Summer Transfer Window 2014: 5 moves that no one saw coming

For many football fans, the transfer windows are often more exciting than the football season with the speculation of possible moves and new contracts. While some moves are completed after a long drawn saga and are often common knowledge well before the contract is actually signed, there are also some moves which happen very swiftly often without anyone, including the experts, foreseeing the transfers.We look at five transfers which have taken place in the transfer window of 2014 summer that no one saw coming.

#5 Rickie Lambert Southampton to Liverpool

Liverpool’s interest in Southampton duo Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren was well known, but the club’s first piece of transfer activity in the summer happened to be their teammate Rickie Lambert. The signing of the 32-year-old wasn’t in sync with the youth policy of Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group, and hence raised a few eyebrows when the first reports emerged. But Liverpool managed to swiftly complete the move for a fee reported to be £4 million.

It was a shrewd signing by Liverpool to get a striker who scored 28 goals in the last two seasons of the Premier League and will offer the team a good alternative from the bench, or as a backup in case of injuries or suspension. For the Kirkby-born striker, the move meant his career turned a full circle after the childhood Liverpool fan and academy product was released by the club at the age of 15.

#4 Bojan Krki Barcelona to Stoke City

The player, who made his debut for Barcelona at the age of 17 thereby breaking Lionel Messi’s record of being the youngest player to appear for the club in La Liga and later kept Thierry Henry out of the starting XI, has made a shock switch to Stoke City for an undisclosed fee. For someone who was predicted to become the next big superstar in world football and was given the number 9 jersey at Barcelona, a move to a mid-table club in England was something no one had foreseen.

The talented striker, still only 23-years-old, has been a journeyman recently having played for four different clubs over the last seasons – Barcelona, AS Roma, AC Milan and Ajax, and will be keen to settle down at Stoke City after the constant switches. Given his abilities and record at Barcelona, his signature can be considered as a coup by Mark Hughes and the manager will hope that the Spanish former-prodigy can realize his potential at Stoke.

#3 Jrmy Mathieu Valencia to Barcelona

Barcelona were in the market for a defender after the retirement of Carlos Puyol, and were linked with David Luiz, Marquinhos and Mats Hummels. But it was a surprise when they announced a 20 million Euros (£15.8 million) purchase of French defender Jérémy Mathieu from Valencia. It wasn’t just the choice of the player and a relative high fee (a record fee for a defender aged above 30) that raised eyebrows, but the 50 million Euros release clause that was added to the contract of a player who will turn 31 this October and can be best described as a solid defender, without any exceptional aspect to his game.

Mathieu’s signature at Barcelona has been with a lot of scepticism with former defender Rafael Marquez been quoted saying, “I don't think he (Mathieu) has the profile to play for Barcelona and even less so for this price. Hopefully they'll think well about this and if they're going to splash out like that, it's for someone who is actually worthwhile.”

#2 Cesc Fabregas Barcelona to Chelsea

“If I ever wear a Chelsea shirt, you have permission to kill me.” Whether or not Cesc Fabregas actually said these words quoted to him in 2010, they are likely to be used against him time and again in the upcoming season as the former Arsenal captain joined Chelsea from Barcelona for a fee in the region of £30 million. Given the circumstances, the Spanish midfielder can’t be faulted for joining Chelsea despite his previous Arsenal connection, but what this move does is that he loses the iconic status among the Arsenal faithful who wouldn’t accept him joining the club’s arch rivals.

It was a transfer which no one could foresee and even Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho accepted that he was surprised that he was able to lure Fabregas to the club as he said “I always thought Cesc would stay a Barcelona player”. It was indeed surprising that Barcelona decided to let go off Fabregas’s services after the player impressed during the three seasons he spent at Nou Camp where he created and scored many goals. A move to Arsenal was mooted, but was rejected by Arsene Wenger as the club had abundance of talent in Fabregas’s position, ultimately leading to the switch to Chelsea which was wrapped up just before the start of the FIFA World Cup.

#1 Frank Lampard Chelsea to Manchester City (via New York City)

This move isn’t a direct transfer, but given the shock value attached to it, it deserves to be at the top of this list. Hardly any Chelsea fan would have thought that when Frank Lampard was being released by the club at the end of the 2013-14 season, he would be playing for one of their arch-rivals in the following season. When free-agent Lampard joined MLS (Major League Soccer) club New York City, he was wished well by the Chelsea fans who thanked him for his service to the club for 13 years.

When the first reports of a possible loan move to Manchester City (who are the parent club of New York City) appeared, they were greeted with disbelief and brushed aside as something which a Chelsea legend wouldn’t do. However the move did happen quickly enough, and while most Chelsea faithful have accepted the move, Lampard lining up against their side at Etihad on September 21 in Manchester City colours is something no Chelsea fan would be looking forward to.