There are a lot of instances in football where a newly brought player seems to fit in like a glove. Everything seems to fall into place and click, and a player who should simply be getting adjusted to his new surroundings has already become an integral part of the team; taking it to new heights in the process.
However, for every such instance, there are those where things simply do not work out. A player finds himself frozen out of the first-team picture, training with the under-21 team, his route to a first team call-up effectively blocked for a myriad of possible reasons.
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It could be an attitude issue, there may have been a change in management and the player doesn’t suit the style of football that the new manager wants to impose, it might be poor performances when the player has actually played, it might be horrendous luck with injuries, a fallen through transfer or in the worst-case scenario, it might just be a personal vendetta against the player.
Here, we take a look at some of the players who have been frozen out from the top EPL clubs.
#1 Mathieu Debuchy
Club: Arsenal
Age: 31
Position: Right-back
Debuchy moved to Arsenal in the summer of 2014 on a long-term deal for about a fee of £12 million from Newcastle United. At the time of the signing, he’d come off one of his best seasons in the English top-flight and was viewed as a solution to the problematic full-back situation at Arsenal.
Having initially started very well – his first competitive appearance for the club being a 3-0 victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield – he had a torrid time with injuries, being repeatedly ruled out for large chunks of the season.
His poor luck coincided with the meteoric rise of Hector Bellerin, who went on to establish himself as one of the best right-backs in the league.
He was never able to usurp the Spaniard from his position, making only 7 appearances in the first half of the 2015-16 season before leaving on loan to French side Bordeaux.
The Frenchman had a move cruelly blocked this August due to the yearly injury crisis at Arsenal and it seems as though he’ll be forced to wait it out until January to kick-start his career at another club.
(Video courtesy: Spor Öyküleri YouTube channel)
#2 Oumar Niasse
Club: Everton
Age: 26
Position: Striker
It was only last year that Oumar Niasse was in red-hot form for Lokomotiv Moscow in the Russian Premier League, causing Roberto Martinez to spend £13.5 million to bring him to Everton in the winter transfer window as a capable back-up to Romelu Lukaku; in the process making him the third most expensive signing in Everton’s history, behind only Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini.
Having had initial fitness issues, he seemed to be curiously overlooked by Martinez, appearing for a grand total of only 152 minutes of football in the second half of the season.
With Martinez being fired, his successor Ronald Koeman seems to have had absolutely no interest in handing the striker a chance, denying him a squad number and demoting him to the under-23 squad. He was apparently denied a locker too, in what can be simply described as either an attempt to humiliate him or punish him after he decided to stay past the September 1 deadline.
Niasse doesn’t seem to have a future at the club and will probably be moving on, come the winter transfer window.
(Video courtesy: FXHD YouTube channel)
#3 Mamadou Sakho
Club: Liverpool
Age: 26
Position: Center-back
Viewed as a cult-hero by Liverpool fans, there are few in the footballing world who polarize opinion as much as the Frenchman. While many claim his awkward gait and tendency to fall make him a terrible defender, there are also those who feel he’s a monster at the back. It would be fair to say that the actuality lies somewhere in between.
Sakho’s career trajectory at Liverpool has been weird, to say the least. After falling out of favor under Brendan Rodgers, he cemented his spot in the first team under Jürgen Klopp, putting in some immense performances as they reached the finals of both the Europa League and the League Cup.
However, after testing positive for a fat-burner, he was suspended by the club as further investigations were conducted by UEFA. Even though he was eventually cleared, rumors were circling around that Klopp was less than pleased with his attitude and after a summer of further problems cropping up, he has been completely frozen out at the club.
His refusal to leave on loan further angered Klopp and now training with the Under-23’s, it’ll take nothing short of a miracle to save his career at Liverpool.
(Video courtesy: Defence is an Art YouTube channel)
#4 Yaya Toure
Club: Manchester City
Age: 33
Position: Midfielder
Many predicted that the hiring of Guardiola - the manager that initially sold him to City from Barcelona – spelled the end of the Ivorian’s tenure at Manchester City. And while these predictions were premature, his agent, Dimitri Seluk’s rants have ensured that Toure has found himself frozen out of the squad.
Toure has been known to throw tantrums quite often at City, infamously being angry at the club for not getting a cake on his birthday. Guardiola’s no-nonsense approach has seen him not tolerate any such antics, immediately casting Toure away from the first team squad for his agent’s comments to the media.
While Pep has kept the door to the first-team open to Toure – assuming his agent apologizes for his actions - and has him training with the first team, it is hard to see the powerful midfielder having a future at City.
Having last made an appearance against Steaua Bucharest in the qualifying stages of the Champions League in August, it seems as though he will be leaving the club in the near future.
(Video courtesy: RoMarsh YouTube channel)
#5 Bastian Schweinsteiger
Club: Manchester United
Age:
Position: Midfielder
Schweinsteiger’s move to Manchester from Bayern Munich carried along with it a very real sense of excitement. This was, after all, someone who had, only the previous year, won the World Cup with Germany. His resume spoke for itself - 13 years in Bavaria had seen him amass 17 domestic trophies, a Champions League crown, a UEFA Super Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup. He was mooted to be the experience United needed in midfield after the retirements of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.
In his first season with United, he was solid but unspectacular and made a total of 31 appearances across all competitions.
But no one quite saw his current situation forthcoming. Mourinho’s hiring as United boss saw the German completely frozen out of the first-team picture and demoted to the Under-21 team.
Bastian however, has been an exemplary professional, not once complaining or bad-mouthing Mourinho, even though it can be said he had a right to do so.
Recently back training with the first team, there is still the chance he can make his comeback. But the odds are that he would choose to leave and offer his talents and services at a club where they could be put to proper use.
(Video courtesy: KaiiZoFilms YouTube channel)
