The most money spent and the least quality exchanged amongst the top teams in living memory.
Did a single, established high quality striker change clubs? Manchester United and Arsenal clearly wanted to buy, but the former ended up with a 19 year old prospect at a huge price and Arsenal couldn't find a quality striker on the market at a sane price in spite of being connected with everyone. Chelsea took Falcao in hopes of rehabilitating his career which could prove a shrewd move - but he's a fixer-upper. None of the big names moved.
Chelsea searched for a high quality central defender and couldn't find one. In the end, they purchased a player no one else wanted. Desperate manouevre given the age of John Terry. Man City purchased Otamendi but at an extravagant price. Otherwise, nothing.
There was a bit of movement amongst wingers (or wide midfielders as they seem to be described these days), but mostly because a player was willing to force the issue (eg Raheem Sterling) or was not getting game time (eg Pedro and Di Maria). Exception to the rule was De Bruyne, but this was because Wolfsberg extracted a crazy price and had a replacement lined up.
Same rule applied to goalkeepers. Cech forced a move to Arsenal. Otherwise, Chelsea found a high quality reserve in Asmir Begovitch - one of the few normal transfers. But Man Utd and Real couldn't even manage to exchange goalies.
Man United and Man City paid ludicrous prices for every player they purchased. Amongst Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern, I didn't see any major transfers this year. Arsenal couldn't get an outfield player. Liverpool mostly seemed to be buying players who one wouldn't quite describe as top-notch, although they took Alex Milner from City on a free - nice one. Only Chelsea captured high quality players at sensible prices in Begovitch and Pedro.
Instead of opening up the quality end of the market, the cash hoard from Premier League money closed it down. Or increased the cost of a transfer by perhaps 60%.
If Arsene Wenger couldn't sniff out a deal, the deals probably weren't there. No Ozil or Sanchez this year. Unlike some fans, I am content with who we have. If somehow a Luis Suarez type of player was available, of course one would pay a lot. But no one of that level was transferred during this window.
| 