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The Premier League is probably the most intense league in Europe. A lot of players struggle to cope up with the level and intensity of football in the league. Some players do not get enough chances to prove their game. Here's a squad of players who struggled in this league but have gone on to thrive in other leagues after leaving England.
Goalkeeper:
#1 Peter Gulasci ( RB Leipzig)
The Hungarian goalkeeper played for Liverpool between 2007 and 2013, even though he did not make any competitive appearance for the Anfield club. The 28-year-old is thriving in Germany ever since joining Leipzig back in 2015. He has arguably been the best goalkeeper in Bundesliga this season.
Having kept 11 clean sheets in 24 matches this season, the goalkeeper is at the top of the Bundesliga clean sheet chart. The Hungarian who only featured for Liverpool in pre-season games is one of the best goalkeepers in Europe currently.
Defense :
#2 Federico Fazio: (AS Roma)
The former Tottenham defender has been a vital player for AS Roma since joining the club in 2016. The Argentine who made 20 appearances for Spurs failed to impress Mauricio Pochettino. The 31-year-old was constantly seen on Spurs’ bench and was rarely used by the manager.
At Roma, he has formed a formidable partnership with Greek central defender Kostas Manolas. The former Spurs defender has been a goal-scoring defender at the Giallorossi. Scoring eight since joining the club, the Argentine has been a prime threat during attacking set-pieces.
#3 Jerome Boateng: (FC Bayern Munich)
The German was signed by Manchester City back in 2010. Making just 16 appearances that season, he was quickly sold by the Premier League club to FC Bayern Munich a year after signing him. After leaving England, Boateng has thrived at FC Bayern.
He is considered as one of the best defenders in Europe today. The 30-year-old who won the World Cup with Germany in 2014 has been FC Bayern’s best defender for the last couple of years. Letting Boateng leave turned out to be a real big mistake for Manchester City.
#4 Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid)
The Atletico left-back was signed by Jose Mourinho in his Premier League winning spell at the club. He was constantly benched by the Portuguese manager who had more faith in Cesar Azpilicueta for the left-back position.
After a boring year at the London club, Filipe Luis rejoined the Spanish club. Today, he is one of the best left-backs in the world. While Chelsea are struggling with its left-back position today, the London club shouldn’t have let the Brazilian leave the club.
Midfield:
#5 Suso (AC Milan)
The Liverpool midfielder was sold by Brendan Rodgers to AC Milan. The Spaniard has been Milan’s best player over the past few years now. At Anfield, he made just 14 appearances for the club. On one hand, where Liverpool has lacked creativity in midfield this season, the 25-year-old has been creating goals for fun under Gennaro Gattuso this season.
He is a player who would have definitely thrived under Jurgen Klopp but unlucky to be sold to the Rossoneri just eight months before Klopp’s appointment at the Anfield club.
#6 Paulinho (Guangzhou Evergrande)
Everybody was shocked when FC Barcelona signed Paulinho a season ago. The Brazilian who left Spurs for Guangzhou Evergrande flourished in the Chinese Super League before he was snapped up by FC Barcelona. He played an important role in FC Barcelona’s La Liga winning campaign last season.
The 30-year-old re-signed for Guangzhou Evergrande at the start of this season. With Spurs lacking a spine in their midfield this season, Paulinho would have been perfect for the London club in its battle against inconsistency.
#7 Luis Alberto (Lazio)
The Spaniard was signed by Brendan Rodgers from FC Barcelona’s team B back in 2013. He went on to make just 14 appearances for the Anfield club before he was sent away on loan. After having two loan spells in Spain, the Spaniard was sold by Jurgen Klopp to Lazio on a permanent deal for a fee of €4 million.
The 26-year-old was quick to settle in Italy. After shinning at Lazio for the last two years, the former Liverpool player has attracted a lot of interest from top European clubs like FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
#8 Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo)
Iago Aspas: The Spaniard played a huge role in Liverpool’s title slip a few seasons ago. It was his corner that was responsible for Chelsea’s second goal at Anfield in a 2-0 loss to the London club. After playing for just one year in the Premier League, the 31-year-old was sent on loan to the La Liga.
A year later, he permanently left Liverpool and re-joined Celta Vigo where he has been fantastic for last few seasons. The former Liverpool player is one of the best attackers in the world currently. It looks clear that the Merseyside club should have given the Spaniard some more chances to prove his worth.
Attack:
#9 Florian Thauvin: (Marseille)
The World Cup winner played for Newcastle in the Premier League back in 2015. The Frenchman was not able to keep up with Premier League’s intensity and returned back to France a year later. Playing for Marseille since 2016, Thauvin has been the club’s best player for the last couple of years.
He is their top scorer this season and is an invaluable asset for the French side. Scoring 51 goals in 109 appearances since leaving Newcastle, the 26-year-old has improved a lot and has attracted a lot of interest from top European clubs.
#10 Serge Gnabry: (FC Bayern Munich)
The young German is thriving in the Bundesliga ever since leaving Arsenal in 2017. Playing for FC Bayern Munich currently, he is one of the most exciting footballers in football today. At Arsenal, the youngster never got enough chances to break into Wenger’s first team mostly due to injury.
But after leaving for Germany, he has been setting the Bundesliga on fire for last few seasons. Gnabry’s form has helped Niko Kovac’s team close the gap to Borussia Dortmund after having a slow start to the season. Arsenal will be regretting selling this player who has got the ability to become one of the best in the world.
#11 Andrej Kramaric: (Hoffenheim)
The former Leicester City striker joined Hoffenheim after he was not able to settle down in the Premier League. Although he won a league title with Leicester, the Croatian did not take much part in Leicester’s Premier League triumph. At Hoffenheim, the player has grown under young coach Julian Nagelsmann and is now one of the best strikers in Bundesliga.
The 27-year-old only made 15 appearances for the Premier League champions and scored two goals. In Germany, he has been a goal-scoring machine scoring 43 in 92 appearances for Hoffenheim. He even had a spectacular Champions League group stage run this season where he scored five goals in six matches.
