In celebration of the sporting decade coming to a close, writers from The Athletic have
been picked their highlights of the 2010s. Here, Adam Crafton assembles a team comprised
of the best Premier League signings in each position from the decade….
Sir Alex Ferguson missed only three Manchester United games as the club’s manager: one
due to illness against Middlesbrough in 1998, a Manchester Derby to attend a family wedding
in South Africa in 2000 and then, finally, a League Cup fixture against Scunthorpe in
2010.
The reason? To scout David De Gea.
Ferguson was determined to avoid the rigmarole that ensued during his many failed attempts
to replace Peter Schmeichel and when Eric Steele came in as goalkeeping coach in 2008,
Ferguson’s key order was to find a long-term replacement for Edwin van der Sar.
They moved for De Gea, whose teething problems were such that The Athletic has learned the
Spaniard even started texting old confidantes from the dressing room at half-time of games
for advice.
Yet he has emerged as a goalkeeper of outstanding ability and temperament. His quality, even
amid the torpor and mediocrity of the post-Ferguson era, has mostly remained consistent. He takes
the nod over Manchester City’s Ederson and Liverpool’s Alisson due to the age that
he arrived, only 20, and how he adapted physically and technically to become United’s player
of the decade.
According to his former manager Jose Mourinho, “a team with 11 Azpilicuetas probably could
win the Champions League.” Mourinho highlighted not only the Spaniard’s quality but also
his “character and personality”. In terms of value for money, the Chelsea defender must
be unrivalled.
He has thrived under coaches as varied as Mourinho, Rafael Benitez, Roberto Di Matteo,
Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri, and he has overcome a troubled start to the campaign
to return to form under Frank Lampard. He has performed admirably at left-back, right-back
and as a centre-half in a back three under Conte.
Tottenham’s moves for Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen for a combined £22 million
deserve acclaim, but from a business perspective, to make a £63 million profit on Maguire inside
only two years represents sharp foresight and transfer market acumen.
There is often value to be found in raiding relegated clubs and Leicester took the chance
top-six clubs steered away from when moving for Maguire in the summer of 2017. They recognised
his potential to break into the England team, a World Cup around the corner and the inflated
market on successful English talent. Their reward came when Manchester United spent £80
million on the defender earlier this year.
Liverpool’s signing of Van Dijk has been a game-changer for European football but it
was, at that point, an obvious one to make and this list is an attempt to reward ingenuity
— so the same player does make this team, but for his first move to an English club.
Van Dijk was the player that football never fully trusted. Released by Dutch side Willem
II as a teenager, he was later overlooked by Ajax, who instead signed Mike van der Hoorn.
Louis van Gaal repeatedly snubbed him as manager of Holland. Despite excellent performances
at Celtic, doubts from the European elite remained and it was left to Southampton to
pay a snip for the Dutchman in 2015.
Much like Maguire, Andy Robertson underlines the merits of pillaging relegated clubs. Robertson
was a low-key signing in 2017 and there were famously doubts as he started only two Premier
League games before December in his first season under Jurgen Klopp.
His emergence, therefore, has been all the more impressive, stepping up to a higher level,
blending tenacity and pace in defence with bright runs and quality in the final third.
In the current market, he must now be worth at least seven times the fee Liverpool paid.
The ultimate bargain signing and arguably the essential player in the greatest football
achievement in the Premier League era. Five years before joining Leicester, a 19-year-old
Kante was playing in the ninth tier of French football and had been rejected from the renowned
Clairefontaine training centre as a teenager.
Yet when searching for a replacement for Esteban Cambiasso, Leicester’s analysis team identified
a rare talent. In Jonathan Northcroft’s book “Fearless”, he explains how key metrics
such as interceptions, tackles and forward passes threw up names such as Xabi Alonso
and Toni Kroos but also the less-gilded name of Kante, whose ball-recovery statistics were
also higher than any player in Europe’s top five leagues in the 2014-15 season for
Caen.
Marseille wanted Kante but Leicester had him in a hotel in the Midlands. Sporting director
Steve Walsh ordered him to turn his phone off and would not allow staff to leave the
Marriott until the deal was signed. The heist was complete.
For longevity and consistent excellence, Fernandinho is impossible to overlook. He bestrides the
Manchester City midfield, breaking up play, evading yellow cards but also keeping the
ball superbly.
He was essential to Pep Guardiola’s revolution, providing the steel to David Silva and Kevin
De Bruyne’s silk. Even at 34, he remains fundamental to City’s success and, when
everybody is fit, most probably still keeps summer signing Rodri out of the team.
In those early and occasionally chaotic times of the post-takeover Manchester City, the
club prepared a compelling PowerPoint presentation to sell the club to prospective players. Silva
was one of those players lured by both the paycheck and the vision.
Valencia were, at the time, in the midst of financial crisis and senior board members
Garry Cook and Brian Marwood focused on negotiating with the Spanish club while international
scout Rob Newman and recruitment lead Mike Rigg got to work on the player’s agent.
Silva did have some concerns at the time but City sold the dream, with a presentation featuring
helipads and computer-generated imagery as to how City’s new training ground could
look a few years later.
He signed up and has since been the division’s most consistent creative force.
These decisions have been made based on three metrics; financial foresight, extended brilliance
or contribution towards Premier League trophies.
Coutinho, by the first measure, stands out like a sore thumb and any deal that invests
£7 million and returns a profit of £135 million) must therefore take its place in
the pantheon.
Genius, too, as the returns from the sale as have been so wisely invested to elevate
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool into European and, most likely, future Premier League champions.
Aguero has simply been the best, most potent striker of the decade in the Premier League.
He has now scored 44 goals in the top flight against the established “top six” sides.
His first season yielded Manchester City’s first Premier League title and he responded
superbly to challenge posed by the arrival of Pep Guardiola and Gabriel Jesus to become
the club’s all-time leading goalscorer. Now 31, the goals just keep coming, with 13
to his name already in this campaign.
Hazard’s trickery, pace and lethal finishing provided the sprinkling of world-class quality
required to elevate Chelsea to champions both under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, while
his final flourish in last spring’s Europa League final ensured his enduring gift to
the club would be Champions League football.
Hazard, when the mood took him, was utterly devastating, a blur of flicks and finesse
that brought supporters off their seats and, eventually, convinced Real Madrid to part
with a vast fee for his prime years.