There will be new arrivals and fond farewells in any major league.
Almost every year we see players head to pastures new or take their leave, some of which their biggest fans feel cannot be replaced.
This year is no exception in the Premier League and some big names have departed English football’s top-flight.
However, I only see two as leaving big holes to fill.
The obvious one is Senegal favourite Sadio Mane who has swapped Merseyside for Munich after six years with Liverpool.
Described by his former boss Jurgen Klopp as one of the club’s modern greats, there is no doubting Mane’s quality and they will naturally miss a player who enjoyed a stellar time at Anfield, winning every major honour available.
Indeed, the Senegal international has shown a positional versatility few possess, excelling in all areas and his form remaining so consistent that his move to Bavaria undoubtedly leaves one of the club’s greatest forward lines shorn of a key component – one who has scored 120 goals in 269 games.
Signed from Southampton where he also impressed and scored the quickest hat-trick in Premier League history, he also won the Premier League Golden Boot when he emerged as the division’s top scorer with 22 goals in 36 games in the 2018-19 season.
Mane departs the stage after a shed-load of Premier League 2022 highlights and with the gratitude of his employers and both Saints and Liverpool followers.
In many ways, so does the next player on my list.
In fact, it speaks volumes for both Mane and Antonio Rudiger, who has left Chelsea for European champions Real Madrid, that the men chosen to replace them have cost transfer fees in excess of more than £100-M.
This SBOTOP observer must admit, Rudiger didn’t convince me at first and he certainly took time to settle following a £31-M move from Roma in 2017.
Yet when he did, the German powerhouse was integral to their success.
Man of the match in the 2018 FA Cup Final victory over Manchester United, he quickly shone through as an aggressive yet efficient tackler and went on to enjoy Europa League and Champions League success with the club.
He has now become the 10th German in Real’s history and one suspects one of the best free transfers for many a season.
All in all, Rudiger played 133 league games for the Blues, recording nine goals and an assist, and will be missed by those of a Blues persuasion who may well have replaced him with like-for-like in terms of talent and playing style in the shape of Kalidou Koulibaly.
Also leaving West London is Romelu Lukaku, the criticism of whom baffles me.
For the Belgian, who has returned to Inter Milan on loan less than a year after joining for £97-M is, I believe, second to none as a goalscorer.
Even last term when his style of play didn’t appear to suit manager Thomas Tuchel and when his comments to an Italian media about his unhappiness caused consternation, his record was still decent.
Eight goals in 26 appearances, a number of them from the substitutes bench, shows what can be done if given a consistent run in the team and his tally of 121 goals and 35 assists in 278 appearances in his Premier League career is a far more accurate reflection of his ability,
Always among the favourites for leading scorer with the Premier League 2022 betting odds, expect him to shine in Italy.
I want to mention two others on my list who have departed this summer.
Both have actually done better than I realised, although I do not think either of them will be greatly missed.
In Alexandre Lacazette, Arsenal had a player who produced some fine performances during his five seasons.
Ok, so 54 goals and 25 assists in 158 Premier League games may be a little lower than they expected when they snapped up the Frenchman from Lyon for £46.5-M.
But he did contribute to his side’s build-up play and, more often than not, suffered from being in and out of the starting XI.
Likewise, his compatriot Paul Pogba played 154 Premier League games for Manchester United, recording 29 goals and 48 assists during six years.
Again, hardly a disaster but not the statistics expected of someone supposed to be one of the best midfielders of his generation.
This Frenchman certainly does have the ability to back up both his price tag and reputation.
However, that is where the story of a world-class footballer ends because this is a tale of a player who has world-class skills yet is anything but a world-class talent.
Because for all of the rare moments of brilliance, there have been 10 times more of underachievement and body language which portrays a “Laissez Faire” attitude.
After he left United for the second time on a free transfer last month, few associated with Old Trafford – apart from the money men disturbed by a lack of profit following his £89-M recruitment in 2016 – shed a tear.
So farewell to five big names but, in truth, only a few have truly delivered.
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