5 Premier League players who want to forget 2021

A new year is a fresh start for all of us, not least these five Premier League who would rather forget 2021. Whether through form, injury or other reasons, these guys will be hoping that 2022 proves to be a better year.

 

5 Premier League players who want to forget 2021

 

Harry Kane

In the first half of 2021, Kane could seemingly do no wrong. He topped last season’s charts for goals and assists in the Premier League, then led England to the final of Euro 2020 as captain.

But after that penalty heartbreak against Italy at Wembley, things changed. Instead of remembering him as one of the best players in the Premier League, 2021 will instead be most remembered as the year he tried and failed to force a move away from Tottenham.

Manchester City fluttered their eyelashes extensively but instead blew their budget on international team-mate Jack Grealish, leaving Kane stuck with his toys out of the pram.

Daniel Levy stayed determined in his desire to keep Kane at Spurs, with a long contract ensuring the club had no need to cash in on their most important player. Kane returned late for pre-season training and then issued a grovelling apology, insisting he remained fully committed.

But the damage was done and Kane now looks to be a shadow of his former self. With just two goals scored in the league this season, Spurs and Levy might be wishing they had let Kane go.

 

Jesse Lingard

Like Kane, Lingard was flying high in the early months of 2021 but he will end the year in much the same place that he started it, with a big decision to be made over his footballing future. A superb loan spell at West Ham got Lingard back in the England squad but he missed out on Gareth Southgate’s final selection, then opted to stay at Manchester United to fight for his place.

Lingard has played less than 90 minutes in the Premier League this season and, while he has contributed a couple of goals off the bench, he is playing no more than a bit part role for United. His contract expires at the end of the season and Lingard, at 29, is back at a career crossroads.

 

Eberechi Eze

Whereas the previous two Premier League players had a bad 2021 due to club issues, Eberechi Eze’s was just pure rotten luck. Gareth Southgate had intended to name Eze in his initial Euro 2020 squad, but the Crystal Palace star injured his Achilles in a freak training incident to instead rule him out of the tournament.

The 23-year-old could have been shining bright for his country on the grandest stage in his home city but instead has spent much of the year in the treatment room, working on recovery. Eze will come again and has recently been fit enough to make a couple of cameos off the bench for Palace but 2021 overall has been a year to forget for one of the league’s most fun players.

 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

In 2020, Aubameyang committed to a bumper new Arsenal contract worth a reported £55 million that would theoretically keep him at Emirates Stadium until the end of his career. Now, though, Aubameyang’s continued disciplinary issues have resulted in him being stripped of the Arsenal captaincy and the club will surely try to move him on during the January window.

Aubameyang, who shared the Golden Boot with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah at the end of the 2018-19 Premier League season, has been guilty of some shocking misses of late too.

The 32-year-old has scored just four times in the Premier League this season and, thanks to the emergence of Gabriel Martinelli, his opportunities to improve that tally will now be more limited. Once a darling of Arsenal fans, Aubameyang has now succumbed to the club’s captaincy curse.

 

Saul Niguez

Chelsea signing Saul on loan was regarded as something of a coup, with the versatile midfielder looking to get his career back on track after falling out of favour at Atletico Madrid of late.

Saul helped Atletico to win the La Liga title this year but he was far from a key player. Saul often had to fill in at left-back, a role he is on record as saying he would prefer not to play. Moving to Stamford Bridge to join the European champions must have felt like an obvious switch for Saul, who put his faith in Thomas Tuchel to kickstart a career drifting in stasis.

But Saul has made only four appearances in the Premier League and he does not look suited to the cut-and-thrust of England’s top-flight, with Tuchel hauling him off early a couple of times. His versatility, once seen as such an asset, is now a burden that makes it easy for coaches to shunt Saul around: Tuchel used him in three different positions in a recent game against Everton.

Saul is contracted to Atletico until 2026 after penning an incredible nine-year deal in 2017 but, although Tuchel has defended him in the media, it would not be a surprise if Chelsea looked to cut short his loan spell in January, leaving him back at Atletico, where he also seems unwanted. One of the Premier League players who will be concerned at what 2022 holds after a poor 2021.

 

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