Top-5 Soccer Transfers of 2015

Maybe it’s just me, but this seems like one of the slower summers for the biggest European soccer teams in terms of transfer movements. Most have declined to make big offers to sign new players for the upcoming season, including Real Madrid. I’ve gotten so used to Real president Florentino Perez making splashy, offseason signings that a summer without one is like seeing Cristiano Ronaldo without perfectly manicured hair: just plain weird.

That said, some of the European powers have bolstered their lineups via the transfer route in the past few months. Let’s take a look at the five biggest signings to date along with a few rumors still swirling around.

(1) Manchester United: Bastian Schweinsteiger

Since Germany won the 2014 World Cup, Bastian Schweinsteiger pretty much forgot about soccer, opting to party his way across Europe instead, visiting every tennis tournament his girlfriend Ana Ivanovic entered.  Even so, Man United decided to pay €20 million to Bayern Munich for his talents.

Schweinsteiger is no longer one of the best midfielders in the game; but, if the 30-year-old can stay healthy, he’ll give United the top class midfielder they have been missing since Paul Scholes retired. Coincidentally, Scholes is one of the players Schweinsteiger modeled his game after.

“I have some players who I was always looking for, to see how they were playing … [Paul] Scholes was one of them … I like his kind of style, how he played,” Schweinsteiger told manutd.com.

(2) Manchester City: Raheem Sterling

Only a team with too much money to spend could have landed a talent like Raheem Sterling. Manchester City have never been shy about spending their cash, and they did it once again this summer, paying €40 million to Liverpool to get the young striker. To date in his brief career, Sterling’s promise has outpaced his production. The 20-year-old has scored only 18 goals in 95 games with Liverpool and found the net just once in 16 games with England. But Man City were happy to gamble on the future of the speedy forward.

(3) Barcelona: Arda Turan

After winning the UEFA Champions League, La Liga, and the Copa Del Rey (a.k.a. the Spanish treble) last season, Barcelona didn’t need to do much to improve their roster. But with Xavi retiring, the team wanted to shore up the midfield in advance of another run at multiple trophies. Barcelona paid Atletico Madrid €35m for the services of Turkish midfielder Arda Turan, a hefty price for a player that will likely come off the bench.

(4) Porto: Iker Casillas 

Iker Casillas has been at Real Madrid for what seems an eternity; the keeper used to ride a bike to the Santiago Bernabeu as a 17-year-old because he didn’t have his driver’s’ license yet (even when he was the starting goalkeeper for the team).  Casillas hasn’t been the reliable player Real came to bank on over the last two seasons, though, and his relationship with the president and fans went downhill. Casillas opted to leave the only club he’s ever played for and signed with Portuguese side FC Porto for just €6M.

(5) Chelsea: Radamel Falcao 

The Man United roster is going to look substantially different next season. In addition to signing Schweinsteiger, the club parted ways with strikers Robin Van Persie, who is now playing in Turkey, and Radamel Falcao, who has gone to Chelsea on loan from Monaco. (Falcao was actually on loan to United from Monaco, as well, and United decided not to exercise their option to sign him at the end of the season.)

The Colombian will be looking to revive his once blossoming career at Stamford Bridge. Early in 2014, there wasn’t a most lethal striker on the planet than Falcao, but he hasn’t been the same since a bad knee injury slowed his pace.  If he gets going, Chelsea will have the steal of the summer on their hands.

Rumors:

As I said at the outset, the markets have been quiet so far this offseason. But we likely haven’t seen the last of the big-name transfers. Keep an eye on Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is rumored to be headed back to AC Milan, and striker Christian Benteke, who may be on the move from Aston Villa to Liverpool. Lastly, midfielder Thomas Muller could be departing Bayern Munich, though a likely landing spot isn’t in the wind yet.

(Photo credit: Doha Stadium Plus Qatar  Photograph: Mohan (www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com) (Flickr: Bastian Schweinsteiger) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)