Mehmet Topal - carved out of a boulder....probably
Is your team lacking a bit of bite in the middle of the park? Need a player to ensure they can win back and retain possesion with ease? Here are five defensive midfield players that could, for varying reasons, be just the man for you...
Name: Torsten Frings
Age: 32
Nationality: German
Club: SV Werder Bremen
Estimated value: £10,000,000
Strengths: Work Rate, Tackling, Free Kicks, Leadership
Weaknesses: Indiscipline, Aggression
Factoid: Frings nickname at Bremen is "Lutscher" (Lollypop), after he once asked an irate opponent if he would like a sugar-based suckable treat (this sounds like some kind of sleazy innuendo, but it genuinely isn't intended to be) to calm himself down.
Would suit: His leadership and experience would be useful at a club with lots of young players, such as
Spurs or
Aston Villa.
Name: Marcos Senna
Age: 32
Nationality: Spanish
Club: Villarreal CF
Estimated value: £8,000,000
Strengths: Shooting, Passing, Marking, Positioning
Weaknesses: He often displays a real lack of pace.
Factoid: Despite being one of the key members of Spain's victorious Euro 2008 squad, Senna was actually born in São Paulo, Brazil and didn't live in Spain until he joined Villarreal in 2002.
Would suit: Much like Frings, he would be a natural leader in any midfield -
Arsenal or
Everton could do a lot worse.
Name: Mehmet Topal
Age: 23
Nationality: Turkish
Club: Galatasaray SK
Estimated value: £8,000,000
Strengths: Work Rate, Tackling, Shooting, Positioning
Weaknesses: He's far from the most creative player.
Factoid: Topal is nicknamed “Spider” by his Galatasaray teammates, apparently due to his long legs and his ability to win tackles and cut out passes - just like spiders do...
Would suit: They do love a goalscoring midfielder at Everton, and Topal would likely come cheaper than previous Goodison target
Joao Moutinho.
Name: Yaya Touré
Age: 26
Nationality: Ivorian
Club: FC Barcelona
Estimated value: £15,000,000
Strengths: Stamina, Strength, Passing, Composure
Weaknesses: His finishing leaves a lot to be desired.
Factoid: Yaya is the brother of Arsenal’s
Kolo Toure and has been labelled 'the next
Patrick Vieira by his London-based sibling. He has also played for clubs in six different countries in his career thus far.
Would suit: His athleticism and range of passing would see him fit in well with brother Kolo at Arsenal, although he has the kind of drive that
Manchester United are missing from the centre of the park.
Name: Sebastián Battaglia
Age: 28
Nationality: Argentinian
Club: CA Boca Juniors
Estimated value: £8,000,000
Strengths: Hard working, combative defensive midfielder with an fantastic engine. Strong in the tackle and reads the game well. He is a competitive player very much in the
Javier Mascherano mould. He has good technical ability. He is sensible in possession, rarely giving the ball away and is often seen driving the ball through midfield and unleashing shots from distance.
Weaknesses: His main weakness is a lack of pace.
Factoid: Boca Juniors club captain is the joint most decorated player at the club with 17 club titles for the Argentine side.
Would suit: There have been reports linking him to Arsenal and Lazio, but the Argentine media quickly dismissed the Arsenal link. He would make a good replacement for
Gareth Barry at Aston Villa. It is more likely that he will move to Spain or Italy.
Links:
Midfielders Hotlist
Ones to Watch
Championship Manager
