We wanted to find someone in the know to talk about who Premier League clubs should sign before the transfer deadline, so we asked the most well-informed expert we know: Football Manager.
The vast – and vastly popular – management simulator knows more about the game than any human could hope to, so we started 20 new games – one with each Premier League team – and asked the scouts to find us players for what we judged to be the clubs’ biggest areas of need.
For anyone unfamiliar with Football Manager, the yellow stars show how strongly the club’s scouts rate the player within the game, while black stars show potential in young players beyond their current level. It tends to keep targets in the realms of the realistic – so you won’t see Burnley targeting Lionel Messi – and it even knows about Financial Fair Play.
Here’s what it thought…
Arsenal
Everyone in the world knows what Arsenal need: a defensive midfielder. However, we’re not sure anyone has ever come up with this solution before – the Football Manager scouts reckon they should sign Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel.
Any chance?
None whatsoever. Arsene Wenger’s decisions can be bewildering sometimes, but surely even he wouldn’t think this was a good idea. The only people who’d be happy with this would be the Chelsea fans, whose views on him seem to range from “unlucky charm” to “utter liability”.
Aston Villa
Look away now, Villa fans, you might not like this. The player Football Manager wants you to sign is Manchester United misfit Anderson. Speaking on behalf of all other football fans, we’d love you to sign him too. Given Villa’s lack of goals, we thought they needed some creativity to feed the likes of Christian Benteke – and Anderson was the best our scouts could come up with.
Any chance?
With United already having offloaded one reject into Villa’s midfield in the shape of Tom Cleverley, we reckon there are some agents who think they can make this one happen. We reckon they might get him cheaper than the £5.75 million the game suggests too. Realistically, though, it’s difficult to imagine Anderson – or the cut-price option of Andy Reid – as a Paul Lambert player.
Burnley
We weren’t 100% sure what Burnley needed – more than anything else, we felt they just needed bodies so we cast a wide net. Among the three best targets Football Manager came up with, the one that stood out was Mike Williamson, ahead of Stephen Warnock, who’s just moved to Derby (the game didn’t know that) and Matt McKay, who seems a bit of a long shot over in Australia.
Any chance?
Funnily enough, Williamson was dropped by Newcastle for their most recent game, against Southampton, so you never know. He certainly brings the sort of Premier League experience Burnley could use, and Newcastle might consider it good business if they could get some money for a 31-year-old.
Chelsea
It’s a choice between Paris St Germain outcast Ezequiel Lavezzi and Ajax youngster Viktor Fischer for Chelsea – but given Jose’s Mourinho’s side have no real need for players right now, it has to be the extra potential of Fischer.
Any chance?
Why not? He seems exactly the type of player Chelsea would sign and loan out to Vitesse Arnhem before releasing him on a free a few years later.
Crystal Palace
They’ve already brought in Yaya Sanogo from Arsenal, but an experienced striker to work alongside him would be a definite boost for Palace. Who better than Peter Crouch?
Any chance?
Not if Sanogo and Marouane Chamakh continue to play like they did against Southampton at the weekend. Crouch has been linked with a number of teams but Stoke boss Mark Hughes is keen to keep him. We wouldn’t be surprised if he stays put.
Everton
Everton’s leaky defence needs shoring up, and the Football Manager scouts reckon Ron Vlaar’s the man to do it. The other option – West Brom’s Jonas Olsson – seems like a non-starter given his recent injury problems.
Any chance?
We fear the scouts may be over-reaching themselves this time. We’re sure Everton fans would love to see Vlaar, a star man in Aston Villa’s impressive defence, make the move to Goodison, but given he’s being linked with Manchester United and Arsenal, it might be he has his sights set higher.
Hull
Looking for someone to beef up the Hull midfield, the scouts found a range of potential targets – none of which look particularly likely – including Moussa Sissoko, Jonny Howson and Leon Osman. We reckon their fourth suggestion, Sissoko’s Newcastle team-mate Vurnon Anita, is the best fit for a loan move.
Any chance?
Anita hasn’t set the world alight since moving to the north-east more than two years ago, but he’s like a good fit with English football. A loan move might give him the chance to try and find his feet. It seems pretty far fetched though.
Leicester
With Leicester having addressed two areas of need already by bringing in goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and striker Andrej Kramaric, it’s a centre-back they need. Football Manager is in no doubt: Gabriele Angella’s the man.
Any chance?
The Italian defender is being widely linked with a move away from Watford, but the clubs mentioned are West Brom and West Ham. His defensive abilities have been questioned even at Championship level, though, so we’re not sure £6.5 million would be a great price – we can’t see this one happening.
Liverpool
Simon Mignolet hasn’t done anything ostentatiously awful since coming back into the Liverpool team, but the Reds still badly need a new goalkeeper. Stoke’s Asmir Begovic would be a definite upgrade.
Any chance?
Liverpool have been linked with the Bosnia and Herzegovina before so it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see him end up at Anfield at some point. He’d likely be overpriced in a January window though – we reckon Brendan Rodgers might muddle through to the end of the season with what he’s got.
Manchester City
What do you get for the team who have everything? A hot prospect. Since they signed Wilfried Bony as a back-up striker we couldn’t see any real holes in their squad. So we thought a prospect was the best way to go – and that led the Football Manager scouts to Monaco’s Lucas Ocampos.
Any chance?
Probably not – it’s a massive punt when you delve into the world of hot prospects. The Argentinian has been linked with Chelsea in the past so a move to England isn’t out of the question, but more likely in the summer.
Manchester United
They have an abundance of forward talent – albeit some of it well and truly in the “misfiring” category – but their defence is still as shaky as a jelly on a washing machine. The scouts struggled with this one – we tried all defensive positions and the only one they could come up with was a right-back, Porto’s Danilo.
Any chance?
It seems so specific we’re almost wondering whether the game knows something we don’t. If this one comes off we’re gonna file it as a massive coup for Football Manager.
Newcastle
It’s the player Newcastle fans have been hoping for: Mohammed Abdellaoue. And by “have been hoping for” we mean “probably haven’t heard of”. This is the only striker the scouts could find for the Magpies.
Any chance?
If anyone’s going to sign an obscure, mid-level player from a mid-level team in Europe, it’s likely to be Newcastle. We’d believe it more if it were a French team though.
QPR
In searching for some goals for QPR from somewhere, the scouts found two players they thought were of equal merit – West Brom’s Victor Anichebe and Pavel Pogrebnyak of Reading. On the toss of a coin, we’ve gone with Pav.
Any chance?
Both of these seem like potential Harry Redknapp signings – one an overpriced British striker whose own manager reckons he isn’t fit enough, the other an overpaid Russian striker who’s scored one league goal all season. Maybe he’ll buy them both.
Southampton
You read it here first – Scott Sinclair is set for Southampton. That’s according to the Football Manager scouts, who seem to be fans of alliteration.
Any chance?
We’d love it to be true, if only to see Mr Helen Flanagan get a game. They’ve got a baby on the way after all. In truth though – we’re not 100% sure Sinclair *would* get a game at Southampton. He might have to set his sights a bit lower.
Stoke
We’ve been looking for wide options for Stoke, though Bojan Krkic’s injury means any sort of attacking flair would probably be welcome. We’re not sure Hal Robson-Kanu would quite fill that hole
Any chance?
We can’t see it. If Robson-Kanu had a big Premier League move in him, you’d have thought he’d have made it by now. In fact, with the likes of Dean Cox, Jerome Thomas and Jobi McAnuff on the list, it’s pretty uninspiring stuff all round from the scouts on this one – sorry, Stoke fans.
Sunderland
Yep, it’s Pogrebnyak again – the Football Manager scouts reckon there’s going to be a tug-o-war between QPR and Sunderland for the honour of paying his enormous wage packet. The Sunderland scouts seem to like him too – they give him three and a half stars, compared to the three he got from QPR.
Any chance?
Sunderland certainly need goals, but we’re not sure they’re quite at the level of desperation where this would seem like a sensible idea. If someone could get the best out of Pogrebnyak he’d certainly be a good option, but we can’t imagine Sunderland taking the risk.
Swansea
By this point we’d been starting and restarting the game for several hours with different teams and different requirements, and we think this suggestions from the scouts may have been some sort of dirty protest from the game. Sorry Swansea fans, the best option it could find to replace Wilfried Bony was Marc-Antoine Fortune.
Any chance?
No.
Tottenham
Who could add a bit of drive, desire and bite to the Tottenham midfield? Why 2010 World Cup final villain Nigel de Jong could, of course.
Any chance?
There has been plenty of transfer chatter surrounding AC Milan midfielder De Jong, but with Manchester United the mooted destination for the former Manchester City player. De Jong could do a great job in an occasionally-listless Spurs side, but he doesn’t immediately seem like a Mauricio Pochettino player – plus we’d rather see him go to United, just to see who makes what kind of ‘Welcome To Manchester’ banners this time.
West Brom
We’ve asked the scouts to look for a striker for West Brom – partly under the assumption Saido Berahino might leave, and partly because the England youngster will need some support if he stays. Among a list that contains some familiar names – we’re looking at you Messrs Pogrebnyak and Crouch – the top option the scouts threw up for West Brom was Kenwyne Jones.
Any chance?
It wouldn’t be a massive surprise to see Jones leave Cardiff – they’ve already sold a couple of players and the former Sunderland man is one of their biggest earners. Baggies boss Tony Pulis said he was one of Jones’ biggest fans when he signed him for Stoke – but Jones later said he wanted to quit the club because of Pulis’ management style. Could they patch up their once beautiful friendship at the Hawthorns?
West Ham
Defenders are the priority for West Ham, especially with the future of Winston Reid so uncertain. Stoke misfit Robert Huth is the best option out there, according to Football Manager.
Any chance?
Huth is in desperate need of games, but Stoke boss Mark Hughes said recently they’re looking to loan him out rather than sell him. The former Germany international surely still has something to offer at the top level, but it’s hard to see Stoke loaning him to another Premier League club. Thumbs down from us for this one.
Source: SNAPPA
