Manchester United could account for the entirety of this list of players who have gone backwards the most this campaign in comparison to last.
10) Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
After loan spells underpinned his formative years, the 29-year-old crammed an entire Arsenal career into three summer 2020 months: he broke into the team due to injury during lockdown, impressed well, won two cup finals at Wembley and parlayed that into a £17m transfer to become guaranteed first choice elsewhere.
Aston Villa benefited from that decision but this campaign has been a climbdown. Martinez has not just been poor in comparison to his previously high standards. His save percentage of 76.8% in 2020/21 was second only to Nick Pope’s 77%; now it has crashed to 67.3% and he ranks higher than just three other Premier League stars in that respect.
9) Jack Grealish (Manchester City)
“I’ve found it a lot more difficult than I thought I would, adapting to a different manager and teammates. At first I thought I’d have more of the ball, get more assists and goals but it doesn’t work like that at all. I’ve had nowhere near as much of the ball as I used to get at Villa.”
Since that interview in December, Jack Grealish has added only two more goals to his collection. The numbers are poor in comparison to those that were posted at Villa to tempt Man City into signing the first nine-figure British player.
Grealish must be hoping his second season echoes those of Bernardo Silva, Mahrez, Joao Cancelo and others who needed a bedding-in period under Pep Guardiola.
8) Harry Kane (Tottenham)
Eight goals and three assists in nine matches for club and country does not remove his poor form this campaign. Harry Kane has avoided the usual hamstring and ankle issues but the Nuno Espirito Santo experiment in combination with that failed Man City move and the striker’s form was understandably impacted.
Kane has been ushered back to the straight and narrow by Antonio Conte, enjoying his partnership with Heung-min Son and his football again. But the leading Premier League goalscorer and assist provider of last season is currently a joint-third for the former and 14th, level with Kiko Femenia, for the latter.
7) Tomas Soucek (West Ham)
David Moyes purposefully switched his role to provide a platform for their partner. “We can’t allow them both to make runs into the box,” he said in September of midfield pair Soucek and Declan Rice, “so we need to have a bit of understanding that one stays deeper than the other”. The Englishman has tried to assume that mantle and Soucek’s sacrifice has not gone to waste in a Champions League qualification charge and run into the Europa League knockouts. Moyes has also swapped their roles back at times. But his attacking numbers have suffered this season.
6) Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester)
An attacking succession plan was devised last campaign whereby Leicester need not rely solely on Jamie Vardy any longer. Kelechi Iheanacho was placed next to him as a slightly deeper second striker, capable of playing both through and between the lines instead of focusing only on runs on the shoulder of the last defender.
Yet Iheanacho has been a peripheral figure at best since. His 15 starts have been unevenly distributed and 13 Leicester players have played more regularly. Considering Vardy, Maddison and Harvey Barnes have all been absent through injury at various points, often concurrently, the lack of trust in Iheanacho has been peculiar.
5) Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
Bruno Fernandes has been utterly nullified. His overall record last campaign was 28 goals and 17 assists in 48 games. With a maximum of nine fixtures to come, that has become nine goals and 14 assists in 37 matches.
A reduction in his role as chief Manchester United protagonist has removed the spotlight under which Fernandes thrived.
There have been glimpses in some games though.
4) Michael Keane (Everton)
Everton as a whole have regressed but many of those individuals might shirk their portion of personal blame. Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison, Yerry Mina and Doucoure have all slipped significantly. No such excuse exists for Keane with evidence of his solid 2020/21 campaign lost to the raging dumpster fire that might still beckon his second Premier League relegation.
3) Miguel Almiron (Newcastle)
More than a year has now passed since Miguel Almiron’s last Premier League goal; it is 56 games and counting from his last top-flight assist. Newcastle waited 13-and-a-half years to break their transfer record but the subject of that £20m move has already been rendered surplus to requirements.
2) Jannik Vestergaard (Leicester)
It seemed like an excellent signing: an experienced player in a problem position for a low fee without any protracted saga. But Vestergaard was effective consolidation of their spot as chief Champions League challengers.
The Foxes have been unsettled by defensive fitness issues throughout the season but that does not account for the sum total of Vestergaard’s futility. In his six Premier League starts, Leicester have kept no clean sheets and conceded huge 16 goals. Southampton have been more secure in his absence, not even once losing 9-0.
1) Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Something has definitely changed in the 24-year-old, who once carried the weight of not only Manchester United but the entire nation’s expectation with gleaming pride, only for it now to come close to crushing him. The numbers show a player with 21 goals and 15 assists in 57 appearances at club level last season reduced to five goals and two assists in 26 games so far. Yet these issues run far deeper and something seems very wrong.
