Five players with the world at their feet at one time or another, but now they face an uphill battle to make it as a proven Premier League star...
Fabio Carvalho
Lofty expectations accompanied Carvalho’s move to Liverpool in 2022, with Fulham fans mourning his loss far more than Harvey Elliott, who made an identical switch three years prior.
The Portuguese winger’s ceiling was considered immensely high and his £5m fee was viewed as a steal.
It all started so brightly at Anfield too, with two goals bagged in the opening weeks of the season, including a 98th minute winner against Newcastle, but as the campaign got down to its meat and bones his appearances dwindled.
A loan spell made sense, and RB Leipzig was a sensible destination given their track record with blooding talented youngsters, but for whatever reason it didn’t work out in Germany. Just 360 minutes from August to December is testament to that.
Carvalho is now at Hull until the end of 2023/24 and while his future still looks bright the hype has thankfully abated.
Kieran Tierney
The Scot’s loan move to Real Sociedad in the summer surprised for all that Oleksandr Zinchenko is now Arsenal’s recognized starter at left-back.
Tierney’s previous season may have consisted of cameo outings but he was still widely rated as one of the best practitioners of his position in the top-flight on his day.
Furthermore, he has proven himself over several years to be a very useful asset to the Gunners.
A long-standing poor injury record explains it of course and sadly that trend has continued in Spain, with Tierney succumbing to hamstring problems. It all started so encouragingly too, his early showings described as ‘exquisite’ by his manager.
All the shrewd betting suggests that the 26-year-old spends the next two years contracted to Arsenal playing – when fit – elsewhere.
Philippe Coutinho
It was a no-brainer for Aston Villa to allow the Brazilian to play his football in Qatar for a season.
Receiving a decent fee for the deal it also unburdened them of Coutinho’s hefty wages, and when it’s also factored in that the midfielder is clearly unfancied by Unai Emery, the club presumably jumped at Al-Duhail’s offer.
Moreover, this is a player whose impact has notably diminished, his influential performances becoming fewer and farer between.
What does the future hold for Coutinho? Most likely he was twinkle on occasion in the lesser leagues while sleeping each night on an enormous bed made of money.
Donny van de Beek
It sounds almost cruel to point this out but there is a question mark about whether Van De Beek even is a Premier League star.
After all, across three seasons the Dutch midfielder made only a paltry nine starts for Manchester United and Everton, residing on the periphery for the most part. Even some club medics will have enjoyed more time on the pitch from their brief excursions.
It feels like an awfully long time ago now when the Ajax player’s move to Old Trafford was talked up to the rafters, with one Sky pundit memorably deeming him an ’80 million pound player bought for forty’.
Now similarly failing at Eintracht Frankfurt – Van de Beek was recently aggrieved at having been omitted from their Europa Conference League squad – it was not his terrible spell in Manchester that did for the 26-year-old but his poor stint at Goodison.
That was his opportunity to turn his narrative around.
Hakim Ziyech
The Moroccan international was sensational at Ajax and it looked for all the world like he would shine at Stamford Bridge, his pace and trickery made for the English top-flight.
Regrettably one manager after another just didn’t trust his ability to make a difference on a regular basis and in due course the winger’s stock plummeted.
Now at Galatasaray on loan, Ziyech’s attempt to resurrect his career has been curtailed by injuries and a return to London looks probable, to see out the final year of his contract.
Even with Chelsea’s lowly league standing and their distant odds in the Premier League betting, the best he can hope for there is the bench.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
