리버풀은 2650만파운드를 주고 아틀레티코 마드리드로부터 페르난도 토레스를 영입했으며, 토트넘은 찰턴 어슬레틱의 대런 벤트를 데려오기 위해 1650만파운드를 썼다.

더비 카운티는 노르위치의 로버트 언쇼에게 350만파운드를 풀었다.

3개팀 모두 창단 이후 최다 이적료 신기록을 세운 것이다. 8월이 끝날 때쯤이면 2∼3개 클럽이 이적료 신기록을 다시 쓸 것으로 예견된다. 과연 최다 이적료가 프리미어리그 경기의 질을 높일 수 있을까?
　
토레스를 예로 들어보자. 그가 과연 지난 2004년 프랑스 옥세르로부터 영입한 지브릴 시세나, 바르셀로나로부터 들여온 루이스 가르시아보다 뛰어난가? 토레스는 아틀레티코 마드리드에서 뛸 당시 스타였으며 주장이었다.

하지만 그는 뤼트 판 니스텔로이(레알 마드리드)처럼 대량득점이 가능한 특급 킬러는 아니다. 리버풀은 한 시즌에 20골 이상을 터트려줄 스트라이커를 찾았겠지만 솔직히 토레스가 그 정도의 기량을 가졌는지 의문스럽다.

물론 토레스는 크레이크 벨라미나 피터 크라우치보다는 나을 수 있다. 하지만 이전 리버풀서 활약했던 마이클 오언처럼 천부적인 재능을 갖추고 있다고 보지 않는다.
　
필자는 레알 마드리드나 바르셀로나서 관심을 보이지 않는 스페인 선수들이 과연 프리미어리그를 대표하는 리버풀의 재건에 보탬이 될지 항상 의문을 품어왔다. 만일 리버풀이 리그 우승 타이틀을 되찾아온다면 모르겠지만 실패한다면 스페인 출신의 라파엘 베니테스 리버풀 감독은 여론의 비난에 직면할 것이다.
　
더비 카운티의 빌리 데이비스 감독은 언쇼의 영입의 필요성을 강변하고 있지만 과연 그가 어떤 변화를 선물할지, 몸값을 해낼지는 불확실하다.
　
대런 벤트를 받아들인 토트넘은 헛 돈을 썼다고 확실히 말할 수 있다. 그가 로비 킨과 베르바토프 중심으로 꾸려진 이 팀에서 해낼 역할은 보조 역할에 불과하다.

완벽한 조합을 꾸리고 있는 로비 킨과 베르바토프 이상의 몸값을 지불할 필요가 있었을까? 토트넘의 공격수 저메인 데포와 비교했을 때 대런 벤트만의 장점을 꼽기가 쉽지 않다.
　
하루가 다르게 선수들의 몸값은 치솟고 있지만 그만큼 프리미어리그가 아름다운 경기를 펼치고 있는 지에 대한 진지한 논의를 찾아볼 수 없음이 개탄스럽다. 그럼에도 새로운 TV 방송중계권 협상에 따라 당분간 이적료 신기록 행진은 멈출 기미가 보이지 않는다.

Skysports 부편집장

[칼럼 원문]

The great sums of money in the English Premier League have been shown over the past couple of weeks, with three clubs breaking their transfer records.
　
Liverpool, Derby County and Tottenham Hotspur have all spent more on one single player than ever before after the signings of Fernando Torres, Robert Earnshaw and Darren Bent respectively.
　
And, since the end of the 2005/06 season, half of the teams taking part in the Premier League next season have broken their transfer records.
　
What's more, it is highly likely that two or three more clubs will set new records before the transfer window closes at the end of August.
　
But is the fact that clubs are spending more money on players a sign that the quality is improving Starting with Liverpool, it is hard to judge at this stage whether the signing of Torres is going to represent a good deal or not.
　
Costing ?0million, plus Luis Garcia, Torres signing is far more expensive than the ?4million that the club paid Auxerre to sign Djibril Cisse in 2004.
　
During his time at Atletico Madrid, Torres was clearly the star player in the team and captain, yet he was not a prolific goalscorer in the style of someone like Ruud van Nistelrooy.
　

What Liverpool have been looking for is someone who will score 20 goals in the Premier League next season and Torres?record suggest it is not guaranteed he will do that.

Yes, he looks a better player than Craig Bellamy and Peter Crouch, for example, but it would be wrong to say he is a natural goalscorer, like former Reds ace Michael Owen.
　
And I always wonder with Spanish players leaving their own country, why have Real Madrid or Barcelona, or even one of the top Italian teams not come in for him? Okay, a move to Real would be difficult, and there are plenty of other

Spaniards at Liverpool to help him settle, but it did not seem that Liverpool had a lot of competition to sign Torres.
　
That would be a concern for me as to how well he will do at Anfield next season. If Liverpool win the title it will be money well spent, but failure to do so would lead many people to question Rafa Benitez's judgement in the transfer market when it comes to spending big money and getting value for it.

Derby's signing of Earnshaw was discussed last week, but he may not even be the club's record signing by the start of the season.

At .5million, he is 00,000 more expensive than the club's previous record buy, but manager Billy Davies has already said that a new figure could be set certainly Derby do need to make another big signing to boost their chances of staying up.
　
Tottenham's 6.5million signing of Bent is a very strange one and, on the face of it, a big waste of money, particularly when Dimitar Berbatov cost just over million last summer.

Bent is nowhere near as good as Berbatov and is not even guaranteed a place
　
in Tottenham's best team as Robbie Keane and Berbatov looks to be the perfect partnership.

It is an awful lot of money to spend on someone who could well be on the bench for most of the time there is certainly no difference in quality between Bent and his new team-mate Jermain Defoe.
　
The 6.5million asking price was set because of the bid by West Ham, but everyone knows that, like Chelsea before them, they have lots of money to spend and are prepared to pay silly prices.

I was surprised that Spurs were willing to pay so much money for Bent, who I do not see as having a resale value to match in the future.
　
So, from the most recent of the record signings, it is hard to say if the quality will improve. Obviously, Bent has already been playing in the top division, I'm not sure Earnshaw has improved that much and Torres is a big unknown the could be superstar or a super flop.
　
Since the end of last season, Portsmouth have also broken their transfer record in signing Ghana midfielder Sulley Muntari in a million deal from Udinese.
　
Portsmouth's previous record was the 4million paid for Benjani 18 months ago and Muntari could prove to be just as frustrating.
　
Muntari clearly has plenty of ability and would be capable of causing problems to opposition defences, but it is a gamble. However, Pompey manager Harry Redknapp is very good at taking a gamble on players and Muntari could work.

Redknapp may even spend roughly the same amount again on David Nugent and I think that would be a bigger risk as at least Muntari has played in the top division in Italy and at the World Cup.
　
Nugent averaged just a goal every three games in the Championship and million is a lot of money on an unproven striker the million Manchester United reportedly want for Alan Smith is much fairer, and realistic, in terms of ability and value.
　
Going back to last summer, and Chelsea, Bolton, Everton and Wigan all broke their transfer records and all on strikers, with Andrei Shevchenko, Nicolas Anelka, Andy Johnson and Emile Heskey the men in question.
　
Anelka is also Manchester City's record buy costing 3million five years ago. With Thaksin Shinawatra now owner of the club, and Sven Goran Eriksson as manager, that record could also be broken.

However, I think it may stand for the time being as there are not many players costing that much that City would be able to sign this summer and City need several players to improve, not just one big name.
　
Ki-hyeon Seol was Reading's record signing last summer before Greg Halford joined in a 5million deal in January.
　
Halford has now been sold for a profit, so Reading could set a new record, although I don't think the 65million Aston Villa paid for Ashley Young in January will be bettered.

Arsenal's million signing of Eduardo da Silva is short of the 3million spent on Sylvain Wiltord in 2000 and I would be surprised if Arsene Wenger spends more than that this summer, particularly with the doubts about his future.
　
Though Manchester United have spent over million on new players this summer, the single record purchase remain Rio Ferdinand for 0million in 2002, with Wayne Rooney costing around that much with the various clauses in his 2004 transfer from Everton.
　
Fulham will never break the record 1.5million signing of Steve Marlet in 2001, and I would be surprised if Blackburn spend more than the million they did on Andy Cole in 2001, and Middlesbrough the 15million for Massimo Maccarone in 2002.
　
West Ham will shortly set a new record with the signing of Craig Bellamy and
　
Birmingham could go past the 375million for David Dunn and Sunderland the 75million for Tore Andre Flo.

The longest-standing transfer record is the 5million that Newcastle paid to sign Alan Shearer way back in 1996.

That proved to be money well spent and, with the odd exception, few of the other record signings of Premier League clubs can say the same.
　
It remains to be seen if the new signings can live up to their price tags in the new season, but with so much money from the new television deal going around, more transfer records look set to be broken.