Paying extortionate sums of money for English-born players has become something of a trend in recent years, but there are nearly always cheaper and superior alternatives on the market if you just look hard enough.
Sure, our selections are helped hugely with the benefit of hindsight, but we think we prove our point.
Andy Carroll £35 million / Javier Hernandez £6 million
Injuries have hampered Carroll since his shock deadline day move from Tyneside to Merseyside, so the jury is still out on whether or not he can justify such a monumental price tag for one so young.
Still, £35 million is a ridiculous sum of money when you compare to it to the hill of beans Manchester United paid for the young Mexican who has taken the football world by storm in the last year or so. It should be noted, however, that United paid more money for Bebe, who like his former doppelganger Fabrice Morvan from Milli Vanilli, ain’t been seen much lately.
James Milner £27 million / Rafael van der Vaart £8 million
On the face of it, James Milner and Rafael van der Vaart have quite a lot in common. Both are versatile players that can operate in central midfield or on the wing, both have a wicked set-piece delivery and both are slightly one-paced and would rather whip in a ball first time rather than try and beat a defender.
One of the things they don’t have in common, however, is their price tag. Considering that Stephen Ireland went to Aston Villa as part of the deal that brought Milner to Eastlands, the England midfielder cost around £20 million more than his Dutch counterpart (Yesshhh, that’s right, £20 million).
Milner might be three years younger than Van der Vaart and may indeed be playing in the Champions League next season, but if you weigh up the impact both have on their respective clubs, there’s no contest.
Joleon Lescott £24 million / Thomas Vermaelen £10 million
Comparing the £24 million paid for Lescott with the £5 million for Richard Dunne might be a more apt comparison, but in fairness to poor Richie, he didn’t cover himself in glory in his second season at Villa Park.
Money well spent? These three cost Manchester City over £60 million
Vermaelen wasn’t exactly hogging the headlines either, but that’s because he’s been injured and if anything, his value and importance to Arsenal have increased in his absence thanks to some of the clowning around by messrs Koscielny and Squillaci in the Gooners’ defence.
It’s only because of the drug-related absence of Kolo Toure that Lescott has got back in the City team and he still doesn’t come close to justifying his price tag. Expect him to be shoved back in the reserves by a similarly high-priced but superior alternative when Sheikh Mansour flashes his millions in the summer.
Jordan Henderson £20 million / Mesut Ozil £13 million
Before Liverpool fans start to think this is a conspiracy against their beloved club, it’s not, it’s just that, recently, they have been most guilty of forking out ridiculous sums of money on players that would have commanded less than half of their respective transfer fees if they were born in another country.
Like Andy Carroll, Henderson could prove to be an absolute bargain and star for club and country for years to come. His fee though, seems crazy when you compare it to that of another promising central midfielder who moved to another massive club less than a year ago.
Last summer, Mesut Ozil had just played a starring role for Germany in the World Cup in South Africa, had been playing for his national side for over a year and had shone in Europe with Werder Bremen, before being snapped up by Real Madrid in one of the bargains of the year.
Phil Jones £16 million / Gerard Pique £5 million
OK, we’re going back a few years here and conveniently ignoring the fact that Pique wanted a move back to his first club, but had Manchester United tried harder to hold on to the stylish Spaniard in 2008, they could have saved themselves the trouble of paying a hefty fee for a defender with one good season under his belt.
Three years, two Champions League titles and a World Cup medal later, Pique is arguably the best defender in the world and still only 24 years old. In fairness to Sir Alex Ferguson, Pique would have done well to replace Ferdinand and Vidic at their peak and although the fee paid for Jones is over the odds, a similar move for Chris Smalling last season proved to be a major success.
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