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Well, you could say that it's too early in the season for this to be made a topic of discussion. However, seeing as several high-profile stars have hit the ground running at their new clubs, it's only fair that we look at the ones that haven't.
Cristiano Ronaldo has got off to a flying start at Manchester United, scoring four goals in three appearances so far. Players like Jack Grealish, Romelu Lukaku, Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konate, to name a few, have all impressed as well.
This summer was quite unlike the recent ones in that we saw way more movement than we had expected to. It's a transfer window where Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo changed clubs after all.
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Teams were more or less forced into a situation where they had to part with some of their players due to their financial troubles caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Without further ado, let's take a look at five players who have struggled at their new clubs.
#5 Ben White (Arsenal)
Arsenal got off to an awful start to the 2021-22 Premier League season. The Gunners spent the most money this past summer transfer window but their choice of signings has been suspect. Chief among those is former Brighton defender Ben White.
Arsenal spent €58.5 million to sign the 23-year-old but he has not come close to justifying his price tag. While he was sidelined for the defeats against Manchester City and Chelsea, he did not cover himself in glory in the other games.
In fact, White turned in a sub-par performance on his Arsenal debut as they fell 2-0 to newly promoted Brentford. He was sloppy in possession in Arsenal's latest outing, which came against Burnley.
White was lucky that his stray backpass did not lead to a penalty as goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was forced to stretch to keep the ball away from Matej Vydra.
#4 Gini Wijnaldum (Paris Saint-Germain)
Paris Saint-Germain hijacked Barcelona's move for Georginio Wijnaldum in the last minute. The Dutchman was immense for Liverpool during his five-year stay at Anfield and had a good outing at Euro 2020 with the national side as well.
He was half-expected to hit his stride straightaway at Paris Saint-Germain. However, Wijnaldum has only turned in six underwhelming performances for the Ligue 1 outfit so far.
The 30-year-old received a lot of stick for his performance against Club Brugge in the Champions League in particular. He was sloppy and looked tired and was too caught up passing sideways or to his defenders.
His defensive work has also been criticized and Wijnaldum will need to up his levels or it won't be long before he starts warming the bench on a regular basis.
#3 Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
Atletico Madrid signing Antoine Griezmann on loan with an option to buy was one of the most shocking deals on transfer deadline day. Griezmann had a decent 2020-21 campaign with the Catalans, scoring 20 goals and providing 13 assists in 51 appearances across all competitions.
The Frenchman had trouble settling down at Barcelona in his first season there due to the contrast in style of play between theirs and Atletico's. This could just be that buffer period but it's a bit alarming since Griezmann spent five successful seasons under Diego Simeone. He is no stranger to Atletico's style of play.
After five appearances in La Liga, three of which he made for Barcelona, Griezmann is yet to register a shot on target, let alone score a goal.
He was whistled and jeered by Atletico Madrid fans during the 0-0 draw against Porto in the Champions League. Griezmann is yet to open his scoring or even register an assist for Atletico Madrid.
#2 Jadon Sancho (Manchester United)
Jadon Sancho is just 21-years-old. While Manchester United fans would have expected him to hit the ground running after his exploits at Borussia Dortmund, the reality has been far from it.
Sancho has failed to assert himself in any of the six appearances he has made for the Red Devils. He had a decent game against Newcastle United but wasn't directly involved in any of the goals. It looks like the Englishman will take some time to get used to the rigors of the English top-flight.
Sancho has also largely played as a left-winger and it will be interesting to see if he is moved to the right wing once Marcus Rashford is fully fit. For now, Sancho seems to be struggling but Solskjaer is optimistic about the player and believes he can go on to be a top forward for Manchester United.
#1 Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Getting a star-studded squad is one thing, and getting them to be on the same page and perform well together is an entirely different ordeal. That's the lesson Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino is learning at the moment.
Perhaps three games is much too small a sample size to gauge success by. But for a player of Lionel Messi's standards, three games without making any goal contributions is a bit alarming. Don't get us wrong. He played well and came close to scoring in PSG's latest game against Lyon.
But Messi cut a frustrated figure in the game against Club Brugge in the Champions League. His debut performance against Reims was rather underwhelming as well.
Frustration is starting to grow and Messi refused to shake manager Pochettino's hands as he was taken off in the 76th minute with the score at 1-1. It's not a great look for anyone involved.
