As the January Transfer Window has slam shut again until the 1st of July, eyes have been set on the new signings from all over the country, as some players have made their debuts this weekend, whilst others who were signed at the beginning of the window are starting to settle down and find their stride.
The stand out choice from this weekend was the ever-controversial Mario Balotelli, who scored two goals on his debut against Udinese, in a 2-1 win. He was only drafted into the starting line up right at the last minute, as Giampolo Pazzini injured himself during the warm-up. Scoring not only two goals, but one in the 94th minute, infront of the San Siro crowd, is definitely the best way to start his AC Milan career.
In France, PSG’s £40 million man, Lucas Moura, who at 20 years of age is still incredibly young, is starting to turn heads, with fantastic displays since his arrival. Last Friday he set up two goals in PSG’s 4-0 win against Toulouse.
Daniel Sturridge who at the age of 23 played his 100th Premier League game, spanning over 4 different clubs, seems to finally have found a home in Liverpool, as he was sensational at the weekend, forming a great partnership with Luis Suarez, and scoring too, with a 25 yeard stunner, proving he will be a hit at Anfield.
In Newcastle, £1.8 million signing from Toulouse, Moussa Sissoko, had a great debut, scoring 2 goals against Aston Villa, and showed how he is a very good box-to-box midfielder, strong and can create chances to. Only aged 23, he was valued at around £18 million 3 years ago, and Alan Pardew got him for a tenth of that. He played alongside the other French debutants Yoan Gouffran and Mapou Yanga-M’Biwa.
Schalke 04’s new storming wing back Michel Bastos managed to score on his debut against bottom of the table SpVgg Greuther Furth, however Schalke were unable to capitalize on Bastos’ goal, falling to a 2-1 defeat.
23 year old Alexandre Pato who signed for Brazilian team Corinthians from AC Milan in the transfer window, managed to score within 3 minutes of coming on, in a 5-0 win against Oeste, therefore maintaining his 100% record of scoring on his debut for any club he has played for.
Arsene Wenger praised his new left back, Spaniard Nacho Monreal on his debut appearance against Stoke City. He said “There’s no better culture shock than Stoke when you come from Spain…I felt he got stronger and stronger during the game”.
Other new players have also made their debuts for their new clubs this weekend in the Premier League include Chris Samba, Jermaine Jenas and Andros Townsend all of QPR, Norwich’s Luciano Becchio, Danny Graham at Sunderland and Urby Emanuelsen, loanee at Fulham.
If you think you could have signed better players during the transfer window, then why not sell stuff online, and save up for an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3, so you can start playing manager mode on FIFA 13 straight away!
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