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5 free transfers QPR should consider to join Rio Ferdinand

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Queens Park Rangers completed their first signing of the summer by picking up former Manchester United and England centre-back Rio Ferdinand on a free transfer.

The Rs have not been as busy as expected so far during the transfer window with the funds the club has available.  Manager Harry Redknapp does have a big squad to deal with even after a number of players were released at the start of this month.

To avoid a second relegation from the Premier League in three seasons, QPR could do with a couple of new signings to strengthen their squad further after only returning to the top flight via the playoffs having been the pre-season favorites to win the Championship last season.

QPR are 3.00 to lay being relegated with Betfair.

There is a wealth of Premier League experience already at Loftus Road, but here are five names that would improve the squad further:

Didier Drogba

The 36-year old Chelsea legend has only been away from the Premier League for two seasons, doing well in the Turkish Süper Lig after a season in China. The Blues have actually been linked with the Ivory Coast striker in recent days but surely a move back to Stamford Bridge would dent Didier Drogba’s heroic status a little after winning the UEFA Champions League for the club with his last kick in a Chelsea shirt.

Charlie Austin was quiet in the playoff final, Bobby Zamora has not done well for a few seasons and Loïc Rémy is constantly linked with a move away from Loftus Road. So how about bringing in Drogba for a season to get you the goals to ensure survival?

Nicklas Bendtner

The former Arsenal striker has failed to find himself a new club so far this summer despite claiming Real Madrid or Barcelona would be the next club for him once upon a time. Nicklas Bendtner certainly hasn’t been able to live up to his words over the years but perhaps a move to a smaller club could do the Danish striker a world of good.

Bendtner wasn’t the worst striker in the world at Sunderland and his record for the national team is pretty good. Perhaps Harry Redknapp could consider a gamble on the 26-year old who has twice failed to convince German Bundesliga clubs to sign him recently.

Matthew Etherington

With a wealth of Premier League experience from his time at Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham and Stoke City, 32-year old Matthew Etherington could make a good squad player for Queens Park Rangers. Armand Traoré is not proven in the Premier League whilst Junior Hoilett is severely inconsistent.

Matthew Etherington would offer hard work and defensive contribution – two things QPR could do with in tight battles this season.

Esteban Cambiasso

A long shot, but Esteban Cambiasso insists he wants to finish his playing career in Europe. He’s 33-years old so may not have too many years left in him. Sure, bigger teams will have to be interested in the former Real Madrid and Internazionale man, but QPR have the wage bill to tempt the 52-time Argentina international.

Harry Redknapp currently has Joey Barton and Karl Henry as defensive midfielders, so one would have to consider Cambiasso an upgrade even at his age and with no Premier League experience…

Jack Collison

A one-time highly-rated youngster, Jack Collison has been a victim of a number of injuries in recent seasons that have hampered his career. After a couple of appearances on loan in the Championship with both Bournemouth and Wigan Athletic last season, West Ham released Collison this summer.

An experienced Premier League midfielder who would be useful for many a team if he stays a fit. A player that QPR have the wage budget to take a chance on this summer.

Will Liverpool & Man United Swap Places?

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Liverpool’s Premier League showing in 2013/14 was a remarkable improvement for a team who finished outside of the top 6 the previous year. Brendan Rogers’ signing of Danny Wellbeck was justified as he racked up an impressive 21 goals and 7 assists, and Luis Suarez lit up the league with 31 goals and a PFA Player of The Year award.

Was it not for an unfortunate slip by Steven Gerrard against Chelsea which led to a goal, and an incredible turnaround from Crystal Palace, who came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 in May, then the title could’ve been heading to Liverpool. They finished second in the end, but the season was far from a failure, and Rogers has rightly received the credit he deserves for putting LFC back in Europe.

One important question, which seems to have been ignored, is just how much Liverpool owe to their lack of European football last time around for their domestic success. The group stages of the Champions League alone bring six games, and if you make it past there you can add another two. They also exited the FA Cup fairly early, and as such were able to focus on the Premier League fully, able to recover for a week before the next fixture.

Manchester United meanwhile, under the short tenure of David Moyes, were busy in Europe and busy on home soil working their way towards their worst premier league finish in years. But with Louis Van Gaal getting his summer spending started early, with successful bids for Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera, United are a good bet to finish in the top four next season.

With the transfer window shaping up nicely the bookies are working out their favorites for the season, with Liverpool on 8/1 with betfair.com to finish in the top four, and United on 11/2to do the same.

Van Gaal won’t have to worry about the travel and fatigue which can deplete squads playing both domestically and abroad, and with a stronger team than the one Moyes left behind, he’ll be well placed to hit the ground running. Liverpool on the other hand will have the opposite; their success last season will mean they’re stretched by a run of European games in 2014/15, and unless they strengthen significantly they’ll find the going tough. The addition of Adam Lallana and Ricky Lambert certainly strengthens the team but if they can see through their rumored interest in yet another Southampton target, Dejan Lovren, he could prove a more telling addition given the team’s lack of defensive quality.

It will also be interesting to see how the latest Suarez drama plays out, should he stay at Anfield a Suarez ban would certainly add to the difficult of the challenge facing Rogers’ men and if he goes the Uruguayan will be a huge loss. All things considered Van Gaal’s Man Utd have an excellent chance of finishing above their fierce rivals once more.

Will Atletico sign Negredo?

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Atletico Madrid are interested in signing Manchester City’s forward Alvaro Negredo. The Spanish giants are looking for a replacement for Diego Costa who will probably join Chelsea after the Brazil World Cup.

Atletico are willing to offer up to €31 millions for the Spanish international. Negredo had a good start at City but his performances decreased at the end of the season.

If the move will be done City will make a small some profit from the player sale as Negredo was brought for around €25 millions.

Negredo failed to make the squad for the World Cup but even so he remains one of the best Spanish strikers.

Atletico will have to reorganize quickly as David Villa will also leave the club.

PSG to sign David Luiz

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PSG have come to an agreement with Chelsea over the transfer sum of David Luiz. The Brazilian defender would cost £40 millions, a record for PSG.

David Luiz started only 15 games for Chelsea this season as Mourinho preferred John Terry and Gary Cahill in the center of defence. The defender joined Chelsea from Benfica in 2011 for a sum of around £21 millions.

PSG have beaten Barcelona who were also interested in signing the Brazilian. Most of the specialists believe that PSG paid too much for the defender. David Luiz will partner Thiago Silva at the back and this could be one of the best central defender pairings in Europe.

This move could be the end of Marquinhos at PSG. The Brazilian youngster failed to impose at PSG as Alex was preferred most of the time.

Barcelona are interested in signing him and it’s believed that they would offer up to €35 millions.

Will Germany win the 2014 World Cup?

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With a rich World Cup pedigree and a worldwide reputation for being formidable, Germany will approach Brazil 2014 amongst the favorites to win the tournament. The three-time World Cup winners remain among the highest ranked nations in world football, and have made considerable steps in recent years to preserve their dominance. Having not won a major international tournament since winning Euro ’96, Germany changed their entire football philosophy and placed great emphasis on youth production which would create many generations of world-class players. The 23-man squad which Joachim Low will put his faith in to take Germany one step further from consecutive third-placed finishes in 2006 and 2010 will illustrate the considerable wealth of top young players that is emerging from youth academies. With the German squad announced, it will be fascination to see if they live up to expectation as Europe’s greatest hope of challenging Brazil and Argentina to win the 2014 World Cup.

Provisional squad

As this summer’s World Cup draws ever closer, managers of the thirty-two participating nations will begin to finalize their plans and publicly announce the 23 players who will represent their country in Brazil. Germany has a vast talent pool to choose from, with a number of experienced players also available for selection in what could be their final World Cup hurrah. Many managers would love to be in Joachim Low’s shoulders in having so many world-class players at their disposal, although it has created widespread debates as to which of Germany’s young proteges are ready to play at the most prestigious tournament in football.

The recent announcement of Germany’s provisional 30-man squad for Brazil 2014 raised a few eyebrows, as a number of the Bundesliga’s young superstars have been preferred over experienced players who bring previous World Cup experience to the table. Joachim Low has picked a squad he believes has the right balance of experience and carefreeness from young players who are given license to express and enjoy themselves.

Goalkeepers

Goalkeepers may arguably be the only area which met all expectations, although Kevin Trapp and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen may feel unfortunate to be left out after enjoying excellent seasons for their respective clubs. Manuel Neuer, Roman Weidenfeller and Ron-Robert Zieler stand out at the best German keepers, with Neuer remaining one of the best in the world and always hits top form at major tournaments.

Defenders

The absence of Heiko Westermann may appear surprising, but the Hamburg defender has seriously struggled for form during a nightmare season where they will face a promotion/relegation play-off to prevent dropping out of the Bundesliga. There is no place for Dennis Aogo either, as Low has gone for Borussia Dortmund’s up-and-coming 19-year-old left back Erik Durm, Shkodran Mustafi and Matthias Ginter. They accompany Germany’s best defenders in the form of Philipp Lahm, Mats Hummels and Per Mertesacker, while the likes of Jerome Boateng, Benedikt Howedes and Marcel Schmelzer completing a hugely impressive calibre of defensive options.

Midfielders

Despite missing the entire season through injury, the inclusion of Sami Khedira was widely predicted as Joachim Low places great value in the Real Madrid midfielder to control the engine room. Aside from Bastian Schweinsteiger, who was nailed on to be included as one of the best midfielders in the world, Low has opted for a young midfield packed with creative flair, pace and a nerveless approach to the game which will make them a formidable force. Schalke trio Leon Goretzka, Julian Draxler and Max Meyer are not only highly talented, but are poised to cap wonderful seasons by appearing at the 2014 World Cup. Another new name amongst the German ranks is Andre Hahn who has been a revelation in the Bundesliga with Augsburg, with the fastest player in Germany set to join Borussia Monchengladbach after the World Cup. Mario Gotze, Toni Kroos and Mesut Ozil were shoe-in inclusions, while Lars Bender offers defensive solidity that could be crucial against stronger nations.

Strikers

An excellent goal-scoring record for Germany was not enough for Mario Gomez to be called up for the 2014 World Cup, with the Fiorentina star missing out due to a lack of first-team action and missing most of the season through injury. Veteran star Miroslav Klose has, however, been included in the 30-man squad in what could be a sentimental gesture from Low to allow the 35-year-old to finish a wonderful international career in style. Klose is just two goals away from breaking Ronaldo’s all-time scoring record in World Cup tournaments – you would be hard pressed to back against Klose rolling back the years and making history. Alongside Klose will be the dangerous trio of Lukas Podolski, Marco Reus and Andre Schurrle, with Reus standing out as a striker on the very top of his game. Young prospect Kevin Volland got the nod ahead of Gomez – a decision which was well received across Germany, as the Hoffenheim starlet has excelled throughout the season and displayed a lethal touch in front of goal that could be useful at the World Cup.

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