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It happens quite so often in the footballing world that teams take a gamble when making high-profile signings. While top players, who have enjoyed massive success at their former clubs, are expected to hit the ground running at their new ones, that is not always the case.
This is because even at the highest level, footballers vastly differ from one another in terms of their style of play. It is indeed very difficult to find a player whose profile fits a club's needs to the T. So it then becomes a game of balancing out the negatives and the positives.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five superstars who are causing tactical problems to their managers.
#5 Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea)
Romelu Lukaku got off to an impressive start in his second Chelsea stint with a dominant performance in his debut against Arsenal. But in all fairness, Arsenal were just settling down in the new season and the less said about their defensive shape in the opening weeks of the season, the better.
Lukaku had a field day against them. But he hasn't come close to replicating those heroics since. The Belgian international has scored just four goals in 11 appearances so far for Chelsea this term.
Without many creative forces around him, Lukaku ends up getting isolated in the final third. Mason Mount has kicked into gear but he produced some of his best performances since Lukaku was sidelined with an injury.
With so many defensive players around him, the service Lukaku received was minimal. With Timo Werner, Chelsea are more fluid in their attacking transition because the German international's pace and link-up play are effective tools.
Also, with Lukaku in the side, Chelsea don't press as aggressively as they used to and it's not helping with their defensive transition. This has forced Chelsea to become a counter-attacking side when Lukaku is leading the line.
#4 Eden Hazard (Real Madrid)
Since becoming Real Madrid's most expensive player in 2019, Eden Hazard's career has been rather underwhelming. It's even fair to ask if he is even a prominent player in the squad anymore just two seasons later.
Hazard's constant injury issues have hampered his progress at Real Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti experimented with multiple systems at the start of the season. He played Eden Hazard in a free role in attack but the Belgian international failed to make the most of it.
While he was effective at keeping things moving and played a number of key passes, the compromises were simply not worth the effect. Their attacking and defensive transitions were affected with Hazard on the pitch. He can no longer play as a winger.
The 30-year-old does not possess the same burst of pace from his younger days to help him win one-on-ones on a regular basis. He has also become very injury prone and for this reason alone, it is not safe to deploy him on the wings on a regular basis.
With Vinicius Jr. and Karim Benzema in top form, if Hazard is to be accommodated, he needs to play as an attacking midfielder. But as we all know, Ancelotti has now zeroed in on the 4-3-3 formation and very rarely uses a system that requires an attacking midfielder.
#3 Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
For the first few seasons since Paul Pogba returned to Manchester United, he was their talismanic player. The Old Trafford faithful had seen flashes of genius from the midfielder but not much beyond that. Every subsequent summer there were discussions over who Manchester United should sign to 'unlock' Pogba.
But over the course of the past two seasons it has become clear that Pogba's defensive abilities are substandard. He is simply not cut out to play in a double midfield pivot in the Premier League.
His spatial awareness in the center of the park leaves much to be desired and the Red Devils look extremely vulnerable in defence when Pogba starts in midfield. He is also not the quickest player on the pitch which makes him awful at making recoveries.
Pogba also gets regularly dispossessed in midfield despite his strength and dribbling skills. Solskjaer even shifted Pogba to an attacking role. The 28-year-old did register four assists in United's Premier League opener against Leeds United but it was more of a one-off.
Pogba's lack of pace hampers Manchester United's pace on the counter. He is also effective as a wide forward when the Red Devils go up against teams whose full-backs start high up the pitch. Pogba is also not as effective as Bruno Fernandes in the number 10 role and he simply cannot displace the latter in the starting lineup.
As such, accommodating Paul Pogba to the system is an arduous task right now.
#2 Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Lionel Messi has been one of the most prolific goalscorers on the planet. However, since joining Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, we haven't seen him at his best. He has contributed to his own problems at PSG. At Barcelona, Messi could afford to be a passenger in defensive transitions because the team was built around him.
The rest of the players were willing to put in the defensive work to help the team out when they were not in possession. The problem at PSG is that Mauricio Pochettino has three of these players in Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Messi. All three players are effectively passengers when the team is in defensive transition.
Messi is 34-years-old now and it's understandable that he has to save his energy for those moments where he can affect games. He is capable of making the most of such moments but it comes at a cost to PSG.
The solution is not to play all three of these players together. But with the world viewing all three players as undroppable world-class talents, although it might seem simple on paper, it's the farthest thing from it.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
While analyzing Manchester United's 2-0 win over Villarreal in the Champions League in midweek, Thierry Henry summed up Cristiano Ronaldo's problems at Manchester United. He said:
"When your poison is your medicine you will struggle."
After seeing the first few matches with Ronaldo in the side, it was clear that the club had shot themselves in the foot by signing him. Solskjaer's team were so effective in attack last season purely because of the fluidity in attack. With Ronaldo starting almost every game, United have become rigid up top.
Of course, the Portuguese talisman has the ability to make the most out of the limited number of chances he gets. But that's as far as he will get you. He does not press and this means that Manchester United become extremely unorganized when they are in a defensive transition.
The sweeping counter attacks which had become a characteristic feature of this Manchester United side are no longer very effective. This is because the wide forwards do not have the freedom to drift in like they used to in the past.
Ronaldo almost always occupies the space in the center and doesn't let the likes of Rashford, Sancho and Greenwood to have much of a sight on goal
