12 Mar 2014
The World Cup in Brazil is less than a hundred days away. The pinnacle of the football calendar is expected to draw TV audiences of over 3.2billion. And while we regular people will be tuning in to cheer on our national sides, there will be football managers sitting down with a pen and paper making a shopping list.
You see the World Cup is like an open-air market for talented players to turn the heads of bigger clubs. In 2010 the German contingent of Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira impressed no end, they were both snapped up by Real Madrid after the tournament.
In 2006 Fabio Cannavaro captained Italy to World Cup success and he too was signed by Madrid. And if you cast your mind back as far as 2002, the heroics of El Hadji Diouf for Senegal persuaded Liverpool to shell out £10million for him. So which players could earn themselves a move?
Alexandre Pato – Brazil
The Brazilian has a good chance to impress numerous clubs. Playing for Brazil, who are online casino and bookmakers 32Red favourite for overall success, he should see plenty of game time. The former AC Milan man currently finds himself at Sao Paulo but he has attracted interest from Tottenham and Arsenal.
At 24-years-old he still has plenty to offer but due to his recurrent injuries he’s somewhat a forgotten man in the football world. If he can weigh in with four goals in the tournament he should definitely pique the interest of the European sides. Arsenal and Spurs need a goal-scorer and if Pato can prove his goal-scoring credentials then we should see him in the Premier League.
Matthew Ryan – Australia
The 21-year-old Club Brugge goalkeeper has been endorsed hugely by former Manchester United player Mark Bosnich who praised the technical ability of his countryman, as well as his overall dominance of his 18-yard box. Now Australia are in a very hard group, besides world Champions Spain, they will face Chile and the Netherlands.
Australia are going to struggle to beat these sides but it will give Ryan a huge opportunity to prove himself against top-class opposition and he will play a pivotal role in any Australian victory. Celtic look likely to lose their number one Fraser Forster this summer and if Ryan impresses he would be the perfect replacement.
Vincent Aboubakar – Cameroon
Ghanian striker Asamoah Gyan was the African starlet back in 2010, his performances eventually won him a move to the Premier League. Many are tipping Aboubakar to eclipse that performance. The striker has been in good form this season with 11 goals in 20 games and if this goal-scoring prowess continues into the World Cup he’s going to impress numerous scouts.
Currently with Ligue 1 side Lorient he’d probably move to England or Italy – going out on a limb a good World Cup performance could see him move to AC Milan, who may be looking for a Mario Balotelli replacement.
None of us can wait for the World Cup. There will be players that flop and players that excel but one thing is for certain, transfer activity once the tournament concludes will be rife.