A lot has happened since my last instalment in this series. A season and a half has passed, which means there have been four transfer windows. The ins and outs show that I have had a change of heart on transfer policy. No longer will the New England Saints be governed by young English players. The club will sign any player, of any age and from any nation.
The change of heart was sparked by Harry Kane and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. At the end of the 2018/19 season a number of transfer rumours emerged around these two players. With Kane being less prolific than I would like I certainly considered selling. I dismissed the rumours around Ox, he had just won various awards and set a new assist record.
I was then offered Leroy Sane and Christian Pulisic. At bargain prices. Sell the Ox, sign Sane and Pulisic. It seemed like the right thing to do.
By the time I had decided this Chelsea had jumped in for Sane and done the deal. Pulisic was still available. The deal was done quickly as Barcelona came in for Ox. I sought out another target, Kylian Mbappe. Then Ox turns down Barcelona. I have two new players coming in and suddenly the player is not leaving. The squad will be bloated. Again. I am saved by Manchester United deciding they want Jay Rodriguez. I squeeze £35million out of them as Mbappe and Pulisic arrive. On deadline day Barcelona come back in for the Ox with a £55 million offer. This time he signs.
I also decide that it is time for Will Hughes to go. Hughes never really made it into my plans. Sheffield Wednesday offered £12 million, it was the right time.
It was also the right time for Adam Armstrong. Derby offered just below £4 million and with the arrival of Mbappe offering more forward options Armstrong would have few opportunities.
No offers were forthcoming for Harry Kane.
Until January.
Kane was doing ok. Just as he had through out his time at New England Saints.
Real Madrid made an offer of £50 million. Exactly what I had paid for him. Enough was enough. I needed a striker who would actually score. I could probably change my tactics to get more out of Kane but at the expense of who? Other players were thriving. Thank you Harry, I wish it had worked out better. Kane played 138 games and scored 57 goals. I wanted so much more.
His replacement would cost £71 million. Paris St Germain spent £45 million to bring Anthony Martial in from Manchester United. After scoring 30 goals in all competitions during his first season they did not want to sell. The £71 million was a bargain compared to the £200 million plus fees demanded for Dybala and Embolo.
Being English was no longer enough to remain a Saint.
Community Shield
The season opened with a battering of Manchester United. Unfortunately that battering did not produce more than a single goal and Manchester United would snatch the shield. One of my summer sales coming back to gain instant revenge.
European Super Cup
Chelsea launched a fight back in the Super Cup, with a sustained second half attack that we struggled to resist. Just as it looked like Saints would ride it out Cuadrado equalised. Extra time was just what was needed. Saints dominating the extra half hour and Jack Grealish struck.
League Cup
A steady run to the final and no nemesis in sight (City would lose in the other semi final).
Liverpool, managed by Pep Guardiola, would be the opponents. Simon Mignolet would prove to be an impassable barrier.
Until the penalty shoot out were Saints netted four out of four while Grujic and Firmino missed for Liverpool.
The new look side were able to win a second league cup.
FA Cup
Plenty of goals on route to the final, setting a new record for FA Cup goals in a season.
This season the side blocking our path to the trophy would be Arsenal.
Two finals, no Vietto magic in either. No Ox to strike in the big game. Was it the transfer policy? The performances had been good, the goals would not come. In the league cup it didn’t matter, in the FA Cup it proved costly.
Champions League
The Saints would be unbeaten through the group and knock out stages. Two late goals in Munich probably giving the most significant result. Otherwise the draw was rather kind.
Yet another all English Champions League final as we faced Chelsea.
Just like the Super Cup a late Chelsea goal denied a victory. Unlike that game no break through could be found in extra time. Although Vietto worked his cup final magic he would miss the first penalty. Solanke and Pulisic would also miss while Morata, Pepelu and Stones converted for Chelsea. The Champions league slips away.
Premier League
The Premier League would see a new record set. The Saints netted 129 times to break the long standing Aston Villa record. Though more goals were scored than ever before and the team would be unbeaten (for the second season in a row) there would be fewer points notched than the previous campaign because of two more draws.
Pulisic captured Players’ Player Of The Year.
Demarai Gray won Players’ Young Player Of The Year.
Kylian Mbappe won the Top Goalscorer award.
Joe Gomez, Eric Dier, Christian Pulisic, Josh Onomah and Kylian Mbappe all made the Players’ Team Of The Year.
Christian Pulisic
Pulisic proved to be a more than adequate replacement for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Pulisic produced 23 goals and 17 assists across all competitions. Overall bringing in £55 million and spending £15 million without losing and goals and assists should be considered a good outcome. Yet, Ox was proven cup final scorer. The one area that was below our usual standards.
Kylian Mbappe
Mbappe couldn’t force his way into the staring line up initially but had a knack for scoring from the bench. With the proven Vietto, improving Solanke and established Kane in Mbappe’s path he would switch between the wings and the striker position before getting on a roll and making it impossible for me to leave him out.
Joshua Onomah
Last season Christian Eriksen was picked up for a bargain £20 million. This season he would be struck by injury, pushing Onomah back into the position of first choice attacking midfielder. Onomah responded with 18 goals and 15 assists, which is a fantastic return.
Dominic Solanke
Solanke was the break out star in the last campaign. This time he would have much more competition and be rotated regularly. His return was steady and consistent without being spectacular.
Anthony Martial
Martial arrived like a ball of fire. Unfortunately he picked up an injury. Once he returned the goals dried up and he went on mini drought to end the season. While on that drought he was still able to pick up assists and worked well with Mbappe. A full season will really see if bringing him in improves the attack.
The arrivals of Pulisic and Mbappe pushed Grealish, Gray and Redmond away from the spotlight. All three would have good seasons, particularly Demarai Gray but future holds no guarantees for these players.
The Summer Window
Paris St Germain quickly caused disruption to my plans. Offering £20 million for Christian Pulisic. I said no, but Christian was not happy. PSG came back in with a £25 million offer. I took it and the £10 million profit.
The club still has multiple millions in the bank and the transfer budget sat over £200 million. In a previous save I managed Brazil for quite a long time. Within that time I noticed how good Felipe Anderson was at grabbing goals from a wide position. For £45 million I brought him in to the Saints.
For £20 million I purchased Luciano Vietto from Bayern in 2017/18. They were not playing him at all and it was a very easy deal. In the three seasons since Vietto has played 157 games and scored 104 goals. I certainly got £20 million worth out of him. During the 19/20 season his standards dropped a little. Just 14 league goals in 33 games. Bayern came back in for him with a £28 million offer. The fee was quite low but it would create a space in the squad and I had two forwards in mind, Andre Silva and Rui Pedro. The offer ewas accepted.
I pursued Rui Pedro. An offer of £45 million was accepted. However an identical bid was accepted from Real Madrid. I offered Rui Pedro everything he wanted in the contract negotiations. Still it was not enough. Real Madrid had beaten me to the punch, just as Manchester City beat me to Breel Embolo the summer before.
I turned my attention to Andre Silva. As I make my bid he accepts a new contract at Dortmund. The deal is over before it has started.
I am now a striker short. After assessing the squad I decide that Mbappe will only be used as a forward and I can bring in a slightly lesser quality forward to back up a first choice trio of Mbappe, Martial and Solanke. After much searching I settle on Gabriel Jesus who fits the profile in terms of age, stats and the price of £22 million.
There remained plenty of money in the transfer kitty. A glance at the scout reports revealed a significant Manchester City player to be unhappy. With Mbappe pushing into a striker position there was space for another wide player but only if that player happened to be exceptional.
For £60 million I had added Kevin de Bruyne. The oldest signing I have made for the Saints but the highest class by some distance. Confirmation that this is a different Saints, less principled but more exciting.
It would also be the ending for more members of England’s class of 2017. Dael Fry, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Tammy Abraham and Jonjoe Kenny all moved on. None of them every getting close to the first team.
The blend of players seemed to be working wonderfully and no business was planned for January. An agent report appeared, offering me Joshua Kimmich for £45 million. Central midfield was one area where the two players were good but neither was exceptional. A few negotiations later and a fee of £43 million was agreed.
Ward-Prowse will stay. Lewis Cook might be the one to leave at the end of this season as he has made very little progress.
The aim of the project at it’s inception was to bring through the England players from that 2017 summer. For some players it was never likely to happen as in the 2016 version of the game they were not highly rated. Some players do usually make it through, the hope was that they might improve to an outstanding level. Only a very few have achieved that.
The Sold Players (Selected)
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Ox was one of my best players from the outset. Although a young player he existed slightly outside of the project. The money offered by Barcelona was too good for me to turn down but the deal has not worked out so well for Ox. He lasted one season at Barcelona before moving on to PSG.
Harry Kane
Kane was inconsistent. He was frustrating. He got far more assists than I ever expected but scored far fewer goals. The Real Madrid transfer seems to be working out for him with an improved strike rate compared to his time at Saints.
Jay Rodriguez
Rodriguez was the ultimate in attacking utility players. Then I signed Mbappe. The offer I received from Manchester United was ridiculous, but he had just scored over 20 goals. He had scored 103 goals in four seasons. Unsurprisingly though he returned to the average and struggled at United.
Will Hughes
Hughes struggled at Premier League level. Since returning to the Championship with Sheffield Wednesday he has played regular first team football. No longer stagnating in my bloated squad he may yet go on to better things.
Adam Armstrong
A player who always did a solid job when he had a season around the first team squad but never seemed to have the attributes to be a great player. Although, a player can have all the attributes and still not produce (Harry Kane). Derby was a tough gig for him but he did enough to get a move to Aston Villa where he has solid scoring record.
Luciano Vietto
It is safe to say that Vietto is not having the best time at Bayern. Even worse than his first spell there. You would think these players would learn?
Christian Pulisic
Pulisic and PSG seem to have fit together well. He is getting plenty of games and picking up the goals and assists.
There is an important detail to the Pulisic deal.
PSG offered me a £50 million buy back fee. There was also an £8 million fee for 50 league appearances. I took a £6.5 million buy out as soon as it became available. Should I decide to bring Pulisic back I can do so for a relatively low fee.
Josh Sims
Sims never made a first team appearance for me but racked up games for a variety of clubs out on loan. I was more than happy to take £3 million for him.
Dael Fry
Fry is statistically a more than decent Championship player. Saints are on a slightly higher level than that. The first of three to head to Sheffield United.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Trent is another player who never got close to the first team. Sheffield United snapped him up for £300k.
Marcus Edwards
When I picked up Edwards he was a player with 5 star potential. He moved for £62k to become a squad player at Sheffield United.
How have these additions helped Sheffield United?
The previous season they finished 11th.
Tammy Abraham
Abraham was loaned out to seven clubs while a Saints player. He had one good season, scoring 18 league goals for Preston in League One. He was released on a free and joined Portsmouth in the Championship.
Jonjoe Kenny
Ten loan deals. Kenny went out on loan that many times. He never really had a chance of making it as the game simply did not rate him. He was also released on a free. Forest Green picked him up in League Two.
The Saints
All of this has so far been for best. In February the team is unbeaten across all competitions. In 25 league games the team has scored 99 goals. Breel Embolo is the top scorer in the league with 24 goals in 24 games. Mbappe (17), Martial (16), Solanke (14) and Anderson (14) are all in the top six league scorers. Felipe Anderson is top of the assist table with 16.
In the Champions League they sailed through the group stage with six wins out of six and 26 goals scored. The League Cup final is on the horizon following a semi final victory against Nottingham Forest. The first two rounds of the FA Cup saw away ties at Manchester United and Swansea. Both games won 1-0.
Things are shaping up well, but they did last season until the last two finals.
Goals are abundant. Wins are constant. Whether it was truly worth breaking the project will only be known come the end of the season and the next instalment.