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There are certain footballers who have managed to garner praise and attention despite falling short of their duties many a time in their respective careers. These players have been inconsistent but still have been in the good books of their managers.
With the ever-increasing competition in world football, there is a viable chance that these players would steadily fall behind their peers in coming times. In the EPL itself, we can find many players who have been applauded more than they deserve.
Let us look at the most overrated players from each of the big six clubs from the Premier League.
#6 Arsenal - Hector Bellerin
Arsene Wenger has captured quite a few players at a very young age during his time with Arsenal. The likes of Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas were signed at a relatively young age. Both of them went on to become talismans of their team for a long period.
Accordingly, the trend was expected to continue when Hector Bellerin was signed at the age of 17 by Arsenal. The young Spaniard is often regarded as the best young right-back in the world. That is really surprising, as players like Nelson Semedo, Joshua Kimmich, and Sergi Roberto are arguably better players.
Bellerin began his career at Barcelona as he represented the Catalan club’s youth team on a number of occasions. He was signed by Arsenal in 2011 and following a loan spell to Watford in 2013, he was ready to make his debut for the Gunners.
Bellerin possesses blistering pace and that helps him run past opposition players easily. However, when it comes to the end product, Bellerin is very poor. His crosses are often wayward and hence he fails to deliver quality balls into the box.
Moreover, his defensive discipline has been under scanner too as the young lad’s positional awareness needs to be developed too. The amount of praise that he has been able to attract is baffling. It is amazing to see him sprint with that searing pace; however, it would be of no use until he adds more finesse to his game.
#5 Tottenham Hotspur - Dele Alli
There's no doubt that Dele Alli is one of the most talented youngsters in football currently. When he racked up 18 goals and assisted 7 last season, similar things were expected this time around.
He impressed this time too when Alli starred in Spurs’ biggest win of the season in the Champions League fixture against Real Madrid. However, the alarming rate of inconsistency in his performances has been a worrying factor. Maybe the weight of expectations has proved to be too much for him to handle.
Many times, Dele looks like he has been caught in two minds in front of the goal. He fails to finish off easy chances and hence the goal-scoring burden has been put upon Harry Kane altogether. With just 15 games remaining in the Premier League, Alli needs to change gears in the second half of the season.
Off the pitch, too many factors seem to have dented his progress this season. There were reports that he has changed his agent to secure a better deal, or rather, a move away from the North London club.
His middle finger gesture to Kyle Walker in an England game too shifted the attention away from his on-field performances. If Spurs were to challenge successfully for the top four spots this season, then Dele Alli will have to start performing more consistently.
#4 Chelsea - Tiemoue Bakayako
After AS Monaco’s title-winning campaign last season, European clubs ripped their team apart. As a result, Tiemoue Bakayako arrived at Stamford Bridge for a huge fee of almost £40 million. Clearly, his performances have not matched up to the expectations that came with his purchase.
Bakayako’s inclusion has forced Antonio Conte to change his favoured 3-4-3 formation to 3-5-2. Bakayako adds up with Fabregas and N’golo Kante at the centre of the park. However, this means that Willian and Pedro have to sit out of the games and this has hurt Chelsea on some important occasions this season.
As a central midfielder, he is expected to win tackles in the middle of the park. He should be making runs into the box and should be adept at finishing off chances. However, what we see on the pitch is almost the exact opposite of it.
Bakayako has often cut a forlorn figure in front of the goal. His lack of composure while finishing opportunities has proven to be very costly for Chelsea. His defensive positioning has also been disappointing and one gets a general feeling that Bakayako is unsure of his role in the team.
Whatever be the case, Tiemoue Bakayako’s inclusion in the squad has done more harm than good to Chelsea and Antonio Conte.
#3 Liverpool - Emre Can
Emre Can’s performances have been overshadowed by his current contract situation with the Reds. The German midfielder is now free to sign a pre-contract with any club. Can will be available for free in this summer and this has really worried Liverpool fans.
Emre Can has been an integral member of the squad ever since he moved to the Merseyside club four seasons ago. However, you do wonder, is he an integral member because of his talent or due to the apparent lack of depth in the squad?
Can is a defensive midfielder but can switch to advanced positions too. He is more than capable of playing in the No. 6 position and can see off attacks with his positional play. The German is an imposing figure too and adds steel to the Liverpool midfield.
Should Liverpool be really worried about the midfielder’s contract? I guess not. Many times, Can has been slow in the midfield and eventually, he brings down the pace of the game too. He gives away the ball far too easily at times and struggles whenever he is cramped for space at the centre of the park.
Can does have the potential to develop at Liverpool, but the signs have not been very positive. Despite spending four years with the Merseyside club, the lad has failed to cement a regular starting spot. Further, rumours of him moving to Italy simply do not seem to die down.
Liverpool can do much better than Emre Can. With Naby Keita all set to join the Reds in the summer, Liverpool already have a replacement for Can and can afford to let him leave.
#2 Manchester United - Marcos Rojo
Louis van Gaal’s arrival at Manchester United saw many relatively unknown players move to Old Trafford. Marcos Rojo was one of them. The Argentine defender is capable of playing anywhere along the backline and hence was seen as an asset by LvG.
Rojo was initially deployed in the left-back slot, but gradually, he has been drafted as a centre-half too. Even Jose Mourinho seems to like the lad, as he trusted Rojo enough to play him as the centre-back for the better part of last season.
This generally gives us an impression that Marcos Rojo is a quality centre-back. Obviously, to start for Manchester United in such an important position is an achievement of sorts. However, over the past few seasons, Rojo has been a touch too rough and sloppy with his game.
In the game against Arsenal last month, the Argentine made several unnecessary tackles quite early in the game. He tends to get more physical than required and ends up paying the price for it. Rojo has featured in six Premier League games this season and has been booked five times.
Jose describes him as a "disciplined player with an aggressive nature", but one who has followed him closely will know that Rojo gets malicious with his challenges at times. He is also known to over-commit at times, thereby taking a huge risk of leaving empty spaces behind him, and suffering from it too.
Though Rojo is a brave player who is always willing to give his all for the team, he certainly needs to bring in some discipline in his game to become a regular starter for such a big club.
#1 Manchester City - John Stones
Given the fact that Stones was City’s best defender in the early part of the season, many would think that his place here is unjustified. However, there are certain reasons why John Stones deserves to be labelled as the most overrated player in the squad of Manchester City.
The young lad was making waves with his performances over at Everton a couple of years ago. His ball playing ability has been appreciated and hence the pundits have often hailed Stones as a future prospect. However, despite a player who has played over a hundred Premier League games, Stones is far off from a finished product.
He certainly does not deserve the appreciation that is handed to him. Manchester City signed him for a whopping £47 million, which is a huge sum for a central defender. Apparently, it would not be a lie to say that Stones has failed to justify his price tag.
His lapses of concentration have not gone well with the City supporters who themselves have called him over-expensive and unnecessarily hyped. A recent example would be that of the first goal that he let in the FA Cup clash against Burnley.
Stones misjudged a clearance and allowed Ashley Barnes to have a clear shot at goal. Similarly, Stones has been guilty of numerous defensive errors ever since making the big money switch from the Merseyside. He looked out of shape and was also responsible for Liverpool's second goal in Manchester City's first loss in the Premier League.
Though his passing might be one of the best amongst the pool of defenders, John Stones needs to improve a lot to be called the best English defender in the league.
