10 PLAYERS WITH SOMETHING TO PROVE IN SECOND SEASON
THE Premier League season is upon us and, as always, much of the individual focus has revolved around new arrivals. Can Bernardo Silva have the same sort of impact as his namesake, David? Will Romelu Lukaku continue to mow down bottom-half teams in the red of Manchester United and will Alexandre Lacazette be an upgrade on Olivier Giroud?
But what of the players who a year ago were under the spotlight and endured differing campaigns?
This is a look at those few, the sophomores looking to step up: MICHY BATSHUAYI (CHELSEA)
The Belgian turned down the offer of first-team football at West Ham and Crystal Palace to become Diego Costa’s back-up at Chelsea. And despite the Blues’ title win it was a pretty unfulfilling campaign for the 23-year-old forward who started just one game in the Premier League and played only 239 minutes. Why is this season big for him?
Batshuayi is still young and he is now playing for a team who will have far more fixtures to contend with. Chelsea’s failure to qualify for European football in Jose Mourinho’s disastrous final season at Stamford Bridge was obviously a huge factor in their Premier League title win, but it also meant that they could operate with a smaller playing squad and Batshuayi – along with Chelsea’s talented academy products – was the biggest casualty of that.
When handed starts this season, he must seize those opportunities. An injury to Alvaro Morata would suddenly thrust the Belgium international into a huge role. YANNICK BOLASIE (EVERTON)
Bolasie is one of the Premier League’s great entertainers and Everton splashed out a then-record fee of £30m to sign him from Crystal Palace.
Unfortunately a significant injury ruined his first season on Merseyside and the team he returns to – hopefully by Christmas – is a very different beast to the one he left on a stretcher. Why is this season big for him?
Bolasie could be the mid-season X-factor that Everton need but most of all he needs to justify the outlay of last summer. The club invested that much money in him because they believed him to be a difference-maker in the Premier League and a player who could help push them into the top six and possibly top four. His promising partnership with Romelu Lukaku has been broken up but the Toffees have added a lot more creative talent and should Sandro or another centre-forward step up then this team could have a ferocious attack. Bolasie needs to make himself part of that down the stretch. SADIO MANÉ (LIVERPOOL)
Across Stanley Park there is another expensive wideman bought from a Premier League rival – and another whose season was ruined by injury.
But what we saw of Mané last year suggested he could rise into the elite category and adding Mohamed Salah on the opposite flank means Liverpool have the speediest forward line in the division. If Jurgen Klopp had got his two top targets, Virgil van Dijk and Naby Keita, then the Reds could have made themselves into title challengers with a couple of things breaking their way. Why is this season big for him?
Mané could establish himself as one of the best wide attackers in European football if he takes another step up. An elite speed dribbler who can both create and score goals, Mané will have the opportunity to showcase his talents in the Champions League and is an outside bet to be one of the Premier League’s top scorers. RAMADAN SOBHI (STOKE CITY)
A rare positive in a pretty dreary campaign for Stoke, the Egyptian winger’s emergence is one of the reasons that the Potters didn’t mind losing the mercurial Marko Arnautovic to West Ham.
Still just 20, Sobhi showed the ability to consistently create chances but also demonstrates a defensive discipline that you might not expect for a player of such attacking flair. The opportunity to grow into one of the league’s better wingers is obvious. Why is this season big for him?
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Mark Hughes was the first manager to leave his post this season, with the Welshman having endured a terrible spring and facing a tough fixture list at the start of the season. It could be that Ramadan’s form takes a step back under a different coach, but if Hughes remains or Stoke bring in an upgrade in the dugout then it could be just what is needed to push the winger into the spotlight. He currently feels like one of those players who, if he had a big performance in a televised game against a top team, would suddenly be talked about a whole lot more.
A talented kid ready to break out. GRANIT XHAKA (ARSENAL)
The Swiss international underwhelmed early in his first Premier League season but improved towards the business end.
After arriving with a hefty price tag and big expectations, Xhaka has taken his fair share of criticism. This season is a new opportunity for him to show his worth. Why is this season big for him?
Xhaka was seen as one of Europe’s best deep-lying midfielders when Arsenal signed him and is still just 24. As he enters his peak, if he can become a controlling influence in Arsenal’s engine room then it will help them move on from injury-plagued genius Santi Cazorla, without whom they have struggled to really tick in midfield.
Wenger’s best teams have always had goals from midfield, too. Xhaka’s left boot fires Exocet missiles and if he could contribute 10 goals a season it would make a huge difference to an Arsenal team who need to bounce back. PAUL POGBA (MANCHESTER UNITED)
Paul Pogba was the most expensive player of all time and thus it becomes difficult to justify your transfer fee.
For him to do so in his first campaign at Old Trafford probably would have required them winning the Champions League straight away – something that was impossible because they weren’t playing in it – so instead the focus should be on his second season with the club and if he can help propel them back into the upper reaches of the Premier League and not scrapping for fourth place. Why is this season big for him?
United’s fate aside, Pogba has been asked to step it up on an individual level by boss José Mourinho, who wants more goals from his main man.
For such a talented player, it has always been peculiar that Pogba only seems to function to the best of his ability playing in a very specific position, on the left tip of a midfield triangle. But Nemanja Matic has now been brought in to anchor the midfield behind him while Ander Herrera or Marouane Fellaini do his dirty work.
In other words, Pogba has been given the best possible conditions to succeed by his manager, and now he needs to pay that back with productivity. JOSH KING (BOURNEMOUTH)
A bright light for Bournemouth in a fairly comfortable survival season, Josh King no longer needs to be the Cherries’ main man again if they’re to hit the same heights, with Jermain Defoe arriving on a free transfer.
But King, who is pegged to be Defoe’s legs this season, could benefit from the wily veteran drawing attention away from him and, entering his peak, should be aiming for 20+ goals. Why is this season big for him?
King is already attracting interest from the likes of Tottenham and, having toured the lower reaches of the league since leaving Manchester United, where he came through the youth system, King should be targeting a return to a top-six club.
If that is to happen then he needs a big season in terms of goals and to continue being a hassle for every defender he plays against. Coaches really value his work rate and versatility. JOHN STONES (MANCHESTER CITY)
The much-maligned defender has some of the best coaching available with Pep Guardiola’s team overseeing his development. But central defence remains a problem for Man City and the desire to bring in another centre-back this summer has, as yet, been unfulfilled.
Stones is a young, ball-playing centre-half whose price tag weighs him down a little. What he needs is to regain some of the confidence that looked to desert him at times last year. Why is this season big for him?
Because while he has the ingredients to be a top-class central defender, there are still questions over the authority of his performances. A new, less fear-inducing goalkeeper behind the defence should help that process and full-backs who aren’t pensionable age should also assist an uplift in defensive performances.
But to help him regain his confidence Stones just needs to play his natural game, as his manager wants him to do, and try to minimise the natural – some would say inevitable – mistakes that are a product of that style. ANDRE AYEW (WEST HAM UNITED)
The Hammers continued their obsession with overpaying for average Premier League forwards by bringing in 28-yearold Marko Arnautovic for £23m.
But last year’s version is still around, and André Ayew – once a club-record signing for £20.5m – scored only six goals in a disappointing first campaign at the London Stadium that fittingly began with an injury on his debut. Why is this season big for him?
Ayew has shown the talent in the Premier League and that’s one of the reasons that West Ham bought him, because they felt he was a proven talent in domestic football.
Bouncing back to his best could help elevate the Hammers back into the top half and dismiss memories of Dmitri Payet, while another quiet campaign would likely see him ushered out of the back door and replaced next summer by a slightly overpriced forward who performed well for one of West Ham’s mid-table rivals. PIERRE-EMILE HOJBJERG (SOUTHAMPTON)
Hojbjerg arrived in the Premier League as one of the sneakily most interesting signings of last summer but struggled for Premier League starts a little as the bumbling Claude Puel switched formations.
The Danish midfielder has all the tools to succeed in the Premier League, and Mauricio Pellegrino should be enthused at the prospect of working with the former Bayern kid. Why is this season big for him?
Hojbjerg turned 22 this week so has a lot of time ahead of him. Playing in an underrated midfield corps, there is competition for places with set-piece wizard James Ward-Prowse, the tenacious Steven Davis and Spanish metronome Oriol Romeu. But there is the talent to succeed and with the right opportunities and talent around him he has every shot of making the next step. – The Independent