Premier League’s Five Forgotten Players

With all the teams busy with their pre-season preparations for the new season, it’s time to look forward and build-up to the new season which kicks-off within a month’s time. Today, we look at Premier League’s five forgotten players. Footballers who came in with a lot of hype and expectations, but now have faded away or suffered bad injuries and are almost forgotten by the fans.

1. DENILSON – ARSENAL

The product of Sao Paulo’s youth academy, Denilson joined Arsenal in 2006, a few weeks after the Gunners had lifted the FA Cup – their last trophy till date. The Brazilian was described as “a little bit in between Tomas Rosicky and Gilberto” by the Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and he made his debut in October same year. He has made around 153 appearances for the Gunners but has been very inconsitent with his performances and has also failed to deal with the physical demands of the Premier League. Last season he was shipped back to Sao Paulo on a season long loan, where he picked up two red cards in the opening three games, which caused some commotion in Brazil. The Brazilian Under-17 international has agreed to stay at Morumbi for another season on loan, after which he will have just 12 months left on his Arsenal contract.

2. PARK CHU-YOUNG – ARSENAL

Arsene Wenger spent around £5m to bring the South Korean international forward to the Emirates from Monaco last August. During the press conference to unveil the striker, the Gunners’ boss declared: “He will add true quality to our attacking forces and will be a valuable addition to the squad.” A season later, the 27-year-old has made just one Premier League appearance. With Nicklas Bendtner (Sunderland) and Carlos Vela (Real Sociedad) both away on loan, fans had expected their new signing to shine in his debut season and follow the footsteps of his former Korean skipper Park Ji-Sung. But that never happened, as the Korean was able to play just seven minutes of Arsenal’s 38 Premier League games last season. The striker who has netted 25 times for South Korea will have an important part to play for his country at the Olympics this summer, but Arsenal may sell him before the transfer window closes.

3. ALBERTO AQUILANI – LIVERPOOL

The Italian joined Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool in 2009 as a replacement for the Spaniard Xabi Alonso – who departed for Real Madrid. A fee around £17m added to expectations heaped on his shoulders following impressive displays during his seven years with his home club, AS Roma. Unfortunately the lady luck was not on the Italian’s side, as he had to wait until November 2009 to recover from an injury and make his Premier League debut. A lot of comparisions made of him to Alonso, proved immature as Aquilani was more attack minded and preferred playing further up the field. After a poor first season and the departure of Benitez, the Italian was sent away on loan to Juventus in 2010/11 and then to AC Milan last season. Even though Aquilani has made just 18 appearances for the Reds, the arrival of Brendan Rodgers and the signing of compatriot Fabio Borini (from Roma) looks to have given him a second chance to prove himself at Anfield.

4. MICHAEL JOHNSON – MANCHESTER CITY

The academy graduate at Manchester City, Johnson burst on to the scene as an 18-year-old where his vision, passing ability and control of the ball in the midfield started the talk of him becoming one of the future stars of English football. But his career has gone the other way around thanks to a succession of abdominal, knee and groin injuries. Since making 23 Premier League appearances for the City in the 2007-08 campaign, the 24-year-old has featured just 11 times in the league in the last four years with seven of those on loan at Leicester City. Roberto Mancini is looking offload the former England Under-21 international but there are no takers for him and will have to wait till his current contract to expire in June 2013.

5. GIOVANI DOS SANTOS – TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Juande Ramos brought the Mexican – a product of Barcelona’s famous academy of La Masia – to White Hart Lane in the summer of 2008 for a fee reported to be around €6m. The young attacking midfielder impressed in his first season in the capital making 12 appearances for the first team before he was loaned away to Ipswich for the reminder of the season. Dos Santos failed to impress Tottenham’s new manager Harry Redknapp – who was appointed after Ramos was sakced for poor results – which resulted him being sent away on loan to Galatasaray in 2009-10 and then to Racing Santander in 2010-11. The 23-year-old remained at White Hart Lane last season but was able to feature only seven times in the Premier League after his commitments on-and-off-the-field were questioned by the former Portsmouth and Southampton boss. The Mexican international has just a year left on his four year contract and will be available for free at the end of the season but he is desperate to leave and return to the La Liga before the end of August.

Liverpool’s Potential Summer 2012 Transfer Targets

Liverpool have had a very strange season. Their performance in the league has been very terrible and they ended the season in eight position behind their Merseyside rivals Everton. However, their performances in the cups have been very impressive, as they won the Carling Cup and reached the finals of the FA Cup.

This summer, big changes have been made at Liverpool. A new management is in place along with a new head coach. Kenny Dalglish was shown the door after a poor season and he was replaced by the impressive young Brendan Rodgers. No new players have arrived at Anfield so far this summer but the Reds’ squad has been boosted by the returns of Joe Cole and Alberto Aquilani from their season-long loans.

HUGO LLORIS – LYON (GOALKEEPER)

There have been doubts raised over the future of Pepe Reina in the past couple of weeks. Reina has attracted some interest from Italy and has been linked with the likes of AC Milan and Inter Milan. Lloris is seen as a possible replacement for Reina, if the Spaniard decides to end his stay at Anfield. The Ligue 1 club are ready to sell the France skipper for a fee around €20m, but the Reds will face competition from the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham, who are also interested in the 25-year-old stopper.

JOLEON LESCOTT – MANCHESTER CITY (DEFENDER)

Despite the England man putting in some solid performances during UEFA EURO 2012 and having a very good previous season, Roberto Mancini is reportedly considering selling the former Everton player maybe because he isn’t glamorous enough to play for Manchester City. Lescott’s availability has interested Liverpool, who face the prospect of losing either Daniel Agger or Martin Skrtel. Lescott would be more than good replacement for either of them but price tag could be a stumbling block.

RASMUS ELM – AZ ALKMAAR (MIDFIELDER)

The 24-year-old midfielder has been linked with a move to Anfield ever since the end of last season but nothing at all developed. According to some reports, the Reds have cooled down their interest in the AZ Alkmaar midfielder since the departure of Kenny Dalglish. If Liverpool do sign Swede international, he would be a good addition to the squad and will cost the Anfield club in the region of £8m.

VICTOR WANYAMA – CELTIC (MIDFIELDER)

The Kenyan international has earned rave reviews during his spell in Scotland with Celtic and has attracted interest from many top clubs from Italy, Spain, France and England. The 21-year-old who is valued around £6m-£7m arrived at Celtic Park last summer, for bargain fee of £900k from Belgian side Beerschot. The Kenyan midfielder who surely be a good signing for the future but won’t be a certain first team option and more of a cover for Lucas.

MARK DAVIES – BOLTON WANDERERS (MIDFIELDER)

According to the gossip columns, the Reds are reportedly interested in the Bolton Wanderers’ midfielder Mark Davies. The 24-year-old England U-19 international, who got relegated with the Wanderers, has also been target by Aston Villa and Newcastle United. The £5m rated midfielder would be a decent addition and increase the depth of the squad, but surely not regular first choice option.

JUAN MANUEL VARGAS – FIORENTINA (MIDFIELDER)

The 28-year-old Peruvian international has been linked with a move to Anfield a lot in the past couple of months but nothing has developed at all. Papers suggest, the Reds are still interested in Fiorentina winger, who can also play as a left back. The Serie A club value Vargas around £8m and he would really be a great addition to the Liverpool squad – keeping in mind they need a creative winger with Stewart Downing failing in his first season – but his age could count against him.

ADAM JOHNSON – MANCHESTER CITY (MIDFIELDER)

Adam Johnson is another winger Liverpool are interested in signing this summer. With Downing and Henderson both failing to deliver on the wings, so naturally strengthening the wings is Rodgers priority this summer. Johnson has fallen out of favour under Roberto Mancini at Manchester City and is looking to leave the Etihad Stadium in search of some regular first team action. The England international has attracted many Premier League clubs but he won’t come cheap as the asking price is said to be around £15m.

GASTON RAMIREZ – BOLOGNA (MIDFIELDER)

According to the reports, the Reds are set to step up their interest in the Bologna playmaker having missed on signing Gylfi Sigurdsson. The 21-year-old is an attacking central midfielder with an eye for goal and was impressive for his Serie A side during last season. Ramirez is rated around £16m by his Italian club and has attracted interest from many European clubs in the past one year with Manchester City being one of them. A chance to play alongside his Uruguayan teammates – Luis Suarez and Sebastian Coates – could swing him in favour of Anfield over City.

VICTOR MOSES – WIGAN ATHLETIC (STRIKER)

Having helped Wigan Athletic survive relegation and stay in the Premier League last season, the Nigerian is ready to move to an ambitious club this summer and the Reds along with a few other Premier League clubs are interested in signing him. Moses will be a good addition to the squad but his consistency is a huge question. Liverpool are interested in signing the pacey forward but the papers in UK suggest that the former Crystal Palace man is close to signing for Chelsea.

DANIEL STURRIDGE – CHELSEA (STRIKER)

The Chelsea striker is said to be unhappy at the lack of first team opportunities at Chelsea since the departure of Andre Villas-Boas. With Liverpool struggling for goals during last season and reliable Dutchman Dirk Kuyt leaving the club; a move to bring in some addition attacking options seems almost certain. The 22-year-old pacey forward – who can also play on the wings – will add something different to the Liverpool attack but the Reds will face some tough competition for his signature from both Tottenham and Arsenal.

DEMBA BA – NEWCASTLE UNITED (STRIKER)

With Liverpool in need of some striking reinforcement, the Newcastle United forward – Demba Ba is another name linked to the Reds this summer. The Senegal international had a fantastic start to last season and went on to score 16 goals in 36 matches in total. With the 27-year-old available for just £7m till the end of July, due to a clause in his contract, the Reds are expected to face some stiff competition from a host of Premier League clubs including the likes of Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United.

FABIO BORINI – AS ROMA (STRIKER)

Another striker linked to the Reds this summer is the former Chelsea and current AS Roma forward Fabio Borini. The 21-year-old Italy international is a known face to Rodgers having worked under him on loan at Swansea. Borini had a great time at the Liberty Stadium scoring 6 goals in 9 matches and later went on to become a hit with Roma. The young Italian, who has a £7m buyout clause in contract, will surely be a great signing for the Reds and will give the new boss with plenty of options upfront.