Arsenal star Bukayo Saka one of eight Premier League players who needed the summer off
Backing a player to have a big season because they have had a full pre-season is one of the biggest summer cliches â and we are all over it. This time, we look at eight players who Premier League clubs will have wanted to have the summer off, with five Euro 2024 stars included.
Here are eight players who should benefit from having the summer off.
Arsenal: Bukayo Saka
William Saliba played every single minute for Arsenal in the 2023/24 season, which is why the title race went down to the final day, unlike the year before when the Frenchmanâs campaign ended mid-March.
Saliba is not our choice, however, having started every match for France at Euro 2024 as they reached the last four, losing to eventual winners Spain. It has to be Saka, who went all the way to the final with England, which was the last thing Mikel Arteta wanted.
We all know how Arteta has used Saka like a bar of soap since the young winger took the No. 7 shirt. There are so many fears over his long-term fitness due to his ridiculous minutes but so far, he has shown incredible durability while getting kicked about every week. The limping is funny to rival fans, but completely understandable considering the treatment he gets from opposition players.
Saka was vital for England at Euro 2024, helping them reach the final against Spain. He is already back in pre-season friendly action for Arsenal and while he has had adequate time off, it still doesnât feel like enough, especially when the Gunners still need to sign a back-up right-winger.
Aston Villa: Amadou Onana
We are hardly spoilt for choice with Aston Villa. John McGinn was in and out of Germany in the blink of an eye, Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa didnât play an awful lot for England and Emiliano Martinez is a goalkeeper. Ultimately, we have selected Amadou Onana because if he wasnât at Euro 2024 with Belgium, he might have been signed sooner and had more time to integrate himself and learn all about Unai Emeryâs demands ahead of the Premier League kicking off.
Chelsea: Enzo Fernandez
We could hardly pick Marc Cucurella after his Euro 2024 exploits proved to us all that he is actually quite good at football. Such is the amateurish way of operating at Chelsea these days, we feel like they only realised themselves by watching him become a European champion with Spain.
Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez were both at Copa America and are vitally important to Chelsea, while Cole Palmer could have done with the rest having carried Mauricio Pochettinoâs side on his young back all year. He didnât play enough at the European Championship, though.
We think Argentina midfielder Fernandez going all the way at the Copa America will be the most detrimental to Chelsea. Not because he will be tired in the opening weeks of the season, but because of what happened on the bus.
Without delving too deep into all of this, it is worth saying that it is no surprise to see the racism incident largely brushed under the carpet. There was outrage within the first 48 hours but it has all calmed down and everything is hunky dory again, simply because Chelsea have said so. He will be their new vice-captain. And it is not surprising that it has come to this. That is football, innit? If you cost over ÂŁ100m, you can basically do â and get away with â anything you want.
đ READ LATER:Â Enzo Fernandez and Wesley Fofana bring out footballâs inhibited racists
Liverpool: Luis Diaz
Quite the year Luis Diaz has had. Combining the mental strain he endured when his father was kidnapped with the fact he played the vast majority of minutes at an international tournament, reaching the final along the way, he is our pick.
Manchester City: Kevin De Bruyne
Obviously, Kevin De Bruyne avoided injury while representing Belgium at Euro 2024 and that is a great thing for Pep Guardiola and Man City. They could have done without the stress though, given his problems over the last 18 months.
Man City would have very happily smothered De Bruyne in bubble wrap for the entirety of the summer before welcoming him back for pre-season training. In what could be his and Guardiolaâs Last Dance, with both of their contracts expiring next year, Man City need the Belgian playmaker fit and flying.
Manchester United: Luke Shaw
Similar to De Bruyne, Man Utd really could have done with Lisandro Martinez having the summer off. Regardless, picking Luke Shaw was pretty straightforward. He shouldnât have even been at the Euros.
Injured in February, Shawâs season ended and he was a big doubt for this summerâs European Championship. Gareth Southgate took him to Germany anyway, giving him minutes off the bench in the quarter and semi-finals before starting the Red Devils left-back in the final against Spain. Bringing someone to a tournament for the latter stages only is questionable and is only justifiable for your Lionel Messis and Neymars of the world. It also says a lot about the other players available in their position.
Erik ten Hag was rightly frustrated to see Shawâs name in the England squad but at least he came through unscathed. Physically, anyway. Losing back-to-back Euro finals obviously hurt quite a bit.
Newcastle United: Kieran Trippier
Again, not a plethora of options at our disposal here. Newcastle and Villa are bloody frauds. âBig Eightâ? Donât make us p*ss our pantsâŠ
Anyhow, as you can see, we think Kieran Tripper. The England right-back could have used the time off to sort out a lot of things, starting with his declining ability to play football. There are apparent issues in his personal life that we wonât dive into and that could be affecting him on the pitch.
Despite his shaky form over the last six months or so, Trippier will go down as a very important and superb signing in the PIF era at St Jamesâ Park, though now could be the perfect time to part ways. His performances at the Euros again left a lot to be desired, even if he was playing out of position, and the ex-Atletico Madrid man has a point to prove if he stays at Newcastle. The extra time off could have been just what the doctor ordered.
Tottenham: Cristian Romero
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven established themselves as one of the best centre-back partnerships in the Premier League last term and as long as Tottenham keep them together, they have got a chance of ending that silly little trophy drought of theirs.
Romero is a very good footballer. A little mental, but very good. Having suffered a couple of injuries last term at club level, he went on to represent Argentina at Copa America, helping Fernandez and co. win the whole thing. He started and finished every game except for a dead rubber against Peru, conceding one goal at the tournament, which was a 92nd-minute equaliser.
We are hardly saying that a 26-year-old player should not be playing for his country in the summer to be ready for his club, but it hardly benefits said club. He is probably the only vital and busy Spurs player, so, he was an obvious choice.
đ READ NEXT: Man Utd win title with Arsenal Lynx disaster last â ranking all 24/25 Premier League away and third kits
