A collection of players who are set for make or break seasons.
After the hassle of securing a top transfer target for vast sums of money it comes as no surprise that clubs are willing to give their signings some tolerance despite them struggling to adapt to their new surroundings
However there is normally a deadline to how long they are given to prove their worth before clubs decided to give up the ghost and a make decision on their future.
We look at ten players whose time could be running out at their current clubs and could be drinking in the last chance saloon ahead of the new Premier League season.
Fernando Torres
Torres has been an unmitigated failure since his substantial £50million transfer from Liverpool in January 2011 and time is certainly running out on his opportunity to attest he can finally live up to his enormous price tag at Stamford Bridge.
At this time new Blues boss Jose Mourinho has not recruited the star striker he desires this summer which leaves the Spanish international forward as the main man in Jose’s Chelsea attack.
Mourinho has even admitted that his new team may adapt their style of play to best suit El Nino, who did demonstrate some signs of improvement under interim manager Rafael Benitez last year, and the former Real Madrid boss appears determined to build on the 29-year-old’s recent enhancement.
Torres hit 22 goals in his 64 games for Chelsea last term although only eight of them came in the Premier League as he failed to find the form that made him such a success at Liverpool. A one-paced satire of footballer, he appears unable to fully recover from a host of injuries he encountered towards the end of his days at Anfield.
With their pursuit for Manchester United’s unsettled forward Wayne Rooney reportedly about to be stepped up Torres could now be left to rot on the bench at Stamford Bridge.
Rooney’s arrival could see the 29-year-old departing during the current transfer window but if he remains with the Blues it is definitely now or never for the former Liverpool man.
Edin Dzeko
After being signed from Wolfsburg for £27million in 2011 Dzeko has scored some important goals at the Etihad Stadium, including the vital equaliser in that infamous last day of the season victory over QPR, he hasn’t achieved his true potential with the former Premier League champions.
The striker often struggled to gain a place in the first-team at the Etihad Stadium under former City boss Roberto Mancini and was restricted to brief appearances off-the-bench although he still managed to plunder 15 goals in all competitions last year.
With the summer arrivals of Alvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetic plus the return to full-fitness of main forward Sergio Aguero, the Bosnian’s future at the Etihad Stadium looked grim.
But new City boss Manuel Pellegrini has now confirmed that the striker will play a major role with the Citizens during the new season telling the press that Dzeko remains ‘a very important player’ and that he now won’t be sold this summer.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina international has repaid his faith with some solid displays in pre-season, netting four goals for the club and there is hope that he can take this form into the new term. A failure do so could see a possible return to Germany in the near future as Dzeko sits drinking in the ‘last chance saloon’ as he tries to make good on his obvious talents.
Danny Graham
Graham moved to the Premier League in June 2011 with newly-promoted Swansea City after scoring 27 goals for Watford in the Championship. The former Carlisle striker soon established himself in the top-flight hitting 12 times to finish the season as the Jacks top-scorer and much was expected of the Gateshead-born forward.
However the signing of Spanish sensation Michu limited his game time at the Liberty Stadium last year and Graham was left to play a reduced role from the bench. This saw the striker leave Swansea in a £5.5million switch to Martin O’Neill’s Sunderland in January as looked to revive his career.
The transfer was an unmitigated disaster as he failed to find the net during his 11 appearances for the Black Cats as O’Neill’s reign ended to be replaced by madcap former Swindon manager Paolo Di Canio. He has now joined up with former
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce at Premier League new-boys Hull City on a season-long loan as he looks to revitalise his flagging Premier League career.
Graham can boost an impressive record of 88 goals in the previous five seasons with Carlisle, Watford and Swansea but a failure to hit the goal trail in East Yorkshire is likely to see the former Swansea man back playing in the Championship where it all started in time for next season.
Abou Diaby
Diaby is something of a forgotten man at Arsenal given his chequered recent injury record but the midfielder has just began the next stage of his rehabilitation following serious knee ligament damage suffered back in March as he looks to make a return for the side.
The Frenchman was only seen 11 times by the Gunners faithful after picking up another setback in a career blighted with injury during the past season. And the former Auxerre man has endured a nightmare spell at the Emirates Stadium with only 123 appearance in eight-years.The 27-year-old is now expected to make a long awaited return in December this year as he tries to make an impact on Arsene Wenger’s team towards the business end of the campaign.
But with only two-years left on his contract in North London it could prove to be a make or break six months for the playmaker as he attempts to recover from yet another long-term injury absence.
Michael Essien
When Essien left for Madrid last summer it seems unlikely that he would ever be able to save his career at Stanford Bridge with the one-time midfield powerhouse looking a shadow of his former self. He was even reportedly offered to a host of clubs as the Blues tried to offload the midfielder following a period blighted with injuries at Stamford
Bridge.
However the 30-year-old Ghanaian is now back along with Mourinho at the club and is now set to make his first appearance for the Blues since May 2012.
Given his strong relationship with the Portuguese boss, Essien has been given a new lease of life in England but will he be able to produce the fine form for his earlier days with the club?
With only two-years left on his current contract he will need to prove he can still cut it in the Premier League to ensure that the SW6 side don’t cash-in on him while they still can.
Thomas Vermaelen
He might currently be Gunners captain but Vermaelen goes into the fresh season with the necessity to resurrect his Arsenal career. The Belgian international lost his starting berth to Laurent Koscielny who formed a strong central defensive partnership with German Per Mertesacker and that has opened up the possibility that the 27-year-old could leave the Emirates Stadium this summer.
Vermaelen insists that he wants to fight for his place in the side but he fears his World Cup dream could be hampered if he remains on the bench at Arsenal. Arsene Wenger has reportedly targeted another centre-half with Swansea’s Ashley Williams high on the agenda and that could leave Vermaelen as fourth-choice centre-back at the Emirates. The defender has already suffered the blow of missing the start of the season with chronic back problems which could easily prevent him reinvigorating his Gunners career.
While it looks unlikely that the Belgian will be sold this summer he certainly needs an impressive season to provide a safeguard to his long term future in North London.
Andy Carroll
The one-time £35million man is now the £15.5million man after he made the switch from Anfield to West Ham following his successful loan spell with the Upton Park club.
Brendan Rodgers had decided that the England international had no future on Merseyside and the club made a £20m loss on his services following the short-term spell in London. Carroll was always a poor signing by the Reds, a player they didn’t need given the acquisition of Luis Suarez and only brought in a desperate attempt to fill the talismanic role following Fernando Torres’ high-profile departure.
The move was doomed to failure once Rodgers took charge of the club from Kenny Dalglish last summer as the England international doesn’t fit Rodgers’ style of play and the Gateshead-born striker was surplus to his football strategy. With only 11 goals in his 58 games for the Reds it clear to see why Rodgers was keen to see the striker depart this summer.
Now the 24-year-old has the chance to fulfill his ability with a side that plays to his strengths and could have a bright future with Sam Allardyce team. A failure to perform with the Upton Park club will leave the forward as another English overhyped flop and will ultimately see him excluded from the possible England World Cup squad.
Stuart Downing
As part of the July 2011 summer spending spree that will be rued at Anfield for many years to come Downing joined the club from Aston Villa in a £18milllion deal. In his first desperately disappointing season at Anfield the England international winger finished with no goals and no assists as he struggled to adapt to life at Liverpool.
Thankfully last year was a drastic improvement and Downing became a key figure in Rodgers’ improved side playing in all but one of the Reds’ matches from December 9 onwards with five goals to his name.
However given the Reds major overhaul in attack during the close season Downing could now be back on the bench as Liverpool take on Stoke on 17 August and the player still has a lot to do to finally live up to his overestimated price tag.
West Ham have recently been linked with a move for the former Middlesbrough man and although he insists that he wants to stay at Anfield there may be some sense in selling the winger this season. Downing looks to have one more opportunity to show he has the ability to succeed with Rodgers’ side before a decision is made for him.
Nani
The recruitment of highly-talented Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has cast doubts over the future of the Portuguese international at Old Trafford. If the ex-Sporting Lisbon man isn’t sold during the transfer window he certainly has a lot to prove on the pitch after another uninspiring season last time out in his 17 appearances for the
Red Devils.
Nani has been in the news earlier this week with reports from France suggesting that United have offered the winger to big-spenders Monaco ahead of the new season. The wide-man has moved into his final year of his contract at Old Trafford and the Manchester club could now cash-in before the transfer window shuts at the end of August.
However Nani still holds out hope that he could have a fresh start at Old Trafford under new manager David Moyes after being frozen out for most of last season but with Zaha arriving as a capable replacement it could be too late for the winger to save his Man United career. The 26-year-old is likely to still play a role for Moyes side but his time is running out to gain a new contract with the club and performances must reach the levels that made him a suitable replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo.
Micah Richards
Richards faces a huge season at City under new boss Manuel Pellegrini following his return from an injury that saw him just feature eight times for the Citizens last term.
City’s longest serving player, who made his debut back in October 2005, has already admitted that he will seek assurances from the club that he will be a integral part of the first team before agreeing any new contract. The form of Argentinian international Pablo Zabaleta has left him as main right-back at City, moving ahead of Richards during the Englshman’s time on the treatment table.
At 25-year-old Richards has reached a significant point of his career, one that could see him terminating his eight-year spell with club with only two-years left on his current contract. The England international also has ambitions to be part of Roy Hodgson’s possible World Cup squad which makes this upcoming season even more important for the Birmingham-born defender and he must gain regular first team football to stand a chance.
The powerful full-back has shown he can be an important player but it is down to Micah to demonstrate that he deserves to be starting every week. It is set to be a make and break season for Richards as he tries to cement his future at City.