Football clubs can be quick to write off foreign imports as flops if they do not settle into their new surroundings immediately. One only needs to look at the two standout candidates for the top individual awards in England this season to recognise that players often deserve a second shot at success.
Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne have shown that succeeding at a club often comes down to more than talent. Players can suffer from bad timing, working with managers who do not bring out the best in them or just arriving at a club too early in their development to make an immediate impact. Indeed, numerous players who have been cast aside by Premier League clubs are now flourishing following abroad.
Lyon have won their last seven league games to take second spot in Ligue 1 from Monaco largely due to the efforts of two former Premier League players. Bertrand Traoré, once of Chelsea, has scored in four consecutive matches for the club, but Memphis Depay has been even better – the former Manchester United forward has scored in all seven of those victories.
There were great expectations for Depay when he arrived at Old Trafford and inherited the famous No7 shirt in 2015 but he failed to deliver for a number of reasons. He wasn’t really given the regular playing time he needed to acclimatise to the pace of the English game under fellow Dutchman Louis van Gaal and the pressure ultimately proved too much.
Out of the spotlight in France, Depay has been sensational of late, recently becoming one of only nine players in Europe’s big leagues to reach double figures for both goals and assists this season. He has scored 16 goals and provided 12 assists in Ligue 1 alone and, remarkably, has had a hand in 12 goals in his last six appearances. Depay, now 24, is losing the playboy image and is once again considered a great hope for the Netherlands as they try to recover their reputation. He has a point to prove and was impressive in his country’s 1-0 defeat to England earlier this year.
Florian Thauvin, another player posting incredible numbers in Ligue 1 this season, may have played himself into the France squad for the World Cup, where he could even take the place of his Marseille team-mate Dimitri Payet. The idea that the one-time lesser-spotted Newcastle United winger might outshine one of the stars of Euro 2016 would have been laughable to most Premier League fans, but he has been Marseille’s star this season.
The 25-year-old’s form in both Ligue 1 and Europe has ensured that Rudi García’s side still have two possible routes to next season’s Champions League. He scored the opener in the Europa League semi-final first leg against Salzburg last week and has been even better in the league. Thauvin, like Depay, is also one of that elite group of players to have hit double figures for goals and assists this season. His latest goal – Marseille’s winner against Troyes on Sunday – was his 20th in Ligue 1 this season. Neymar only has 19.
Iago Aspas, the former Liverpool striker, has also just hit 20 league goals for the first time in his career. The 30-year-old has been in fantastic form for Celta Vigo for the past two seasons, so much so that he has a genuine chance of leading the line for Spain at the World Cup this summer.
His tenacious approach from the front is valued highly by Spain manager Julen Lopetegui. Aspas helps his teams win the ball high up the pitch and overload their opponents in the final third – and he also boasts a decent goal return at international level. Not only is he the top scoring Spaniard in Europe’s big leagues over the last two seasons with 39 league goals, but he has also scored four goals for his country despite starting just one of eight appearances.
Luis Alberto, who played with Aspas when they were both at Liverpool in the 2013-14 season, is showing he may just be the one who got away. He was just 21 when he arrived on Merseyside and he has blossomed a lot since the last of his nine appearances for the club. After a successful season on loan at Deportivo, Lazio signed the playmaker for just €4m in August 2016. He took a little time to settle in Rome but has been a revelation this season. Now 25, Alberto is excelling in support of lone striker Ciro Immobile, scoring 11 league goals and providing 13 assists – the most in Serie A – with another five assists in Lazio’s Europa League campaign. Alberto made his international debut last November and will also be hoping to make the Spain squad for the World Cup.
Staying on the topic of players who may have been sold too early, Serge Gnabry has also played himself into international contention after leaving Arsenal two years ago. The 22-year-old impressed at Werder Bremen last season and earned himself a move to Bayern Munich, who sent him to Hoffenheim this season to continue his development. The loan deal has been a winner for all involved.
The versatile forward has scored 10 goals and provided five assists in the league this season in just 22 appearances, with extremely healthy competition in attack from top scorer Mark Uth and Andrej Kramaric, another Premier League outcast. When Kramaric joined Leicester City for a club record fee of £9m in 2014, the Foxes were delighted that they had beaten a number of clubs for the promising Croatian forward’s signature. It didn’t work out for him, however, with Kramaric starting just six of his 15 league appearances for the club. Leicester didn’t exactly miss him when they loaned him to Hoffenheim in January 2016 – midway through their title-winning campaign – but they could use his quality in attack now.
Hoffenheim made that loan move permanent in the summer of 2016 and Kramaric has repaid the faith they showed in him, having a direct hand in 47 league goals having started 50 of his 71 league appearances. The 26-year-old will almost certainly be at the World Cup this summer he may even start for a very capable Croatia side.
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