World Football Transfer Speculation: Top 6 Defenders Available

This article will highlight the top six defenders available during the summer transfer window.

It hasn’t listed Mats Hummels, Thiago Silva, Nemanja Vidić and Branislav Ivanović because they aren’t likely to leave this summer.

Regarding Ivanović, yes, Real Madrid want to sign him, but they should have voiced their interest before he extended his contract to 2016. Chelsea won’t sell Ivanović for anything under £30 million.

The defenders listed here are players who are certainties to leave this summer. 

José Bosingwa didn’t live up to his £16.2 million transfer fee at Chelsea. 

He was consistently caught out of position week in, week out.

If he didn’t pull his hamstring against Napoli, Ashley Cole wouldn’t have come on to block Christian Maggio's goal-bound shot, and it would have been 4-1 Napoli.

Chelsea won the UEFA Champions League in spite of Bosingwa.

There’s a reason why Chelsea decided not to extend his contract. 

Ricardo van Rhijn is a better right-back than Gregory van der Wiel, and Van Rhijn is a natural centre-back.

Van der Wiel’s defending this season has been José Bosingwa-esque.

However, Van der Wiel’s athleticism and attacking instincts are two reasons why clubs should take a risk on him.  

It’s not Willy Boly’s fault that he played with inept teammates at Auxerre.

Boly was a standout with commanding performances from centre-back.

He subdued Saint-Étienne’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who didn’t get a shot on target during a 0-0 draw. 

In a 2-0 win over Toulouse, Boly won back possession eight times.

Boly proved how great he was when he made six interceptions in a 1-1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain.

L'Équipe ranked him as Ligue 1’s second-best centre-back. Remember, he played for the worst team in the league.

With Auxerre suffering relegation, top clubs should also take a look at Dennis Oliech and Alain Traoré. 

When French Football Weekly asked 10 Ligue 1 experts to select their Team of the Year, every single one of them picked Mathieu Debuchy at right-back.

He’s always roaming up and down that right flank, which is why he scored five goals—five more league goals than Stewart Downing.

Debuchy is hit or miss when it comes to defending, as evident with 1.2 tackles per foul.

It doesn’t look good when compared to a world-class right-back like Łukasz Piszczek, who completes 4.7 tackles per foul.

Talking about Piszczek, he won’t leave Borussia Dortmund unless Real Madrid offers crazy money, like paying €30 million for Fábio Coentrão. 

Having spent seven years at La Masia, surely Barcelona is the only destination for Jordi Alba, especially with Éric Abidal’s retirement. 

If Barça sign Alba, he’ll be a left-sided version of Dani Alves—talk about double the trouble for opposing defences.

Is Alba a liability in defence? Yes, when he’s caught out of position.

To say he doesn't track back would be harsh because he completed 71 tackles and intercepted the ball 103 times.  

Jan Vertonghen, the Eredivisie Player of the Year, was immense for Ajax.

Tottenham Hotspur won’t cave in to Ajax’s demands for a higher transfer fee, considering Vertonghen could be signed for free next season. 

Daniel Levy should contemplate about giving Steven Caulker a chance, because the 20-year-old was impressive on loan at Swansea City. 

Please read Statistical Analysis of M'Vila. 

Statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com.