As the summer transfer window reaches a crescendo of activity, Sky Sports runs the rule over the high-profile movers in the Premier League. Hit or miss? Read our assessment and offer your own verdict here...
Monday 1 September 2014 12:19, UK
LOIC REMY
To: Chelsea
From: Queens Park Rangers
Fee: £10.5m
Age: 27
Position: Striker
Nationality: French
BIO
After beginning his apprenticeship and professional career at hometown club Lyon, where he was a part of a squad who won two Ligue 1 titles, Remy went on loan to Lens in 2008. But it was then in three productive years at Nice where he would begin to make his name as a goalscorer. A move to Marseille and another Ligue 1 title followed before Queens Park Rangers signed the forward in 2013. Last season’s loan at Newcastle United underlined Remy’s class and he looked on the brink of joining Liverpool earlier this summer before the move broke down. Chelsea then activated Remy’s QPR release clause and completed a deal the day before the transfer deadline.
THEY SAY
Sky Sports expert Jamie Redknapp: “Loic Remy is a player I have seen closely at QPR and I just think, ‘Why would you go to Chelsea at the moment? Where are you going to play?’. He is not. Could he play in the wide positions ahead of Eden Hazard and Andre Schurrle and people like that? Absolutely not, and he is certainly not going to play ahead of Diego Costa. So he is going there to play in the Capital One Cup and the odd Champions League game here and there.”
HE SAYS
"I feel very happy and very proud. When I heard Chelsea wanted to sign me, I said, ‘let's go’ straight away, because they are one of the best clubs in the world. I remember the amazing atmosphere at Stamford Bridge when I played there for Marseille and I cannot wait to play for the first time in front of my new fans."
HIT?
Chelsea have undoubtedly got their hands on a goalscorer of the Premier League's high standards. With 14 goals in 26 Premier League appearances for Newcastle last season, there can be no questions about Remy’s ability. He will also be a back-up option for Diego Costa who is not carrying the apparent chronic loss of confidence which had felled Fernando Torres before the Spaniard’s loan to AC Milan. At the same time, the loan of Marco van Ginkel to AC Milan, in the wake of Torres, has sorted Chelsea’s foreign player quota.
MISS?
As Redknapp suggests, will Remy be happy to spend what is likely to be a large period of time on Chelsea’s bench? Jose Mourinho’s squad have made an impressive 100 per cent start to the season and they do not need their harmony disrupting. There will also be question marks about Remy at the biggest clubs in the wake of the undisclosed reasons for Liverpool opting not to pursue a deal.
VERDICT
Remy’s goalscoring ability is not in dispute and he will provide a more than handy deputy for Costa. A transfer fee of £10.5m is also loose change for Chelsea, which means all they needed to do was address that total of foreign players. If Remy remains happy with what is expected to be a bit-part role, this one looks like a hit.
