Sign up to the Independent's betting newsletter for the latest tips and offers Sign up to the Independent's betting newsletter
Micah Richards has no bad feelings towards Manchester City, but does resent the lack of playing time he was given by the Premier League champions.
Once touted as a permanent England fixture, Richards used to be a regular in City's defence, but saw his opportunities dwindle as the years passed, making just 10 appearances last season.
As a result, he made the decision to join Serie A side Fiorentina on deadline day, bringing to an end his 12-year stay with City.
And the 26-year-old insists it is a move he had to make, feeling Manuel Pellegrini did not give him a chance at the Etihad, with the Chilean preferring Pablo Zabaleta at right-back.
Show all 15 1 /15The best deals of the summer... The best deals of the summer... Bojan Krkic (Stoke City, forward, £4.4m) The most unlikely move of the summer looks like it could be one of the cutest. More interesting than all of the inevitable talk about “How will a former Barcelona starlet handle himself on a wet Saturday afternoon at the Britannia?” is how Mark Hughes convinced a former Barcelona starlet to leave Rome for a series of wet Saturdays in Stoke. Bojan has cut an increasingly disappointing figure in the three years since he left Catalonia – but Hughes revitalised Oussama Assaidi last season and could do the same for the nimble-footed Spanish forward.
The best deals of the summer... Bafetimbi Gomis (Swansea City, striker, free) Swansea City have reacted shrewdly to the uncertainty surrounding the future of Wilfried Bony with the signing of the equally powerful Gomis. The Frenchman was hardly prolific during his five years at Lyon, netting at the rate of just over a goal every three games – but he offers an all-round threat not present in Bony’s game. Gomis is adept at holding the ball up and will allow Swansea the option of going long more often to complement their sometimes predictable passing game – he is a pragmatic buy with the potential to transcend lowly initial expectations.
GETTY IMAGES
The best deals of the summer... Daryl Janmaat (Newcastle, right-back, £5m) The quiet revolution on Tyneside continues at right-back, where Daryl Janmaat is a more than adequate replacement for Mathieu Debuchy, who was lured by Arsenal. Janmaat impressed for the Netherlands under Louis van Gaal at the recent World Cup with several displays of defensive solidity coupled with attacking prowess – indeed, he looks more secure at the back than the man he is replacing. The same caveat applied to Filipe Luis is relevant to Janmaat: the effectiveness of his displays will be measured by their lack of prominence. The early signs are promising.
Getty images
The best deals of the summer... Filipe Luis (Chelsea, left-back, £16m) To suggest that Luis is an Ashley Cole clone is to damn him with faint praise and speak a measure of truth at the same time – Schrödinger’s Cat updated to fit Chelsea’s left-back problem. The Brazilian is as safe in defence as a Victorian semi-detached town house, but is ever-eager to press forward on the overlap. Great full-backs follow the maxim applied to referees: you only really notice them when they are performing badly or missing in action. Luis’s value will be revealed if Atletico Madrid struggle in his absence – and if no one mentions the name A Cole.
@chelseafc twitter
The best deals of the summer... Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal, forward, £32m) Sanchez is perhaps the standout signing in a summer of big-money moves at the sharp end of the Premier League. The Chile international has the pace, skill and finishing ability to play anywhere across the front line – he started on the wing in Arsenal’s Community Shield defeat of Manchester City but is expected to move to a more central role before too long, possibly replacing Olivier Giroud. Sanchez should bring the type of dynamism that Arsenal’s pretty, patterned play has often lacked over the past few seasons. Given the size of his fee, he will be expected to perform.
GETTY IMAGES
The best deals of the summer... Diego Costa (Chelsea, striker, £33.44m) The man viewed as Chelsea’s long-term striking solution could well turn out to be not just one of the best Premier League transfers of this summer but one of the best in the league’s history. Equally, the Brazilian has the potential to make his £33m-plus transfer fee look like the biggest debacle this side of Fernando Torres. The naturalised Spaniard flourished at Atletico Madrid in Diego Simeone’s high-energy, high-pressing system – but on occasion he can appear leaden-footed and has a fiery temperament that must be curbed. A two-goal salvo against Real Sociedad on Tuesday night hinted at the good side of the man – and his reaction to a Bruno Alves horror tackle against Fenerbahce the bad.
Getty Images
The best deals of the summer... Romelu Lukaku (Everton, striker, £28m) Having been on loan last season, Everton’s key signing of this transfer window already feels well at home among Goodison Park’s club-embossed armchairs. Lukaku hit 15 league goals for Roberto Martinez’s side last season as they challenged for the Champions League, only to falter at the last. More will be demanded of the Belgian now the Merseysiders have almost doubled their transfer record to make his move permanent – but Lukaku has the ability to fulfil those lofty expectations. Bullishly strong and with an unerring left boot, he can flourish now he is not tagged as the next Didier Drogba.
Twitter/@EvertonFC
The best deals of the summer... Lazar Markovic (Liverpool, winger, £20m) How do you go about replacing the irreplaceable? Brendan Rodgers’ seemingly impossible task of filling the void left by Luis Suarez got off to a promising start with the signing of jet-heeled Serbian winger Markovic, who starred during Benfica’s run to last season’s Europa League final. The 20-year-old will be allowed time to settle into Premier League life, with Rodgers expected to use him from the bench in the season’s early weeks. Once he is unleashed, however, Markovic could be the season’s great surprise – he has trickery enough to delight even the most Suarez-obsessed members of the Kop.
Getty Images
The best deals of the summer... Ander Herrera (Man United, midfield, £32m) Leaving aside the lingering memories of the farce that was United’s pursuit of Herrera last summer, the fact that Louis van Gaal finally has the man David Moyes wanted can only be a good thing for a midfield in need of both an internal and external makeover. Despite being only 24, the playmaker is a classy and experienced operator – a veteran of European football with Athletic Bilbao, for whom he impressed against United in the Europa League in March 2012. Herrera is a significant upgrade on Tom Cleverley and Michael Carrick – a player of finely spun steel for a deoxygenated midfield.
GETTY IMAGES
The best deals of the summer... Rémy Cabella (Newcastle, midfield, £12m) The Montpellier chairman, Louis Nicollin, mocked Cabella for his decision to move to Tyneside, telling the midfielder that he would be “bored” at his new club. It will be Alan Pardew seeing the funny side of the deal if Cabella proves a hit at Newcastle, however – and the France international has the ability to be just that. Creative and versatile, he possesses the type of Gallic skill that Newcastle fans have seen twice before with Laurent Robert and the incomparable David Ginola.
AFP
The best deals of the summer... Daley Blind (Manchester United, midfield, £14m) While United stole the headlines with their dramatic swoop to bring in Radamel Falcao in what looks a drastically expensive loan move, it was the signing of Daley Blind which could help the most given United's obvious deficiencies in midfield and defence. Blind, 24, knows Louis van Gaal and his methods well, which should prove very useful given how slowly it seems the rest of United's rearguard are getting their heads around them. And at £14million, he is the cheapest of United's senior signings.
twitter.com/ManUtd
The best deals of the summer... Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea, midfield, £30m) Another expensive acquisition, the fee this time believed to be in the region of £30million - but again, it is easy to see why the cash has been splashed. The early signs are that the Spain midfielder may be an even better player than the one who left Arsenal as a true Premier League star in 2011.
EPA
The best deals of the summer... Calum Chambers (Arsenal, defence, £16m) Not the most high-profile departure among the exodus from St Mary's over the summer, but Chambers was known to be a player of great promise and has certainly made a big impression in Arsenal's defence so far following his switch for a reported £16million, earning a first call-up to the full England squad.
The best deals of the summer... Hatem ben Arfa (Hull, midfield, loan) Steve Bruce arguably had the best deadline day of any Premier League manager as he completed something of a summer overhaul with the arrivals of Abel Hernandez, Mohamed Diame and Gaston Ramirez. But it was the late, late arrival of Newcastle outcast Hatem Ben Arfa which had the fans most excited. When his mind is right, the Frenchman is one of the most exciting attacking midfielders in the league and if Bruce can get him back on track after a frustrating year in the north east, he will give Hull a new dimension.
GETTY IMAGES
The best deals of the summer... Mario Balotelli (Liverpool, striker, £16m) The former Manchester City star is back in the Premier League after Brendan Rodgers went ahead with a £16m move for the Italian, securing his services from AC Milan. If Liverpool can contain his livewire personality and on-field temper, it could work out to be one of the best deals in the club's history.
Speaking in the Daily Mail , he said: "I don't have any bad feelings towards the club. They put me on the map and gave me a chance when I was 17. But I do have bad feelings towards the playing time (I was given). For any player, when you're not playing it's frustrating. When Roberto Mancini was in charge, he would rotate the full-backs.
"When we won the league in 2012, I played more than (Pablo) Zabaleta. So, I feel as though I could have been given more chances to play (under Pellegrini). I felt like I had improved and that I could do it at that level."
Richards was a product of City's academy, something they are going to become more reliant on as Financial Fair Play takes its hold.
Richards, though, believes young players will find it increasingly difficult to make the breakthrough that he once did.
"It's going to be hard for them to come through," he said. "If you look at the squad now there's 22 international players. You're going to have to be extra special to get through. Hopefully, the new facilities they are building will help to bring young players through. It would be nice to see more coming from the academy, but the standard's pretty high now.
"The manager always said if you're good enough, you'll get a chance. I hope he sticks to his word. But I decided I wanted to go somewhere where I had the opportunity to be number one."
PA
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies