The international break has put club football on hold for the time being. THT looks at the summer signing that has most improved Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea
We are well into the 2016-17 season with 11 Premier League games, more than half of the Champions League stage and two rounds of League Cup action already done with.
The major clubs have all integrated their summer signings, and we look at the best piece of business done by the top Premier League clubs in a two-part series.
Manchester United
Eric Bailly
Man United were the headline grabbers this past summer with three huge signings. They brought in the iconic Swede striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Bundesliga Players’ Player of the Year Henrikh Mkhitaryan and made Paul Pogba the world’s most expensive player.
However, his first signing was the low key acquisition of 22-year-old center-back Eric Bailly from Villarreal. The Ivory Coast defender has since proven to be one of the best players for Man United so far this season.
Bailly has started nine Premier League games for the Red Devils so far. On average, he has made 3.3 interceptions, 2.2 successful tackles and a whopping 6.1 clearances per game. He is now the first choice center-back at United, even displacing Chris Smalling at the beginning of the season, and seems a solid buy at £30 million.
The Ivorian has been ruled out till Christmas because of a knee injury he suffered in the game against Chelsea. Mourinho and Man United will hope that they can get him back as soon as possible.
Manchester City
Ilkay Gundogan
Manchester City went pound for pound with their cross town rivals this past summer. The likes of John Stones, Leroy Sane, Nolito, Claudio Bravo, Ilkay Gundogan and Gabriel Jesus all became Citizens, as the much anticipated Pep Guardiola era finally kicked off.
German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has been the pick of the lot so far. It is difficult to add to a power packed midfield including the likes of David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne, but the former Borussia Dortmund man is doing just that.
Gundogan has already notched up five goals and an assist in 11 appearances in all competitions. The 26-year-old was also instrumental in City’s biggest win of the season so far, the 3-1 triumph over Barcelona in the Champions League, where he scored a brace.
Barcelona were reportedly keen to add the German to their ranks this past summer, while the German was also linked with a move to join his compatriot and current Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. However, the appeal of Guardiola convinced Gundogan to move to Man City for the bargain price of a reported £20 million.
Chelsea
Marcos Alonso
The Blues had a bit of a haphazard summer transfer window. After two big signings in N’Golo Kante and Michy Batshuayi, it turned out to be a frantic deadline day for Chelsea. They addressed their defensive shortcomings by bringing in their former center-back David Luiz and Fiorentina full-back Marcos Alonso.
Most may suggest that Kante has transformed the Chelsea midfield. Alonso, though, is one of the key men in the new formation that manager Antonio Conte has implemented at Stamford Bridge. The Spaniard is a natural wing-back, and he has thrived in the new setup.
Kante and Matic are the two midfield anchors, but it is Alonso and right wing-back Victor Moses who have arguably been most impressive for the Blues these past few weeks.
Alonso already has a goal and an assist in just six appearances for the Blues. The 25-year-old has also made 1.5 key passes on average per game, which is an indicator of his importance in the Chelsea attack.
The £23 million deadline day signing is already showing that the transfer was by no means a panic buy for Conte and Chelsea.
