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SONG & DEULOFEU – WHO’LL MAKE BIGGER EPL IMPACT IN 2015/16?

Song & Deulofeu – Who’ll Make Bigger Epl Impact In 2015/16?

Barcelona are due an overhaul in the summer, despite a tremendous 2014/15 which saw the Catalans win the second treble in their history and with the best numbers of any of the seven sides to have achieved the feat.

Luis Enrique will still have to work overtime during the break because not only are there the futures of five loan stars to sort out, but there is the little matter of at least three players from Barca B due a promotion to the senior ranks.

Furthermore, there are others in the reserve side that are far too good for the Segunda B, equivalent to England’s League One, a division that Barca B will ply their trade in next season after an awful campaign.

In any event, Alex Song and Gerard Deulofeu remain keen to sort out their respective futures quickly.
Greatly differing in their style of play, both have fallen well out of favour at Barcelona.

Song principally because he was unable to dislodge Sergio Busquets from his sentry as defensive midfield anchor, and Deulofeu simply because he still hasn’t learned that football is a team game.

His most recent manager, Sevilla’s Unai Emery, even acknowledged that unless Deulofeu pulls his socks up he could quite conceivably end up on the equivalent of football’s scrapheap.

Roberto Martinez has shown his hand early and has offered the youngster a lifeline at Everton, a team where he enjoyed a relatively productive loan spell a couple of seasons ago.

The Spaniard also seems to “get” Deulofeu and is prepared to tolerate certain aspects of his game, which may go some way to explaining why his previous sojourn on Merseyside was successful. Indeed, his numbers during 2013/14 for the Toffees remain the best of his career at senior level.

There’s little doubt that his skill set is ideally suited to the Premier League but the youngster needs to show more than a quick turn of pace and the occasional goal and assist to justify the anticipated €4 million spend.

At present he can be regarded as a poor man’s Theo Walcott. Everyone knows he has the ingredients, it’s up to Martinez to skilfully add it to the mix.

Alex Song is an entirely different proposition. An experienced, calm organiser, Song could still grace any team in the Premier League and it’s little wonder that both Manchester City and Chelsea now appear interested in his services.

It shows how ill-informed the massed ranks of English football supporters are when you hear throwaway comments along the lines of how rubbish the Cameroonian has become.

Song didn’t have the best time at Barcelona but name any defensive mid that could dislodge Sergio Busquets on a regular basis. You can’t.

Since Song’s departure from the red half of north London, Arsenal have struggled in that area of their work which speaks volumes. Frankly it was a surprise that they didn’t come back in for him last season when available.

There was certainly a quick acknowledgment from West Ham manager Sam Allardyce as to exactly the type of presence that Song brought to the Hammers, something that was missing hitherto.

Whether he pulls on the claret and blue again next term, or decides his purpose is better served elsewhere, his employers will have bagged themselves a bargain.

Still only 27 years of age, there is a lot of mileage left in the tank and it’s worth noting that he was not only the player with the most tackles per game for West Ham in 2014/15, but also one of their best distributors.

He is far from the “rubbish” player that some would have you believe.

In terms of who will make the bigger impact…Song is not an impact player per se, but will have an overall positive effect on his team.

Deulofeu still remains a relatively unknown quantity at the highest level. Find his mojo however and he will explode all over the Premier League.

If nothing else, it gives a pretty clear indication of the embarrassment of riches at Barcelona’s disposal when they can’t find the space to keep these players happy.