Premier
League rejects
Nick Bidwell on the players who failed to impress in England
The Hungarian international, widely
regarded as the best No1 in the
Bundesliga at the moment, was not
always first choice. In five years with
Liverpool he was either to be found
in the reserves, on the senior bench
or out on loan at Hereford United,
Tranmere Rovers and Hull City.
Such is the lot of third-choice
keepers at this level: good enough
to be considered for inclusion in
41 first-team matchday squads,but not once deployed.
After some much-needed playing
time on joining Salzburg in June
2013, two years later he moved to
Red Bull sister club Leipzig, where
he became their main man midway
through the 2015-16 season.
At 29, he demonstrates excellent
positioning and command of his
box, and was the Bundesliga clean
sheet king last season, racking up
no fewer than 16 shut-outs.Angel
DI MARIA
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN
The Argentinian winger cut a depressing
figure in his sojourn at Manchester United
in 2014-15. Apart from a few early
fireworks, the ex-Real Madrid star
generally seemed to be playing under
sufferance, fighting a losing battle with
communication problems and having a
poor working relationship with manager
Louis Van Gaal.
El Fideo (“The Noodle”) could not quit
Old Trafford quickly enough and, now in
his fifth season at PSG, he loves the
Parisian life.
For the past 18 months, the 31-
year-old has been in superb form
for the French champions and recently
underlined his state of grace with a brace
in the 3-0 victory over former club Real
Madrid in the Champions League.
PSG’s German coach Thomas Tuchel
has managed to bring out the best in Di
Maria and these days makes a point of
according the Argentinian the same lofty
status as Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and
Edinson Cavani.Peter
GULACSI
RB LEIPZIG
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