Sport
Who are the most disappointing Premier League players so far this season?
The 2020/21 Premier League season so far has been nothing shy of superb. There’s been unbelievable goals, shocking results and plenty of teams playing top quality football. However, there have also been some players that are certainly performing below what is expected of them. Here are the five most disappointing players in the Premier League so far this season.
Most disappointing players in the 2020/21 Premier League season
Kai Havertz (Chelsea)
No player has been more disappointing this season than Kai Havertz. After forking out a fee of £70million, Chelsea fans certainly will have expected a lot more to show for that substantial price tag. The German midfielder was brilliant for Bayern Leverkusen in the Bundesliga but has since struggled in the Premier League, with the physicality and speed of the league really exposing Havertz’ weaknesses.
Havertz was dubbed as a future star when he signed for Chelsea, and at 22-years-old he certainly still has the benefit of time on his side, but Blues fans haven’t seen anything too encouraging so far. Manager Frank Lampard has relegated the summer signing to the bench on several occasions this season and even when he has come out he has looked completely out of his depth, with his solitary goal against Southampton in October being his only noteworthy moment since arriving in England.
In fairness to the player, the figure is what has caused there to be such high hopes for Havertz, which is something he had no influence on. Also, fellow former Bundesliga man Timo Werner has struggled this season too so the gulf in class between the German top flight and the Premier League may simply be being misjudged by clubs. However, that isn’t enough mitigation to keep him off our list of the most disappointing Premier League players so far this season.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
Last season the class of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the silver lining to the cloud that was Arsenal’s subpar season. But sadly for the Gabonese frontman, his form has dipped massively in this 2020/21 campaign and he has turned from a shoe-in to someone fighting for his starting spot.
The former Dortmund man unquestionably has heaps of talent, however he has been bang out of form this season and even when he does pop up with a goal, that form doesn’t look like reversing. Aubameyang has scored just three goals so far this campaign despite playing predominantly as a central striker, which is made even more less impressive considering he has had 28 shots.
A lot of pressure was heaped on the shoulders of Auba last season and he flourished, scoring 23 goals, but that pressure may have taken its toll now and he seems to have crumbled in disappointing fashion. Defenders used to be petrified when the forward cut onto his right foot to unleash a shot, but that simply hasn’t been the case this season. If the Gunners are to make a challenge for European spots then Mikel Arteta will need his captain to find some sort of form, and fast.
Aymeric Laporte (Man City)
In the opinion of many, Aymeric Laporte is the second-best centre back in the Premier League behind Virgil Van Dijk. But purely based on this season, it’s very hard to make a case for him to even feature in the top 10.
The Frenchman has shown in the past that he is one of the best, but when he has featured this campaign he has been anything but. The former Athletico Bilbao defender has made just four Premier League appearances this season, partially due to injury/fitness wobbles, and has quickly dropped away from being a regular starter, with Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and John Stones now all being preferred to him. Laporte has looked shaky whenever he has played and very much off the pace, with a failure to track runners or win headers being the most notable differences in his performances compared to previous years.
Pep Guardiola’s team have the lowest average goals conceded per match (0.9) and lowest goals conceded this season (12), so it would take a typical City centre back injury or a return to form for Laporte to feature at the Etihad Stadium again any time soon.
Mason Greenwood (Manchester United)
After ending the 2019/20 Premier League season in unbelievable form, Mason Greenwood was the name on the lips of every Manchester United fan. But this season it has no longer the case, with the 19-year-old scoring just once and failing to register an assist despite playing on the wing for the majority of his appearances.
Indisputably Greenwood is a top talent, and potentially the mixture of hype from United fans mixed with the chance of England having a bright prospect on their hands has led for expectations of him to be high. However, a solitary goal contribution is quite poor for any attacker, especially one that has been dubbed as one of the best young talents in the league.
Greenwood has missed three big chances so far this campaign and of his 19 shots this season only five have been on target, two big indicators as to why he has to be included in this list. The disappointment of the English forwards form this season has, in my opinion, been overshadowed by the good form of Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.
Adama Traore (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
The sale of Diogo Jota and the horrific fractured skull suffered by Raul Jimenez has meant that Wolves have really needed players to step up, but one player who certainly hasn’t is Adama Traore. The Spaniard has been in poor form this season and is yet to score or register an assist this season, in fact he hasn’t scored a Premier League goal in the whole of 2020.
The former Middlesbrough man is renown for his sheer speed, but for many Wolves fans that simply isn’t enough. For someone with that much pace it begs the question, why is he not scoring or creating goals? Traore could race past any defender in the league with relative ease and break into dangerous areas, so no goal contributions in 946 minutes is not a good look, especially considering he has only registered three shots on target this season.
For someone that ended the 2019/2020 season with four goals and nine assists, Traore is definitely one of the most disappointing players in the Premier League so far this season. A player with his pace and power should be an exciting watch but so far he has been anything but.
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