On September 2 last year, as the transfer deadline day came to a close, David Moyes was trying and failing miserably to strengthen his Manchester United squad three matches into his first and only season in charge at Old Trafford.
Along with United executive vice chairman Ed Woodward, Moyes resided over a shambolic transfer window as they missed out on several targets and then overpaid for Marouane Fellaini with a fee of £27.5 million (Dh168.8m) to Everton.
Weeks earlier, United had offered the club close to that amount for Fellaini and Leighton Baines as a package, the latter who they did not sign at all.
A poor transfer window was not the only reason for the problems for Moyes and United last season, but it certainly did not help.
Now, 11 months later, the English Premier League’s big clubs seem determined to wrap up their summer shopping before the transfer window ends on September 1.
Maybe the days of last-minute faxed bids and private helicopter rides are coming to an end.
Like the schoolchild cramming on the eve of a big exam, Premier League managers have too often been left scrambling for loan deals or paying over the odds as the clock ticked down. No longer, it seems.
This summer has seen lots of business completed with less than two weeks to go of pre-season with the first ball to be kicked in competitive action on August 16.
Champions Manchester City have been quieter than usual in the market, adding only Bacary Sagna, goalkeeper Willy Caballero from Malaga and Porto’s Brazilian midfielder Fernando. Manuel Pellegrini is clearly happy with his squad.
Liverpool were spared a second successive summer of a will-he-won’t-he saga with Luis Suarez after the Uruguayan moved to Barcelona just days after the World Cup.
Even before then Brendan Rodgers had been busy reshaping his squad with Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovern, Emre Can and Lazar Markovic so far all signed.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have defined no-nonsense business. Two of the summer’s biggest signings, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, were secured before July was out, and they will be joined by Atletico Madrid’s Felipe Luis and the returning loanee Thibaut Courtois.
Jose Mourinho does not do last-minute panic buys and he is not about to change his shopping habits.
At Arsenal, any dithering by Arsene Wenger was avoided as he signed forward Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona in a big statement of intent.
Roberto Martinez, in his first season at Everton last summer, impressed with last gasp moves to acquire Gareth Barry and Romelu Lukaku on loan, but he has not left it to the last minute this summer in signing both men to full-time deals. While the top five last season have, to varying degrees, strengthened already settled squads, there is little doubt which club has been the story of the summer.
Louis van Gaal has wasted no time trying to move Manchester United on from their disappointing year under Moyes with new training methods, fitness regimes and tactical formations.
Yet, he knows that one or two big money signings are still needed to satisfy the club’s expectant fans, with midfielder Ander Herrera from Athletic Bilbao already signed and impressing in friendlies.
Arturo Vidal and Mats Hummels are rumoured targets, and Van Gaal will be wary of getting involved in self-defeating bidding wars so late in the day.
Deadline day may be a media driven circus that clubs, and fans, seem unable to resist, but it is bad practice to sign players after the start of the season.
Again this summer, any deadline-day move will mean the player in question would have missed his new club’s first three league matches and, more importantly, a pre-season, which allows him to get accustomed to new surroundings, teammates and playing systems.
Liverpool’s solid start to last season showed just how important it is to hit the ground running. Even without the suspended Suarez, Liverpool recorded three 1-0 wins at the start of the season to top the Premier League table before transfer deadline day.
It set the tone for the rest of their campaign – the previous season’s seventh-placed team produced a strong, but ultimately unsuccessful, title challenge.
The new Dutch manager of last season’s seventh-placed team knows exactly what needs to be done to repeat the trick – and it does not involve leaving things until the late hours of September 1.
akhaled@thenational.ae
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if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
Jebel Ali Dragons 26 Bahrain 23
Dragons
Tries: Hayes, Richards, Cooper
Cons: Love
Pens: Love 3
Bahrain
Tries: Kenny, Crombie, Tantoh
Cons: Phillips
Pens: Phillips 2
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
The years Ramadan fell in May
england euro squad
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Man Utd), Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordan Pickford (Everton)
Defenders: John Stones (Man City), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), Harry Maguire (Man Utd), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Man City), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Reece James (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid)
Midfielders: Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds)
Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Raheem Sterling (Man City), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
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Tips on buying property during a pandemic
Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.
While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.
While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.
Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.
Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.
Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.
Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
