Next in the series of leagues I’m going to take a closer look at is the Swiss Super League – a league which contains the likes of FC Basel, BSC Young Boys and Grasshoppers. The league contains a number of players from the surrounding countries and into certain parts of Asia but as with any league, there’s players from all corners of the globe.
To kick-start a new series focused on less popular leagues whose players could be of use to a Premier League side, I’m first looking at the Ukrainian Premier League, which is perhaps overlooked by many despite having a good pool of talent. Shakhtar Donetsk are one of the most famous teams in this division and proved to Chelsea last season that they are no pushovers. Dynamo Kiev are also up and coming in European football. Here’s my list:
As Arsenal possess a big squad, they often leave some players on the bench or out of the first team more often than they feel they should be because of age and ability. Arsenal are used to sending many youngsters out on loan every season, but this season was different because they just seemed to sell every player that could’ve gone on loan. A mass exodus occured at Arsenal, leaving them with barely any players left or at least enough to send out on loan. However, if the Gunners do recruit in January then these five players should be sent on loan to help develop their careers.
Crystal Palace are a side in deep trouble because of a very poor start to the season. They sit at the bottom of the table on just four points, with said points coming from of a victory against Sunderland early in the campaign and a draw against Everton in their last fixture before the international break. Added to that, they’ve scored just six goals and have conceded 21, which says a lot about who they need to beat the drop. If it isn’t obvious, then Palace need a good striker that has a history of scoring goals as well as a defender that can bring organisation and leadership. With a run of four games coming up against other struggling sides, they need to pick up points if they’re to stand any chance of survival. Here’s my list:
In the final article on players whose contracts expire next summer, I will be taking a look at Ligue 1. The French premier division is a pool of talented, up-and-coming players that often look for a route out of France to join bigger teams in bigger leagues. However, with the arrival of billionaires to clubs like Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco, players are becoming more inclined to stay due to the fact that Ligue 1 is growing in popularity and ability. The stranglehold on the league held by Marseille and Lyon has been broken by these two clubs and now we have a four or five horse race for the title. This is one of the reasons why the league has grown in popularity, with the increasing uncertainty around who could potentially win adding more excitement. However, many players still look for a way out and a few of those could make this list:
In the penultimate article on players whose contract ends next summer, I will take a look at who may well be available for free next season in Serie A, evaluate who may want them, and express my surprise at some of the inclusions. Serie A is rich with experienced players that reigned supreme six or seven years ago and are now just hoping to keep their fitness in order to be of use to teams. Javier Zanetti, for example, is 40 years old and is still churning out 40 appearances a season. However, an injury has limited him to just one appearance so far this season. His contract does end next summer as well, but he doesn’t make the list due to age and his commitment to Inter Milan. Esteban Cambiasso, Andrea Pirlo, Diego Milito, David Pizarro, Miroslav Klose, Walter Samuel, Nicola Legrottaglie and many more legends of the game will be out of contract next summer. Plenty of bargains to be had there.
Continuing on from my posts last week, I’m really in the mood to look at more players that will be out of contract next season. The reason behind this is that I just find it fascinating that clubs haven’t offered certain players contracts when you thought they would have done by now. A few surprises are included, as always, and bargains are to be had next summer that’s for sure. In this piece I will look at La Liga players who are out of contract next summer.
To continue the topic of free agents available at the start of the next season, I will be looking at the Bundesliga and what bargains could be had there. After looking at the Premier League and looking at the Bundesliga in this article, I will name a few more free agents from a couple of other leagues to provide an idea of the quality that may well be available this time next year.