Barcelona’s Yaya Toure has been somewhat in the transfer spotlight as of late, after several clubs in the Premier League have shown a keen interest in the Ivorian defensive midfielder this summer.
However, is the 27-year-old really worth all the hype? Or is he in fact the ‘real deal’ like so many claim?
Last season, the 6’ 3’’ midfielder did not feature as regularly in the Barcelona side as he would have hoped for, after the emergence of Sergio Busquets in the first-team.
Intense speculation continues to grow as the player’s future at the Catalan club appears to be coming to an end, prompting the Ivorian international to look for a new club this summer.
Many Premier League sides including the likes of Chelsea, Manchester Cityand Arsenal have expressed their interest in the solid midfielder and for good reason. Toure himself has also stated that he would relish the prospect of playing in England next season, which will no doubt boost the interested clubs confidence in signing the player this summer.
Reports suggest that Barcelona are willing to sell the midfielder during the summer window, but only for the right price. His suitors have valued Toure at an estimated £20 million, although they are reluctant to sell unless a bid of £30-35 million is tabled during the summer window…overrated and overpriced? A resounding yes springs to mind.
Yaya Toure has propelled his status within the game as time has gone by since making his move from Monaco in 2007. However, many fans (along with me) may argue that the player has been receiving a bit too much praise and hype as of late. He’s good, but maybe not as good as people make him out to be. His price-tag appears to be a bit far-fetched in some fans eyes (which includes me), especially when taking into consideration the fact that there are other players in the world who are better in his position (and generally in the midfield area) and for some strange reason they are valued at a lower price (Cesc Fabregas springs to mind).
Toure has a fairly good knowledge of the game and reads it pretty well. The midfielder possesses good agility and physical strength as well as tremendous aerial ability (only because of his height of course)…clearly everything that makes a fine defensive midfielder these days.
His job is to primarily break up attacks, plain and simple. Toure is definitely not one to create a magical moment or thread killer balls, far from it, he lets the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta produce this on the pitch. Yaya rarely pushes up beyond the half way line, the only time he ever does this is, is when his team have earned a free-kick or corner.
Arguably the player does obtain natural ability and has a football brain in his head, However consider this, if the player cannot get into the Barcelona squad as a starter ahead of Sergio Busquets (who is worse than Toure in my opinion), then surely this suggests that Toure has lost something in the past year or so, so why so much hype over him? Many would believe that the player gets such notice because he is signed to Barcelona, and as such, plays with the best footballers in the world week in week out (well when he used to play that is), So, the next question would be, would Yaya draw as much hype as he has been if he weren’t apart of Barcelona? Don’t think so.
Is he really a £30-£35 million player? Debatable, considering the fact that Barcelona want Cesc Fabregas this summer for a similar price. Finally, is Toure really worth all the hype? Again, it’s a contentious issue which really depends on whether you (the fans) believe Yaya is a good player or not.
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