Despite such obvious talent, there was little complaint when Mattéo Guendouzi left Arsenal for Marseille in July 2021. With a reported obligation to buy for £12 million, the former PSG academy player had all but destroyed his reputation with the Arsenal faithful.   Following problems at a pre-season camp in Dubai and the infamous altercation…

When Vinícius Júnior was introduced to the Real Madrid faithful at the Bernabeu in 2018, he brought with him an unspoken change to Real’s typical “Galáctico” approach to success. At 18, he was not the typical Real transfer target, he didn’t come after sustained success abroad such as Cristiano Ronaldo or Zinedine Zidane who defined…

Felipe Anderson undoubtedly played his best football in a European league when he played for Italian club Lazio in the mid-2010s. The Brazilian midfielder spent five seasons with the Serie A team before English club West Ham United purchased him for £36 million in the summer of 2018. After three seasons away from the Italian…

Argentine football has always exported great figures to the most important leagues in Europe, after having shown sufficient qualities to shine among the world elite. The last jewel to emigrate, after having made a huge difference, was Lautaro Martinez, to Inter Milan, in 2018.   In the same position, but with different characteristics, the great…

West Ham manager David Moyes has developed a habit of slowly introducing new signings into his starting line-up. The Scotsman, well-known for slow-balling recruitment processes at his clubs, tends to take a while to warm to unfamiliar personnel. Pablo Fornals – now a full international – was not an exception to the rule.   Although…