The new strikers? Why clubs are spending more on midfielders than ever before

Admit it, when you were growing up you dreamed of becoming a footballer. We all did, didn’t we? Specifically a goalscorer, a glory-getter, a star striker.

Goals win games, and for years transfer values reflected that simple fact. Buy a great striker, get him the ball, win. It’s what inspired Blackburn to buy Alan Shearer for £15million, Real Madrid to break the transfer record to get Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008 and Liverpool to splash out £130million on Alexander Isak last summer (with the jury still out on that one).

Clubs have spent eye-watering amounts on forwards who we can safely say did or have not lived up to expectations. The Darwin Nunez, Rasmus Hojlund and Nick Woltemade’s of the world.

But in recent years, something has changed in the Premier League waters, as directors of football across the country have been more willing to splash out on midfielders than ever before.

Elliot Anderson, £116million. Sandro Tonali, £92.5million. Mateus Fernandes, a recently-relegated player, £85million.

Even on the slightly lower end of the financial scale Manchester United happily forked out about £50million on Andrey Santos – a player who it’s hard to say stood out at Chelsea last season.

All of those players are varying levels of good and will likely become varying levels of great, but their signatures are yet another sign that the Premier League is doubling down on its collective mission to become the pressiest form of football known to man.

Managers across the league now put more importance than ever on off the ball shape and midfield, while always the battleground where games were truly won and lost, is becoming even more of a warzone of duels and triggers.

Liverpool have gone back to ‘heavy-metal football’ by appointing Andoni Iraola, Bournemouth and Newcastle have Red Bull-flavoured pressing disciples in charge, Leeds manager Daniel Farke saved his job last season by switching to a more aggressive style and even champions Arsenal are better without the ball than with it under Mikel Arteta.

Goals still win games, but getting the ball near the opposition goal relies on the power of your engine room – whether it be through dominating the ball with Rodri at the base or through quick turnovers from Dominik Szoboszlai’s endless supply of energy.

So while it is still insane to see a deep-lying midfielder move for enough money to pay Charlton’s wage bill for at least 10 years, you can begin to understand why.

Although Tottenham fans would still have liked their new man Fernandes to have stopped Arsenal winning the league after his miss against them in May – now that would’ve been worth the money.

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