Taking out the trash - The unwanted Premier League XI
As noted in my last blog, it's been a frenzied start to the transfer window as clubs look to build squads capable of taking advantage of the new 5 substitution rule not to mention mitigating against the pressures that a mid-season World Cup will no doubt bring.
At the same time as bringing in a host of stars, clubs are also under pressure to shift some deadwood, freeing up space and funds to get in players who they'll hope will be more successful than those they are replacing.
We've already seen for example Manchester United part ways with the likes of Cavani and Pogba who collectively were costing the club over half a million pounds a week. Cavani made just 7 league starts for the Red Devils last season while from November onwards Pogba managed 90 mins in a league match on only 4 occasions!
Chelsea too have ditched their own £90 million pound signing in the form of Lukaku whose return to the club and Premier League in general was short and not particularly sweet.
Of course the above examples have been made possible by contract expiration and loan deals while some of the XI players I've selected here might prove harder to dislodge both on account of their contract situations and a lack of clubs willing to pay for their services.
Beyond the financial implications of keeping these unwanted assets on the books (the below XI would cost close to £1.5 million a week in wages) comes the disruption that they can cause to the squad. Highly paid stars with nothing better to do with their time than disrupt the dressing room is not what any manager wants to deal with!
Goalkeeper: Kepa Arrizabalaga
Weekly wage: £150,000
Contract expires: June 2025
Market Value:£9 million
Rumoured interest from : Lazio
When Chelsea signed Kepa, they were hoping that he'd turn out to be their very own David de Gea. A young Spanish goalkeeper who could be their number 1 for many years to come (he's still only 27).
However, the £70 million they paid for him doesn't look like it will ever be recouped either via on the field performances or on the open market where he's currently valued at just £9 million!
Having a quality back-up keeper is a must for Premier League sides but 150k a week makes him an expensive luxury and surely the player himself will want to rekindle his career at a club where he'll be first choice.
Kepa has had a few penalty heroics for Chelsea but he should probably stick to trying to save them in the future...
Reports are that Kepa would like to join up with Maurizio Sarri who was manager at Stamford Bridge when the Spaniard signed but that would require Chelsea to write off a significant chunk of the fee paid not to mention the player himself taking a big pay cut!
Right-Back: Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Weekly wage: £90,000
Contract expires: June 2024
Market Value:£22.5 million
Rumoured interest from : Unknown
It's been a tough time at United for young Wan-Bissaka with managers coming and going and the player himself reportedly finding it difficult to settle in the North.
As a defender, there are few better right-backs in the country but the modern requirement for full-backs to offer more going forward means that Wan-Bissaka has struggled to justify the near £50 million outlay that United made 3 years ago.
My feeling is that he'd be better looking to join a side that plays with a back 3 and adapting to becoming a right-sided central defender within that system.
United are allegedly offering him around but to date there is no confirmed interest. My guess is that whether it's on loan or a permanent deal, that he'll leave the club by the end of the window and he could prove to be a really good addition to a side that uses his skills to best effect.
Centre-Back: Pablo Mari
Weekly wage: £85,000
Contract expires: June 2024
Market Value:£4.5 million
Rumoured interest from : Various Serie A teams
Pablo Mari started Arsenal's first 2 league games last season but thankfully for the sake of this Arsenal supporter who nearly suffered an aneurysm as a result of Mari's performances, he wasn't seen again and spent the 2nd half of the season on loan at Udinese.
Beyond his struggles with the more physical requirements of the Premier League, one of Mari's biggest problems has been finding a home.
At 28, he should be coming into his prime years as a centre-back but he's already appeared for 10 professional clubs during his career, playing in England, Spain, Italy, Holland and Brazil.
Arsenal not only have better options in that position but appear keen to recruit at least one more centre back themselves this window so Mari is certainly surplus to requirements.
His decent performances for Udinese suggest that his future probably lies in Italy and it looked like he'd make his move there permanent before a change in management put a hold on that deal. A few other clubs in Serie A have been muted as possible destinations too.
Centre-Back: Eric Bailly
Weekly wage: £80,000
Contract expires: June 2024
Market Value:£5.4 million
Rumoured interest from : Fulham
Bailly is another player to suffer from the turbulence at United in recent years but with him you can also add in a terrible injury record.
Major knee surgery meant he missed the majority of the 2019/20 season and while he enjoyed a short run in the side around late 2020, early 2021 it was probably a surprise when United decided to extend his contract this time last year.
Bailly made just 7 appearances for United across all competitions last year which when you consider the issues they had at centre back suggests he's not got much of a future at the club.
In recent days it's been rumoured that Fulham were looking to keep him in the Premier League. It'd be a risk for them considering his inability to play a substantial number of games over the past 4 seasons and I would have thought United would bite off their hand for any cash they were willing to offer to clear him off the books.
Left-Back: Alex Telles
Weekly wage: £90,000
Contract expires: June 2024
Market Value:£16.2 million
Rumoured interest from : Unknown
Sorry United fans, I promise this is the last of your players in the Unwanted XI but I'd imagine that any sane Man U supporter (is that an oxymoron?) would agree that the squad has a huge amount of deadwood that needs clearing.
Telles looked liked a really good bit of business when he joined United a couple of years ago in a deal for less than £15 million pounds but despite being given chances due to the erratic form of first choice Luke Shaw, he's failed to make any sort of impact.
Telles came to United with a reputation as a flying wing-back, he looks likely to be leaving with a reputation for fighting youth team players on the training ground!
With the Red Devils now closing in on Tyrell Malacia and with Shaw and Brandon Williams (who United are also keen on moving on) also on the books as left-backs then it seems inevitable that Telles' days in Manchester are numbered.
Given his pedigree and reputation on continental Europe, I would imagine that United should be able to shift him on without too many problems and they could break even as far the transfer fees are concerned - a rarity for players on this list!
Centre-Midfield: Tanguy Ndombele
Weekly wage: £200,000
Contract expires: June 2024
Market Value:£27.0 million
Rumoured interest from : Unknown
Spurs' record signing has proved to be an unmitigated disaster and one which doesn't show signs of ending any time soon.
A loan back to Lyon for the 2nd half of last season didn't suggest that Tanguy was particularly keen to rebuild his reputation and so Tottenham will have a difficult time getting his massive wages off their books let alone recouping much of the £54 million they shelled out to bring him to the Premier League.
There is no doubt that on his day, Ndombele can do things on a football pitch that few can dream of but his unwillingness to work off the ball and a reported lack of desire to put in the hard yards during training left him an increasingly isolated figure.
While Mourinho attempted to get a tune from him to the extent that the pair were reprimanded for breaching lock down rules at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when they went for a 1 on 1 training session in a public park, Conte, is less willing to be patient with the Frenchmen.
Ndombele's most recent appearance for Spurs once again saw him strolling around the pitch to no effective and he was booed off when he made no attempt to run to the touchline quickly after being substituted. It would be a miracle to see him wear the lillywhite shirt again...
Centre-Midfield: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin
Weekly wage: £120,000
Contract expires: June 2023
Market Value:£14.4 million
Rumoured interest from : Unknown
It's very much a case of what might have been for Ox who despite having been around for donkeys years is still only 28!
Injuries have of course stunted his career and in many ways his versatility hasn't helped either as he's been played in every midfield and forward position at some point in his career not to mention at full-back a couple of times. As a result he's become the quintessential jack of all trades, master of none.
It doesn't appear that Liverpool are pushing him out of the door but with a year left on his contract and having just brought in young Fábio Carvalho then it would appear that Oxlade-Chamberlain's already limited opportunities are about to be further restricted and the Anfield club would surely entertain any sensible offers for him.
Perhaps the most damming stat and one that will count against him when trying to find a new club, is that he's not managed 90mins of a Premier League match since April 2018!
Centre-Midfield: Ross Barkley
Weekly wage: £96,000
Contract expires: June 2023
Market Value:£10.8 million
Rumoured interest from : Leeds
Another player who burst onto the scene as a youngster but now finds his career drifting in the doldrums is Chelsea's Ross Barkley.
Barkley reminds fans of his undoubted talent during a pre-season match last weekend
The midfielder isn't the first and won't be the last to join the Blues and see his chances limited by the sheer size of the squad they have available to them.
His 29 Premier League starts for Chelsea since joining them 4 and half years ago shows how under used he's been but he did have his moments while on loan to Aston Villa a couple of seasons ago and so no doubt a few mid-table Premier League clubs will have an eye on his availability. Whether they choose to move now or wait until his contract expires next summer remains to be seen.
Right-Wing: Nicolas Pepe
Weekly wage: £140,000
Contract expires: June 2023
Market Value:£22.5 million
Rumoured interest from : Various La Liga clubs
Another record signing on this list that has gone horribly wrong.
Arsenal spent £72 million on the Ivorian but unfortunately Pepe has never looked close to a player of that value during his 3 years in England.
The fact that Saka has now made the right sided position his own and that Arsenal continue to pursue the likes of Raphinia tells you all you need to know about Pepe's future in North London.
However, the Gunners are allegedly finding it difficult to shift him off their books, no doubt as a result of his high wages and the clubs determination to at least recoup the current market value on their asset.
Left-Wing: Nikola Vlasic
Weekly wage: £70,000
Contract expires: June 2026
Market Value:£19.8 million
Rumoured interest from : Torino
Nikola Vlasic has done enough firstly in his native Croatia and then more recently in the Russian top flight to convince both Everton and then West Ham that he is a player who can be successful in the Premier League.
Unfortunately to date, that promise hasn't translated into performances on the pitch and after just 552 mins of Premier League football for West Ham following a £27 million move to the London Stadium last summer, it appears that he will once again be on the move.
To be fair, David Moyes hasn't got many of his signings as West Ham boss wrong so I guess this one can just be chalked up as the exception that proves the rule! Torino are allegedly interested in a loan deal for the Croat.
Centre-Forward: Timo Werner
Weekly wage: £270,000
Contract expires: June 2025
Market Value:£31.5 million
Rumoured interest from : Juventus
Chelsea don't seem to have much luck when it comes to signing centre forwards! Every time one puts on the blue shirt and walks out on the Stamford Bridge pitch it seems like they forget how to score goals.
Werner joined to much hype back in 2020 but has managed just 10 Premier League goals in 2 seasons and really struggled to command a regular first team place despite costing the club just shy of £50 million and earning over £270k a week in wages.
The German is said to be keen to leave for pastures new and there was a rumour that Chelsea were attempting to use him as part of any deal to bring de Ligt to West London from Juventus.
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A full squad of hit and miss players. On their day, this team could actually dismantle some of the best EPL teams, but on most days, they would be average
Unexpected things do come up, a player can do less than expectations
There might be a couple of miss and miss in there too
Things do change, Kepa Arizabalaga tried in his first season at Chelsea but maybe money is just so much for him and it made him fucking up.
Timo Werner was the best at Germany, but he couldn't proof himself at Chelsea.
I don't even think Arsenal has done with the payment of Nickolas Pepe, he didn't meet up with Arteta's condition
Yeah for some players the expectation and pressure that comes from a big money transfer will undoubtedly impact performance
But no one would come for the trash, only those that would use trash for fertiliser and that's not in football, if a player didn't play well in his present club, no one would Fe for him until his contract lapse with the club. Trash like Nickolas Pepe, Timo Werner, Kepa Arizabalaga are just tying down capital, they aren't good enough for clubs to come for them, but luckily, is clubs that are below the club they play for come for them, they should just go, maybe they would gain back their form there
Any team that gets AWB will definitely be getting a very fantastic fullback irrespective of his offensive shortcomings. And I don't think that Chelsea will let Werner go after Lukaku left. Plus there's limited quality in the market in that position.
As for Ndombele, he's got shades of Pogba written all over him. Another massive French talent going down the drain because of lack of discipline
I agree that Chelsea will want to bring in replacements before letting Werner leave. Looks like Sterling will be one of them, could CR7 be another?
Personally don’t think he’d fit Chelsea’s system either.
I don't think Cr7 will go to Chelsea. Just as you said, he doesn't fit the system. And I don't think Sterling is an upgrade on Werner. He's just not consistent enough for me. So I'd advice they stick with Werner
Shall we say Chelsea needs to five Werner more time? Because I personally do not know what to think about the player anymore.
For Ndombele, I think he still has something to give at Tottenham.
Both those guys are playing in the wrong systems. Werner needs a team that plays on the counter to utilise his pace (that's what he had at Leipzig). Ndombele needs to play in a midfield 3 because he needs guys around him to do the running.