As Deadline Day concluded, we closed the chapter of one of the craziest transfers windows of the last decade. To celebrate the fact that we finally got our lives back, we will be releasing a series of articles, reviewing the top transfers of the summer mercato in different categories.
This is part 1, in which we take a look at the Top 10 Free transfers of the summer, 2022.
Antonio Rüdiger
| Age: 29 | Position: CB |
| From: Chelsea | To: Real Madrid |
One of the Premier League’s top Centre Backs last season, Rüdiger is a great pickup for Real Madrid and someone who is surely missed at Chelsea, seeing their bad run of form. At his peak, the German international will offer Carlo Ancelotti a lot flexibility in picking his starting 11. Usually a strong and fast Centre Back, he can play on either side of the defense, has good passing and has the ability to shoot from distance. Only question mark is how fast can he adapt to a 2 CB system.
Paul Pogba
| Age: 29 | Position: CM |
| From: Manchester United | To: Juventus |
From Manchester United to Juventus on a free transfer in 2012, to going back to Manchester in 2016 for €105.00m, to.. going back to Juventus on a free once more, in 2022. It is hard to find a stranger career path than the one of Paul Pogba, but then again there are several weird things happening around the French World Cup winner. Even though the Central Midfielder didn’t convince at the Old Trafford, he is undoubtedly one of the most talented players around, a true asset to any club when fit. If fit..
Paulo Dybala
| Age: 28 | Position: CAM/CF |
| From: Juventus | To: AS Roma |
We at Generation:Football believe that Dybala didn’t plan on joining AS Roma when leaving Juventus, back in June. He also didn’t expect being presented in front of the whole city of Rome..
Life is full of surprises and whatever happens, it is clear that Jose Mourinho turned Roma into an ambitious club. Whether they can challenge for the Scudetto remains to be seen, but the Argentinian attacker will surely play an important role in Jose’s side.
Franck Kessie
| Age: 25 | Position: CM/CDM |
| From: AC Milan | To: FC Barcelona |
Key player for AC Milan in the last 3 seasons, Kessie is a great free transfer for FC Barcelona. Strong, good with and without the ball, the Ivorian is the type of player you can rely on in any situation. Still only 25 and on decent wages and with a contract until 2026, the Catalunian club will surely rely on his services for a long time. He can play as an 8, as a 6 and in some cases even as a 10. This means he can play with or instead of the likes of Pedri, Busquets, De Jong, Pjanic or Gavi. In fact this seems to be the midfielder’s biggest problem at the moment: it will be hard for him to cement a place in the starting 11 with so much talent around him.
Christian Eriksen
| Age: 30 | Position: CM/CAM |
| From: Brentford | To: Manchester United |
After what happened at the Euros last year, I am sure most of us thought that will be the end of Eriksen’s career. Well the Danish playmaker thought differently and what a great decision that was! After his contract got terminated by Inter in December 2021, he joined Brentford in the Premier League, having an instant impact. In the 6 months he played for them, only Kevin De Bruyne and Martin Odegaard created more chances in the league than him. Manchester United came knocking at the end of the season and he decided to join Ten Haag’s army. Usually an attacking midfielder, Eriksen plays in a double pivot at the moment.
Niklas Süle
| Age: 26 | Position: CB |
| From: Bayern Munchen | To: Borussia Dortmund |
I am sure a lot of Bayern fans will disagree with me on putting Süle this high on the list, but on paper, he is one of the biggest free transfers in recent years. Only 26, the towering CB already has 40 caps for Germany and played for Bayern for 5 years, having over 150 apps. Dortmund’s plan is clear: pair Süle with fellow newcomer, Schlotterbeck, employing Germany’s Centre Back pairing of the next 5 years minimum. Whether this will be enough to dethrone Bayern in the Bundesliga is a question left to be answered.
Ángel Di Maria
| Age: 34 | Position: RW |
| From: PSG | To: Juventus |
Angel Di Maria might be towards the end of his career, but what a career that was! From Rosario to Benfica, to Real Madrid, Manchester United, Paris and now Juventus, he has played in some of the biggest teams on the planet. Even though he was more of a “miss” at ManUtd, he did play very well at Benfica, Real Madrid and PSG and he is sure to bring a lot of skill and experience to Juventus as well. He is probably going to be playing as a Right Winger/Midfielder and an attacking trio of Chiesa/Kostic, Vlahovic and Di Maria sounds very strong, at least on paper.
Noussair Mazraoui
| Age: 24 | Position: RB |
| From: Ajax | To: Bayern Munchen |
Now here is the player that Bayern fans would definitely put above Sule in this list! Despite being only 24, the Maroccan has been at Ajax for 4 years and even though he had a strong rival for the position in Serginho Dest for a while, he was usually the first pick on the right. Like Hakim Ziyech, not an international anymore, after falling out with the national team’s manager(but also playing in the same position as Hakimi), Mazraoui was courted by clubs such as Barcelona, but ultimately decided to move to Bavaria.
André Onana
| Age: 26 | Position: GK |
| From: Ajax | To: Inter Milan |
Some people might be surprised to see Onana on this list, given he hasn’t played football in a while, but I think that’s because we tend to forget how good he was before his suspension. Handanovic is already 38 and even though he is an absolute legend at Inter, there are some Interista voices who would like to see a change in the GK spot at the Giuseppe Meazza. Onana is back, only 26 and ready to take over.
Andreas Christensen
| Age: 26 | Position: CB |
| From: Chelsea | To: FC Barceona |
Christensen, a reliable Danish international, joined the revolution at the Camp Nou. Probably not one of the flashier transfers this summer, the Centre Back was always a reliable rotational player at the Stamford Bridge, playing in around 20 matches per season. Despite not being a key player for his club, Christensen has always been a stable part of his national team, already having 56 caps for Denmark. He does face a similar issue as Kessie though, as Barca has an abundance of talent. He is sharing a spot with new signing Kounde, but also players such as Araujo, Pique or Eric Garcia.
Special mentions:
- Luka Jovic, 24, Striker, from Real Madrid to Fiorentina
- Lorenzo Insigne 31, Winger from Napoli to FC Toronto
- Boubacar Kamara 22, CDM from Marseille to Aston Villa
- Andrea Belotti 28, Striker, from FC Torino to AS Roma
- James Tarkowski, 29, CB, from Burnley to Everton
- Ivan Perisic, 33, Left Mid from Inter to Spurs
- Xavi Simons, 19, Attacking Mid from PSG to PSV
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