While we still sit patiently waiting for the "big" transfer deals to go through, fresh faces continue to steadily filter their way into England, with Liverpool and Sunderland both opting to go French with their latest targets in the transfer market. This article looks at their two newest recruits, Taye Ismaila Taiwo and David Ngog.

Taye Ismaila Taiwo (Sunderland): The left-field transfer story of the day is that Roy Keane is chasing 23-year-old Marseille left-back Taye Ismaila Taiwo for a reported £7million, according to The Times. Keane, fresh from seemingly buying as many Spurs squad players as he possibly can, seems to be after a player who could adapt to the Premier League with ease.

Ligue 1 is a good grounding for left full-backs and Taiwo seems to have all the necessary attributes to succeed in England -pace, strong in the tackle, physical strength, good crossing and, the icing on the cake, a powerful left foot (example here). This left-footed rocket measured at travelling 130kph.

Taiwo’s CV also includes being voted the third best player at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship behind Jon Obi Mikel and Lionel Messi, where Nigeria lost 2-1 in the final to Argentina. And in 2006 he grabbed the Young African Player of the Year award.

There are, however, some doubts about his tactical ability and his right foot is nowhere near as strong as his left, but his strength and pace can cover up these deficiencies, although it has got Taiwo sent off in the past (see here). A longer compilation featuring Taye Taiwo can be seen here.

David Ngog (Liverpool): Rafa Benitez may still be frustrated in trying to bring in his two main transfer targets, Robbie Keane and Gareth Barry, but this has not halted the Spaniard from luring another fresh face to Anfield. His latest signing is one for the future, having reportedly paid £1.5m to secure the services of 19-year-old David Ngog from Paris St Germain.

Ngog, who was played up front by PSG, broke into the first team last season, making 19 appearances but only chalking up one goal against Lorient all the way back in September 2007 (you can see the goal here). From the Parisians’ perspective, the transfer is a blow to their rebuilding efforts, having clung on to their Ligue 1 status by their fingernails on the final day of the season.

PSG would like to be introducing fresh blood into their team, looking to find long-term solutions to their long-term under-performance. Instead, they have been forced to buy short-term golden oldies, bringing in Claude Makelele and Ludovic Giuly to bolster the ranks.

Rather then being able to reap the benefits of their youth programme, Ngog refused to sign an extension, leaving PSG with the choice of cashing in now on their investment or waiting 12 months only to see Ngog walk out of the club for free. The choice was a no-brainer.

From Liverpool’s perspective, they believe that the relatively small transfer fee is worth the gamble. Benitez is looking for more pace, movement and variety from his side in attack in the forthcoming season and the capture of Ngog fits into that strategy.

While Ngog may not have made big waves in France’s top division, he was a rising star during his youth, having been the top scorer for France in their winning side at the under-16 Montaigu Tournament in 2005 (five goals, including a hat-trick in the final), and also a winner for the under-19s at the Sedai Cup in 2007.

Cynics may wonder about the value of this purchase. Memories of other so-called promising youngsters Anthony Le Tallec and Bruno “the next Zindane” Cheyrou flood back immediately. Added to this, Liverpool already have promising players waiting in the wings who have yet to break into the first team, particularly Krisztian Nemeth, and it seems a little superfluous to have so many “ones to watch” waiting around in the reserves for their big day to finally arrive.

And if you were looking for any more reasons to doubt the value of the signing, unfortunately for Ngog, he is the cousin of Jean-Alain Boumsong (insert your own joke here). Video evidence of David Ngog can be seen here.