Top 4 signings of the 2018-19 football season so far

The 2018-19 football season is into its 4th month, and we have already seen some ups and downs. Big clubs like Juventus, Barcelona, and Liverpool are leading the Serie A, LaLiga, and EPL tables respectively.

On the other hand, Bayern Munich has recovered somewhat after a poor start to their season, but traditional powerhouses, Manchester United and Real Madrid, have been really suffering.

Clubs like Borussia Dortmund, PSG, and Arsenal have been pretty impressive this season, and would definitely be hopeful of winning silverware. Both PSG and Arsenal have employed new managers this season, and have performed exceptionally well under them.

Real Madrid have been forced to sack their manager only a few months after appointing him, and are still struggling. The same is true about Manchester United, who have been very mediocre this season.

There have been some new signings who have impressed football lovers all over the world. These are players who have managed to adjust to their new clubs very well, and have performed exceptionally so far. We discuss 4 such players in this article.

#4 Aymeric Laporte

Laporte was signed by Manchester City in January 2018, and has been a revelation so far. He has performed exceptionally well at the heart of the City defence, and is one of the reasons behind the fact that they have conceded few goals in the league so far.

Laporte has forged a very successful partnership with fellow centre-back John Stones, and they have replaced Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi very successfully.

Laporte has exceptional positional sense, and is more of a ball playing centre-back. Stones prefers to go for the tackle, and Laporte ensures that the ball is removed safely from the penalty box area.

Moreover, he is very strong aerially, and mostly wins his battles in the air. He has also scored 3 goals with headers for City this season, and is proving to be a very good signing for them overall. Pep Guardiola, the City coach, put faith in the French defender, and is being rewarded for the same.

#3 Arthur Melo

Arthur Melo has been exceptionally good for Barca this season. This is only his first season in Europe, but he has become a regular part of the starting XI for the Catalan giants. He has been given the #8 shirt that used to belong to the legendary Xavi Hernandez.

While nobody might ever be good enough to replace Xavi properly, Melo has done enough justice to the faith Barcelona put in him.

He is a central midfielder with exceptional work-rate and ability to play box-to-box. Melo has been central to Barca’s plans this season, and was brilliant in their 5-0 annihilation of Real Madrid in LaLiga. He has already appeared in 16 matches for Barca, and he is likely to have a very successful and long stint with Barca.

#2 Cristiano Ronaldo

After his much talked about transfer to Juventus from Real Madrid, people were very eager to see how the Portuguese great was going to cope in the Serie A at the age of 33. Ronaldo has again proven the skeptics wrong with some commanding performances for Juventus.

His goal off a running volley against Manchester United remains one of the best of the season so far. Ronaldo has also scored 11 goals in 20 matches for Juve so far, and his team are almost certain to win yet another Serie A title.

Ronaldo has played more often on the flanks for Juve this season, and makes inward runs into the penalty box from the flanks. He has also combined very well with Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic, and they have wreaked havoc in the defence of their opponents. Ronaldo is likely to become the only player to win the league title in all 3 big leagues, adding another feather to his hat.

#1 Lucas Torreira

Torreira, the diminutive Uruguayan, has been one of the best players of the Premier League this season. He caught everyone’s eyes in the last World Cup, and was signed by Arsenal from Sampdoria subsequently.

Since then, he has given some exceptional performances for them, and made the central midfield position his own. He has already drawn comparison with the legendary Patrick Vieira, and should have a great career ahead.

Torreira has mostly played as a double pivot with Xhaka by his side, and has tormented the opposition with his strong tackles, accurate passing, and speedy runs. Torreira was superb against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, & also scored the match winner against Huddersfield.

Torreira has played in 21 matches for Arsenal so far, and scored a couple of goals for them, including one from a stunning volley against Huddersfield. He is one of the primary reasons behind Arsenal’s revival and good form this season.