Ian Wright and Gary Lineker are throwing their weight behind Arsenal and Leicester clamours but every club has one player fans want to see starting more.
There is but one loose rule: the player cannot have started their club’s most recent Premier League game. And go…
Arsenal – Ethan Nwaneri
The theory that Nwaneri might have been the main beneficiary of Martin Odegaard’s injury was short-lived. Mikel Arteta praised the teenager’s “courage” against Leicester but even that influential cameo lasted all of five minutes – just over a quarter of his Premier League gametime this season.
A first Arsenal start only intensified the clamour as Nwaneri scored twice in a September trouncing of Bolton. But that is not nearly enough to sate the growing appetite for Arteta to, as voice of the voiceless Ian Wright put it, “take a chance on” a player who can ‘conquer Europe’.
Aston Villa – Jhon Duran
Five goals in ten substitute appearances is faintly ludicrous but let it not overshadow Duran scoring in both the games Unai Emery has allowed Duran to start this season.
Bournemouth – Luis Sinisterra
As an unapologetic subscriber to the perception of substitutes as ‘finishers’, it is less straightforward to pinpoint a Bournemouth player deserving of more opportunities. No manager has made more in-game changes (39) in the Premier League so far than the Spaniard, and they quite inevitably have the joint-most goal contributions from the bench.
Included in that number is Sinisterra’s pair of stoppage-time madnesses against Everton, while he also took the corner which Justin Kluivert flicked on to score against Arsenal. The opportunities will keep coming and some should be from the start.
Brentford – Fabio Carvalho
“I’m not going to just sit on the bench, because what’s the point? I want to play football and show the world what I’m capable of, and why I train so hard every day. I’m not going to be able to do that by sitting on the bench,” said Carvalho when explaining why he felt he had to leave Liverpool this summer.
The Portuguese has appeared in all eight of Brentford’s Premier League games, but only twice from the start. Those half-dozen games as a substitute did include an Anfield defeat watched from a familiar bench-based vantage point.
Brighton – Brajan Gruda
While there is an obvious and understandable clarification when it comes to Gruda’s restricted playing time – the 20-year-old has been out with an injury while acclimatising to a new club, country and teammates – that does nothing to alleviate the excitement for Brighton to use their new £25m toy.
The 20-year-old made his debut at the end of the win over Spurs before returning to the bench against Newcastle; an assist on his Germany U21 comeback during the latest international break could be the precursor to his Brighton breakthrough.
Chelsea – Christopher Nkunku
For much of last season it felt as though Mauricio Pochettino could really have done with the injured Nkunku. Chelsea being as they are, Enzo Maresca has the Frenchman fit, firing and still on the fringes.
Nkunku has scored in all four Europa Conference League games and bagged a League Cup hat-trick against Barrow but has been placed on a strict diet of substitute appearances in the Premier League since the opening defeat to Manchester City.
The impressive development of Nicolas Jackson and excellence of Cole Palmer has justified the call not to change things up in the centre of Chelsea’s attack but a player of Nkunku’s quality might have expected more chances on either flank.
Crystal Palace – Jean-Philippe Mateta
After scoring 13 goals in as many games to end the season flying under Oliver Glasner, then carrying that form into the Olympics by scoring five times in six for runners-up France, the hope was that Mateta could establish himself as one of Europe’s best strikers more consistently in 2024/25.
Eight starts through August and September delivered a more humble but still respectable return of four goals and one assist before some mild Palace panicking led to Mateta losing his place for 1-0 defeats to Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
The pressure is still on Glasner to find a system which suits Mateta and Eddie Nketiah together rather than just one and often neither.
Everton – Beto
The general consensus within the Everton fanbase remains that Dominic Calvert-Lewin is their best option up front. That is certainly the opinion of Sean Dyche, who substituted the 27-year-old in the Toffees’ first three Premier League games but has kept him on for the full 90 minutes in the subsequent five.
The manager seems to have been sufficiently burnt by bringing on Beto at 2-1 up against Bournemouth, when the Guinean’s inability to hold the ball up and make anything stick late on contributed to a maddening defeat. The momentum has not shifted yet but Calvert-Lewin missing the sort of chances which came his way against Ipswich only solidifies the frustrations of some fans.
Fulham – Tom Cairney
There is certainly an argument behind a formation change for Fulham to properly introduce perennial substitute Reiss Nelson to the equation, the counter to which might be that the team sitting happily in 10th should perhaps not go about ripping up their formation and system in reaction to losing against Manchester City and Aston Villa.
But there is a sense that alterations are needed and Andreas Pereira is the common denominator when it comes to fan exasperation. If his wastefulness in possession is enough to draw jeers from the Craven Cottage stands then Cairney’s pass-completion percentage after 90 minutes could elicit a standing ovation.
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Ipswich – Nathan Broadhead
“I’ve spoken to all the boys who’ve been part of the journey and they all know they have a massive part to play,” said Kieran McKenna of his benched Football League heroes. For the first time this season that contingent included 13-goal Championship promotion campaign forward Broadhead, an unused substitute through Jack Clarke’s continued struggles.
Broadhead has more minutes for Wales this season than Ipswich. That should not remain the case for much longer.
Leicester – Abdul Fatawu
Leicester supporters have been saying it all season but the rest of the Premier League had their eyes opened by Fatawu’s performance against Southampton. He transformed the game in a half-hour cameo on his fifth consecutive substitute appearance, after which Steve Cooper teased a potential run at right-back.
Gary Lineker threw his weight behind the Fatawu movement, saying: “Every time we see the team sheet and he is not in, we go, ‘Oh no, not again. Why is he not playing?’ This kid is special.” How woke.
Liverpool – Federico Chiesa
The more accurate answer is probably no-one; Liverpool are top of the Premier League and one of only two teams with a perfect Champions League record, somewhat reducing the need for team selection angst.
The case for Chiesa is born more of intrigue than anything, and simply wanting to know quite what the plan was when signing him or where he fits in. There are certainly no obvious answers to those questions currently.
Manchester City – Matheus Nunes
“The only problem he has is just one: his manager maybe doesn’t give him the minutes that he deserves!” joked Pep Guardiola after Nunes laid on two goals and scored another against Sparta Prague.
Sixteen players have been used more often this season but injuries to Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku have created an opening on the left wing which Nunes has suddenly become a leading candidate to fill. Even in big 2024 the Second Pep Year can properly catch you off guard.
Manchester United – Amad
“Amad is in a very good run, all during pre-season and all the games he played, so he’s in a very good vibe,” said Erik ten Hag before the win over Southampton, in which the Ivorian assisted one goal and was the game’s best player.
Since then, Amad played six minutes of a League Cup win over Barnsley, was taken off around the 70-minute mark against Crystal Palace, Twente and Porto, was an unused substitute against Aston Villa and Brentford and only came on against Fenerbahce due to an injury to Antony, behind whom he has fallen in the pecking order.
Newcastle – Harvey Barnes
It might actually be Will Osula but those shouts are arguably just a manifestation of the anger harboured towards Newcastle and their recent diabolical transfer windows.
With Barnes it is far more straightforward: he is Newcastle’s top scorer this season despite having a similar amount of minutes to Jacob Murphy.
Nottingham Forest – Jota Silva
Only one player has been substituted on in more Premier League games this season than Silva, whose bench-based plight Duran would undoubtedly sympathise with.
The 25-year-old can do little more but also have few complaints. While Silva has impressed in almost every appearance and even made the most of his Carabao opportunity with a goal in the second-round defeat to Newcastle, Forest are flying and those forward positions are well-stocked.
Southampton – Adam Lallana
The caretaker reign is yet to come to pass but the pieces are starting to fall into place with each player Russell Martin tries to scapegoat for his own shortcomings.
His explanation for not using Lallana recently – the midfielder started and assisted against Ipswich but was taken off on the hour, played 20 minutes of the next game and was an unused substitute in the two thereafter – was at least entirely fair: “At 36 years old we can’t expect him to play every single game. He was going to come on the pitch on Saturday and we go down to 10 men. I don’t think that’s the game for Adam to come on.”
Tottenham – Mikey Moore
Again, it really is absolutely explicable for Ange Postecoglou not to give in to the widespread sentiment over 17-year-old Moore, as much as it is the prerogative of supporters and James Maddison to lose their entire minds in delirium over One Of Their Own.
The Spurs manager knows Moore is “special” but has repeatedly stressed a need to be “really careful” with his development. A Europa League starring role is enough to keep fans barely satiated for a while but the Premier League shouts will only intensify.
West Ham – Crysencio Summerville
The suggestion is that West Ham convinced Summerville to join them instead of more illustrious suitors with the sort of assurances over playing time which other clubs could not make.
The forward might so far feel a little misled. Summerville has played in seven of West Ham’s eight Premier League games but started only one, and even then was taken off after 54 minutes.
A three-match suspension for Mohammed Kudus provides a natural chance for Summerville to stake his claim, something supporters were calling for weeks ago.
Wolves – Pablo Sarabia
Six different players have started a Premier League game as the furthest forward outlet on the right for Wolves this season. Hwang Hee-chan, Matheus Cunha, Carlos Forbs, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Mario Lemina and Nelson Semedo have had a shot so it should probably be Sarabia’s turn soon.
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