In this year’s transfer windows, defensive midfielders have been at the top of the paid transfer fees. In the background is the versatility of the players, which makes the traditional roles of the game places blurred.
Defensive midfielders have been highlighted in the astronomical transfer compensations of the football world this year. In the past, these workhorses of football fields have received little attention, but now the young players planted in the “weaving place”, i.e. at the bottom of the midfield, have been the targets of tenders by major clubs.
The trend is about a more versatile type of player, who plays a central role in both the offensive and defensive play of his team, instead of the previously well-defined playing positions. At the same time, arbitrary transfer compensations are also affected by the fact that nowadays players are given long contracts familiar from North American sports, in which case it is possible to spread the purchase prices within the scope of financial regulation over a period of several years.
During the current calendar year, the sums paid for defensive midfielders in the English Premier League enter the lists of the most expensive players in football history. A 21-year-old defensive midfielder at the start of the season Moises Caicedo moved from Brighton to Chelsea for 135 million euros right in front of Liverpool’s noses. The amount paid for the Ecuadorian teenager is the league’s transfer fee record and the third-highest amount ever for a player. Above are only the compensation paid by PSG for Neymar (222 million euros in 2017) and Kylian Mbappe (180 million euros in 2018).
During the closed transfer window, Arsenal also paid West Ham for the 24-year-old From Declan Rice around 123 million euros. With the move, Rice became the most expensive British player in football history.
In the last transfer window in January, Chelsea paid Benfica for the 22-year-old About Enzo Fernandez estimated at 125 million euros. The Portuguese club paid only 10 million euros for the young Argentine five months earlier. US media of The Athletic according to, in the World Cup final between Argentina and France, it was Fernandez who registered the highest number of ball touches in the final match, which was apt to increase the interest of big clubs.
The interest in midfield players was awakened by your underline in the late 2010s N’golo Kante, who served as the guarantor of Leicester’s sensational championship in the 2015-2016 season. In addition to this, the French player won the championship again in the Chelsea shirt the following season. Kante moved to Chelsea in 2016 “only” for about 36 million euros.
The fact that Saudi-owned Newcastle paid AC Milan for the Italian in the summer gives perspective to the increased transfer fees Sandro from Tonal 65 million euros. At the same time, the most competitive player in the transfer market was the British teenager who, on paper, plays in a much more attacking role, Jude Bellinghamwho moved from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid for 103 million euros.
Urheilu’s football expert Miika Nuutinen according to the wild player market, the transfer fees for midfielders are affected by the quality of the available players. In the case of such midfielders, the clubs get more value for their money than a single playing spot. Modern midfielders are an inseparable part of the team’s defensive line and possession of the ball. They are a significant part of their team’s opening game, capable of taking the game all the way to the attacking end and creating situations leading to goals and finishing goals.
– For example, Declan Rice is a clear improvement in Arsenal’s midfield Granit Xhaka too and to Thomas Partey in comparison, Nuutinen clarifies.
According to the news, what unites Rice, Caicedo and Fernandez is comprehensiveness.
– They are good in all phases of the game. They are physically such that they can be the engine room of the game, but at the same time they can, for example, move forward with their own transport.
Not many top strikers available
The coaches’ expectations of the players have changed, and at the same time, the traditional playing field profiles are even more elusive. This is exactly the kind of need lower midfielders meet with their versatility.
Soccer is a goal-scoring game, and according to Nuutinen, the top teams will always pay a lot for strikers who score goals. In some years, there are more attackers moving around and now it seems that there are fewer top-class attackers available. It is therefore not worth drawing too big conclusions about the role of midfielders in the transfer market, even though the clubs seem to emphasize versatility in their player acquisitions.
– For example, Liverpool’s big “Achilles’ heel” has been the position of the defensive midfielder in terms of the team’s game identity. Jurgen Klopp’s the club he coached was in dire need of Moises Caicedo, prompting a bidding war between Chelsea and Liverpool. There weren’t many such players available on the market, so Brighton must have made a bigger account than they thought at the end of last season.
Chelsea is undergoing a sort of rebuilding project and the club’s new owners have been willing to pay big bucks for young players. At the same time, the selling clubs know that after a big offer, an even bigger amount of money can come to the negotiation table, as happened in the case of Caicedo.
The importance of midfielders has been emphasized especially by the coach Pep Guardiola’s with the arrival of a new ball control game in which midfielders influence a wide area.
– There is one significant player Sergio Busquets. That kind of quarterback who plays deep.
Nowadays, however, the requirements for that playing field have developed and, for example, according to Nuutinen, Fernandez is more mobile than the previous generation.
So what will Chelsea do with their two lower midfield players, on whom the club has spent a total of more than 250 million euros?
Nuutinen sees a clear logic in the acquisitions, so according to the expert, both Fernandez and Caicedo are excellent acquisitions for the West Londoners.
– Enzo Fernandez sets the rhythm of the game and Moises Caicedo brings balance to the defense alongside Fernandez. This way, Fernanez can more freely determine the rhythm of the game.