Shopping For World Cup Players
"I haven’t made a choice. It’s the general appeal of the Premier League and the level of play that attracts me most. It fits my qualities."
Most casual football fans can watch this Qatar 2022 World Cup and enjoy it for what it is, an international knockout football tournament. You and I however, we’ve been keeping our eyes peeled on some of the top performers and considering how or if they could fit into your club and what they would offer.
There’s two flavors of World Cup over-performer, there are the Lukas Podolski icon types who become masters of the craft only when they put on their international jersey and then there are those that use the World Cup platform to breakout out of the scene and spring board their career. We didn’t have many players in 2018 that used the World Cup to breakout, we had French fullback Benjamin Pavard who scored arguably goal of the tournament and went from “unknown” to Bayern Munich’s starting right-back, so maybe we call this, The Pavard List.
Note, these players are not necessarily diamonds in the rough but they have performed so well this World Cup that they should have made an impact to big clubs’ transfer strategies.
Midfield
Enzo Fernandez-
Comparables: Declan Rice, Bruno Guimarães, Thomas Partey, Kalvin Philips.
Best-Fit Teams: Liverpool & Chelsea
Cost: ~100mil
Argentina, maybe favorites to win it all, have been rocksolid in midfield thanks to the addition of Enzo Fernandez into the starting lineup. Fernandez did not come into the tournament as a starter, albeit a known player for Benfica and a player many clubs have been allegedly scouting. Fernandez plays in what would be considered the 6 or CDM and is an all-action deep lying playmaker. In possession he tries to dictate the tempo and pace of the game and out of possession he's extremely mobile and covers every blade of grass on the pitch serving as cover and protection for his defense behind him. He's young, only 21 years old and the best comparable player in terms of impact he could have right away for a team’s play would be Bruno Guimarães & Thomas Partey. He's pricey at the ~100mil range but even at this price point I would not blink an eye on paying it if I was Liverpool or Chelsea where he would immediately become a core member of the starting XI on day one.
Adrien Rabiot -
Comparables: Granit Xhaka, Matteo Kovacic, Rodrigo Bentactur
Best-Fit Teams: Arsenal, City
Cost: Free Agent 2023
Adrien Rabiot nearly joined Man Utd this summer for a transfer fee of a mere 15mil. The deal ended up collpasing due to a disagreement in the wage structure and Man Utd moved on to buy Casemiro. Rabiot's value as a player has certainly increased significantly, although his value as an asset is at its lowest point as he eyes a free agent move to the Premier League this summer (see subtitle quote). Rabiot's job in midfield is simple, keep ball possession, keep the ball moving, recycle the ball, win 50/50 duels, win headers, track runners and generally be a presence and available option in midfield. I think he would be a perfect fit at Arsenal as a more reliable midfield option to Xhaka. Rabiot provides less than Xhaka offensively but similarly to Chelsea's Kovacic he's very safe in possession and comfortable dribbling the ball until he finds his safe-outlet; he avoids poor turnovers that become counter attacks for the opposition very well.
Azzedine Ounahi -
Comparables: Rodrigo Bentactur, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Jacob Ramsey
Best-Fit Teams: Arsenal
Cost: 10-30mil
A Morocco player absolutely had to make this list and that for me is Azzedine Ounahi. The classic #8, Ounahi is only 22 years and playing in Ligue Un for Angers. Ounahi is a do-it-all box to box #8. His role in this Morocco team is very significant, he's asked to be a major presence defensively, marking players and covering for his teammates as well as a spark plug offensively initiating counter-attacks by ball-carrying forward (versus picking out passes) and joining in the attack. Bentacur is a great player comparison talent/skill wise albeit Bentacur's role for Spurs is much more defense than what Oaunahi is doing for Morocco. I'd look at Dewsbury-Hall's role for Leicester or Jacob Ramsey at Aston Villa as good comparison of what might be expected of him in the Premier League.
Winger/Forward
João Félix -
Comparables: Son Heung-min, Phil Foden, Kai Havertz
Best-Fit Teams: Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool
Cost: 100mil
João Félix was certainly a well known established young star before the World Cup but following Portugal's exit of the tournament its been leaked that he's looking to make a move to the Premier League. Talent-wise, Felix is a phenomon. You could play Felix anywhere across the frontline and feel comfortable about his ability to cause the opposition problems, which is why I really enjoy the Son Heung-Min comparison. The issue with Felix however is he's been unable to firmly establish his best position, similarly to Son you could say. Playing anywhere from Left Wing to #9, he's a young player with an immense amount of talent and will need a manager who can get the best out of abilities while being patient with his positional-development. I'd suggest a move to Arsenal if we want to see the best out of him, otherwise the Man Utd project or Liverpool's fluid offense could be great fits as well.
Goncalo Ramos -
Comparables: Gabriel Jesus,Callum Wilson, Aleksandar Mitrovic
Best-Fit Teams: Manchester United, Chelsea
Cost: 40mil
Goncalo Ramos, the man who benched Cristiano Ronaldo to score a hat trick. You'd think that hat trick and only being 21 years old would command a higher fee for Ramos but as its being reported Benfica are currently only looking for 40mil for the forward. His game overall is limited albeit effective. Ramos works hard for the team like Gabriel Jesus, has a bit of dynamism about his 9-play like Callum Wilson and he’s physical player, although not as much Aleksandar Mitrovic. His ceiling as a 9 is limited, don’t expect Ramos to drop deep to play-make or swap positions with his wingers to take players on one on one. With this in mind, his he can do a great job acting as a focal point for a forward line and would be an excellent #9 replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo at Man Utd or someone who Chelsea could develop in the mold of what Jesus is for Arsenal.
Defense
Jurien Timber -
Comparables: Lisandro Martinez, Reece James
Best-Fit Teams: Tottenham, Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea
Cost: 40mil
Manchester United came very close to signing Timber this summer before they opted for his club-teammate Lisandro Martinez. Timber as a Netherlands starter benched Matthijs de Ligt, 100mil CB at Bayern & Stefan de Vrij, league title winning CB at Inter. The only overwhelming critique to Timber as a center-bacl is his small size, he’s 5’9. As a footballer, Timber is exceptional. Timber has a remarkbly high IQ, always knowing when to press, when to commit a foul and generally where to be at all times as a defender playing a high-line. He can fill in at right-back as well with shades of Reece James in his game. The perfect fit for Tottenham, a team severely lacking in defense and football IQ. Timber could slot in at Manchester United should MUFC opt to sell Harry Maguire this winter or use him as a backup RB as well.
This is the last publication before the World Cup is over. Right now, I’m leaning towards France to repeat.