The club captain's imminent departure should mark the start of a wave of exits for players who have won it all but have long passed their peak

The timing of the revelation that Kyle Walker has asked to leave Manchester City – dropped by Pep Guardiola in the middle of the press conference after the 8-0 drubbing of Salford City – might have been surprising. But the news itself felt inevitable, even if it has been fast-tracked.

Walker has had a harrowing season on the pitch while off it his chaotic private life has continued to dominate the headlines. With his performances spiralling, him losing his place in the team – his last start was in the derby defeat by Manchester United on December 15 – and facing vitriolic criticism on social media, it is understandable that Walker has had enough and is seeking an exit in the middle of the season.

If he gets his wish and leaves, Walker will rightly be remembered as one of City's finest ever defenders, an unmovable force at right-back for seven seasons before his tough final spell this term. Guardiola was keen to point out Walker's influence, stating: "We cannot understand the success we have had these years. Without Kyle it's impossible, he gave us something we didn't have. He has been amazing."

But secretly the coach must be relieved that one of the team's biggest liabilities this season has given him and the club one less awkward decision to make when it comes to overhauling the squad. Walker's departure, however, looks set to be just the first step of a large and necessary City rebuild which has already begun.

Centre-back Abdukhodir Khusanov is about to join after City agreed a €40 million (£33m/$40m) fee with Lens, and Brazilian teenager Vitor Reis is set to follow suit soon. Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush is also likely to join from Eintracht Frankfurt to give City extra fire-power and ease the goal-scoring burden on Erling Haaland.

The three new arrivals usher in a new beginning for City and signal the end of an era for the core of the squad which won the treble just two years ago. And these are the players who should be following Walker out of the door to complete the transition…

GettyJack Grealish

Jack Grealish must have enjoyed himself against Salford on Saturday as he was able to do two things he has not been able to take for granted of late. First, he started for the first time in four games, but more importantly he scored for City the first time in more than a year.

Grealish took full advantage of the League Two opposition by setting up two goals as well as winning and converting a penalty, but the fact he started the FA Cup tie alongside so many inexperienced youngsters when so many of his senior team-mates began on the bench or sat the game out entirely must have also felt a bit insulting.

Grealish was one of the most exciting players in the Premier League to watch when City paid a record £100m ($121m) to sign him from Aston Villa in 2021, but Guardiola has stifled his creativity. Marti Perarnau, the journalist closest to Guardiola, referred to Grealish as a "rest station" in his latest book, a damning indictment of his role in the squad.

Grealish played a pivotal albeit slightly uninspiring role in the treble-winning team as the player who held the ball up and allowed others to get forward, but lately he has been left behind. Jeremy Doku and Savinho have leapt ahead of him in the pecking order and Guardiola publicly criticised him earlier in the month.

The arrival of Marmoush will give the England man even fewer opportunities, and Grealish needs to find a new club for his own sake, especially if he wants to be part of Thomas Tuchel's plans for the 2026 World Cup. City could also do with a bit of help to finance their daunting rebuild, and although they would have to swallow a huge loss on their £100m investment, they should at least look to recoup some money on a player that has long ceased to have a proper role in the squad.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportKevin De Bruyne

Kevin De Bruyne's unique talents mean he can still make a difference even after a series of debilitating injuries, such as tearing his hamstring twice in 2023. It should not be forgotten that he contributed to more than 20 goals despite only playing half of last season, and his decisive interventions against Newcastle and Crystal Palace hauled City over the line in the title race.

But even he is beginning to wonder if his fitness issues are becoming too great. The Belgian revealed in November that his injury problems have delayed talks on extending his contract, which expires in June. Weeks later, he disclosed that he has had to manage the pain of a sports hernia injury which he had still not fully overcome. De Bruyne has returned to full fitness lately, starting six games since the start of December, but he has still not decided whether he will be staying or leaving.

Given his injury history and the fact he turns 34 in June, it feels like the end is nigh for De Bruyne at City. It will be gut-wrenching to see him leave after everything he has achieved in Manchester, but the player and the club need to face up to the fact that he can no longer stay fit for long periods.

To get back to challenging for the top competitions, City need a No.10 who will be consistently available. De Bruyne, meanwhile, deserves to live out the final few years of his career in comfort, rather than at the mercy of the most intense league in the world and its unrelenting schedule.

AFPEderson

Ederson returned to action from injury against Salford and his place in the starting line-up was a reminder of how his status at the club has dramatically fallen. The FA Cup was always the domain of City's second-choice goalkeeper, meaning he would usually sit such matches out.

Now, though, the tables have turned. Ederson was dropped for Stefan Ortega for the trip to Liverpool in November after a string of poor displays, above all the error-strewn performance in the 3-3 draw with Feyenoord. He did get back into the team for the Manchester derby, but he was partly culpable for Amad Diallo's late winner, and when it was revealed that he picked up an injury after the game and would be out for month, it did not feel like a real setback for City.

Ederson has not been helped by suffering three injuries within the space of a year, but it is plain to see that he is no longer an elite level shot-stopper and his ability to build attacks with his laser passing has also declined. Ortega feels like just as good an option for the remainder of the season as Ederson, but both goalkeepers are over the age of 30 and their contracts expire in 2026. It feels like the ideal time for a younger 'keeper to join the club's ranks and Ederson, who received interest from Saudi Arabia last summer, is likely to generate more money from a sale than Ortega to help fund a move for City's future No.1.

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Getty Ilkay Gundogan

There is a reason why they say you should never go back. Most reunions end in disappointment, and Ilkay Gundogan's second coming with City feels like a big mistake for the player and the club.

Gundogan departed in 2023 as a modern City legend after winning 14 trophies, having netted crucial goals in the Premier League title race and scored twice in the FA Cup final against United. But he returned this past summer a year older and looking even more tired, which was the last thing City's ageing squad needed.

The truth is Gundogan, at 34, was viewed as more of a squad player than a starter, but Rodri's season-ending injury and Mateo Kovacic's fitness troubles mean he has had to anchor the midfield for much of the campaign, a role he rarely looked comfortable in even four years previously. The German is at least easily dispensable as he only signed a one-year contract when he returned from Barcelona.

Leeds United are no strangers to selling their best and brightest talents and had to endure losing a number of key players in the summer transfer window.

Crysencio Summerville, Archie Gray, Georginio Rutter, and Glen Kamara moved on, to West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Rennes respectively on permanent deals.

That came after the Whites failed to secure promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, having lost 1-0 to Southampton in the play-off final.

However, even playing in the Premier League does not guarantee that the club’s best players will remain at Elland Road, as Jesse Marsch quickly found out.

In the summer of 2022, Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha both left the club to join Manchester City and Barcelona respectively and Leeds were subsequently relegated from the division in the 2022/23 campaign.

The Whites also previously had to cash in on their players whilst they struggled to get out of the Championship and one player they played a blinder with during those times was centre-forward Kemar Roofe.

How much Leeds paid for Kemar Roofe

In the summer of 2016, Leeds swooped to sign the number nine from League Two side Oxford United for a reported fee of £3m, which was a record for the third tier outfit.

The young marksman had racked up an impressive 17 goals and ten assists in 40 appearances in League Two during the 2015/16 campaign, and had produced 31 goals in 65 matches for Oxford in all competitions during his time there.

It was a significant investment from the West Yorkshire outfit on a player who had not proven himself above the fourth tier of football in England, and showed that they believed in his potential.

Their belief may have been tested in his first season at Elland Road. Roofe got off to a slow start, with four goals in 42 Championship appearances, but he was still adapting to a higher level and patience was needed.

The £3m marksman upped his output in front of goal in his second term with the club. He produced 11 goals and three assists in 36 league outings, along with three goals and two assists in three League Cup games.

Marcelo Bielsa then arrived in the summer of 2018 and the Argentine head coach helped the striker to enjoy his best season in a Leeds shirt, as the Whites made the play-offs.

Appearances

32

Starts

27

Goals

14

Big chances missed

16

Assists

2

As you can see in the table above, Roofe plundered 14 goals in 27 league starts for the club and could have scored more, had he not been as wasteful with 16 ‘big chances’ missed.

That form attracted interest from elsewhere and Belgian giants Anderlecht eventually secured his services for a fee of up to £7m in the summer of 2019.

Leeds played a blinder with that particular sale for multiple reasons, the first being that his exit opened the door for Patrick Bamford to take on a greater role.

Patrick Bamford thrived after Kemar Roofe's exit

The English forward, who had been signed from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2018, was a bit-part player for the Whites in Bielsa’s first season at the club.

He only made 22 appearances in the division, scoring nine goals, before Roofe’s move to Anderlecht the following summer allowed Bamford to become the main centre-forward option.

The ex-Chelsea prospect then helped to fire the Whites to the Championship title under Bielsa in the 2019/20 campaign, with 16 goals in 45 matches.

Appearances

22

45

Starts

15

43

Goals

9

16

Big chances missed

15

33

Assists

2

2

As you can see in the table above, Bamford played far more matches and produced more in the final third after Roofe completed his £7m move to Anderlecht.

This suggests that the Whites selling the Jamaica international was a shrewd decision, financially and from a footballing perspective, as it allowed a player they already had to step out of the shadows to become a star.

That sale has also proven to be a masterstroke from Leeds because the centre-forward’s value has plummeted over the years since his exit from West Yorkshire.

Kemar Roofe's current market value

At the time of writing (26/09/2024), Transfermarkt has his current market value at €1m (£800k) and that is a staggering drop from the £7m Leeds raked in for him just over five years ago.

Market Movers

Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?

He is currently a free agent, having left Rangers at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, and it remains to be seen where, if anywhere, the 31-year-old will go next.

Roofe ended up at Ibrox after just one season with Anderlecht in Belgium. The English-born striker scored seven goals in 16 appearances for the Pro League outfit and missed 22 matches in all competitions through injury that term.

Rangers then swooped in to sign the attacker for a reported fee of £4.5m in the summer of 2020, which meant that Anderlecht made a loss of £2.5m after just one year.

This immediately suggested that Leeds played a blinder by cashing in on him for £7m, as his value plummeted within a year of his departure from the club.

Roofe’s injury problems persisted throughout his time in Glasgow. He missed a staggering 96 games through injury across his four seasons in Scotland combined.

The centre-forward did enjoy a decent record when fit and available, with a return of 38 goals in 102 appearances in all competitions, but he almost missed as many matches as he played.

His injury woes meant that the number nine was an unreliable option for Rangers, as they could not bank on him to be available for the majority of a season, and they eventually opted to release him on a free transfer earlier this year.

Overall, Leeds struck gold when Victor Orta and Bielsa opted to cash in on the striker, due to Bamford’s subsequent form and Roofe’s plummeting value over the years since.

£11m wasted: Farke must sell Leeds man who earns more than Joseph & Piroe

The Whites defender is currently wasting away on the bench at Elland Road.

ByDan Emery Sep 25, 2024

The BCCI has advertised for the position of head of cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. The position was till now held by former India captain Rahul Dravid, whose two-year term has come to an end. Dravid can apply again should he be interested in getting an extension.The job mainly involves development of emerging and youth cricketers not only at the NCA but also India A and age-group teams, working in close co-ordination with both men’s and women’s national coaching teams and captains to ensure a seamless supply of talent, assisting selectors of both men’s and women’s sides at senior, age-group and India A level, and developing all coaching programmes at the NCA.The qualifications required for the job are an experience of representing India in at least 25 Tests and having coached for at least five years at international level or at India A, India Under-19, India women or IPL. Candidates must be under 60. The last date to apply is August 15.If Dravid does apply for the job, it will end, for the time being, any speculation around his becoming India’s next coach. The current coach, Ravi Shastri, and his team of B Arun, R Sridhar and Vikram Rahour, end their term with the T20 World Cup later this year.Dravid’s term began in July 2019. India’s feeder systems have come in for praise after a severely depleted Test side beat Australia in Australia earlier this year. India were able to send a second-string side to Sri Lanka when all the first-choice players were in England this July. They won the ODI series, but lost the T20I series. They had lost the services of eight players during the last two T20Is of the series because of Covid-19 cases in the Indian camp. Dravid travelled to Sri Lanka as the coach of this team.

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has been quick to play down questions that his side are creeping into rogue Premier League title contention, but the signs of progress are clear.

Admittedly, the draw at Stamford Bridge against Nottingham Forest, right before the October international break, underscored the bridging that must still occur to put the Blues in a position closer to that of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, but this Chelsea squad is far above that of recent years.

The frontline is as good as any across Europe, but reports suggest that the Blues could be set to target one more forward in 2025, completing Maresca’s squad.

Chelsea targeting another forward

As per Spanish sources, Chelsea are interested in signing Karim Adeyemi from Borussia Dortmund, with the dynamic forward valued at around €50m (£42m) by his side.

Liverpool have also been listed as admirers, but the report from last week states that the west Londoners have a serious interest in the 22-year-old and could make their move shortly.

Why Karim Adeyemi would be perfect for Chelsea

Adeyemi has gone from strength to strength this season after a testing 2023/24 campaign, posting five goals and five assists apiece across just eight matches – seven starts.

Left winger

4

2

1

Centre-forward

2

0

1

Right winger

2

3

3

A versatile forward, he’d be able to influence different areas of the pitch for Maresca’s outfit, but might find that his prolificness on the right sees him replace Noni Madueke as Chelsea’s star flanker, should he sign, of course.

Madueke has been excellent since the summer, notably scoring a hat-trick against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League. Like Adeyemi, he has five goals from eight appearances this term, however he’s also yet to claim his first assist and has come across selfish in instances, reflected by his paltry playmaking metrics.

Adeyemi is a fleet-footed menace with a myriad of attacking tools to inflict damage on his opponents. His multi-functionality across the frontline aligns with that of Chelsea’s current mix, and should see him dovetail right in.

As per FBref, he actually ranks among the top 5% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for goals scored per 90 (0.52), with the bulk of this new-found potency coming since the departure of Edin Terzic, for the German only scored five goals across all competitions last season, assisting just twice.

The year before, Terziv did funnily acknowledge Adeyemi as the “road runner” of his team after his pace and electricity saw Chelsea off in the Champions League.

Madueke might be earning plaudits for his performances this season, but Adeyemi is playing out of his skin right now; should he continue on his current trajectory, he might just prove to outstrip this English positional peer and prove to Maresca that he deserves a place in this ever-improving Chelsea team.

Saved by Madueke: Chelsea must axe 5/10 ace with fewer touches than Sanchez

Maresca must consider shuffling the pack after the international break…

ByAngus Sinclair Oct 7, 2024

كشفت تقارير صحفية إسبانية، أن الدولي الفرنسي كيليان مبابي لاعب فريق كرة القدم الأول بنادي ريال مدريد، خضع لعملية جراحية وغاب عن تدريبات الفريق اليوم الثلاثاء.

ويستعد ريال مدريد لمواجهة ريال سوسيداد، غدًا الأربعاء في ذهاب نصف نهائي كأس ملك إسبانيا، على ملعب أنويتا في سان سبيستيان.

طالع أيضًا.. تأكد غياب لاعب ريال مدريد أمام ريال سوسيداد في كأس ملك إسبانيا

ويغيب عن ريال مدريد فيديريكو فالفيردي، حسب ما أفادت التقارير حيث يعاني من آلام في الركبة، بينما يبدو أن هناك غياب جديد وهو كيليان مبابي.

صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية، أكدت بأن الأمور جميعها تشير إلى أن مبابي سيحصل على راحة في مواجهة ريال سوسيداد غدًا في كأس ملك إسبانيا، على أن يكون جاهز لملاقاة ريال بيتيس يوم السبت.

اللاعب الفرنسي أجرى جراحة في الأسنان، بعدما تم التخطيط لها أن تُجرى عقب مواجهة جيرونا، وهي ما منعته من خوض تدريبات اليوم الثلاثاء.

كيليان كان أحد اللاعبين الذين لم يحصلوا كثيرًا على راحة هذا الموسم، باستثناء الغياب في بداية الموسم بسبب مشاكل عضلية بسيطة، لكنه خاض 39 مباراة وسجل 28 هدفًا مما جعله أحد اللاعبين الذين تخطوا حاجز الـ3000 دقيقة في ريال مدريد.

Leon Goretzka and Michael Olise provided the inspiration for Bayern Munich as they won 3-2 against Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

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• Bayern get three points against Wolfsburg
• Goretzka and Olise key for German giants
• Misfiring Kane was sloppy in front of goal

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  Bayern caused some early problems for Wolfsburg, hitting the woodwork and forcing the goalkeeper into two saves inside the first seven minutes.

  In the 20th minute, they made their dominance count when Leon Goretzka took on a simple pass from Joshua Kimmich and sent it flying into the net from outside the box.

  Wolfsburg had shown they had some fight in them, though, and pulled level with a fantastic routine from a free-kick that resulted in a lovely finish from Mohamed Amoura in the 24th minute.

  The home side had a tough time finding their way through Wolfsburg's defence after that, but the visitors couldn't stop Michael Olise as he pounced on a loose ball, evaded a challenge outside the box and fired towards goal, finding the net despite Kamil Grabara getting a hand to it.

  Just before half-time, the Bavarian giants thought they had a two-goal cushion when Joshua Kimmich diverted in from Kingsley Coman's cross, but a VAR review showed it struck his arm and it was disallowed.

  Their inevitable third goal came just after the hour mark, again Goretzka getting in the air to meet Olise's free-kick cross and divert home. A few minutes later, a long Manuel Neuer ball caused a mix-up in the Wolfsburg defence, allowing Coman to go through on goal, but his shot missed the target.

  The hosts were in for a difficult end when Wolfsburg won the ball in the middle of the field and Tiago Tomas drove forward with determination before feeding through Amoura for an excellent strike to make it 3-2 after 88 minutes. In the end, though, Bayern held on to the lead and sealed the three points.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  THE MVP

  With a stunning opener and a well-taken second goal, Goretzka brought an end to a five-game run without contributing a goal to show he can still act as a key figure for Vincent Kompany's men.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  THE BIG LOSER

  It just wasn't Harry Kane's day in front of goal as the Englishman looked rather awkward whenever the ball found him in a dangerous position. You can't fault the striker for his effort, but he should have had at least one goal from the seven shots he had inside Wolfsburg's box.

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• WHAT COMES NEXT?

  Bayern are looking to make it five wins in a row when they take on Feyenoord in the Champions League in midweek, followed three days later by a Bundesliga trip to Freiburg.

‘It’s nice to have a block of T20 cricket going into the World Cup’, the New Zealand fast bowler says

Deivarayan Muthu17-Aug-2021After dominating New Zealand’s home summer in 2020-21 and then emerging as the Player of the Match in the inaugural World Test Championship final, Kyle Jamieson is set for the second leg of IPL 2021 in the UAE, where everything began for him.It was in the 2014 Under-19 World Cup in the UAE that Jamieson first made an impact as a batter-turned-bowler, picking up seven wickets in four matches at an average of 23.85 and economy rate of 4.51. Seven years later, he will first link up with Royal Challengers Bangalore and then the T20 World Cup, which will also be held in the UAE – and Oman.Related

Batter to 'something special' fast bowler – the Jamieson story

Bond joins coaching group for T20 World Cup

Taylor left out of T20 World Cup squad

After being snapped up by RCB for INR 15 crore (USD 2 million approx) earlier this year, Jamieson also had a county stint with Surrey, although it was cut short by injury. He managed just one wicket in 13.5 overs in the Vitality Blast, in addition to 47 runs with the bat, but welcomed more T20 game-time in the lead-up to the World Cup.”It certainly gives us, [and] me a little bit of a head-start in terms of getting used to those conditions and those grounds,” Jamieson said. “It’s nice to have a block of T20 cricket going into the World Cup and, like I said, just a good chance to practice some T20 skillsets in the venues we’re going to be playing on.”Ahead of the first leg of the IPL in India, Jamieson was taken to the cleaners by Australia at home. He got only one wicket in four T20Is, leaking nearly 12 runs an over. Jamieson’s mentor Dayle Hadlee, the former New Zealand seamer and Richard’s elder brother, revealed that Jamieson had reached out to him during the last home summer.”There was a game at Rangiora, which is just out of Christchurch, and it was between Test matches. I had a phone call from Kyle, saying he was going to come out for that match because I was out there with the Canterbury team,” Dayle had earlier told ESPNcricinfo. “We got together and chewed the fat for an hour, and it was just lovely to catch up. Things didn’t go quite well for him after he won the IPL contract.”Some of that may have been down to being a little bit overawed with what happened financially, and the expectations of people and the Aussies were targeting him a bit. I thought it was fine – he’s still young and it was all part of learning and he’s going to be a better bowler for that experience. I’ve shared all my coaching resources with him, and I’ve put everything in a pen drive for him because I think he’ll make a bowling coach one day.”

“It certainly gives us, [and] me a little bit of a head-start in terms of getting used to those conditions and those grounds”Kyle Jamieson on IPL in UAE

On his first tour to India, though, Jamieson adapted to the sluggish Chennai conditions, bowling offcutters and legcutters into the pitch to handcuff the opposition. He is RCB’s second-highest wicket-taker this season, with nine strikes in seven games at an economy rate of 9.20.”I think it was good to have the first block of T20 cricket and, I guess, you are constantly reviewing that and try and see what the plans are at certain stages of the game, certain conditions, different grounds, different batters,” Jamieson said when asked about his learnings from the first half of the tournament in India. “I guess there’s no specifics around that sort of stuff. But just being involved around T20 cricket for a period of time, sort of, allows you to get into that sort of a mode.”Jamieson was also excited to reunite with Shane Bond who will be part of New Zealand’s coaching set-up for the T20 World Cup and T20 matches in India which follow the tournament. Jamieson had previously worked with Bond during his stint with the A team and during winter camps. Bond brings with him vast T20 experience, having had coaching spells at Sydney Thunder in the BBL and Mumbai Indians in the IPL.”It’s so cool to have him [Bond] with Steady (Gary Stead) and Jurgo (Shane Jurgensen) and Ronchs (Luke Ronchi) as well,” Jamieson said. “Look, he was a fantastic player and he’s been a fantastic coach and he has coached all around the world as well. So, to have his experience and tap into that is going to be awesome.”He was the head of an A tour that I went on a few years back and he has been involved in winter squads. I guess, there’s always some technical stuff, but a lot around T20 cricket – how to approach, adjust from formats, what does white-ball cricket look like for me and how do I kind of adjust to that, and that sort of stuff… He keeps things very simple; he’s pretty black and white.”Jamieson’s RCB are currently third on the points table, with five victories in seven matches. They will restart their campaign against the Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi on September 20.

Arsenal have become a lean, mean, winning machine on the pitch in recent years and shrewd operators off it as well.

The days of dramatically overpaying for a player who can't deliver and letting their stars leave for next to nothing are seemingly over – at least for now, anyway.

However, even though Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar have steered the club in the right direction at the moment, there are still some stars the club let slip between their fingers in the past who would've been perfect for the team today.

In fact, one superstar who has recently made a big move was at the club as a youngster, outperformed Gabriel Martinelli last season and would've been the perfect Bukayo Saka rival.

Saka and Martinelli's recent form

So, even though Arsenal couldn't quite get over the line last year, it was another brilliant season for the North Londoners, and of all the stars at the club, Saka was probably the most magnificent.

The Hale Ender made 47 appearances for the team across all competitions and racked up a frankly ridiculous haul of 20 goals and 14 assists, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 1.38 games.

The only issue was that, due to a lack of competition, there were moments throughout the season in which he looked tired and perhaps should have been given a rest.

On the other hand, Martinelli struggled somewhat and couldn't quite produce the same moments of magic he did in 22/23 when he scored 15 goals and provided six assists in 46 matches for the North Londoners.

Instead, the Guarulhos-born gem could only muster up eight goals and five assists in 44 appearances, meaning he averaged a goal involvement once every 2.19 games two years ago and once every 3.38 games last season.

Ultimately, both players are fantastically talented wingers, although the former Arsenal youngster outperformed the Brazilian last year and would have been the ideal rival or backup for the Englishman.

Michael Olise's 23/24

So, the former Arsenal youngster in question is Michael Olise, who was part of the club's youth system before leaving to join Chelsea in 2009.

The Hammersmith-born gem then left Chelsea as well and, after a very brief stint with Manchester City, joined Reading. There, he made his senior debut in the 18/19 season before earning a starting role over the following two campaigns, which earned him an £8m move to Premier League outfit Crystal Palace.

After a couple of injury-hit but nonetheless impressive years with the Eagles, the "magic" winger, as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, really exploded last season, scoring ten goals and providing six assists in just 19 appearances, which saw Bayern Munich splash £50m on him in the summer.

Olise vs Martinelli vs Saka in 23/24
Player	Olise	Martinelli	Saka
Appearances	19	44	47
Minutes	1278'	2640'	3865
Goals	10	8	20
Assists	6	5	14
Goal Involvements per Match	0.84	0.29	0.72
Minutes per Goal Involvement	79.87'	203.07'	113.67
All Stats via Transfermarkt

Now, not only did the Frenchman outperform Martinelli last season, but he also won comparisons to Saka thanks to his performances.

The comparison stems from FBref, which looks at players in similar positions across Europe's top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and in this case, concluded that the Englishman is the second most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the former Palace ace.

Olise & Saka
Stats per 90	Olise	Saka
Progressive Carries	4.79	4.78
Non-Penalty Expected Goals	0.33	0.33
Passing Accuracy	74.9%	75.6%
Passes into the Penalty Area	2.39	2.25
Shot-Creating Actions	5.79	5.80
Ball Recoveries	4.79	4.78
All Stats via FBref for the 23/24 League Season

You can better understand how they came to this conclusion by examining the pair's underlying numbers and seeing the metrics in which they rank closely, including, but not limited to, progressive carries, non-penalty expected goals, passing accuracy, passes into the penalty area, shot-creating actions and even ball recoveries, all per 90.

Ultimately, there is no point crying over spilt milk, and while Olise would be an incredible backup option to Saka on the right and someone who could challenge Martinelli on the left, the Gunners already have a pair of incredibly talented wingers on their hands – even if one of them is not at his best at the moment.

Arsenal struck gold on sensational "monster" now worth way more than Rice

The incredible star is well on his way to legend status on the red side of North London.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Sep 9, 2024