The top 5 Premier League bargains of the season

Here is a look at some of the best bargain buys by Premier league clubs this season;

(5) William Gallas

Gallas arrived at White Hart Lane on a free transfer after his release by Arsenal. Harry Redknapp saw something in him that Arsene Wenger didn’t and Gallas went on to prove this season that he is still a top quality centre-half playing in 36 games for Spurs this season.

This signing is given more significance by the long-term injuries suffered by Tottenham’s first choice centre-half pairing Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate. Gallas has formed a decent partnership at the back with Michael Dawson, contributing to Tottenham’s terrific run to the Champions League quarter-finals.

Initially signed on a one-year deal, Gallas recently put pen to paper on a new two-year contract, fine reward for his displays this season.

(4) DJ Campbell

Dudley ‘DJ’ Campbell arrived at Blackpool from Leicester City in August 2010 for club record fee of £1.25million. He has made a total of thirty appearances for the Tangerines and has contributed thirteen goals and three assists in that time. It is this contribution to Blackpool’s excellent first season in the Premier League – albeit with survival not yet guaranteed – that makes him an absolute bargain at £1.25million, and credit must go to Ian Holloway for making this signing. If Blackpool do stay up, it will be in no small part to Campbell’s contribution.

(3) Peter Odemwingie

If DJ Campbell was an absolute bargain then Peter Odemwingie is definitely in the same category. Signed by Roberto Di Matteo in August 2010, Odemwingie had become a forgotten man plying his trade in Moscow but he has certainly made himself known with an excellent contribution of fifteen goals and nine assists to West Brom’s successful return to the Premier League.

(2) Rafael Van der Vaart

Not much can be said about the flying Dutchman that hasn’t already been said this season. His arrival at White Hart Lane from Real Madrid on transfer deadline day last August was the surprise of the transfer window. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy pulled off one of the bargains in Premier League history by signing the Dutch international for £8million, especially as he was reportedly due to sign for Bayern Munich for £18million on the previous day.

In his first season in English football, Van der Vaart has scored fourteen goals and contributed nine assists in a total of thirty-four appearances, and has added a touch of class to the Spurs attack. A mid-season dip in form followed a blistering start to his Spurs career but he has since bounced back, putting in some terrific performances along the way.

(1) Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez

The ‘Little Pea’ has endeared himself to both Man Utd and football fans alike in his debut season in English Football. His predator instincts on the pitch have prompted Sir Alex Ferguson to compare him to Gary Lineker, and few would argue with that appraisal as his positional sense and clinical finishing have proved invaluable to United’s push for both Premier League, and Champions League glory.

A return of twenty goals and two assists stands him above the rest in terms of value for money. A steal at £6million, the Man Utd scouts obviously saw something special in the 22-year old as a deal was done in the last week of May last year, prior to the World Cup – in which we all saw a glimpse of what was to come when he came off the Mexico bench to fire in a terrific opener against France.

If this season is a sign of things to come, it is safe to say that ‘Chicharito’ is clearly a United legend in the making.

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