Phil Jones went from Blackburn to Man United, as did Ashley Young from Aston Villa. Jordan Henderson left Sunderland for Liverpool and a number of other similar deals are in the pipeline. Liverpool are linked with a number of Englishmen; Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam.
And what of foreign targets? Alexis Sanchez seems to be entirely uninterested in either Manchester club, whilst Wesley Sneijder showed little more interest in Manchester United or Chelsea.
Neymar meanwhile, has eyes for Spain, after rejecting a move to Chelsea last summer. And Eden Hazard, who looks likely to stay at Lille anyway, only seems interested in leaving Lille for Real Madrid or Barcelona.
Elsewhere among the top players in Europe, the best in Germany, Nuri Sahin, has already moved to Real, and in Italy, Javier Pastore is another on the Barcelona radar, and potentially joining Udinese’s Sanchez.
The only big name players interested in moving to England this summer seem to be Lille’s Gervinho, who is a 5”7 ish French speaking forward, and therefore natural Arsenal territory, and Samuel Eto’o, who has already played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid anyway.
This suggests that the Premier League’s power of persuasion is on the wane. Perhaps it is because of the lack of freedom in England, on the pitch at least. Many English sides do not play as expansively as these players would like; but then questions also hang over the managers involved in these moves.
Kenny Dalglish seems oblivious to foreign talent, believing that English signings are the key to his team’s resurgence. Such a view is naïve, as collecting players like Henderson and Downing, if taken too far, will simply result in a form of club level England. Replicating the playing staff of the national team seems a sure recipe for disaster. Sir Alex Ferguson should be way too, having build up a collection of England players in his ranks.
The Premier League became the success it is when foreign players such as Dennis Bergkamp, Jurgen Klinsmann, Eric Cantona and Gianfranco Zola headed for these shores. Their skill and composure on the ball raised that of their team mates to a higher level. It made the Premier League what it is. What has made the league so great seems to be slipping away.
