잉글랜드 프리미어리그 신흥 라이벌 맨체스터 유나이티드(이하 맨유)와 첼시가 이적시장에서 엇갈린 행보를 보이고 있다.

맨유는 거액을 들여 나니, 안데르손, 오웬 하그리브스를 영입한 반면 첼시는 아직 지갑을 열지 않은 채 탈 벤 하임, 스티브 시드웰, 클라우디오 피사로를 이적료없이 자유계약선수 신분으로 영입했다.
　
맨유와 첼시 모두 이적시장에서의 원칙은 간단하다. '다음시즌 더 좋은 팀을 만든다'이다. 무리뉴 감독이 꿈꾸는 다음 시즌 목표는 챔피언스리그 우승.

제일 먼저 취약 포지션을 보강하기 위한 행보를 보이고 있다. 첼시의 약점으로 꼽히는 포지션은 오른쪽 측면 수비. 지난 시즌 마이클 에시앙, 칼리트 불라루즈 등을 연이어 기용했지만 재미를 보지 못했다.

이에 무리뉴는 볼턴에서 벤 하임을 데려왔다. 이스라엘 국가대표 출신인 그는 볼턴 소속이던 지난시즌 웨인 루니 등을 막지 못해 맨유전서 2차례나 4실점을 허용하는 전례가 있다.
　
다음으로 시드웰. 그는 레딩에서 첫시즌을 보냈고 자유계약으로 첼시에 입단했다. 시드웰은 무리뉴가 좋아할 스타일의 선수다. 그는 공을 잘 지킬 뿐만 아니라 좋은 태클기량이 있다.

하지만 그가 첼시를 더 강하게 만들 것이라고 보긴 어렵다. 시드웰은 람파드 마케렐레, 에시엔에 비해서 더 낫다고 말하기 어렵다.
　
세 번째로 계약한 피사로는 파라과이 출신의 스트라이커. 바이에른 뮌헨은 피사로를 내보내고 2005~2006시즌 득점왕 루카 토니를 피오렌티나에서 영입했고 웨르더 브레멘의 클로제 영입도 바라보게 됐다. 두 선수는 피사로보다 낫다. 그래서 바이에른의 전력은 차라리 더 강화 됐다.
　
무리뉴는 아프리카 내이션스 컵에 관심을 집중하고 있다. 드록바나 에시엔 같은 중요선수들이 출전하기 때문이다. 그들은 6주간 내이션스컵 토너먼트에 출전한다. 무리뉴에게는 이럴 때 시드웰이나 피사로가 필요하다. 그러나 나는 이들이 그 기간 동안 첼시를 만족시킬 것이라고 생각하지는 않는다.
　
나는 이번시즌 첼시의 선수 영입이 아직 끝나지 않았다고 생각하지만 맨유에 뒤처져 있다고 믿는다.
　
맨유가 영입한 나니와 안데르손은 어린 선수들이고 프리미어리그에서 증명되지 않은 것은 사실이다. 그러나 그들은 대단히 큰 가능성과 능력이 있다. 그들은 루니나 호날두, 긱스 같은 선수들이다.
　
아직 빠른 판단이지만 맨유가 타이틀을 다시 잡을 가능성이 크다. 하지만 무리뉴가 영리한 판단으로 선수를 선택하고 유명선수들을 영입한다면 최고의 효과를 낼 수 있다.

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Having looked at Manchester United's new signings, taking a look at the players Chelsea have brought in for next season it is clear to see that there is a big difference.
　
While United have spent around million on three players, Chelsea have yet to pay a penny for the three players signed so far.

United have spent big on Nani, Anderson and Owen Hargreaves, while Chelsea have gone for the cheap option in Tal Ben Haim, Steve Sidwell and Claudio Pizarro.
　
But it is not just money where the two clubs have been different in thetransfer market, it is also quality.

Put simply, United have signed players who could make them a better team, Chelsea have signed players who won's make them a better team at all. From spending over million in the previous three summers, Jose Mourinho has been picking up bargains this time, with some reports claiming it is because owner Roman Abramovich is falling out of love with the club.

Therefore, the Russian is reluctant to spend large sums of his own money on something he no longer cares quite so much about. Alternatively, it could be viewed as a sign that Mourinho is actually back in control of signings after the arrivals of Michael Ballack and Andrei Shevchenko were down to what Abramovich wanted.

I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. With Ballack and Shevchenko not justifying their money, it is easy to understand why Abramovich would not be keen to spend so much again.

And Mourinho will also be happy to be able to bring in the players he feels will best suit Chelsea's needs next season as they look to get the Premier League title back from United.

But, in order to assess whether Chelsea can do that and also win the Champions League we need to look at the quality of players signed by Mourinho and what they will actually bring to the team.

Starting with Ben Haim, he will clearly be providing the cover in defence as he is nowhere near the level of ability as first-choice centre-halves Ricardo Carvalho and captain John Terry.

The Israel international is a steady enough player, but he is exposed against genuine top-class players just see how he struggled to cope with Wayne Rooney when United twice scored four past Bolton last season.

The centre-half position, though, was one that Mourinho needed to look at as Michael Essien had to play in that position on far too many occasions last season.

Khalid Boulahrouz was not rated as good enough by Mourinho and it is fair to assume the Dutch defender will be sold, particularly if Alex gets a work permit to complete his move from PSV Eindhoven.

Alex is owned by Chelsea, but has been on loan at PSV. He is expected to be able to play for Chelsea next season, but again he would not get in the team ahead of Carvalho and Terry, if Mourinho is picking his strongest side.

Next we have Sidwell, who has joined on a free transfer from Reading after a satisfactory first season in the Premier League. Sidwell is the type of player that Mourinho likes he works hard for the team, he generally keeps the ball well and is good in the tackle.

But to say he will improve Chelsea's team is a tough statement to make. He is not better than Claude Makelele in his position, not better than Essien in his position and not better than Frank Lampard in his position.

Mourinho also then has Ballack and John Obi Mikel, along with Lassana Diarra, so it is difficult to see how Sidwell will add to the Chelsea team, except in the League Cup!

Sidwell's chances of playing in the Chelsea team will be even less, if Mourinho goes back to his favoured system of playing three central midfield players, two wingers and one striker.

Being fair to Sidwell, I would say he is now only the sixth best central midfielder at Stamford Bridge and I do not see him being a player who will help Chelsea win the title or the Champions League.

The third signing to date is Pizarro, the Paraguay striker who has joined on a Bosman free transfer from Bayern Munich. I think Bayern were happy to let Pizarro leave, particularly as Luca Toni has joined from Fiorentina and Miroslav Klose is expected to sign from Werder Bremen.

Both of those players are better than Pizarro, so Bayern have not weakened their squad by allowing him to leave for nothing. So what have Chelsea got in Pizarro Someone who is not as good as Didier Drogba, that's for sure, so the 4-3-3 formation would not see him start on a regular basis.

If Mourinho sticks with 4-4-2, he could get a game more often, but there is still Shevchenko to consider and he may actually be much improved next season after getting used to the demands of English football. Pizarro, then, is a player who, like Ben Haim and Sidwell, will provide Mourinho with reliable cover in the event of injuries, and also the African Nations Cup.

Mourinho has been worried about that competition and key players such as Drogba and Essien could be missing for around six weeks while the tournament is staged.

If that is the case, then the likes of Sidwell and Pizarro will be needed, but I do not feel they are good enough to help Chelsea keep up with United for several weeks maybe a couple of games, but not six or seven.

Also, Mourinho had said he wanted to sign a right-back for next season. He has not done so as yet, so maybe that will be where he spends his money this summer.

Alternatively, Ben Haim can play in that position, but it would only leave Chelsea with the same problems as last season when several players were tried at right-back. Yet I can not get away from the feeling that Chelsea's signings could actually see them fall further behind United when you compare the two clubs.

Yes, Nani and Anderson are young and unproven in the Premier League, but they have great potential and great talent. They are players who can win games for United and merely add to the talents of Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs, Scholes etc.

And they could also help United have the core of a team for a decade there is no reason why Anderson, Nani, Rooney and Ronaldo can not be together for that long. It seems to me that the early signs are that United should be favourites to　win the title again, but it has to be said that Mourinho is a clever judge

of a player and it may be going against buying big-name players will help him to get the best out of Chelsea.