Weekly Round-Up: Aaron Ramsey signs from Cardiff for £5m
1 comment June 15th, 2008
Arsenal have completed our first signing of what could be a very active Summer: Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey. Usually, the signing of a seventeen year-old midfielder would go unheralded, but this is a player who will undoubtedly be part of the first-team squad next season, figuring in the Carling Cup and (progress depending) maybe even other competitions.
Arsene, as ever, is impressed by the players versatility:
“We’re delighted to have signed Aaron Ramsey. He is a young player who has shown huge potential with his performances for both Cardiff City and Wales at under-17 and Under-21 levels. He is still only 17, but has already shown that he is a very intelligent and mature player with great quality. Although he mainly plays in midfield, Aaron is a versatile player and can also play across the defence. We are all looking forward to welcoming Aaron to the Club for our pre-season preparations.”
Whatever Arsene says, Ramsey looks to me like a midfield player, and the views of this Welsh journalist seem to back that up. Maybe after you watch this video, you can make up your own minds:
Ramsey himself said of the move:
“I’m so happy to have signed for Arsenal. I am joining one of the biggest clubs in the world and can’t wait to meet my new team mates. I recently met with Arsène Wenger and he was a big factor in my decision to join Arsenal. He talked to me for a long time about the Club and the plans for the future, which really excites me. Arsenal is a Club which always gives young players an opportunity at the highest level of the game and I am going to work my hardest to be part of future successes here.”
This transfer is made all the sweeter by the fact that Ramsey turned down United to sign for us. We really have the reputation and charm of Arsene Wenger to thank for landing one of the biggest prospects in Britain.
The other news this week has been about players potentially leaving. I have no idea what is happening with Emmanuel Adebayor. My guess is that, with contract negotiations with Arsenal due to open any day now, his agent is not doing much to deflect interest from Milan as it only increases Ade’s chance of a pay-rise. The latest is that Milan say he is too expensive, and with a reputed €32m price-tag, I probably agree with them.
I think that whether or not a new deal is in the offing, Adebayor will stay. He knows Arsenal he still has things to prove at Arsenal, whilst Arsene cannot afford to lose his top striker on the back of a 30-goal season.
The Aleksandr Hleb situation, meanwhile, is perhaps even more confusing. His agent seems to be dropping the name of Barcelona as frequently as possible, but unusually for a Spanish club who conduct their business so often in public, we haven’t heard much from Barca themselves. His agent is attempting to play Cupid, and do that thing where you make people fall for each other by talking about the possibility that they get together to set the idea rolling in their mind. Sadly, I’m not sure romantic psychology and football transfers work on quite the same principles. Jose Mourinho, Inter Milan’s new coach, has already made clear his immunity and withdrawn from the running.
Tomorrow is a) my birthday, and b) the day the Premier League fixtures are announced. Not bad, eh?
There’ll be a Euro 2008 update tomorrow too.
