Hello all, welcome back to the blog – transfers, we love them, we hate them, and things that can make or break a club, and players. Transfers make up so much of football that they simply cannot be ignored, and as the transfer window begins, Let me go through every big club in Europe and tell you one player that needs a move away this summer, either for their or their club’s sake.
Man City: Joao Cancelo
While you could put a few other players here, like Mateus Nunes, Kalvin Phillips, Sergio Gomez, or even Yan Couto, Cancelo is the player that stands out to me. After a good loan spell at Barcelona following a below average loan at Bayern Munich, Cancelo finds himself back on the books of Man City, after a falling-out with Pep Guardiola in January 2023. It is clear that as long as the Spaniard stays at the helm of the club this summer, Cancelo isn’t getting a look in again. Barcelona is pursuing him once again this summer, trying to get the player back on another loan for the 24/25 season, but it appears City will look at their options. If a good proposal comes in from the Saudi League, that’s where he may go, but no matter what, he needs to leave City this summer. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a permanent deal or a loan, he just needs to leave. Perhaps if he returns to City in 2025 with someone new in charge, things may change. For now, though, A departure is necessary, so that City don’t have unnecessary wages on the bill and so that Cancelo can use his obvious talent somewhere he’ll play.
Bayern: Noussair Mazraoui
Like with City, there were a few players in consideration to expand further on, but for me, other players that need a move would be players such as Joshua Kimmich, Rapha Guerreiro, Bryan Zaragoza, and Serge Gnabry. However, I feel that Mazraoui is the case that needs the most unpacking. Since joining in the summer of 2022 on a free transfer, Mazraoui’s Bayern career has been one of limited playing time, getting less than 40 league appearances in the two years since joining, and repeated injuries, missing 25 matches due to repeated muscle problems. With Bayern signing Sacha Boey, which wouldn’t be needed if they truly trusted the Moroccan, his playing time will now be even more limited, and in my opinion, the time is right for him to get out of there.
Real Madrid: Andriy Lunin
If Andriy Lunin has any ounce of ambition, he needs to get out of Los Blancos. I know, at first glance it seems counterintuitive, but the Champions League final had to convince the Ukranian that he’s not getting picked over Courtois even if he performs like the world’s best goalkeeper before the match. Lunin would likely start for pretty much any team in the world besides a few, so he has to find a club at which he will be the number one, and finally prove himself. At 25, he needs to finally show himself.
PSG: Xavi Simons
There are an incredible amount of players who should leave PSG this summer if they know what’s good for them. The likes of Arnau Tenas, Presnel Kimpembe, Juan Bernat, Nordi Mukiele, Manu Ugarte, Danilo Pereira, Carlos Soler, Renato Sanches, Marco Asensio, Randal Kolo Muani, and more all should leave the sinking ship at the Parc-des-Princes. However, the man who NEEDS to leave is Xavi Simons. He’s clearly shown promise in his stints at PSV and RB Leipzig, and was one of the most promising young players in the world at Barca, but at PSG from 2019 to 2022, nearly ruined his career. If he doesn’t want that same thing to happen again, he needs to leave. What club is the best fit for him? Who knows, it could be Bayern, Barca, or someone completely different. All I know is that the club isn’t PSG, for sure.
Liverpool: Jarell Quansah
As nice as it would be to see a homegrown academy player go through and succeed at Liverpool, as we saw Trent do, Quansah needs to leave Liverpool to really see his potential through. With Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk, Quansah, in the season he turns 22 won’t be a first choice CB at Anfield. A rumoured move to Newcastle would be incredible for his future, in my opinion.
Chelsea: Enzo Fernandez
There are at least 15-20 players who should leave Chelsea this summer, but the most high-profile one is Enzo Fernandez. After joining the Blues in January 2023, now a year and a half ago, Fernandez has had a forgettable stint for Chelsea. The promise is obviously there, we saw it during the World Cup, at times for Chelsea. However, Chelsea isn’t really a club at which you can see out your full potential. If Fernandez wants to see out a mediocre spell for Chelsea and keep earning sweet money from Todd Boehly until his contract expires in 2032(!), that’s up to him. However, if he’s interested in seeing out his potential, he should try something new. If he was to stay at Chelsea until 2032 however, it would be a valuable lesson for Todd Boehly and his club.
Man Utd: Casemiro
It’s not a very well-kept secret that in the past 12 months, Casemiro has become a shell of his previous self. The Brazilian has had a rough decline, and really needs to go to either the Saudi League or MLS. After falling behind 19-year old Kobbie Mainoo in the United pecking order, it’s been sad to see the decline of the once proud midfielder. He’s also earning way too much for Man Utd as well, and it’s certain that the club will also want to get rid of him this summer.
Barcelona: Oriol Romeu
Not too much of a mystery why Barca needs to sell Oriol Romeu. He’s had a bad season for the club, isn’t at Barcelona level, and has a ticket back to a role at Girona which would see him have good, consistent play time. It must have been a depressing season for the Spanish midfielder, being on the bench the entire season, more playtime is needed.
Atlético Madrid: Joao Felix
My inspiration for this post, Joao Felix is the definition of someone who needs a move. I’m honestly surprised that he’s stayed at Atlético for FIVE YEARS already, a club which obviously never suited his creative playstyle, like Ned Braden on the Charlestown Chiefs. He’s on the outs for sure at that club, especially after his celebrations and scoring twice against the club in their meetings against Barcelona in La Liga. Like with Cancelo, Felix is being pursued by Barca again for a loan spell, however, Atleti want a permanent deal, and just to be done with the forward.
Arsenal: Emile Smith-Rowe
The problem with this arrangement isn’t even really Arsenal itself, it’s just that Smith-Rowe needs a fresh start elsewhere. His groin problems have reoccured over the last few seasons, and he’s just been struggling to find games and form under Mikel Arteta, playing just around 500 minutes of Premier League football in the past 2 years, so he needs to move to a new club who can look at his situation and improve it, because it’s not working out at Arsenal.
Tottenham: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
This feels weird to say, because last I heard of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, he was doing pretty well at Spurs, but this season has been terrible for the Danish midfielder. After returning from the Euros, a transfer has to happen in order for him to recover. However, I think he’s peaked either way, and should just try to enjoy the twilight of his career.
That’s all from me today. I hope you agree with my opinions here, because if you don’t, you’re wrong and who wants to be wrong? Anyway, we’ll see if these players get transfers and what they do for their careers, but for now, I’m Jim James, until next time.