Football News: 3 Players who are in Need of a Big Premier League
Football News: 3 Players who are in Need of a Big Premier League, Plenty of attention is paid to the host of big-money summer signings to arrive in the Premier League. There are interesting sub-plots that involve a few players who have been in the competition for a little longer.
The supporters of Liverpool are excited to see what Darwin Nunez can do in the Premier League. On the other hand, Manchester City fans have high hopes for Erling Haaland. Chelsea and Arsenal are eager to see how former City forwards Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus perform in London. A number of other clubs boast new stars preparing for debuts.
Everyone does not have the luxury of wholesale excitement. Let us look at the top three men who need to pull out some big performances this term for different reasons.
Donny van de Beek
Van de Beek scored goals for Lampard’s side on the final day of the season. However, Beek is back at parent club Manchester United to prove a point.
The Dutch midfielder was not properly used by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. In the process, he was allowed to leave on loan by Ralf Rangnick. A reunion with his former Ajax manager Erik ten Hag made it possible to extract benefits from the Dutch international.
“Of course, everyone was saying that because I worked with him at Ajax [I might play more]. But, in the end, you have to play good from yourself. And it does not make any sense who is the coach,” Van de Beek said of Ten Hag in pre-season.
“You must determine your place within the team. He is aware of my playing history, but it does not matter. I must demonstrate it for myself.”
Harry Maguire
The biggest early investments of Ten Hag address the left-hand side of United’s defense with Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez arriving. This has created pressure on Maguire. He spent the last season as a left center-back. He went through a tough time.
The Man Utd captain was criticized by fans of his own club during pre-season. Everyone was frustrated. Martinez’s arrival increased competition for places. The fresh start brought by a new manager indicated that no one’s place is likely to be guaranteed.
During preseason, Maguire said, “Last season was a long, tough, challenging season. However, we have got to put that behind us now and look forward to the future under the new manager. We are aware that we must and will improve upon the previous season.”
Jack Grealish
Grealish belongs to the group of players in danger. The danger persists if Lingard manages to force his way back into the England picture. Jack joined Manchester City for a club-record sum of £100 million from Aston Villa. The player went through an erratic first season.
Raheem Sterling departed from the Etihad Stadium. This departure might put greater pressure on players like Grealish to perform going forward. There is pressure to surpass his three league goals.
Lingard’s Manchester United era came to an end. After letting his contract run down, he made a move to Nottingham Forest. Lingard is expected to play far more than he did the last term.
“I had a very good conversation with Jesse, he had questions for me and I had questions for him. He is a really good guy. And we are really pleased that he is with us,” Forest manager Steve Cooper said of the new arrival. “Jesse wants to play for Nottingham Forest, he wants to be part of this team and part of how we work and play.”
Lingard possesses 32 England caps. But the inflow of caps stopped in September 2021. A loan contract with West Ham in the 2020-21 season earned him an international recall. He hopes to make a similar impact at the City Ground.
Tony Cascarino has forewarned the former Aston Villa player that he might return to Villa Park without making a substantial improvement.
“I am not referring to scoring six out of ten as OK. He ought to be around eight or nine. He is really talented,” the former striker said.