EPL 2016/17: 10 players who can't even make the bench at their clubs

Yaya Sanogo
Remember this guy?

Making it at the top level of football is a hard enough task. To then manage to consistently hold on to a place in the first XI is even more daunting of a task. Footballers with the highest quality and great work ethic are the ones who are successful at their clubs.

But sometimes no matter how hard you try you just don’t make the cut. It could be down to form, age, playing style, character or even a spat with the manager, but no matter what the reason the outcome will be a disastrous one.

These are 10 such players who can’t seem to even make their matchday squads.

10) Gokhan Inler – Leicester City

Gokhan Inler was the marquee signing for Leicester City last season. The player’s experience was supposed to assist the Foxes in their quest for survival in the Premier League having earned a reputation as a tough-tackling midfielder in Italy.

The Foxes went on to win a shock Premier League title last season, finishing 10 points ahead of 2nd placed Arsenal, and surprisingly Inler had no part to play in their title triumph. The duo of N’Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater made it impossible for Inler to even get a sniff of a chance.

The Swiss international has only made 5 appearances in a blue shirt so far and with all the new recruits this season he doesn’t even make Ranieri's matchday squad. He is likely to be shipped off before the window closes

9) Lucas Piazon – Chelsea

When you hear the name Lucas Piazon it will probably take you back to 4 years ago when he arrived at Stamford Bridge as one of the hottest properties in football. One appearance and four loans later the winger is on the brink of leaving the club.

Piazon was loaned out to Malaga, Vitesse Arnhem, Eintracht Frankfurt and most recently Reading in the Championship. In that time period, he has managed to make a total of 93 appearances scoring only 18 times.

That number might not look too shabby for a 22-year-old, but 11 of those came in his only successful spell so far at Arnhem. Piazon is once again facing a loan spell and is contemplating a permanent move away from the club.

8) Nacer Chadli – Tottenham Hotspur

The emergence of Erik Lamela in the 2015/16 season mean Nacer Chadli was downgraded to a second-string role at Tottenham Hotspur. The forward made several cameos last season and still looked like a decent player.

He made 29 appearances in 2015/16, most of them off the bench scoring 3 times. Chadli is a good option to have off the bench but this season it looks like Mauricio Pochettino has decided not to include him in the first two matchday squads.

The manager has now a wealth of options at his disposal including Heung-Min Son, Vincent Janssen among others. It’s probably the end of the road for the Belgian’s Spurs’ career. His lack of appearances meant he was excluded from the Belgian squad in the Euros as well. He will now have to look for a new club.

7) Aiden Mcgeady – Everton

Aiden McGeady has had an up and down career. Katy Perry’s Hot and Cold comes to mind when this player’s name is put into context. The Irish international made his name as an adventurous but sometimes inconsistent winger during his time at Celtic

After spending 7 years at the Scottish giants he headed for pastures new with CSKA Moskva but did not enjoy the same kind of success as compared to his previous club.He made the move to Everton after Roberto Martinez decided to invest in the winger.

But after 32 appearances, the Irishman has only managed one goal. Now with Ronald Koeman at the helm, McGeady is looking for a way out of the club knowing his chances of featuring in the first team is close to 0%.

6) Danny Ings – Liverpool

Danny Ings came to life in the Premier League with Burnley two seasons ago. Even though the Clarets were relegated that season, they went down with something of a fight and Ings made quite the impression on several clubs.

The Englishman managed to net 11 goals in his 35 appearances and Liverpool decided to make their move. With a midfield of limited creativity at Burnley, the Reds felt he could take his game to the next level at the club.

But an unfortunate ACL injury hampered his debut season. This year, despite having recovered he hasn’t gotten the green light from Jurgen Klopp, with the German manager saying he needs to bide his time to break into the first team. It somehow feels like that is code-word for find another club.

5) Loic Remy – Chelsea

Loic Remy was once a renowned striker. When QPR managed to pry him away from Marseille, there was optimism around Loftus Road. Remy did deliver but 5 months time was too short a period for him to save the club from relegation.

The Frenchman moved to Newcastle on loan the next season and continued his goalscoring exploits. Chelsea swooped and he was signed after Jose Mourinho had also brought in Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid.

But Remy was never able to establish himself and Conte now once again prefers Costa with new Belgian hitman Michy Batshuayi second in line for the central striking role. Remy was not included in both Matchday squads so far and his future is in limbo.

4) Samir Nasri – Manchester City

Samir Nasri was one of Arsene Wenger’s finds when he joined the Gunners in 2008. The Frenchman had 3 great seasons at Arsenal making 86 appearances and scoring 18 times. It was his third and last season for Arsenal where he truly reached his peak.

His performances earned him a move to Manchester City. But his form never hit the heights it did in London.His contribution was satisfactory for the first two seasons but he did not receive the amount of game time he expected to when he first came to Manchester.

After Pep Guardiola's arrival, the playmaker was found to be unfit according to the Spaniard's standards. This has resulted in him being relegated to the reserves after the Frenchman disagreed with his boss. He has been apparently told by Pep to find a new club.

3) Mathieu Debuchy – Arsenal

After Bacary Sagna left Arsenal for Manchester City, Wenger recruited then first choice French right-back Mathieu Debuchy. The defender came from Newcastle for a reasonable fee and was the ideal replacement at the position vacated by his countryman

His season started off very well but then an injury derailed his good start and he was sidelined for a minimum of 3 months. A young teenager named Hector Bellerin who was getting rave reviews at youth level was promoted by Wenger.

Debuchy has never been able to regain the position after Bellerin has quickly become one of the best right backs in the world at the tender age of 21. The Frenchman is now frozen out of the team and will have to find a new club.

2) Yaya Toure – Manchester City

Yaya Toure is probably the second unluckiest midfielder at Manchester at the moment. The Ivorian was one of the star signings of the new City era when he joined the club from Barcelona in 2010.

He has enjoyed considerable success in the years he has been at the club and was key to City’s title win in 2014. Toure is a high-quality player but was accused of being lazy and slow at times last season.

Pep Guardiola was the one who shipped him off to City in the first place and now that he’s here it looks like history is set to repeat itself. Toure is not able to even make the matchday squad at the moment and faces a vital few days.

1) Bastian Schweinsteiger – Manchester United

If there is anyone who deserves to be the unluckiest player in Manchester right now it’s this German legend and World Cup winner. Bastian Schweinsteiger joined United only a year ago from Bayern Munich and he could leave within days.

Mourinho banished him to the reserves just weeks into his tenure and the now retired German international has a big decision to make. There is no chance of him getting ahead of the likes of Pogba, Herrera or even Fellaini at the moment.

There were offers from Galatasaray and Olympiakos but they balked at the wages he commanded. United are even willing to sell him for a paltry sum of £2 million if some reports are to be believed. He might just wait it out until January and join the MLS.

Quick Links

Edited by Staff Editor