With the new Premier League season on the horizon, clubs are still scrambling to strengthen their squads ahead of the big kick off. Which moves caught our eye this week?
Joe Hart
⚽️ 302 #PL appearances
119 clean sheets
4 Golden Gloves
2 Premier League titles
Enjoy some of Joe Hart’s best saves… pic.twitter.com/Bol66RadVr
— Premier League (@premierleague) July 18, 2017
119 clean sheets
4 Golden Gloves
2 Premier League titlesWest Ham United made their second signing of the summer from Manchester City by bringing in Joe Hart on a season long loan. Hart joins former teammate Pablo Zabaleta who signed for the Hammers after his release from City.
The England keeper has had a difficult year since his poor performances at Euro 2016. After being told he could leave by Pep Guardiola, he struggled on loan at Torino despite hopes of a fresh start. Hart only managed to keep five clean sheets in 36 appearances in Italy. Although, Torino did manage to finish in a creditable 9th place.
At West Ham, Hart will battle with Adrian for the number 1 jersey but it is highly likely that Hart will be first choice. Despite starting the recent qualifier against Scotland for England, his place in the World Cup squad isn’t assured due to the likes of Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland and Fraser Forster all battling for goalkeeping places. Hart needs a solid season at West Ham to secure his place and prove once again he is a great goalkeeper.
Jacob Murphy
Newcastle United made their third signing of the transfer window when 22-year-old Jacob Murphy joined from Norwich City for a reported £10 million fee plus add-ons.
Murphy is a fast, direct winger and will be fighting with one of Newcastle’s other signings, Christian Atsu, for a starting place on the flanks. He made 32 starts for Norwich in the Championship last season, scoring nine goals and providing six assists.
Murphy is undoubtedly a talent but Rafa Benitez will know that he has a lot of unfulfilled potential still. He is unlikely to play every week, but the Magpies will be hoping he can develop into a real attacking threat for their side. As a childhood Newcastle fan, Murphy will relish the opportunity to play in front of 52,000 fans at St James’ Park.
SEE ALSO: 4 summer transfer targets for Rafa Benitez at Newcastle United
Alvaro Morata
Happy! On my way to Singapore and very excited to be with the team! // Muy feliz y con ganas de estar ya con el equipo!! pic.twitter.com/dCvq8yWU7p
— Álvaro Morata (@AlvaroMorata) July 21, 2017
It looked at the beginning of the window that if Alvaro Morata was to move it would be to Manchester United. But after some twists and turns, now the Spaniard is on the move to Premier League champions Chelsea instead.
United and Real Madrid seemingly couldn’t reach an agreement on the fee for Morata, partly due to past dealings between the clubs where they couldn’t agree on deals – such as David De Gea. United then moved for Romelu Lukaku, who was strongly linked with Chelsea. This, in turn, made Chelsea switch their attention to Morata. Madrid and Chelsea reportedly agreed on a fee that could rise to £70 million.
Chelsea’s need for a striker was well known due to falling out between Antonio Conte and Diego Costa. This means Morata will become Chelsea’s regular forward. The move reunites Morata with Conte after the Italian brought him to Juventus – though Conte left to manage Italy soon after Morata’s arrival.
Morata is a strong, clinical goal scorer but he wasn’t the first choice forward at either Juventus or Real Madrid. He only made 14 starts for Madrid last season in the league and only 16 for Juventus the season before. He did manage to score 22 league goals however in those 30 starts. Chelsea will hope that Morata’s goal tally increases further with regular starts.
SEE ALSO: Romelu Lukaku v Alvaro Morata in stats
Kurt Zouma
✍️ #SCFC are pleased to confirm the signing of @KurtZouma on a season-long loan from @premierleague Champions @ChelseaFC#WelcomeZouma
⚪️ pic.twitter.com/Y0zlU0Sa8d
— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) July 21, 2017
⚪️ Fresh from signing a new deal at Chelsea, centre back Kurt Zouma has made the move to Stoke City on a season long loan.
Zouma made just nine appearances in the league last season for the champions and with the signing of Antonio Rudiger, the Frenchman found himself further down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge.
The move to Stoke makes complete sense for a player who returned from a serious injury in the past season. It allows Zouma to play first team football while Chelsea can keep hold of a promising young defender without adversely affecting his playing time. Stoke City were also in desperate need for centre backs after the loan spell of Bruno Martins Indi ended. As an added bonus, Zouma gives much-needed pace to Stoke’s backline.
Eldin Jakupovic
Perhaps not one of the most exciting deals of the transfer window but a necessary one for Leicester City saw Eldin Jakupovic join the Foxes from Hull City for an undisclosed fee.
The 32-year-old impressed when Marco Silva reinstated him into the Hull side towards the end of the season. Although Hull didn’t manage to stay up, they did produce some impressive performances which included clean sheets for Jakupovic against Manchester United and Liverpool.
The sale of Ron-Robert Zieler earlier in the window to Stuttgart meant that Leicester only had Kasper Schmeichel as a recognised senior goalkeeper. The signing of Jakupovic not only gives Leicester an experienced back up in case of injury but also gives Schmeichel that extra competition he needs to maintain his level of performance.
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The post Alvaro Morata, Joe Hart, Kurt Zouma: Transfers of the Week (July 17th-21st) appeared first on Just Football.
