When Arsene Wenger talks about the modern transfer market there is a good chance that most Arsenal fans will react with a collective groan and a shake of the head, as the Frenchman’s words about players being too expensive or some clubs paying way over the odds generally signals to us his intention to buy an unheard of Lithuanian teenager.
However, you have to admit that the boss does often have a point. Would we really have been happy to pay the ridiculous transfer fee and salary that Manchester United paid to bring Paul Pogba back from Juventus? The fact they had him in the United academy made it even worse and his average performances this season did not help much either.
The other club from Manchester have not been shy about splashing the cash either and some people feel that Le Prof may just have been having a sly dig at one of their recent transfers in his comments reported by The Mirror this week.
He may well have been referring to the massive price paid by City for the young England centre back John Stones as compared to the pittance we paid for young Rob Holding. Stones did not exactly cover himself with glory this season and although he did not play for much of it, Holding really impressed towards the end and could well be one of the stars for England at the under 21 championships in Poland this summer.
Wenger said, “We have to be clear what we understand as a big signing. Is [Rob] Holding a big signing for you or not?
“When you buy a player for £40 million, everybody will have at the start a positive judgement. When you buy him for £2million, he can’t be good? “That means a big signing is not necessarily linked with the amount of money spent.”
So is Wenger right? Is Holding proving that Man City spending so much on an unproven Stones was a bit of transfer madness?
Bob.