2011/12 Premiership top 10 transfers

A total of £508 million has been spent by Premiership clubs this season which sounds huge but is in-fact a decrease of £67 million from the last. The pre-season window was as busy as ever; contributing to £449 million of the fees. This means January was a fairly cheap period with expenditure only at £59 million, significantly lower than the £225 million spent in the last winter window.

All 20 clubs have bought and sold players with a varied level of success. There has been some bad (Downing’s £20 million move to Liverpool) and then some very good. This list intends to target the good, specifically a view on the 10 best.

It’s a difficult list to construct and even less simple to order. As a result it is likely that you will disagree with at least one player on it but I welcome your views, so feel free to comment!

I’ve considered performance stats, the fee, impact on club and any other detail I could find to narrow down my original 21 best signings to the top 10. Some very good deals didn’t make it, namely Jelavic, Pienaar and Nasri.

So here’s my list, from 10 to 1. It starts with the first of two loan deals…

10. Gylfi Sigurdsson – Swansea

The Icelandic midfielder moved on loan from German outfit Hoffenheim on the first day of the January window and instantly broke into an already impressive Swansea side. He grabbed an assist on his debut against Arsenal and it was only 3 games later he netted his first goal against West Brom, seconds after going behind.

It would not be fair to Swansea to say Sigurdsson kept them up, but he certainly gave them a fresh option to ensure they stayed clear of any last day nerves. He has scored 7 goals in 17 appearances including the winning goals against Wigan and a brace to set the club on their way to a valuable 3-0 away win at Fulham.

He’s played 90 minutes in almost every match since his arrival and Brendan Rogers will surely be hoping to seal the young star permanently; that’s if a bigger club don’t react to his form.

9. Gael Clichy – Man City

An Arsenal player nabbed by Manchester City, but at a steal of a price: £7 million. Not a headline grabber but the left back has certainly been quietly brilliant.

Firstly, as a defender, it is important to tackle and intercept. He has done this consistently in 27 appearances for City. In fact, he has the highest average interceptions per game at the club and is 3rd best tackler. Going forward he has 4 assists, only Micah Richards has more from a defensive position.

So Clichy has done a pretty good job in a title contending team (most likely Champions) and looks a safer option than Aleksandar Kolarov. It’s safe to say City have found themselves a World Class left back for a relatively good price.

8. Sergio Aguero – Man City

City have made a few expensive signings, this one was definitely worth it. His fee was a hefty £38 million but he instantly showed his class with 2 goals and an assist in the space of 30 minutes on his debut, as a substitute.

With one game remaining, the Golden Boot seems out of his reach but he sits 3rd in the list with 22 strikes to his name.

He is not always the leading striker for City, often playing in behind the likes of Balotelli or Dzeko. From here he doesn’t just score but also assists, contributing with 8 this year (only 1 behind Nasri).

He was expensive, but £38 million is a one off fee for a player City will hope stays for at least a few years. Also in comparison, look at what similar money has been spent on (i.e. Andy Carroll & Fernando Torres). If he keeps contributing at his current rate then it’s impossible not to consider Aguero worth every penny.

7. Scott Parker – Tottenham

His obvious skill is tackling and it’s not a surprise his per game ratio is joint 2nd in the league. More impressive when you consider 1st (Alejandro Faurlin) has played less games and Parker fouls a lot less than 2nd (Lee Cattermole. No surprise there).

Once he’s won the ball, he keeps it simple. He only has 1 assist but has a good passing record, and this is his job. He holds, wins the ball, gives it to Modric, Bale, Van der Vaart etc. Parker could be considered a steal at £5.5 million although he was always going to leave West Ham after relegation. Even still, he was bought in to do a job and he’s done it consistently to a high standard.

6. Demba Ba – Newcastle

Demba is another quick to exit the relegated West Ham but, unfortunately for them, at the cost of nothing. That’s right, Newcastle signed the Senegalese forward for a transfer fee of 0. At that price a few goals would have labelled him a good signing but 16 goals make him possibly bargain of the season.

It was on his 5th appearance, against Blackburn, that he first scored. But it wasn’t just 1, it was a hat trick. This fired the striker into form as he went on to score 2 more in his next 2 appearances and then another hat trick against Stoke weeks later. By the turn of 2012 he had racked up 14 to his name and inspired Newcastle to one of their best starts to a season for years.

Before he left for the African Cup of Nations he scored the opener in an impressive 3-0 win against Manchester United. He later scored on his first game back but has failed to put his name on the score sheet since.

A missed penalty, some unlucky woodwork strikes and a new role at left midfield contribute to this fact. Unfortunately it prevents Ba from being signing of the year; he would have been a stronger contender if he had maintained his form.

5. Emmanuel Adebayor – Tottenham

Adebayor returned to Manchester City from his loan spell at Real Madrid but Roberto Mancini had no plans to keep him around. Harry Redknapp saw a good deal and bought him on loan to Spurs with rumours suggesting City still pay the majority of his ridiculously high wage.

Tottenham started the season spectacularly and looked serious title contenders for a while. Adebayor was a large contributor to their form with several goals and assists. By the numbers his record is very impressive: 32 appearances, 16 goals and 11 assists.

The winter period for Adebayor was disappointing. He scored no goals in 7 games during this time and showed the more frustrating sides of his game (mainly spending most of his time offside or by being too easily dispossessed). He returned to form in style with 4 assists and a goal of his own to thrash Newcastle 5-0.

He failed to be the most prolific of strikers; after the FA Cup final I heard one Tottenham fan on a train nickname him a “1 goal every 4 game” man. Not the most flowing of nicknames but the point is well made.

Frustrating at times but his overall record speaks for itself and was a good piece of business for Spurs. There are plenty of reasons for Harry to want the forward on a permanent basis next year.

4. Yohan Cabaye – Newcastle

The second but not the last Newcastle player on this list (you just know who else will be on it!). The French midfielder came to the club relatively unknown to Premiership fans but well known to Ligue 1 followers. He was part of the Lille 2011 domestic double winning side, which included their first league title since 1954.

He gave up the prospect of Champions League football to join Newcastle for a rumoured fee of 4-5 million, which turns out to be a ridiculously small fee. He has been a constant feature in what can be described as an over-achieving Newcastle side; touted as relegation contenders at the beginning of the year but instead challenging for 3rd.

His midfield partner, Cheik Tiote, wins a lot of plaudits for tackling but Cabaye has been better! He is the team’s top tackler with 3.4 per game compared to Tiote’s 2.8. The two also make the joint most interceptions; they are a force to fear!

Still, tackling was not why Newcastle bought him in. He has a fantastic passing range and has contributed with the most assists. It only gets better for Toon fans, as their star man has scored 4 goals and most have been top quality. He really has been an absolute bargain.

3. Juan Mata – Chelsea

Signed from Valencia at £23.5 million, Juan Mata was imported to significantly increase the creativity of the Chelsea midfield. Andre Villas Boas was often criticised for playing the Spaniard left wing but it certainly did not stop the 24 year old from producing.

Mata has 13 assists and sits only one behind Silva at the top. Added to this the Chelsea man has the best key passes per game ratio in the league which arguably makes him the greatest chance creator in England’s top flight.

You can argue that Mata has been inconsistent by having some very quiet games at times, but this is not surprising with Chelsea’s quite erratic form. Still, he has been an important member of their impressive Champions League run and contributed with an assist in the FA Cup final, turning up when it ‘Matas’ some rather annoying people would say whilst sniggering to themselves (worst running joke of the season by the way).

You cannot deny Mata’s creative prowess and praise can go to Chelsea for completing the deal at a fairly low fee compared to his rival attacking midfielders Silva and Nasri. Mata has been impressive in a relatively unimpressive league run for Chelsea and with stability could get better.

2. Michael Vorm – Swansea

Some might question the placement of Vorm in this list but anyone who takes part in the FA fantasy football game will see why (he’s the 3rd best goalkeeper in terms of points behind Joe Hart and Tim Krul).

The Dutch keeper has been outstanding by making countless saves for the price of just £1.5 million. Even when City managed to put 4 past him, he kept out 11 more. He is famously praised for single-handedly (not literally, I’m sure he used both) keeping out Liverpool to earn his side an impressive draw at Anfield.

It’s not just his saves that win him the plaudits. He has fitted into Swansea’s passing style brilliantly. Obviously any keeper encouraged to pass short to players who are frequently looking for it should do well, but Vorm still deserves credit for having the highest pass accuracy of any keeper (70.4%). He has a better accuracy than several outfield players, from a variety of positions.

As I said, Swansea play in a way that encourages Vorm to pass it out to his centre backs but at least it’s good to see he has done a good job of doing so. Can you imagine the disaster of Swansea with Paul Robinson?

Saves, passing ability and at a cheap price, what more can Swansea need? This is definitely one of the bargains of the season and Vorm has certainly given the Dutch national coach something to think about when he comes to decide his Euro 2012 squad.

1. Papiss Cisse – Newcastle

You probably guessed it, as this is a fairly obvious choice. He only joined in January but has been so outstanding that any attention pointed towards team mate Demba Ba has been snatched.

Newcastle paid a fee in ‘the region of £10 million’ to bring the Senegalese forward from the struggling Bundesliga side SC Freiburg. Even in a bottom table side Cisse had managed 9 goals in 17 appearances. The year before that he grabbed an impressive 22 goals in 32 games, so it was obvious to expect some goals.

However I don’t think anyone was expecting some of the quality strikes this guy has managed; even his boss Alan Pardew looks bemused on the touchline after some of them.

His debut was delayed by the African Cup of Nations but rewarded the waiting fans with a stunning top corner hit on the bounce. It was a great finish and could have easily been the best goal he would score. However he went on to score more great goals such as his half volley straight from a cross against Norwich and his superb header against Liverpool. Then there was a curling finish whilst the ball was stuck under his feet against Swansea and then an insane strike against Chelsea (instantly becoming goal of the season and knocking Peter Crouch out of his chair).

6 with his right foot, 6 with his left and 1 header. In 13 games for Newcastle, Cisse has 13 goals. He broke records by scoring in 6 consecutive matches; managing a brace in 3 of them. Paul Merson recently said Newcastle fans should worry as he doesn’t score tap-ins (and then claiming Javier Hernandez hasn’t kicked a ball this year even though he’s got 10 goals).

So I ask: does Paul Merson even watch football these days? Cisse in fact has scored 2 tap-ins; against West Brom and Bolton. You can call it 4 tap-ins if you include his second goal against Liverpool from 2 yards and his stretching finish against Wolves.

Cisse has proved he can score goals, lots of them, and from a variety of positions. With the prices of strikers hitting an all-time high (again Carroll & Torres), you might consider £10 million a bargain price for a player with this kind of return.

Of course we will have to see how consistent he will be but this season he has been: phenomenal, exciting to watch and has fired Newcastle to a last ditch challenge for 3rd place. Outstanding.

Follow Daniel on Twitter @vaccaro7