In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Aston Villa and Liverpool striker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including Arsenal strikers’ woes, Graham Potter under pressure and a look back of the Premier League on Boxing Day.
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A little look at the first round of games in the return of the Premier League
Lionel Messi doesn’t play in the Premier League, but Alexis MacAllister does. It will be interesting to see how quickly Brighton try to get him back in the game. In my experience, a gap of four or five weeks means you’re a bit out of rhythm – you need to have five, six or seven games under your belt. I think there are going to be some interesting results. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if around Christmas time, when players are seeing family or traveling to see friends, there are some strange results. I don’t think things will calm down until we get to the point where the European games return in February. Pep Guardiola has said that Kalvin Phillips, who was in the England team at the World Cup, has come back overweight. He will have to train harder to get back into shape and get into the Manchester City squad, that’s just one example.
Some players will come from the quarterfinals, semifinals or a final. Their adrenaline is high, they are fit and they will be able to return to the team. It will be interesting to see how the clubs that really need to make up points, Liverpool or Chelsea for example, will react during the January transfer window. I think we could see some unexpected results in this round of matches. For those who have several players who haven’t played in the World Cup, I think it will take a little longer to get into the groove.
On the last day of the Premier League before the World Cup, I mentioned that clubs will insist on letting their players know that they need to finish that part of the season very well. Being competitive away from home, winning games and making sure to communicate with the players during the World Cup. If you have left a good situation before going to the World Cup, it is important that you continue that way when you return. Manchester United have gotten rid of the Cristiano Ronaldo issue, a recurring weekly issue. Erik ten Hag is not going to be asked about Ronaldo during the press conferences, so I think Manchester United could make a run for it now. Players like Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martínez have only been playing for a week, so they will be ready for the next matches. Harry Maguire was excellent during the World Cup so I hope United do well.
Chelsea is a bit different. You have a manager who is already under pressure. Following their loss to Brighton, some Chelsea fans are concerned that Graham Potter doesn’t have the credentials to manage a club like Chelsea. That is very different to Ten Hag, who came from Ajax and was winning things. It will be interesting to see what Manchester United and Chelsea do. They have good teams and good players: if they can get through the first and second matchdays of the second leg without losing, then they could come out on top if they give themselves something to hold on to.
Between now and February, when European football returns, the clubs that are in these competitions have a real chance to get some results on the board and move on. My hunch and experience as a player tells me that if you’ve played at a higher level in recent weeks, for example in the World Cup, that will take you to the slipstream faster than not having a game for four or five weeks. . Chelsea and Manchester United have several players who have played in the tournament.
Will Chelsea and Liverpool look to strengthen their squad in January?
There are players who played in the World Cup that clubs will be looking at before the January transfer window. Some of the Moroccan, Senegalese and Ghanaian players will have been seen hundreds of times. The thing about players who have played in the World Cup with ‘smaller nations’ is that they tend to play a lot in their home country and can be bought cheaply. If you’re a Premier League club, you might want to consider taking a chance on one of these players if you can get them for a few million, peanuts compared to the usual transfer fees we see.
I can see several of those offers during the January transfer window. What I can’t see is Chelsea or Liverpool trying to sign their main targets as they could be expensive. Potter now has a new technical director to work with who will come up with ideas, but these big transfers don’t usually happen in January. The selling club does not want to lose its players and the buying club is asked to pay a premium. I’ve heard a lot from Liverpool that the players are confident they can put together a career similar to the one they produced during the pandemic. For Liverpool and Chelsea, I don’t think they have to do much with the team they have to get to the Champions League places.
Clubs now have to prioritize whether or not Europe is important to them, and this could help teams like Newcastle and Brighton who are not competing in these competitions this season. Both Liverpool and Chelsea will have done a bit of a review of their current squad, assessing who they have and what they need, but if they all manage to stay fit they should still finish in the top four. I don’t think any of the clubs are looking to pay more than £30m to £40m for players who don’t feel they have a long-term future at those clubs.
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Trust the latest Arsenal academy graduate
It’s very difficult because Eddie Nketiah is a young man who hasn’t learned the trade yet, but he’s also a goalscorer. Arteta and the coaching staff will have seen him train and an old-school approach would be to include him. Let’s give him those 6-12 games to see what he’s got, and I’m a big fan of that. If you look back in the history of great forwards, Alan Shearer was a 17-year-old at Southampton, he was brought in on his debut and he scored a hat-trick against Arsenal and he didn’t look back. That can happen.
I think coaches are much less likely to do that these days for a number of reasons. Firstly, there is a huge market for relatively cheap players if you have several million coming into your club. Arsenal could go out and look to sign an international striker from a European club and bring him in to compete with Nketiah. Arsenal could look to sign this type of player, possibly towards the end of his career, but he is an experienced goalscorer. I think Arsenal will get someone, but maybe just a loan for the rest of the season.
As for Nketiah, he would give him the chance. You are in the dressing room, you are at home. They’ve done it with the likes of Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka, so why wouldn’t you want to try it again? At this point, if it was me and he’s training hard and showed the desire, throw him out for six full games. Not one or two and take him out, put your arm around him and say ‘I believe in you’. He promotes yours, Arsenal has done it with other players and let’s do the treble giving Nketiah the chance.
