Signing of the decade 2010-2019

[SilentWitness]

Which signing during this period has changed/shaped a team/been vitally important to their progress or stature?

I'm limiting mine to the PL as that is what i watch the most but i'd have to go for De Gea or Silva, for different reasons.

Silva has been crucial to City not only in his style of play and what he does on the pitch but being a voice of maturity and knowledge that is a mainstay in the side for a number of years. Every successful teams needs 'old' heads or a solid foundation of players to build around and he has been one of those for City. 30m too, absolute steal.

De Gea for different reasons. It's widely regarded that if he wasn't in net for you post Ferguson things would be much worse than they have been and I don't think that's just a throwaway line. He's kept you in games that have been paramount to the silverware you've won and to keeping you in contention for CL and EL places. It's not often that a keeper wins POTY awards in general, let alone consecutively and at a club like United.

 

[Deleted member 101472]

Agree with you @SilentWitness

Value for money wise, and the fact that he’s arguably the best player in their history, I can’t see past Silva for this

 

[Samid]

David De Goat

 

[Pass and Move]

I think Aguero for City has been more important.

 

[groovyalbert]

David Silva or Aguero for City, De Gea for us.

Short term successes that could be included had they stayed/carried form through - Suarez and Van Persie

 

[roonster09]

De Gea, Aguero, Hazard in no particular order.

 

[AltiUn]

I think Aguero for City has been more important.

I tend to agree, Silva's been great don't get me wrong, but Aguero will go down as their greatest ever player. Be interesting to hear what the resident City fans have to say on the matter. Hazard for Chelsea has been very good too if not the best, they'll likely sell him on for a phenomenal amount of money too.

 

[Rado_N]

Fred.

 

[SilentWitness]

I think Aguero for City has been more important.

Yeah, he was the next person on the list for me, but i'd possibly allude to Silva for City being like Scholes for United. Not reflected by their playing style but their influence on everyone around them and the teams style.

 

[RedDave0209]

Paul Pogba to Juventus

 

[BobbyManc]

Tough to single one out at City out of Aguero, Silva and Toure. I'd probably edge towards Silva. Toure has already left and was mostly redundant in his last year, and Aguero, while he has been magnificent, has struggled with injuries and Dzeko sometimes stepped up in his absence. So Silva gets it for longevity, consistency and his irreplaceableness (pretty sure this is not a real word).

Strong shouts for Hazard and de Gea too outside of City.

 

[RedDave0209]

Robert Lewandowski - Lech Poznan to Dortmund - 4M Euro

 

[Peyroteo]

Suarez to Barcelona

 

[Invictus]

In terms of sheer impact, I'd probably go with...

Premier League: Agüero
La Liga: Godín
Bundesliga: Neuer
Serie A: Pirlo
Ligue 1: Ibrahimović

Close competition with the likes of Silva, Hazard, De Gea, Modrić, Suárez, Griezmann, Reus, Lewandowski, Barzagli, Vidal, Pogba, Insigne, Icardi, Cavani for varied reasons — but when push comes to shove, I'm going to stick with the original selection. What's really striking is the Juventus quartet of Pirlo, Vidal, Pogba, Barzagli — signed for a combined transfer fee of less than €15 million (plus variable agent charges), and unmatched value for money in the contemporary era.

 

[Pass and Move]

Yeah, he was the next person on the list for me, but i'd possibly allude to Silva for City being like Scholes for United. Not reflected by their playing style but their influence on everyone around them and the teams style.

I think in the last couple of seasons Silva has been exceptional, but for years before that he rather flattered to deceive, and his goals and assists were a little underwhelming for a player of his ability. Pep really has unlocked his potential. The two of them and de Gea probably get my vote though.

 

[el magico]

I can't separate David Silva and Aguero in terms of contribution. However, for a different reason I think Tevez could be City's most significant signing. I wonder how much influence his move had on the willingness of players like Silva and Toure to move the following season, and totally change the perception of City as a club for big-name foreign signings.

Apart from de Gea I'm struggling to think of players who meet the OP's criteria: maybe Allison or van Dijk if the calamity should occur?

 

[SATA]

Hazard?

 

[el3mel]

Aguero and Hazard.

 

[IRELANDUNITED]

Suarez to Barcelona

Really?

 

[Klopper76]

Aguero literally won City their first league title in decades and has been an ever-present for them in terms of goal scoring.

David Silva & De Gea are good shouts as well but City seem to have consistently performed at a higher level whereas United haven't been as good since SAF retired, so I'd give the edge to either Aguero or Silva.

Have either of them had a bad season in England?

 

[Tommy]

Aguero for PL players. No brainer. One of the top 3 strikers of the PL era, and an irreplaceable asset for City... Well, I say irreplaceable, but they'll probably spend the deficit of a small country bringing someone in.

Really?

I mean, in 4 seasons he's become their 5th highest goal scorer of all time, won the treble, and has formed one of the best partnerships with Messi, second only to Iniesta. He's done very, very well for them.

Not sure he's deserving of the best signing of the decade, but he has been very good indeed.

 

[VanGaalEra]

Lovren

 

[roonster09]

Aguero literally won City their first league title in decades and has been an ever-present for them in terms of goal scoring.

David Silva & De Gea are good shouts as well but City seem to have consistently performed at a higher level whereas United haven't been as good since SAF retired, so I'd give the edge to either Aguero or Silva.

Have either of them had a bad season in England?

Aguero in 2012-13 and Silva wa average in Pellegrini's last season or before that.

 

[sugar_kane]

Marouane Fellaini
Shandong Luneng Taishan
(for us)

 

[The_Midfielder]

Hazard

 

[red_de_pologne]

Aguero and it's not even close

 

[ha_rooney]

Aguero

 

[Ish]

Aguero. Silva. De Gea.

 

[Trizy]

Modric. £30m in 2012.

4. FOUR! CL.

 

[SilentWitness]

It's interesting how close Silva and Aguero are to City fans in comparison to neutrals, I agree with @BobbyManc that at times Aguero has been in and out of the side with different players stepping up to the plate like Dzeko, Jesus et al., in a way that I haven't seen with Silva. Aye, that's down to injuries at points which isn't Agueros fault per say, but I reckon without Silva they'd have been worse off than without Aguero during this period.

If it's down to pure individualism i'd lean towards Aguero on this reflection and Silva in terms of team influence.

What's really striking is the Juventus quartet of Pirlo, Vidal, Pogba, Barzagli — signed for a combined transfer fee of less than €15 million (plus variable agent charges), and unmatched value for money in the contemporary era.

Incredible really also when you consider the profit they made on Vidal + Pogba. They've had some weird big money transfers that have skewed their record slightly but their aptitude for shrewdness in the market at times is probably unparalleled by any other top sides in the market this decade.

 

[Sassy Colin]

[ @Eboue ]Scott Dan[/@Eboue]

 

[2 man midfield]

De Gea and Aguero were the first to come to mind. I actually think Aguero has been underrated so I’m tempted to plump for him, but in terms of value for money I don’t think you can look past De Gea. 18m for the services of the worlds best goalkeeper for nearly a decade.

 

[ShadesOfTomato]

It was short lived, but Diego Costa has to be up there as one of the signings of the decade.

 

[Random Task]

It's got to be Aguero.

 

[Rob]

Toss up between de Gea, Silva and Aguero for me. De Gea has been the best in his position for a good number of years while the others have been central in City becoming the dominant force they are now.

 

[JoseandMkhiarespecial]

Eden Hazard, he scores most of Chelsea's goals, and is the only player in the PL who you can really call the next Messi or CR7 even if he's just below their level

Signed for cheap from a French club

 

[Schneckerl]

Really?

If you haven't noticed yet: All of his posts - even if it's a completely different subject and really far fetched - are trying to make Ronaldo look better in some way.

 

[JoseandMkhiarespecial]

I disagree with Aguero because Luis Suarez was better and Aguero probably wouldn't make the step up to Barcelona or Madrid whereas Pogba, Hazard and Suarez could/have

 

[padr81]

Aguero. Hazard, DDG coming close. A certain Mr. Salah might have a say in a couple of seasons though.

 

[Eboue]

[ @Eboue ]Scott Dan[/@Eboue]

There are two n's in Scott Dann.