Football INDEX: Five players that could yet make high profile summer moves
The transfer window may be done and dusted for English clubs but there is just under two weeks left for teams around Europe to conclude their business for the 2019/20 season. Despite vast sums already being spent, there are still a number of players facing uncertain futures at their current clubs and worth considering for your Football INDEX portfolios. Here we run through five possible candidates, with additional information about their Football INDEX share prices.
Kasper Dolberg (Ajax)
Football INDEX share price - £0.93
Kasper Dolberg looked destined for big things when he broke onto the scene during his first season at Ajax in 2016/17. Dolberg’s displays were so impressive it earned him recognition in the 2017 Golden Boy award. The Denmark international was named on a 25-man shortlist for the honour, which was eventually won by Kylian Mbappe.
Since then, however, Dolberg’s career has stagnated. The 21-year-old netted 16 league goals in 29 league appearances in his first season at the club but has scored just 17 times in his subsequent 49 league outings since then. Dolberg has struggled with injuries in that time and has even dropped below veteran Klaas Jan Huntelaar in the pecking order.
It has been reported that Nice are on the verge of signing the Ajax starlet and a move away may just be what Dolberg’s career needs to get back on track. It would be quite a coup for Nice to sign Dolberg, as it wasn’t long ago the Dane was linked with the likes of Manchester United, Monaco and Juventus.
Tiemoue Bakayoko (Chelsea)
Football INDEX share price - £0.43
Frank Lampard made a quick assessment over Tiemoue Bakayoko’s future at Chelsea during pre-season. He hasn’t got one. The Chelsea boss is instead looking to build his midfield around the likes of Mason Mount, Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek once he is back from injury.
Bakayoko’s first season at Chelsea was a complete disaster and he was quickly farmed off to AC Milan on a season-long loan deal last term. His time in Italy started in a similar fashion to how his debut campaign with Chelsea ended but things did pick up for the former France international.
The 25-year-old emerged as a key player for Milan during the halfway mark of the campaign before his relationship with then-head coach Gennaro Gattuso soured. It’s now almost inevitable Bakayoko will be loaned out by Chelsea over the next few weeks and there are even suggestions he could join Paris Saint-Germain.
Mauro Icardi (Inter)
Football INDEX share price - £1.40
It’s been abundantly clear since Antonio Conte was appointed Inter head coach at the start of the summer that Mauro Icardi has no future at the club. He was stripped of his No.9 jersey following Romelu Lukaku’s arrival from Manchester United, having already been removed as club captain towards the end of last season.
Inter have been desperately trying to offload the troublesome striker but to little success up until this point. Both Roma and Napoli have pushed to sign the Argentina international but Icardi’s camp appear to be holding out for Juventus. Maurizio Sarri is keen on bringing Icardi to Juventus but there has been little movement on their front.
It leaves Icardi facing a real dilemma as the transfer window in Italy draws to a close. He could stay at Inter and spend the season on the bench or he could accept defeat and move to one of Napoli or Roma. Despite his recent troubles, he is a consistent goalscorer in Serie A. In fact, Icardi has reached double figures for goals in six of the last seven Serie A campaigns, netting 121 goals in 219 matches.
Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid)
Football INDEX share price - £0.67
Atletico Madrid have transformed their squad this summer and that has naturally led to question marks about the futures of a number of players from last season. One of those is Angel Correa, who has been heavily linked with a move to AC Milan all summer.
Correa has spent the last five years at Atletico and hasn’t performed badly in that time but Diego Simeone has decided to go in a different direction with players like Joao Felix and Thomas Lemar prioritised. Correa’s standout season for Atletico was in 2017/18 where he played a direct hand in 12 goals in 37 league appearances.
The Argentina international still made 36 league appearances last season but managed just five goals and assists. A transfer to Italy could even see the 24-year-old become Milan’s club-record signing and chance to become the star of a team.
Renato Sanches (Bayern Munich)
Football INDEX share price - £0.87
Kasper Dolberg isn’t the only youngster that has failed to build on immense potential linked with a move away this month. Unlike Dolberg, Renato Sanches actually went on to win the Golden Boy award, doing so a year before Dolberg made the shortlist. Sanches played an important role in Portugal’s success at Euro 2016 and was rewarded with a big money transfer to Bayern Munich.
Sanches turned down a move to Manchester United in favour of Bayern but things haven’t turned out as he would have hoped. The 22-year-old started just six league matches in his first season at Bayern before an unsuccessful loan stint in the Premier League with Swansea the following season.
It quickly emerged Sanches was not cut out for the Premier League and he made just 11 league appearances. He returned to Bayern last season but managed just four league starts and is now desperately pushing to leave the Bundesliga champions permanently. He is expected to get his wish with a €20m move to Lille mooted.
