Cape Town - The English Premiership kicks off this weekend – and we’re anticipating an intriguing season indeed. The glitz and glamour, thrills and spills, passion and drama, contention and controversy…
Add to that heady mix the expected skirmish when Jose Mourinho’s mind-games zero in on Pep Guardiola and Arsene Wenger, the zealous touchline antics of the animated Jurgen Klopp and the unflustered demeanour of Claudio Ranieri.
Stir in Paul Pogba, Mesut Ozil, Zlatan ibrahimovic, Ilkay Gundogan, Ahmed Musa, Sadio Mane, Victor Wanyama and Nolito (to mention just a few), and you have a football dish sure to have you salivating like Pavlov’s dog.
Football, like any other sport, is a game of opinion. So, for my 10 cents worth, here are a couple of players to keep an eye on this season:
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
No feature such as this can avoid Pogba’s name. After all, in moving from Juventus to Manchester United, the French midfielder is the world’s most expensive footballer at £89million.
At face value, judged on his performances in Serie A and recent Euro 2016, Pogba looks the real deal. Athletic, commanding and supremely skilled, he has talent and ability in spades.
Forget the fact that Man United will probably recoup double the money in jersey sales alone, the English club believes it has invested in an inspirational player, an authoritative character to drive the team.
But therein, too, lies the rub… Often, it appears that Pogba performs in patches; he never seems to dominate for an entire 90 minutes. It’s in improving this facet of Pogba’s game that new Man United manager Jose Mourinho will have his work cut out.
In essence, does the Frenchman have what it takes to anchor a title charge – for example, in the way that Patrick Vieira did for Arsenal? And, furthermore, with Pogba’s giant ego, how will he respond to the abrasive Mourinho? There are questions abound, so let’s watch closely this season…
Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool)
As a long-suffering, and often frustrated, Liverpool follower, the signing of Dutch international Georginio Wijnaldum really, really excites me.
I’ve long been an admirer of this all-action footballer, from his influential days at PSV Eindhoven to the impressive showing he produced in a Newcastle jersey last season.
The sensational 25-year-old should easily fit into Jurgen Klopp’s philosophy, often called “heavy metal football”, which is based on pressing the opposition and then launching forward with high intensity speed in transition.
Wijnaldum was already doing this with great aplomb at struggling Newcastle last season, scoring some spectacular goals in the process. Watch the Dutchman go this season – he’s got pace, wonderful technical ability, an unerring passing range and, don’t forget, a predatory eye for goal.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Man chester United)
It probably goes against my better judgement to have two Man United players in this article (I’m a Liverpool fan, remember…), but I’ve always been a great admirer of Henrikh Mkhitaryan. As such, I have no choice…
The Armenian has long been one of German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund’s prominent players. In fact, last season, he scored 23 goals and provided 32 assists – those stats should speak for itself.
An intelligent, intuitive footballer, Mkhitaryan’s industry out wide, coupled with his uncanny ability to find space behind defences, will certainly offer Man United extra impetus in attack. In an ideal world, I would probably have preferred the Armenian schemer at Liverpool…
So, let’s hope when it’s time for the Reds to play United this season, that Mkhitaryan’s injured.
Leroy Sane (Manchester City)
WHEN Pep Guardiola wants a player, there must be something special. And, in German 20-year-old Leroy Sane, Manchester City look to have found a real gem. The winger is a game-changer, and has bags of confidence on the ball.
Highly influential for Schalke in the Bundesliga last season, and a few eye-catching cameos for Germany at the 2016 European Championships, Sane is a player on the rise. He scores, he creates, and it would appear that English Premiership defenders could be in for torrid time this season.
Alex Iwobi (Arsenal)
The fact that Alex Iwobi was able to break through towards the end of last season in an Arsenal team with stars such as Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez is a testament to his ability.
The 20-year-old Nigerian proved his class with some outstanding performances in the Gunners’ last campaign, so much so that when a few regulars returned from injury they had to be content with a place on the bench.
This season, during Arsenal’s warm-up friendlies, Iwobi has been just as good, performing excellently and scoring goals. But, again, with so much big-name talent at Arsenal, the question is whether Iwobi will be able to cement a regular place in the team. On form, he certainly does, but will Arsene Wenger see it that way?
Michail Antonio (West Ham)
And here’s my wild card… Last season, I was very impressed with West Ham’s marauding right-back, Michail Antonio. And, yet, by his own admission, Antonio admits he doesn’t like playing there.
He’s been a right-wing for most of his career and it’s the position he favours. Still, he was brilliant, and it provides ample proof of the player’s superb versatility. It will be interesting to see whether West Ham manager Slaven Bilic continues to use Antonio as a wing-back this season or deploys him in a more offensive role.
Whatever Bilic decides, you can still expect to see the speedy Antonio dashing down the flank and whipping in threatening crosses.
Granit Xhaka (Arsenal)
Please indulge me… My editor asked for five or six names, but can I add one more (purely for the sake of my Arsenal-obsessed son) – Granit Xhaka. Imagine the passionate, often heated, discussion and analysis in my household – it’s Arsenal v Liverpool all the time.
The season hasn’t even started yet, but all I’ve heard over the last few weeks is Xhaka, Xhaka, Xhaka… The elegant central midfielder is expected to add a bit more steel and composure to the Gunners’ midfield, something they’ve lacked in recent seasons. We watch with great interest…
Cape Times