Squad goals: See how a busy transfers season has changed the football landscape

Some teams, such as Real Madrid, may have a distinctly new look, having swept many of the world’s biggest talents into their stable.

With the World Cup fever-dream now well and truly behind us, and the football leagues ready to kick off a new season, here’s a quick look at some of the most exciting transfers in what has been one of the busiest summer-transfer windows in recent years.

Some teams, such as Real Madrid, may have a distinctly new look, having swept many of the world’s biggest talents into their stable. Others, such as Newcastle United, are on the other end of the spectrum, hollowed out after losing all their star players (though that has brought the club unprecedented earnings with which to rebuild in the future).

Any talk of transfers must start with Rodri, 30, the incomparable defensive midfielder who was the rock behind Manchester City’s most trophy-filled seasons under Pep Guardiola, and who was the World Cup’s player of the tournament, for his dictatorial control of the midfield.

His towering, all-pervasive presence, whether he was breaking up the opposition’s play or stitching his own team together, was a key factor in Spain’s World Cup triumph. Now he takes charge of Barcelona’s star-studded midfield and attack, and will look to recreate that World Cup magic with Spanish teammates Pedri and Lamine Yamal.

England winger Anthony Gordon, 25, and German winger Karim Adeyemi, 24, are the other new signings for Barcelona, who have sold World Cup-winning forward Ferran Torres to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

That may be a great move for Torres, 26, who didn’t entirely fit into Barcelona’s line-up and style of play. PSG doesn’t have an out-and-out forward. He can slip into that role with ease, and be assured of exceptional service from the team’s incredible array of attacking players, which include Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Vitinha.

Add Mika Godts to that list. The 21-year-old Belgian winger is a consummate dribbler who likes to shapeshift out of the tightest spaces. PSG picked him up from Ajax, the club that was once a production line spewing out the finest footballers in the world but has since conceded that space to Barcelona’s La Masia and France’s state-run Clairefontaine academies.

With Kvaratskhelia on the left and Godts on the right, PSG may be the most entertaining team to watch this season.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, have done more to bolster their defence than any other major club, buying Dutchman Denzel Dumfries, 30, from Inter Milan; Spain’s Marc Cucurella, 28, from Chelsea; and France’s Ibrahima Konate, 27, from Liverpool. That’s three of the best defenders in the world right now, each at their peak. The indefatigable Cucurella, flying about the pitch with his mass of curly hair, was one of the great sights of the World Cup. He keeps that hair wild because it makes it easier for his son, who has autism, to recognise him on the pitch. More power to Cucurella, his family and his hair.

If Rodri is the biggest move of the summer, Ivory Coast’s Yan Diomande can lay claim to being the biggest emerging talent. The lightning-fast 19-year-old winger moved from RB Leipzig to Real Madrid for 125 million Euros after a bidding war, and will form a trinity of speed demons with Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe.

The attacking combination that may dominate Europe, though, is Bayern Munich’s line-up of Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Diaz, now joined by Morocco’s star forward, Ismael Saibari, 25.

In England, it’s been all about central midfielders (those maestros who control and conduct the game) and obscene prices.

After years of patiently building a squad with academy players, intensively scouted young talent, and smart buys of players whose influence was not apparent but who blossomed at the club, Arsenal are finally in “win-now” mode, reaching for footballers with established credentials, to keep the momentum from their Premier League triumph going.

A strong attempt at luring Vini Jr away from Real failed at the last minute, but the London club secured the services of Brazil’s Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle, one of the best centre midfielders in the game, for $101 million. It was a blockbuster move, but in monetary terms was immediately overshadowed by Manchester City paying a record $153 million for Nottingham Forest’s influential midfielder Elliot Anderson. A few weeks later, Chelsea broke that record by signing forward Morgan Rogers for over $156 million.

The summer transfer window runs until September 1, so expect more major moves. For example, who will Arsenal target now that Vini Jr has turned them down?

(Email rudraneil@gmail.com. The views expressed are personal)