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  1. Features

Rated! YOUR Premier League club's worst player of 2017-18

By Greg Lea published 16 May 2018

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Premier League flops

Premier League flops

The 2017-18 Premier League campaign is now over, so it’s time to cast an eye back over the campaign. Most clubs have now crowned their Player of the Year, but what about those who flopped? In this slideshow we pick out the worst player from every top-flight team this term…

Page 1 of 21
Page 1 of 21
Arsenal: Shkodran Mustafi

Arsenal: Shkodran Mustafi

As blunder followed blunder, English supporters were left wondering how Mustafi ever won 20 caps for Germany. Sure, Arsenal’s defensive issues are bigger than one player – recruitment, coaching, tactics, team balance – but that excuse only goes so far when you're a £35m signing designed to eliminate the problem, not exacerbate it.

At the critical junctures of Arsenal’s season, Mustafi was unwittingly decisive and, more broadly, the erratic nature of his play appeared to destabilise the entire defensive unit.

Page 2 of 21
Page 2 of 21
Bournemouth: Asmir Begovic

Bournemouth: Asmir Begovic

Begovic’s arrival was the most encouraging moment of Bournemouth’s summer, because he promised goalkeeping security that Artur Boruc couldn’t provide.

It hasn’t worked out that way, though. While becoming a back-up keeper at a big club is often presented as a no-loss scenario, spending so long on the Chelsea bench appears to have damaged the Bosnian. A formerly reliable and imposing player has become meek and insecure, with handling errors and soft goals polluting the second half of his season.

Page 3 of 21
Page 3 of 21
Brighton: Anthony Knockaert

Brighton: Anthony Knockaert

Knockaert was so bright and so entertaining last year in the Championship that it was natural to hope for a breakthrough season at the top table.

The Frenchman is prone to going down far too easily and fond of clutching his face at the slightest invitation, and that sense of theatre detracts from his ability. That’s a great shame, too, because his close control and willingness to take players on often makes him tremendous fun to watch. There’s still time for Knockaert to prove his worth at Premier League level.

Page 4 of 21
Page 4 of 21
Burnley: Georges-Kevin Nkoudou

Burnley: Georges-Kevin Nkoudou

Dig deep enough on Google and there are some very interesting stories about how loanee Nkoudou came to be a Tottenham player. Some of the anecdotes also reveal just what a ball-breaking negotiator Daniel Levy is.

Regardless, the Frenchman doesn’t seem to have much of a Premier League future after failing to make an impression in Lancashire. The winger made just eight top-tier appearances for the Clarets, only two of which were starts.

Page 5 of 21
Page 5 of 21
Chelsea: Alvaro Morata

Chelsea: Alvaro Morata

Morata may still improve and he wouldn’t be the first foreign forward to rebound successfully from a fallow first season, but at times the Spain international has seemed fundamentally ill-suited to the Premier League.

The abilities he does have (sharp anticipation, excellent heading technique) are dimmed by flaws (a willowy frame, brittle self-belief) which prevent them from ever shining as they probably should. It’s still early but this already looks like a reckless transfer from a club who now seem to recruit without rhyme or reason.

Page 6 of 21
Page 6 of 21
Crystal Palace: Wayne Hennessey

Crystal Palace: Wayne Hennessey

Hennessey has shown signs of improvement in recent months, which many credit to the arrival of Dean Kiely as goalkeeper coach at Selhurst Park. But fundamentally, the Welshman is not a Premier League-quality player.

Palace supporters have been frustrated with him for a long time and will tell anyone who listens that their club needs to urgently invest in that position. The arrival of Vicente Guaita from Getafe this summer will either push Hennessey down the pecking order or through the exit door.

Page 7 of 21
Page 7 of 21
Everton: Morgan Schneiderlin

Everton: Morgan Schneiderlin

Schneiderlin’s transfer to Manchester United over-promoted the midfielder and left him so short of confidence that he’s been unable to recover. But then, some of the Goodison Park natives have been frustrated with his application and attitude, too, so there has to be more to the situation.

Michael Keane has been poor, Ashley Williams often calamitous and Sandro Ramirez was obviously a non-event, but all have asterisks against their failure. Schneiderlin doesn’t: he’s talented, mobile and didn’t have to make a cultural adjustment.

Page 8 of 21
Page 8 of 21
Huddersfield: Nobody

Huddersfield: Nobody

David Wagner was active in the summer and bolder than expected in the transfer market, but there were no major blunders.

Danny Williams was surprisingly ineffective given what he had been for Reading in 2016-17, and Tom Ince looks a long way from the player he was once expected to be, but nobody actually gave a bad account of themselves – or at least not without a reasonable justification.

Page 9 of 21
Page 9 of 21
Leicester: Kelechi Iheanacho

Leicester: Kelechi Iheanacho

We’ll excuse Wes Morgan his season on account of his age (34) and past achievements, but Iheanacho was a crushing disappointment. He has no shortage of ability, as that final-day effort against Spurs showed, but three Premier League goals was a meagre return for a player once thought of as a Manchester City forward-in-waiting.

The Nigerian struggled to adapt around the incumbent players and it’s that lack of adaptability which has been concerning. There’s far more to Iheanacho than he showed in 2017-18.

Page 10 of 21
Page 10 of 21
Liverpool: Every centre-half other than Virgil van Dijk

Liverpool: Every centre-half other than Virgil van Dijk

Without Mohamed Salah, Liverpool would be outside the top four and also nowhere near the Champions League final; more importantly for neutrals, without the Egyptian, the debate around the team’s inability to defend would still be continuing apace.

The mid-season arrival of Van Dijk certainly made the Reds’ backline more sturdy, while Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold thrived at full-back. Beyond that, though, Dejan Lovren remains hapless and neither Joel Matip nor Ragnar Klavan are up to the required standard.

Page 11 of 21
Page 11 of 21
Manchester City: Nobody

Manchester City: Nobody

One hundred points. The most goals scored. The fewest conceded. Some players were more influential than others, but 2017-18 was a collective success which nobody at the club deserves to be separated from.

Perhaps the only disappointment was the severe knee injury sustained by Benjamin Mendy early on, but the Frenchman’s misfortune worked to the benefit of Fabian Delph, who reinvented himself as an unlikely left-back.

Page 12 of 21
Page 12 of 21
Manchester United: Victor Lindelof

Manchester United: Victor Lindelof

The Swede made 13 starts in the league so wasn’t quite as peripheral as it may have seemed, but that was a meagre return given his €35m+ transfer fee. Nothing he did in 2017-18 suggests he has a long-term future at Old Trafford.

Whenever this kind of thing happens under Jose Mourinho it’s worth deferring judgement. The Portuguese has a history of marginalising players, so Lindelof might just need a different manager. Either way, he certainly requires more exposure if he’s to become a reliable asset to United.

Page 13 of 21
Page 13 of 21
Newcastle: Islam Slimani

Newcastle: Islam Slimani

Rafael Benitez was always going to be digging in the bargain bins come January, but Slimani was injured at the time of his loan move and had played so little that he was never likely to gain match fitness before the end of the season.

He played four times in the end, and did make an impact in assisting Matt Ritchie’s winner against Arsenal, but a three-match ban for violent conduct at the end of the season just about summed this one up. 

Page 14 of 21
Page 14 of 21
Southampton: Fraser Forster

Southampton: Fraser Forster

Flash back to a year ago and with Joe Hart's future uncertain, Fraser Forster might have been eyeing up being England's No.1. By the end of this season he wasn't even Southampton's. What's worse, when eventually lost his starting job to Alex McCarthy, it was really just a relief.

A struggling goalkeeper is hard to watch and, having seemingly lost the confidence of his team-mates, his manager and his supporters, Forster had started to look painfully fragile. McCarthy’s introduction made Southampton instantly more secure and his level of performance was a big reason for his side’s survival.

Page 15 of 21
Page 15 of 21
Stoke: Saido Berahino

Stoke: Saido Berahino

It’s a bit obvious, but still difficult to make a case for anyone else. Berahino has evidently suffered psychologically and there’s no need to pile on, but something is fundamentally wrong with the striker’s career, because a dearth of confidence in itself doesn’t explain its plummeting trajectory.

The lack of goals is a concern – and Stoke could certainly have done with them this season – but Berahino increasingly looks like a man out of love with the game. It’s troubling and, if he remains with the Potters, hopefully the Championship will offer him the chance of a reset.

Page 16 of 21
Page 16 of 21
Swansea: Renato Sanches

Swansea: Renato Sanches

There are reasons for Sanches’ failure and, in hindsight, pinning survival hopes on a teenager who had never experienced English football was absurd. Injuries again restricted his impact and prevented him from settling, but he returns to Bayern Munich without having left any sort of impression.

His career will presumably recover – he’s certainly young enough – but this was one of those transfers in which everybody lost.

Page 17 of 21
Page 17 of 21
Tottenham: Fernando Llorente

Tottenham: Fernando Llorente

The idea seemed to make sense at the time, but this was a terrible transfer. Be it his advancing years or a failure to adapt to his new side, none of the strengths Llorente showed at Swansea accompanied him to London.

One Premier League goal (fittingly against his old side) wasn’t the kind of return Mauricio Pochettino was looking for. As they were last year and the year before that, Spurs remain on the hunt for an able deputy to Harry Kane.

Page 18 of 21
Page 18 of 21
Watford: Stefano Okaka

Watford: Stefano Okaka

The opening day of the season seems a long time ago now, and so does Okaka’s bullying of Liverpool centre-halves in that 3-3 draw.

He didn’t score again. A personality clash with Marco Silva marginalised him from the side, and by January the club were actively trying to loan him to the Championship. Okaka’s size and shape make him the prototypical Plan B in the Premier League, but he was only occasionally allowed to showcase his qualities.

Page 19 of 21
Page 19 of 21
West Brom: Gareth Barry

West Brom: Gareth Barry

Barry is a veteran player and, up until this season, his longevity made him a worthy example to younger players. Responsibility for Taxigate in Barcelona ultimately lies with Alan Pardew, and we’ve all had fun flogging him for that misguided attempt at fostering team spirit.

Pardew is Pardew, but Barry’s involvement was still a middle finger to Baggies supporters and, among the many factors which led to the club’s relegation, the most vivid symbol of the dysfunction.

Page 20 of 21
Page 20 of 21
West Ham: Joe Hart

West Ham: Joe Hart

Back within a familiar culture and a league he knew, Hart was supposed to reclaim his reputation and firm up his position ahead of the World Cup. Instead, his career has nosedived and all the neuroses on show at Torino have spread. Error has followed error and his dropping in November actually seemed merciful; he looked like a player devoid of self-belief.

Where he goes from here is anybody’s guess, but another season like this one will likely leave his career beyond repair. Hart is now drinking at the last-chance saloon.

Page 21 of 21
Page 21 of 21
TOPICS
Premier League Arsenal Chelsea Manchester City Manchester United Tottenham Hotspur Everton Burnley Watford Newcastle United Brighton and Hove Albion Leicester City Crystal Palace Huddersfield Town Stoke City Swansea City Southampton West Ham United West Bromwich Albion Shkodran Mustafi Álvaro Morata Victor Lindelöf-Nilsson Fernando Llorente Asmir Begovic Anthony Knockaert Georges-Kevin N'Koudou Wayne Hennessey Morgan Schneiderlin Kelechi Iheanacho Dejan Lovren Ragnar Klavan Joel Matip Islam Slimani Fraser Forster Saido Berahino Renato Sanches Stefano Okaka Gareth Barry Joe Hart
Greg Lea
Greg Lea
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Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).

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