IT’S now less than a WEEK until the Premier League returns.
Top-flight football will be back on our screens on June 17, with Sheffield United vs Aston Villa and Manchester City vs Arsenal to get us underway.
Eleven players you might have forgotten still play for your club
But as we embark on the new normal, it might be worth having a quick check of your team’s squad list.
Because with Premier League clubs constantly loaning out players – and with the three-month lockdown – sometimes it’s hard to keep track of who is and isn’t at your club.
The drama around loan deals and player contracts expiring on June 30 hardly makes life easier, either.
With that in mind, we’ve picked out an XI of stars you might have forgotten are actually on your club’s books.
GK – SCOTT CARSON (Man City)
Scott Carson hasn’t played once for Man City since joining on loan
MUCH like Richard Wright before him, Carson has not even been warming the bench at Manchester City.
Way behind Ederson and Claudio Bravo, the former Liverpool and England man would need a miracle to ever see the pitch after joining on loan from Derby last year.
Notable others: Joel Pereira (Man Utd), Andy Lonergan (Liverpool), Ralf Fahrmann (Norwich)
RB – NATHANIEL CLYNE (Liverpool)
Nathaniel Clyne is unlikely to ever play for Liverpool again
YOU can blame injuries and the meteoric rise of Trent Alexander-Arnold for this one.
Clyne has played just seven Premier League games since the end of the 2016-17 season and was shipped off on loan to Bournemouth last season.
Unlikely to ever play for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool ever again.
Notable others: Davide Zappacosta, Victor Moses (both Chelsea), Cedric Soares (Southampton)
CB – WINSTON REID (West Ham)
Winston Reid is currently away from West Ham on loan
YES, he is still on the books of the Hammers.
New Zealand star Reid is currently on loan at MLS side Kansas City having failed to play for West Ham since 2017-18.
Notable others: Ryan Bennett (Wolves), Kevin Long (Burnley)
CB – MAYA YOSHIDA (Southampton)
Maya Yoshida was loaned out to Sampdoria earlier this season
A REGULAR in the Saints side since 2012, Yoshida left earlier this season to join Sampdoria on loan.
The Japan star actually played eight times in the Premier League before leaving – but many have already forgotten him with the likes of Jan Vestergaard on the books…
Notable others: James Chester (Aston Villa)
LB – BRAD SMITH (Bournemouth)
Brad Smith has barely played for Bournemouth since joining
THE former Liverpool man has struggled to make the grade following his £5million move to the Cherries in 2016.
The Australian full-back has spent two years on loan at the Seattle Sounders and is now temporarily at Cardiff.
Notable others: Kyle Walker-Peters (Tottenham)
CM – MATTY JAMES (Leicester)
Matty James is happy warming the bench at Leicester
A FIRST-TEAM regular between 2012 and 2015, James’ decline at the Foxes began in their title-winning season on 2015-16.
In the past five seasons he’s made just 15 Premier League appearances – with 13 of those in 2017-18.
Aside from a loan spell at Barnsley 2016-17, James has been happy to warm the bench at the King Power Stadium.
Notable others: Ravel Morrison (Sheff Utd), Mario Lemina (Southampton)
CM – MOHAMED ELNENY (Arsenal)
Mohamed Elneny left Arsenal to join Besiktas on loan last summer
NO, he didn’t ACTUALLY quit the Gunners, he just left on loan.
The defensive midfielder could actually do a job at the Emirates, but has spent the season so far away from Arsenal, on loan at Besiktas.
Notable others: Mario Pasalic (Chelsea), Marko Grujic (Liverpool)
CM – MARCO VAN GINKEL (Chelsea)
Marco van Ginkel’s career has been blighted by injuries
THE ultimate forgotten man, Van Ginkel has been at the Blues since 2013 – playing just TWICE, both in his debut season.
Since then he’s been loaned to AC Milan, Stoke and PSV – where he played across three seasons.
Injuries have prevented him playing – for any club, let alone Chelsea – since the end of the 2017-18 season.
Notable others: Harry Arter (Bournemouth)
RW – PATRICK ROBERTS (Man City)
Patrick Roberts is currently at Middlesbrough, after being loaned out again
AFTER joining from Fulham in 2015, Roberts was tipped to being a future Premier League star.
Five years on, Roberts has been loaned to Celtic, Girona, Norwich and now Middlesbrough, having last played for the Etihad side in his debut season.
Notable others: Takumi Minamino (Liverpool), Anthony Knockhaert (Brighton)
ST – ISLAM SLIMANI (Leicester)
Islam Slimani is banging in the goals at Monaco on loan from Leicester
SIGNED in 2016 to help Leicester keep hold of their Premier League title, things haven’t quite panned out for the Algerian.
Slimani hasn’t played for the Foxes since 2017 and has since been loaned to Newcastle, Fenerbahce and now Monaco.
Notable others: Patrick Cutrone (Wolves), Oumar Niasse (Everton), Rhian Brewster (Liverpool), Connor Wickham (Crystal Palace)
LW – KENEDY (Chelsea)
Kenedy is something of a forgotten man at Chelsea
THE Brazilian signed for the Blues in 2015, but has spent most of the time away on loan.
Kenedy is now at Getafe, having already been shipped to Newcastle twice and Watford.
Notable others: Yannick Bolasie (Everton), Georges-Kevin Nkoudou (Tottenham), Ben Woodburn (Liverpool)
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
