RICKIE'S TAKE: FOOTBALL DIARY #4

TOP PREMIER LEAGUE TRANSFER DEALS 15TH – 21ST JULY

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15 July
Tiemoue Bakayoko - - - (Defensive Midfielder) - - - - {Monaco – Chelsea} - - - Fee Undisclosed

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RICKIE’S TAKE: (A Good deal) - - - A young, Reliable and efficient defensive midfielder. Highly regarded for holding down the-middle-of-the-pack, with relative ease. A quality addition to any squad.

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Douglas Luiz - - - (Midfielder) - - - - {Vasco Da Gama - Manchester City} - - - Fee Undisclosed

RICKIE’S TAKE: (A fair deal) - - - A 19-yr old relatively unknown quantity from the Brazilian league. But if cognizance is to be taken of a certain Gabriel Jesus, then perhaps Manchester City might have just gotten themselves another star in the making.

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INTERNATIONAL
Federico Fazio - - - (Defender/Centre back) - - - - {Tottenham – Roma} - - - Fee Undisclosed

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RICKIE’S TAKE: (A fair deal) - - - A decent defender on his day. Not your very self-assured Centre-back who can stop the wrath of Zeus, but then, he can be your man-of-the-match on countless occasions, when at his best.

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16th July
Marco van Ginkel - - - (Midfielder) - - - - {Chelsea - PSV Eindhoven} - - - Loan

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RICKIE’S TAKE: (A fair deal) - - - A player thrown into the lime-light, even before he was ready for the big stage. He’s struggled ever since, to live up to the hype surrounding his potentials. PSV assures him of playing time

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Nolito - - - - (Midfielder) - - - - {Manchester City – Sevilla} - - - Undisclosed (reported £7.9m)

RICKIE’S TAKE: (A good deal) - - - A fantastic and explosive forward. Started brightly under Guardiola. Suffered a couple of injuries, but duely returned to the fold. With his quality and ability to play from any position upfront, one begins to wonder what went wrong for him at Manchester City. A ‘Good buy’ for Sevilla.

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18th July 2017
Lucas Leiva - - - - (Midfielder) - - - - {Liverpool – Lazio} - - - Fee: £5m

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RICKIE’S TAKE: (A good deal for Lazio) - - - A loyal and very efficient midfielder. A hard tackler and workaholic with pace. Not your typical Brazilian wonder-kid or creative expert, but a great utility player. Bought for £5million in 2007, sold 10 years later (2017) for same amount. Good bargain for Lazio.

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Joe Hart - - - - (Goal Keeper) - - - - {Manchester City - West Ham} - - - Loan

RICKIE’S TAKE: (A great deal for West ham) - - - A quality goal keeper who can save games any time or day. Swift reflexes, with confident ball control. His treatment by Guardiola, and subsequent exile from Manchester City, begs the question whether Guardiola actually knows what he’s doing with his Goalkeeping department. I’m so sure that Joe Hart is a better goalie than the Cityzens new signing, Ederson.

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Wojciech Szczesny - - - - (Goal Keeper) - - - - {Arsenal – Juventus} - - - Fee £10m

RICKIE’S TAKE: (A good deal for Juve) - - - A one-time favourite of the Arsenal fans. Lost the managers trust, and has never regained it. Quite a decent goalie when focused on his game. Proved that he’s back to his best with the Roma side. Good bargain to replace the quickly aging Gigi Buffon in Juventus.

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21st July 2017
Javier Manquillo - - - - (Defender) - - - - {Atletico Madrid – Newcastle} - - - Fee: Undisclosed

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RICKIE’S TAKE: (A good deal for Newcastle) - - - - A young journey man for his age. Just 23 yrs and he’s already been through Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Marseille, Sunderland and now to Newcastle. He would definitely get his moment to shine, under Benitez. Whether he would be one of the best right-backs in the world? Time would tell.

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Alvaro Morata - - - - (Forward) - - - - {Real Madrid – Chelsea} - - - Fee: £60m

RICKIE’S TAKE: (A great deal for Chelsea and Madrid) - - - - A proven goal scorer, but always under-rated and unappreciated. Efficient in terms of goal assists. All-round quality front. Much wonder why Madrid preferred to sell him. Good addition to the Chelsea side hell-bent on sacking another equally efficient goal-scorer in Diego Costa.

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Andrew Robertson - - - - (Defender/Left-back) - - - - {Hull – Liverpool} - - - Fee: £8m up to £10m

RICKIE’S TAKE: (A fair deal) - - - - A young defender on the rise, and eager to prove himself. Plying his trade under a Jurgen Klopp would be a good opportunity to show-case his potentials. A lot would be expected of the lad, especially in a back-line position where Liverpool have struggled to cope with in recent years.

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Kurt Zouma - - - - (Defender) - - - - {Chelsea – Stoke} - - - Fee: Loan

RICKIE’S TAKE: (A good deal) - - - - A young and pacy defender. Unfortunate to suffer a long term injury when he was hitting the peak of his game. Been seeking for game time ever since. Stoke would provide game time. I hope he blossoms when the chances come his way. Good bargain for Stoke City.

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