Grading the Summer of 2024’s Biggest Football Transfers (So Far) Pt 5
As we reach part 5 (!!) of this summer’s transfer grades, we’re already starting to see some of the players covered in previous posts making their debuts at their new clubs, and many of the players featured below will probably be spotted in action in their new club’s colors before long. So, with that said, let’s not delay and get right to grading the deals before they’ve kicked a ball.
Check out Part 1 (Mbappé, Palhinha + More), Part 2 (Luiz, Olise, Thuram + More), Part 3 (Zirkzee, Savinho, Onana + More) and Part 4 (Yoro, Calafiori, ASM + More) of this series!
Matías Soulé — Juventus to Roma — €28 M
Soulé, like Enzo Le Fée before him, represents an interesting and much needed addition to Roma’s creative options. He showed last season at Frosinone what he can do when empowered with the right role to fully utilize his talents and should fit nicely into Roma’s existing rotation while being given a runway to develop into the team’s most decisive attacking player in time. And as academic as it may seem, one of the keys to this deal being a positive one for me is the player’s eagerness to move to this club in particular. With newly-promoted EPL club Leicester also in the chase for his signature, Soule reportedly gave a clear preference to Roma and him being where he wants to should allow the expressive and creative elements of his game to bleed through more easily. With the right amount of playing time, Soule could be the single most important ball carrier in the Roma squad next season on account of his dribbling skills, and his ability to play anywhere across the front line makes him a versatile and valuable asset (in some ways like countryman and new teammate Paulo Dybala).
All that said, there’s risk in this deal given it’s a moderately-high price for a player with just one solid season under his belt, and I wonder if Roma (despite their need for creators) could’ve upgraded in multiple spots instead of adding both Le Fée and Soulé. Of course, the rigors of the modern European calendar necessitate two or more top players in every position, and the versatility of Soulé in particular means that Daniele De Rossi can find space for both him and Le Fée on the field at once. Yet, the gaps in other areas of Roma’s team (striker, most obviously) could’ve been filled with the money that went towards one of these players. In any case, this deal will pay huge dividends if Soulé continues on the trajectory he finished on a season ago; so, I give Roma a largely positive A-.
Juventus, meanwhile, took a risk by paying Vélez Sarsfield €2.57M back in 2020 but now benefit from Soulé’s positive season on loan with a hefty profit and a 10% cut of future sales. While they deserve credit for their financial success and willingness to move him within the league (even if it may be to their own detriment), I wonder whether Juve’s squad is strong enough in these areas to turn away players of Soulé’s quality. With Chiesa so regularly injured, Juventus currently look as though they’ll be relying on Filip Kostić and a number of young or underwhelming options in the wide areas while rumoured reinforcements like Karim Adeyemi fail to offer a lot more reliability. For that high degree of uncertainty in Soulé’s wake, I give the otherwise financially brilliant deal a B+ grade for Juve.
Youssef En-Nesyri — Sevilla to Fenerbahçe — €20 M
For sellers Sevilla, this deal is difficult to judge. En-Nesyri had just a single year remaining on his contract so recovering 100% of the fee paid to Leganés in 2020 doesn’t seem like terrible business. At the same time, the Moroccan only just turned 27 and has had a solid goal scoring record in each of his last two seasons. Left behind him at the club are few known goal-scorers, and there obviously must be plans in place for Sevilla to use some of this fee to acquire a different striker (or two!) before the transfer window closes. In that respect, the profit will be useful as the club have amortized away most of the initial fee for En-Nesyri and can spend nearly the full 20M on a new recruit before dipping into other funds, but I envision it being difficult to find a player who comes in and produces at this level. If the linked replacement Sardar Azmoun is indeed the next striker into the club, I’d have serious concerns about the potential drop off in production as the Iranian has found little success since leaving Russia. Regardless, it was pointless to keep him around if the Moroccan had his heart set on leaving (as seemed the case towards the end of last season), but there’s certainly work left to be done for Sevilla who get a B.
As for Fenerbahçe, this deal makes a lot of sense. Their first Champions League game on Tuesday in Switzerland showed that this team have no shortage of creative talents in the squad (Kadıoğlu, Szymański, Tadić, Osayi-Samuel), and the attractive (though far too open) football they played suggests the goal-scoring opportunities for a top-end striker should be plentiful. At the same time, the presence of Edin Džeko in the squad means that En-Nesyri won’t be leaned on too heavily, and this first year can give much more of an adaptation period than he might have had at Roma (one other club after his services) where both primary forwards from a season ago seem headed for the exit this summer. If he takes to the team quickly, En-Nesyri should have every chance to match his numbers of a season ago (20 in 41) in Turkey, and the rotation between him and the veteran Bosnian should give José Mourinho all of the options needed to excel on multiple fronts this season. The new manager has been backed in a big way this summer and, while the investments don’t come without risk, the potential for reward seems substantial. Fenerbahce get an A for this signing as the fee is noteworthy, but the productivity and age align to make it justified.
Quick Hits
Moussa Diaby (Aston Villa [A-] to Al-Ittihad [B+], €60 M):
Villa, it seems, feel they can get Diaby’s production from some combination of Morgan Rogers, Samuel Iling-Junior and Jaden Philogene with the Frenchmen’s favored right-wing already occupied by the favored Leon Bailey. In any case, I think the hit to depth (and high, high quality depth at that) will likely be felt at some points in a busy campaign where Villa will play for the European Cup for the first time since 1983. At the same time, this was a huge inbound for Villa to make, and it’s hard to blame them for recouping 100% of their investment (and change) if Unai Emery’s plans have Bailey as first choice anyways. From the player’s perspective, it’s hard to argue against a 2.25x increase on your wages, but I must admit a little surprise to see Al-Ittihad linked with so many players despite failing to qualify for next season’s Asian Champions League. In any case, Diaby obviously slots right in the starting line-up, gets some additional financial security and should settle relatively well given he’s of the Muslim faith and already has a couple of Frenchmen in the team in Benzema and Kanté. The wages are obviously insane, but I think Al-Ittihad have done relatively well with the fee’s price point and can expect to recoup much of the investment whenever Diaby (presumably) wants to return to Europe–though I doubt if they’re worried about the financial piece anyways.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Spurs [C] to Marseille [A-], €14 M after initial loan):
Since joining Bayern Munich’s academy at 16, Højbjerg has now made three permanent transfers–all for between €14M and €17M. In other words, clubs have pretty much agreed this is what the Dane is worth–though the single year left on his contract also undoubtedly factors in (a mistake by Spurs for a player whose value has grown in North London). Regardless, I like the addition of Højbjerg in the Marseille midfield. While last season was probably his least impressive at Spurs, he still played 39 times in all competitions after a couple of exceptional seasons in the Premier League from 2021–23. With Denmark, Højbjerg has been similarly impressive with a solid Euros in the books this summer after a strong World Cup in Qatar. He’ll only be 29 next month; so, there’s still plenty of runway left for him to keep playing at a high-level for the entire length of the contract he’ll sign in France. With that in mind, he makes sense as the stabilizing, defense-minded force at the heart of Roberto De Zerbi’s midfield, and he should be able to adapt to the Italian’s style without too much difficulty given he was a favorite of both Guardiola and Mourinho in their radically different tactical systems. His all-around game travels well and I don’t imagine too many problems settling in the French league — meaning he figures to end up as one of De Zerbi’s most trusted players in short order.
Youssouf Fofana (Monaco [C] to Milan [A+], €18 M):
Fofana’s departure with just 12 months remaining on his deal at Stade Louis II represents a pretty significant disappointment for Monaco. While they made some noise in last season’s title race, the days of Monaco spending big on players with the primary goal of winning the French title are largely gone. Like almost everyone else in Ligue 1 besides PSG, goal 1A for Monaco is now developing talents and selling them on for big profits after they’ve matured. In the case of Fofana, the talent has matured, but the remaining life of contract is too short for a proper profit to be earned. Given how well he’s played and the options he would have in free agency, Fofana was never likely to resign; so, perhaps Monaco deserve some credit for making any profit at all. Yet, this still feels like a wasted development as he’s improved considerably since arriving for €15M from Strasbourg, but Monaco are now unlikely to find a suitable replacement with the slim profit brought in. For Milan, this deal makes a ton of sense. As a free agent, virtually everyone in Europe would’ve been interested; so, Zlatan and company jumped the queue by shelling out a modest fee a year early. Fofana should quickly slot into the starting eleven and figures to be become one of the integral players in Paulo Fonseca’s team. For a club that — in spite of its stature — operates with a lot of fiscal discipline, this is the type of deal that keeps them in contention for the Scudetto even as they steer clear of high-priced additions to the squad.
