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Soothsaying is always a task riddled with danger. When it comes to predicting the future of football and footballers, it is a task even more prone to errors and potential ridicule.
However, when trying to name the quality footballers who will struggle this season, we already have some clues strewn in front of us that we need to use like a modern Sherlock Holmes and make a few educated guesses.
Some of these footballers have become surplus to requirements at their clubs; some have just arrived, but all of them have unquestionable class. However, that is not always enough to guarantee you success in the cut-throat, and often devious, ways of the modern game.
5 world-class footballers who will struggle this season
#5 Kai Havertz
Kai Havertz is definitely one for the future and is possibly a great investment by Chelsea. He also got a hat-trick for the Blues in the League Cup in midweek, but that was against Barnsley, a Championship side.
The attacking footballer, who was scooped up from Bayer Leverkusen for a gargantuan £72 million, looked distinctly off the pace in the first two Premier League games he played.
Havertz himself admitted that it will take him a while getting used to the Premier League after coming from the Bundesliga where he got more time to unleash his bag of tricks. He might come good in the EPL with time, but it is unlikely to happen this season.
“It was a very tough game, very difficult because I had long holidays, and I came back and trained for five or six days with the team,” Havertz had said after his Chelsea debut.
#4 Alexis Sanchez
Alexis Sanchez was a brilliant footballer; yes, he was. However, his move to Manchester United was not only a disaster for the club but a shattering blow to the Chilean who dazzled the Premier League at Arsenal.
We think that Inter Milan have taken a gamble by signing him for three years. He might rediscover his mojo or struggle to regain the ability that made him such a coveted footballer. Our guess is the latter.
In 32 games on loan at Inter, Sanchez has only found the net four times. It was better than what he achieved at United but was still pretty average. He might just not be the same player anymore.
#3 Dele Alli
Once touted as one of the most promising prospects in world football, Dele Alli, has been a great buy for Tottenham Hotspur ever since he was picked up by the London club as a teenager. However, one might say that despite a decent record overall, Alli is yet to fulfill his great promise, partly because he has been an inconsistent performer.
Now, Alli might actually be heading out of the club after the arrival of Gareth Bale. That's because the attacking triumvirate of Bale, Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min is expected to start every game once Bale is ready. Will Alli want to stay on as a squad player? One doubts it.
He will have plenty of suitors, but we believe that the footballer will take time to settle in at a new club if he moves and will be played infrequently by Jose Mourinho if he stays. It's a catch-22 situation for the footballer.
#2 Luka Jovic
It seems that the writing is on the wall for Luka Jovic. Even with Real Madrid struggling to create scoring opportunities in their 2020-21 La Liga opener against Real Sociedad, coach Zinedine Zidane refused to bring him on. What a fall from grace it has been for the undoubtedly talented Jovic who was a revelation in the Bundesliga for Eintracht Frankfurt.
Last season, Real Madrid won the league, but Jovic, who scored only twice in 27 games for the La Liga giants, rarely started. It seems that he will again struggle for both game-time and goals this season unless there is a miraculous turnaround.
#1 Mesut Ozil
Mesut Ozil's narrative of implosion is a remarkable and tragic story. Once a World Cup-winner and a darling at the Emirates, the brilliant playmaker may not even make it back to the first-team at Arsenal if one believes coach Mikel Arteta. He has also quit the national team under controversial circumstances post Germany's shock exit from the 2018 FIFA World Cup .
Ever since Ozil almost became persona non-grata under previous Arsenal coach Unai Emery, he has seemed less and less likely to feature as an integral part of the Gunners' plans.
There is also this mystery back problem that seemingly keeps on recurring. It seems the £350,000-a-week player will run his contract down this season without playing much, if at all. What next for the 31-year-old? No one knows, really.
