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The Squad Balancing Act

Now that Yakubu is on the way (medical and personal terms permitting) and Fernandes appears to be signed (red tape and Premier League/FA double standards permitting), it looks like our transfer window business is done so I figured I?d look at how the incomings compare to the outgoings, basically how the squad compares to the one we finished the season with.

Wessels in (free), Wright out (free). Looks a good bit of business. I don?t think anyone could argue with getting rid of Dickie and Wessels is an experienced European keeper who should provide quality cover for Howard and may even push him for a starting place.

Baines in (£5m), Naysmith out (£1m). No brainer this one. Naysmith was never a fan favourite, which is putting it mildly! Baines is younger, a much better player, and should hopefully solve our left back issues. £5m is a snip in my opinion, especially when you look at the lad Bale going to Spurs for double that.

Jagielka in (£4m), Pistone out (free). Another no brainer. Pistone had hardly played for us in the past 2 seasons and while he could play left back or centre back (even right back on occasion if memory serves) I never felt all the confident when I saw his name on the team sheet. Jagielka on the other hand is younger and looks the business. The fact that he is a utility player might delay him cementing a first team place but he?s a great addition to the squad in my opinion, and at a decent price too. I think he or Baines could prove to be one of the signings of the summer.

Yakubu in (£11.25m), Beattie out (£4m). Tricky one this. I think £4m for Beattie was a smashing price given his atrocious form last season, even if it does represent a £2m loss on the player. I would?ve loved Beatts to be our number 9, but it wasn?t to be and I was delighted when I heard we?d sold him. I just hope we haven?t bought a more expensive version of him. Yakubu has a proven goal scoring record in the Premiership, which is more than can be said of Beattie. He has a reputation for being lazy, which is something I cant see Moyes putting up with, and hopefully playing with his mate Yobo will help too. My main worry is whether he?s worth £11.25m. I was amazed when Boro bought him for £7.5m two years ago, and I don?t think he?s improved as a player while there as I thought he was much more dangerous at Pompey. I hope its not a purchase borne of desperation ? would we have bought Yakubu for such an amount of money if Vaughan and to a lesser extent Cahill weren?t injured at the moment? He could, and hopefully will, turn out to be a good buy come the end of the season, and even for the money we?ve spent I think he?s an improvement on Beattie. Which might not be saying much. Another reason to think positively about the Yak is the fact that the football pundits don?t think he can form a partnership with AJ, other than Harry Redknapp. That might sound daft, but lets not forget that this time last year every TV and newspaper pundit out there was waxing lyrical about how AJ and Beattie would form an amazing partnership, whereas Moyes himself was rather coy about it. So lets hope that Moyes sees something in Yakubu that will complement AJ?s workrate and style of play.

Pienaar in (loan). I?ve only seen flashes of him but he looks a good player and should be a good addition to the squad, and may push for a first team place if good enough. Getting him on loan is good business especially if we have an option to buy for £2m which was quoted at the time. If Andy van der Meyde is kicked out before the close of the window, I would guess that Pienaar is his direct replacement.

Jutkiewicz in (rising to £1m). Good signing in my opinion. He wont see much first team action this season, barring injury, but he had a good pre-season and could be one for the future.

I haven?t counted Manny as he finished the season with us, but I will say that adding him as a permanent player is great business, even at £8-9m.

A lot of us have complained in the past about how we usually end up under Moyes improving the quality of the squad but actually reducing the size of it. It would appear that he, and/or the Board, have learned from past mistakes as this transfer window we have boosted the size of the squad by 2, and definitely improved the quality. Will there be more comings and goings? I think its unlikely that we have any more money to spend, but I wouldn?t count out us getting rid of Andy van der Meyde. I?d love to think that we could sign an out and out winger if we do ditch AvdM but I cant see that happening given the amount of money spent and the time available, and I?m probably being greedy because I cant really argue with the improvements Moyes has made to the squad this summer. When Vaughan, Cahill and Baines come back and join a squad with Yakubu and Manny included (again hopefully) we?ll have one hell of a team!

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