Already Nuri Sahin has agreed to move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid, having been a key part of the German side’s Bundesliga title triumph. Team mate Mario Goetze, a precocious young creative midfielder, has drawn admiration from Arsenal, and his talents are unlikely to go without admirers and offers this summer.
Like the German side, Lille will be hoping to fend off suitors for their star players. Much like Dortmund, the French side stunned their league as a young side with a solid defence but a creative, attacking mindset stormed to an unexpected title triumph. Eden Hazard is Lille’s jewel, but Rudi Garcia will be optimistic that his star man will stay put for one more season, with his price tag only likely to get bigger as time wears on. In England, Blackpool’s Charlie Adam will almost certainly be on the moving to Liverpool now the seaside outfit have been relegated. Alex Hleb, having been relegated with Birmingham, will probably leave, possibly for FC Krasnodar in Russia, whilst he may be joined on the flight there by Andrei Arshavin, who seems likely to return to Zenit St. Petersburg.
And of course there will be moves for playmakers from South America, the home of the gifted number 10. Eric Lamela is set to make a move to Europe soon, and the River star, who has been compared to Lionel Messi (though he turned down a move to Barcelona as a 12 year old), looking increasingly likely to make the move across the Atlantic, probably to Spain.
He will be joined by compatriot Juan Iturbe, another who has drawn comparisons with Messi, and who has already agreed a move to Europe after starring for Paraguayan’s Cerro Porteno, having failed to help them reach the final of the Copa Libertadores.
Cerro’s Libertadores semi-final conquerers, Santos, could also have a summer of fraught activity trying to hold onto their big names. Paulo Henrique Ganso, another gifted attacking midfielder will surely make the move to Europe, with AC Milan thought to be interested along with Serie A rivals Internazionale. And Neymar, Santos’ precocious forward, will inevitably sign for a top European side sooner rather than later. But having convinced the forward not to join Chelsea last summer, he could yet stay for another season at Santos.
Perhaps more likely than a move for Lamela or Ganso could be a set of South American playmakers already plying their trade in Europe. Javier Pastore has long been coveted by leading European teams including most notably Barcelona, and Palermo’s talented Argentine would fit in well at the Camp Nou. With Palermo struggling under Delio Rossi in Serie A and like most of their rivals troubled by debt, a large offer could tempt their hand.
A few rungs up the Serie A ladder lie Udinese, whose star forward Alexis Sanchez helped secure a spot in the Champions League qualifiers next season for Franceso Guidolin’s side. The Chilean has long been coveted by Manchester United and has also attracted the attention of Manchester City. Perhaps Champions League football will tempt him to stay in Udine for another year, but it won’t be long until he packs his bags. For those big European sides looking for a playmaker in the Ganso/Lamela/Pastore/Hazard/Goetze mould but failing to sign any of the above, there is always the option of Lazio’s Brazilian midfielder Hernanes, who has been superb this season as the Rome outfit narrowly missed out on the Champions League. If a big side with a large offer come calling, it will be difficult to see him staying put. Italy in particular has been dominated by playmakers this year, and Marek Hamsik, Napoli’s brilliant young Slovak midfielder, is a likely target for much of Europe’s elite.
Look further afield to Russia and Zenit St. Petersburg could lose their Portuguese playmaker Danny, whilst Shakhtar Donetsk’s Jadson has long been linked with a move to a bigger side; the talented Brazilian having proven his ability to perform in Europe could be a more tempting signing for big European sides than the European unknowns of Neymar or Ganso.
The revival of the playmaker in European football is underway; and the battle for the signature of Europe’s finest is already well underway.
