will have the chance to claim his place in midfield if one spot opens up.
In April 2021, Laimer’s club and international teammate Marcel Sabitzer was rumoured to be on his way to Bayern. “Don’t worry about it. I won’t let ‘Sabi’ go,” Laimer joked when asked about the transfer. “I’ve already told him that he can’t leave after what has been such a lousy season for me (Laimer had missed most of the 2020/21 season due to injury). I want to be on the grass alongside him for at least another year,” Laimer told Leipziger Volkszeitung, a German newspaper.
Ironically, 2 years later, Laimer’s arrival at Bayern may well have paved the way for Sabitzer’s exit from the German giants, with the latter joining Borussia Dortmund from Bayern on July 24.
Central Midfield: Houssem Aouar
Nationality: France; Age: 25
Transfer: Olympique Lyonnais to AS Roma
Transfer Fee: Free
Roma, under Jose Mourinho, are enjoying one of the best transfer campaigns in Europe – despite being unable to spend heavily on transfers. According to Italian daily Corriere dello Sport, this is due to the settlement agreement the club made with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play board last September.
Roma have brought in only 1 player on a paid transfer since the 2022/23 campaign – Turkish right-back Zeki Celik who arrived from Lille for €7 million in July 2022. Every other transfer has either been a loan or a free transfer. This season too, Roma have been forced to carry on with this policy and have already secured Aouar, Ivorian centre-back Evan Ndicka, Danish right-back Rasmus Kristensen and Spanish centre-back Diego Llorente.
As recently as 2 seasons ago, the thought of Aouar leaving Lyon on a free transfer would have been unthinkable.
Aouar’s star has waned in the past couple of seasons but for 4 years between 2017 and 2021, the French midfielder was one of the most coveted young talents in world football.
“Houssem Aouar is a very good player. He is incredible,” said Manchester City manager Guardiola after a 2-2 draw with Lyon in the UEFA Champions League group stages during the 2018/19 season.
“We talk a lot about (Tanguy) Ndombele, but Aouar is also excellent. He’s always very calm with the ball at his feet, with an excellent technical quality.”
Aouar prefers to play in central midfield and is usually his team’s most creative outlet. He is known for his exceptional ball control, and is able to hold on to the ball even under intense pressing. The Frenchman also has a habit of often getting on the scoresheet.
Guardiola’s protege Kevin De Bruyne, too, was smitten.
“Lyon have a great team. I don’t follow the French league as much as other leagues, but if I have to pick one player that has impressed me from Lyon, it would be Houssem Aouar. He was fantastic,” said the City playmaker after his team had been knocked out by Lyon in the quarterfinals of the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League season.
Aouar had run that game from midfield in the tie held in Lisbon, winning almost every tackle and being instrumental in 2 of Lyon’s 3 goals on the night.
Aouar prefers to play in central midfield and is usually his team’s most creative outlet. He is known for his exceptional ball control, and is able to hold on to the ball even under intense pressing. The Frenchman also has a habit of often getting on the scoresheet, which will help a Roma side that scored only 50 goals in 38 league matches last season. Last month, Roma lost their main striker, Tammy Abraham, to an ACL injury and he will be sidelined until December.
The 25-year-old Aouar, after failing to hit his previous heights in the past 2 seasons and being dropped from the Lyon first team by Peter Bosz and his successor as Lyon coach Laurent Blanc, has the chance to re-ignite his career under Mourinho.
Left-Midfield: Javi Galan
Nationality: Spain; Age: 28
Transfer: Celta Vigo to Atletico Madrid
Transfer Fee: €3.5 million
Galan has been one of the finest left-backs in La Liga for a while now, one of the leading lights for a Celta Vigo side that has wobbled between relegation scraps and top 10 finishes in the past few seasons.
It has been a painstaking journey up the footballing ladder and into the big time for the 28-year-old, who began his professional career in the regional division in 2013. “I come (here) from many years of gradually climbing the steps, I have played in all categories: Preferente (regional division), Tercera (fourth division), Segunda B (third division), Segunda (second division) and Primera (first division),” said Galan at his unveiling as an Atletico Madrid player.
Galan was a vital offensive outlet for both Celta Vigo and Huesca in the past 4 seasons, and his high-octane runs down the left flank, usually culminating in unerring crosses into the box, proved a nightmare for many defences in La Liga. The fact that Galan registered only 9 assists in the past 4 seasons (including 1 season in the Spanish Second Division) is an indictment of the forwards in his teams who were unable to take advantage of his crosses, and not Galan’s delivery. It is also a sign of the predominantly defensive tactics adopted by teams in the lower half of La Liga.
In May 2022, reports surfaced linking Galan to Barcelona. Then Celta boss Edouardo Coudet was hardly taken aback by the news. “It does not surprise me that he is linked with Barcelona, nor would I be surprised if he is linked to any other important club in Europe because he is at a more than good level,” he said.
“It seems to me that he will be able to maintain (his level) over time due to his professionalism and because he has assimilated a lot of things that he already does,” said the Argentinean coach.
Galan’s forays into the opposition do not mean he leaves his teams shorthanded defensively either – his exemplary athleticism sees the Spaniard routinely track back and defuse threatening situations even as they pop up.
Galan is likely to be an automatic pick for the Atletico first 11, as Diego Simeone’s regular left-back Reinildo Mandava is currently recuperating from a cruciate ligament injury. Even when the Mozambican returns to action some time in October, he will have a tough ask in ousting Galan from the starting line-up. Galan will also be able to play as a wing-back when Simeone opts for a 3-man defence, with his stamina and acceleration on the left set to compliment those of Nahuel Molina’s on the right flank.
Right-Winger: Jonas Hofmann
Nationality: Germany; Age: 31
Transfer: Borussia Monchengladbach to Bayer Leverkusen
Transfer Fee: €10 million
Hofmann is fresh off the best season of his career, at least statistically. In 33 matches for Borussia Monchengladbach, the German winger registered 26 goal contributions last season (14 goals + 12 assists). It was the versatile forward’s seventh season in Gladbach, and the west German club tried to extend his contract.
“At his request, we made him an offer that met his expectations. We were very disappointed that he then accepted, but cancelled by phone two days later,” said Roland Virkus, Gladbach’s sporting director after Hofmann announced that he would be joining Bayer Leverkusen instead. Leverkusen were able to sign Hofmann – on current form one of the world’s best wingers – for just €10 million after meeting the release clause of his Gladbach contract.
Hofmann has not always been in such demand.
Though the Heidelberg native began his professional career in 2011, he did not become a regular starter in the Bundesliga till the 2016-17 season, when he was 24 years old. Hoffman’s career took off only after he moved to Gladbach from Borussia Dortmund, where he was unable to establish himself in Jurgen Klopp’s title-chasing team.
In an interview to Gladbach’s official website, the winger attributed the upturn in his fortunes to the arrival of coach Dieter Hecking, who arrived at the west German club the same season as Hofmann. “For me, Dieter Hecking simply went: ‘Hey, someone’s sitting on the bench there, who hasn’t really come to the fore yet.’ Then he trusted me and gave me opportunities,” said Hofmann in his interview. “So yeah, you need that bit of luck and to be in the right place at the right time. However, when the window of opportunity opens, you have to be ready to take it yourself.”
When you talk to (Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso) about football now and he explains how he wants to play the game, what approach he has and where he sees you as a player, then it is something special and very instructive. He gave me the feeling that I can help the team with my qualities.
Jonas Hofmann on why left Gladbach for Bayer Leverkusen
Hofmann didn’t make his international debut for Germany till October 2020, but has become a regular under Die Mannschaft coach Hansi Flick. The forward has been used in a variety of positions for Germany, from right-wing to right-midfield to even right-back, as Flick has tried to identify a worthy successor to Joshua Kimmich at right-back.
“If you look at the last games, you have to say that he’s already set (for a spot in the World Cup squad),” said Flick in July 2022, describing the winger as a “fixture” in the national team.
Hofmann, who has the ability to play on either flank or as the central attacking midfielder, has the pace to outrun his markers and the skill to set up teammates from midfield. He has also been finding the net with increasing frequency, scoring 26 times in the last 2 seasons for Gladbach.
After his move to Leverkusen, Hofmann will be able to play in the Europa League next season, something which Gladbach could not offer.
“I loved watching him play football,” said Hofmann about his new coach, Xabi Alonso. “When you talk to him about football now and he explains how he wants to play the game, what approach he has and where he sees you as a player, then it is something special and very instructive. He gave me the feeling that I can help the team with my qualities. After the talks, I realised it was the right step for me.”
For Alonso, who has just lost his first-choice right-winger Moussa Diaby to English Premier League club Aston Villa, Hofmann is likely to prove an outstanding replacement.
Centre-Forward: Marcus Thuram
Nationality: France; Age: 25
Transfer: Borussia Monchengladbach to Internazionale
Transfer Fee: Free
Thuram is likely to play as a second striker or left-winger at Inter, as the centre-forward role unquestionably belongs to the Nerazzuri captain Lautaro Martinez. It is a role Thuram has excelled in in the past, as he played mostly as a left-winger during his spell at Borussia Monchengladbach.
The Frenchman’s attributes will help him dovetail perfectly with Martinez – Thuram is uncommonly calm even under intense pressing, and has the technique to either dribble his way out of trouble or play in teammates elsewhere on the pitch to create more threatening positions for the opposition. However, Thuram is more than capable of replacing Martinez at centre forward itself, as he registered a career-best 16 goals and 7 assists when played in that position by Gladbach coach Daniel Farke last season.
Thuram has also proved himself to be a footballer with a social conscience. On May 30, 2020, the striker became the first Bundesliga player to take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after scoring against Union Berlin. In the 41st minute of the match, Thuram headed in a cross from the left wing by Alassane Plea to put Monchengladbach up 2-0. After celebrating the goal with teammates, Thuram walked away and knelt on the pitch, his head bowed.
“Together is how we move forward, together is how we make a change. #BLACK_LIVES_MATTERS” tweeted the Frenchman after the match.
Thuram was born in 1998 in Parma in Italy, when his father Lilian Thuram was playing as a centre-back for Serie A club Parma. Lilian, who helped France win the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship, is considered one of the greatest central defenders in history.
“He’s improving. It’s promising. Even if his dad wasn’t called Lilian, we’d follow him anyway,” France coach Didier Deschamps, a former teammate of Lilian, once said of Thuram.
Thuram, who has played 10 times for France, is yet to score for Les Blues. That’s two fewer than how many Lilian scored in his international career, both goals coming during France’s 1998 World Cup semifinal against Croatia.
“(My father) hasn’t told me to score twice in a (World Cup) semifinals,” Thuram joked prior to the Qatar World Cup last year. “But he told me to gain as much experience as I can here and to enjoy the moment.”
Internazionale, under Simone Inzaghi, are considered the frontrunners for the Serie A title next season. The Nerazzuri have preserved most of the team that unexpectedly reached the UEFA Champions League final last season, won the Coppa Italia trophy for the second year in a row and fought for the Scudetto. With the exception of the sale of goalkeeper Andre Onana – who is set to be replaced by the excellent Yann Sommer in goal – Inter have so far retained most of the players that can be considered fundamental to the team. After adding Thuram to their ranks, they will be even stronger next season.
Left-Wing: Manor Solomon
Nationality: Israel; Age: 23
Transfer: Shakhtar Donetsk to Tottenham Hotspur
Transfer Fee: Free
Solomon was used as an impact sub at Fulham last season by Marco Silva, and that is likely to continue under Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham Hotspur. While a knee injury was to blame for the 23-year-old Israeli’s paucity of starts at Fulham, at Spurs Solomon has Son Heung-Min ahead of him in his preferred left-wing position. However, Solomon can help give Tottenham a spurt of energy when coming on, as his splendid ball control makes him strong in one-on-one situations and his pace helps leave full-backs in the dust. His finishing, too, is improving rapidly.
Solomon lost almost 5 months to knee injury last season and upon his return, scored in 4 consecutive Premier League matches in a month-long run from February to March 2023.
“When a player performs well coming off the bench of course he is showing the quality that he has, how he is helping the team as well,” Fulham boss Silva said after Solomon had scored for the third Premier League match in a row, against Wolverhampton Wanderers, on February 24.
“I am pleased with a player who has come from the bench in the last three games, he has scored some important goals for us, and more importantly for him because it has boosted his confidence and he is different from the other players in what he has.”
Postecoglou has had a decisive hand in all of Tottenham’s transfers since taking over as manager earlier this summer, and his brief to Solomon has been simple: attack from the off, and put the opposition under pressure.
“After I spoke with the manager, I understood what he wants, what he demands from the team and what he wants to build here,” Solomon told Tottenham’s official YouTube channel after joining Spurs.
“I know he wants to see attacking football, to see pressure, to have the ball and to entertain our fans and bring points and I think they will be happy to watch the team they love.”
Tottenham have been able to secure Solomon, who was contracted to Shakhtar Donetsk when they signed him, on a free transfer following a FIFA ruling which allowed Ukraine-based players to suspend their contracts. FIFA did so in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While Shakhtar have promised to take Tottenham to court over the transfer, arguing that they are being unjustly punished by FIFA, Tottenham seem to have pulled off a coup in securing the Israeli winger’s signature as he was coveted by several clubs, including Arsenal and Barcelona.