In an age where the prices for players are skyrocketing, and transfer fees have become nonsensical, bigger clubs are increasingly pricing out smaller clubs from getting the players they want. Recently, the transfer of Joao Felix from Benfica to Atletico Madrid epitomises the ludicrous money that is in the modern game. Despite being young and clearly somewhat talented, scoring 15 goals and getting 9 assists in 26 league games, the transfer has stirred up my inner football pessimist. Is a player who scored 15 goals in a season, in a league where Ricky van Woolfswinkel had an impressive record, really worth over £110million? Surely there is someone out there that would be more cost effective, and carries much less risk if their career goes south.
Thinking of this, I looked to find not only some good alternatives to Joao Felix at a lesser price, but some players who aren’t currently in the spotlight, who have performed well statistically across last season.
- Teji Savanier
Despite having departed Nimes already this summer for €9million to Montpellier, Savanier would be a very useful signing for most Premier League clubs either at the end of next season, or in January at a stretch. The Frenchman was nothing short of sensational last season in Ligue 1 picking up 14 assists (better than any other player) and scoring 6 goals. This is even more impressive when you take into account where he got these goals and assists, playing in central midfield and sometimes even holding midfield.
Players who produce in the middle of the park are gold dust in today’s game and at €9million it looks like an absolute steal for Montpelier if he continues his blistering form. Speaking of said form, in his last 10 games Savanier has 6 assists and 3 goals, which would be impressive for an attacking midfielder or forward. A more worrying statistic would be his 71% passing accuracy, which would ideally be higher for a player of his type, however this may suggest that Savanier plays a great deal of risky passes and through balls, that are less likely to come off. There is also a tactical element to this as Nimes played the 2nd lowest number of short passes per game and the 6th highest number of long balls per game, showing that short, crisp passing play that may suit a player such as this, wasn’t being played at Nimes.
At 27 years of age, and last season being his first in the French top flight, it is possible that Savanier’s impressive record could be a rather large flash in the pan. However, if he has another season like the last, expect Premier League teams to be sniffing around, as his price is unlikely to move that much higher.
- Moussa Niakhate
Mainz’s Moussa Niakhate is in no way similar to Joao Felix, being a towering centre half, but he has impressed in a variety of ways statistically. His 87% pass completion is not only one of the highest in the Bundesliga, it also highlights Niakhate’s ability when playing out from the back, an attractive quality for many managers in the Premier League with playing out of defence being very much in vogue currently. This pass completion stat is very surprising for a man of his stature, but this doesn’t mean he is ineffective in the other areas of the game that would be more traditionally associated with a large defender. Niakhate won 75 aerial duels across the season showing an unsurprising proficiency in the air. He also performed admirably when it came to duels, winning 295. Though these statistics don’t place him at the top of any player tables, the fact that Niakhate is in the top 30 or 40 Bundesliga players in several areas reveals that he is a well-rounded and highly talented defender, in a team where a few more of those were required.
At 23 Niakhate is most likely only going to improve as he has the prime of his career ahead of him. His ability has also been recognised with a trip to the European under 21 championships with France. He has attracted Premier League interest previously as Huddersfield were rumoured to want Niakhate last summer, however Mainz beat them to his signature. The Frenchman is also Valued at €14 million meaning Mainz could demand around €25-30 million which isn’t ridiculously expensive when compared to the price of other young defenders.
- Wout Weghorst
It has greatly surprised me that there hasn’t been more interest in Wolfsburg striker Wout Weghorst this summer. Forwards that work as hard as the Dutchman are hard to come by and I believe he would slot into many a Premier League team very well as a main or supporting striker due to his work ethic and physicality. The statistics from last season support this with Weghorst performing over 130 more intensive runs and over 80 more sprints than any other Bundesliga player. He also sits 4th for aerial duels won thanks to not only his tremendous work rate but also the fact that he stands at 6ft5. This brings to mind a more effective version of Salomon Rondon who performed very well for Newcastle last season.
Weghorst doesn’t just run about a bit and win headers though, he also contributed greatly in the goals and assists department. He finished behind only Robert Lewandowski and Paco Alcacer for goals with 17 and added 7 assists (which is the same as RB Leipzig’s Emil Forsberg). This combination of goals, work rate and aerial strength gives me a feeling that Weghorst would be very much suited to the Premier League. Any club, apart from maybe Manchester City, could benefit from having an effective target man added to their ranks. Despite the fact that there are some issues regarding his technical ability on the ball, and the fact that Wolfsburg could ask a handsome price for his services, I still think that an English side should take a punt on Weghorst.
- Adam Buksa
Unless you’re a great fan of the Polish Top Tier I doubt you’ve ever even heard Buksa’s name. However, the 23-year old’s goal to game ratio last season impressed me with 11 goals in 22 league appearances. He also contributed 4 assists meaning that in his 1826 minutes of league football he was involved in a goal every 121 minutes. This isn’t too shabby for a player who most likely still has some room to improve. On top of this Buksa stands at just over 6ft3 meaning he could prove handy to a team that plays a large number of long balls or simply as an impact sub for a lower end Premier League team. Transfermarkt values the Pogon Szczecin striker at £900k, so for around £2-3million an English side could have a young striker that clearly knows where the goal is, for a snip of what other players are going for.
I am in no way saying that Buksa is the next Robert Lewandowski, far from it. What I am saying however is that Buksa could be a cheap alternative as a back up striker for many of the lower end Premier League sides.
- Brais Mendez
Attacking Midfielder and Right Winger Brais Mendez didn’t exactly set La Liga alight last season. However, with his 6 goals and 7 assists in 31 games for Celta Vigo he definitely had a very solid campaign in the league. WhoScored.com gave Mendez an average rating of 6.99 for his performances highlighting his consistency despite Celta Vigo’s struggles and his young age. He also averaged 1.5 key passes a game showing his creative abilities, as a comparison Luca Modric averaged 1.7 and Thomas Lemar averaged 1.3. A creative midfielder such as Mendez would be invaluable to many a Premier League team outside the top 6 and he is also very likely to improve and gain value, so investing in the 22-year-old would most likely be worth it financially speaking. For a player whose output was not dissimilar to that of Joao Felix a Premier League team could have a player for around £60million less. If Mendez continues his improvement next season, then Celta Vigo could almost certainly see a large bid for him coming in.
To conclude, though I have been impressed by these five players last season, it will be interesting to see if Premier League clubs do in fact take a punt on any of them. If I was to single one out for a move to the Prem in future it’d have to be Niakhate. Strong Centre Backs who are good on the ball are highly sought after and Niakhate could provide a cheaper alternative to most if not all English defenders, with the price for good English players climbing in recent transfer windows.
Statistics from whoscored.com, Transfermarkt and bundesliga.de
Jon Parkin Sports 