Garnacho and Man Utd Star Bench Warning: Five Premier League Players Set to Lose Places as Injury Returnees Arrive
WANDERLUSTSPORT, and we assume most of you, are considerably less interested in the international break than usual since it has no bearing on England.
Although Premier League managers will be closely monitoring their players’ participation in order to prevent injuries and “red zones,” the incredibly annoying break also indicates that a large number of elite players will likely return soon when club competition resumes.
It’s good for them, their clubs, their managers, and the spectators, but it’s bad for the players who have benefited from more playing time as a result of their absence.
Giorgi Mamardashvili (Goal-kepper)
Team: Liverpool
What if the Liverpool crisis wasn’t caused by too much change too soon, Florian Wirtz being a cowardly lion, Arne Slot being a big bald fraud, Mohamed Salah losing his legs, or Virgil van Dijk blaming everyone but himself?
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Instead, it might have been caused by the Premier League’s supposedly best backup custodian being such a bad substitute for Alisson that he was solely responsible for this once-great football team’s downfall.
In the Premier League goalkeeper rankings, Mamardashvili is only surpassed by Caoimhin Kelleher and Jose Sa.
We believe it would be quite difficult to locate a Liverpool player with fewer than 0.6 points per game (PPG). This season, Alisson’s PPG is 2.5.
Alejandro Garnacho (Left Winger)
Team: Chelsea
Before the 3-0 victory over Wolves, the jury was still out on Garnacho, and it remains so since the Wolves were a two-point, managerless team that was about as vulnerable as one of the unfortunate women who starred opposite Liam Neeson in badly filmed action flicks.
However, the £40 million summer acquisition did deliver two outstanding and very different assists in that game.
He embarrassed Santiago Bueno with some very impressive dribbling at speed before squaring the ball for Pedro Neto with his left foot. He also dinked a wonderful cross in for Malo Gusto with his right foot.
Enzo Maresca has nothing but positive things to say about Garnacho’s work ethic during practice and games, which completely contradicts the opinions of former manager Ruben Amorim.
Despite returning to peak match sharpness after missing out on a proper preseason at Manchester United, the Argentina international has surpassed Jamie Gittens in the Premier League hierarchy.
However, Cole Palmer, who is undoubtedly the most important attacking player for Chelsea and will soon return from injury, will be replaced by Garnacho.
In Palmer’s absence, Enzo Fernandez has performed admirably in the No. 10 position, and Chelsea looks much better with Moises Caicedo and either Romeo Lavia or Reece James in the pivot behind him.
Palmer may therefore return to the right, where he has undoubtedly been most detrimental to Chelsea.
Pedro Neto and Garnacho would then face off in a straight-up contest on the left, which Neto currently wins despite not being in his ideal position.
Eberechi Eze (Attacking Midfielder)
Team: Arsenal
We find it hard to keep our admiration for Eze, we adore him. from affecting how we view him. He his such and amazing player.
We can’t help but be pulled to him based on everything he says and does off the pitch because everything he does on the football pitch, including for Arsenal this season, appears so incredibly effortless.
However, he hasn’t been very outstanding, has he? It’s too soon to say if his comparatively low influence at Arsenal is due to their style in contrast to Crystal Palace’s, but Mikel Arteta, a manager who is all about gaining an advantage over opposition by all means necessary, is highly unlikely to stick with an attractive football player.
Before this most recent injury, Martin Odegaard was playing at his best against Olympiacos, tearing them open at will.
Last season, he was a little lacklustre in comparison to his outstanding performances the year before.
Surprisingly, the captain has made 19 shots in just 294 minutes this season, whereas Eze has made 27 in 1,147 minutes.
Odegaard’s return to the starting lineup is undoubtedly crucial in an apparent attempt to increase goals from open play, and we didn’t see anything from Eze on the left that would make him a stronger option than either Leandro Trossard or Gabriel Martinelli on that flank.
Luke Shaw (Left Back)
Team: Manchester United
With his cloak of invisibility, a crucial sign of rhythm that eluded him for much of the previous season.
Luke Shaw has found himself back in that very Luke Shaw groove of not drawing any attention himself, and with just as much regularity as these quiet moments in what no one can quite believe is now an 11-year Manchester United career.
The 30-year-old’s improvement in form can be attributed to Amorim, who played him on the left of his three centre backs to save his repaired Lego legs.
Amorim is also credited with managing a player who produced his best form under those who praised and nurtured his positive traits rather than labelling him a big ol’ fatty like Jose Mourinho.
In July, Amorim declared, “Luke Shaw is a world-class player,” despite rumours that Shaw was quitting the team.
That’s how I feel. You can sense it in the little things, like his ability to play one-on-one and when he touches the ball.
Since Shaw and Lisandro Martinez, who is currently back in training, have never been fit at the same time throughout Amorim’s year-long tenure, it is completely unclear who Amorim would prefer.
It seems like a choice between Lisandro Martinez, who is a man for big moments but can also make terrible ricks, especially after not playing for a while, and Shaw, who is a seven out of ten, know-what-you’re-getting player.
Amorim’s attempt to do “something different” against Tottenham, which paid off until he made a mess of things with his substitutions, indicates that he has finally reached a point with this United squad where he can be a little more daring.
Martinez is a risk that, while he could undoubtedly cause too much trouble, could also be a game-changer to help them advance.
Richarlison (Striker)
Team: Tottenham
Richarlison, like a 2024–2025 Erling Haaland, scored the game-winning goal against Manchester United, but it doesn’t really matter. Despite a celebration to the contrary, he wasn’t really the winner.
He also missed a great opportunity to open the score in the first half, not only the goal but the pass, and his goal total isn’t quite as good as Haaland’s to justify his place in the squad.
Thomas Frank’s issue is that Tottenham seems to have signed a group of strikers who were once hailed as future stars but are now being exposed as overrated frauds by a collective mask-slip in north London.
Richarlison is effectively holding onto his position until Dominic Solanke returns because of the ridiculous degree to which Randal Kolo Muani doesn’t want to be at Tottenham and Mathys Tel’s only way to score goals is by enormous deflections.
Prior to his ankle injury, Frank didn’t think much of Solanke and only gave him sporadic substitute appearances in the two Premier League games he was available for at the beginning of the season.
Even if the 28-year-old is far from a skilled finisher and we believe Spurs will prioritise finding a new striker in 2026, he at least occupies defenders and creates space for the players around him, which is better than Richarlison’s usual lack of contribution.
