When Siniša Mihajlović replaced Filippo Inzaghi as coach of Italian club Bologna in January 2019, Mattias Svanberg was a player that still needed refining in his game despite already earning valuable playing time in Serie A.   The Swedish youngster found his opportunities limited for the remainder of the 2018/19 campaign under Mihajlović, but he…

Only three players started both, Chelsea’s FA Cup final victory in 2018 and the Champions League win three years later. All three played starring roles in both conquests, but have since had question marks hanging over their heads.   César Azpilicueta and N’Golo Kanté have both been plagued by the curse of being on the…

After the unsavoury and unceremonial exit of Mesut Özil to Fenerbahçe on January 17, 2021, it has been difficult for Arsenal to find consistent rhythm in the attacking third of the pitch. The mercurial German would always prove difficult to replace, with Özil providing 77 assists in 254 appearances in his seven-and-a-half years in North…

Christopher Nkunku was born in Lagny-sur-Marne, an eastern suburb in Paris, the same area where Paul Pogba was born and brought up. Nkunku was an incredibly gifted and robust player with a “footballer’s DNA” from a young age and joined France’s renowned national academy, Clairefontaine, alongside the talent of Marcus Thuram, Allan Saint-Maximin, Amine Harit…

When Raphinha joined Leeds on October 5, 2020, for £17 million, few eyebrows were raised. The Brazilian winger had just helped Rennes secure Champions League football for the first time in club history, contributing 9 goals and 5 assists in all competitions, and had impressed in Portugal for Sporting and Vitória de Guimarães, but nevertheless, not…

Brighton & Hove Albion have had an inconsistent first half of the season with the Seagulls winless in 12 games in all competitions after winning the first 6 of their 7 fixtures of the season.    The constant loss of important players such as Lewis Dunk (out until February), Pascal Gross, and Adam Webster have…

On May 8, 2021, #Sosa was trending on Croatian twitter, with Borna Sosa’s sudden decision to switch allegiances to Germany sparking outcry from The Vatreni’s fanbase. Exactly 27 weeks and 1 day later #Sosa was trending again, but this time for different reasons. The 23-year-old fullback had just provided the game-winning assist to ensure Croatia’s…

Over the last couple of years, Chelsea’s youth academy, Cobham, has shown itself to be one of the best, if not the best, centers of production for today’s rising stars. The list of Cobham graduates within the last couple of years is well and truly is a star-studded cast.   Featuring various players who have established…

The Eagles’ legend-in-the-making has proven to be one of the Premier League’s finest attacking talents in the last several years.   In spite of Crystal Palace’s mid-table mediocrity in recent years, with the club finishing in the bottom half of the Premier League in every season since 2015, Ivory Coast international Wilfried Zaha has risen…

When Antonio Conte became the manager of Tottenham Hotspur, there were always going to be immediate winners and losers. It was a guessing game. Who was the Italian going to favour? Who was going to be shunned?    After five Premier Leagues games, these questions are starting to get answered. The biggest winner, so far,…