Football is rapidly becoming a game in which the players need to make quick yet smart decisions as often off the pitch as on the pitch. While a number of players’ decline as a footballer can be attributed to them losing focus due to the money being involved in the game, some have seen their career thrown off the track owing to numerous injuries.
However, there is another set of players who are grabbing the headlines owing to their inability to find a new home for themselves and in the process stagnating their respective careers. With nearly a month and a half gone since the closure of the transfer window, we take a look at 5 players who surprisingly didn’t move away from their clubs.
#1 Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool)
The Liverpool defender was touted to leave the club owing to disciplinary issues. However, despite being linked with numerous clubs towards the end of the transfer window, the player did not make the move from Anfield and is currently having to feature with the U-23 side.
While many have been enraged by Jurgen Klopp’s treatment of the player, the gaffer has been in complete control of the situation with the player and has even indicated that Sakho will never feature for the Reds ever again time and again. With the intention of the manager made clear, it leaves us intrigued as to why Sakho, a player who was even ready to leave his boyhood club PSG for playing time, decided to stay put at Anfield.
The French defender’s chances of featuring for the Reds have further been weakened due to the return to form for Dejan Lovren and the arrival of Joel Matip and unless the side was to endure an injury-filled time, it is unlikely that Sakho will be called upon by Klopp.
#2 Victor Moses (Chelsea)
It is actually surprising to watch Victor Moses pull on a Chelsea jersey after seeing him don a number of jerseys over the last few seasons. The Nigerian looked set for yet another move away from the Stamford Bridge only for Antonio Conte to pull the plug on any movement and keep the attacker at the club.
While many deemed that a permanent move away from Stamford Bridge might help the player get his career back on track truly, unlike the other players on the list, the decision to stay at the Bridge could actually reap rich rewards for the player and his club as he could prove to be a wonderful resource to have on the wings.
Antonio Conte prefers to play in a 3-5-2 formation and the pace, athleticism as well as ability of Moses could help him establish himself as an efficient Wing-back under the Italian. At the moment, Moses has primarily been deployed as a substitute and will need to impress in the limited opportunities being afforded to him to actually establish himself in the side.
#3 Marcos Rojo (Manchester United)
The Argentine has been unable to establish himself at the club and has come close to leaving the club on numerous occasions just 2 seasons after joining the Manchester Giants. Having fallen down the pecking order as a centre-back as well as left-back, Rojo has sporadically featured for the Red Devils and looks unlikely to be afforded a lot of time on the pitch by Jose Mourinho, a man who loves a solid defender.
Rojo was linked with a move to AS Monaco in the past and was also linked with a big money move to China and United were believed to be more than happy to part ways with him only for his agent Jorge Mendes to step in and stop the deal from going through on either of the occasions. While his agent might be doing a great job keeping his client at a top club, we are not sure how the decision to stay put is helping the player’s career, which is still young.
#4 Yaya Toure (Manchester City)
The former Barcelona man has been glorious for the Manchester club ever since arriving at the Etihad, putting in imperious performances and helping his side win some much-needed silverware in the process. Enter Pep Guardiola and the credentials of the player as one of the top central midfielders in the country seems to have dropped a few notches.
Expectedly, the midfielder has not featured even once in the Premier League and it remains to be seen if he will ever walk out in a Manchester City jersey, especially with resources the club possesses. The situation has further been worsened by the war of words between the player’s agent and Guardiola and seems to be heading towards a bitter ending, which might not do the club’s image a world of good.
In the final year of his contract, Toure could be on his way out of the club as soon as in January as City might not risk losing him on free after it seems highly unlikely that he will be offered a new contract at the club to extend his current contract.
#5 Bastian Schweinsteiger (Manchester United)
Of the plethora of stars that have been ostracised by the appointment of a new manager, none has managed to grab as many headlines as the treatment being meted out to Bastian Schweinsteiger by the current Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho.
The Portuguese has made public his intentions to keep the former German international away from the Old Trafford pitch and was even believed to have offered Schweinsteiger with a way out of the club, only for the midfielder to reject and it remains to be seen how long the player will be able to endure the exile before deciding it’s time to move on from the club.
It came as a surprise to us that Schweinsteiger decided against the move, especially with Mourinho’s history and it could be deemed an emotional yet an unwise decision to stay at a club when the manager does not want you and has publicly made his intentions clear. While a successful reign often requires managers to make tough decisions, it remains to be seen if the move will drive a wedge between the club’s fans and it’s manager or will serve as a reminder of Mourinho’s abilities and foresight.
