Five overpriced transfer targets this summer

William Carvalho (Sporting Lisbon)

Pretty sure that if we did a show of hands, there would be few with their upper extremities raised to claim they have actually seen Carvalho play live. Basically, in a similar sense to the case with Shaw, we think £35m might be a bit excessive for a player that still goes under the bracket of ‘potential’.

Lord knows how many potential stars have disappeared into obscurity and it would appear that a lot of the fuss around him appears to be the club he is at, given that suitors Manchester United also signed Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting.

He’s done enough to make Portugal’s World Cup squad and we hope he has a chance to impress us, because at the age of 22 now, the ‘potential’ bracket is drawing to a close.

He’s managed four goals in 30 starts despite being classed as more of a defensive midfielder, but such a large price-tag seems extravagant for a man that still has just three substitute appearances for his national team.

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Eliaquim Mangala (Porto)

On a personal note, I have seen Mangala play just twice this season and in games against Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, he failed to impress, with his performance against the latter being somewhere in the region of woeful.

Given that rumours were already circling about a £35m move to Manchester City, one tries not to judge a player based on three hours of football, but given they were two high-profile European fixtures, is that the sort of player City would want to blow such a large amount of money on, given the Financial Fair Play restrictions already being held against them?

With Demichelis having proven himself at last and Matija Nastasic still to come back, one would think a first choice centre-back would not be a priority for City currently, especially at that sort of price.

Mangala managed to win just six tackles and five interceptions in his six Europa League fixtures and wasn’t much more successful in the Champions League either, so it would seem that a lot of his reputation is built on his prowess in the opposition box, as opposed to defending his own and the price being quoted is not something he can really justify.