Where will Kalvin Phillips rank among the top ten most expensive Englishmen when he completes his Man City move? Pep Guardiola can only hope the midfielder is as successful as the no.1 in this list…
10) Aaron Wan Bissaka
Manchester United looked at 804 right-backs before deciding Wan-Bissaka was the man for them in 2019. It’s not clear where they watched the other 803…
He cost £45million, with Crystal Palace due another £5million in add-ons, which they aren’t likely to see, unless the bonuses are structured on slide tackles and square passes.
To be fair, United signed Wan-Bissaka when they were in defensive disarray. He helped solidify them – briefly – but it really would have been worth looking at what he could do in the opposition half without a map and a compass before dumping all that cash in Palace’s bank account.
9) Ben Chilwell
The left-back seemed a dead cert when he moved from Leicester to Chelsea for £45million in 2020. And Frank Lampard fancied him. But Thomas Tuchel took some convincing…
Tuchel had Chilwell in and out of his XI through the second half of the 2020-21 season, though it was the England defender who made the team-sheet for the Champions League final last year. He went to Euro 2021 on a high… and was brought back down to earth by Gareth Southgate, who didn’t give Chilwell a minute, preferring instead to use a right-back on the left before Luke Shaw took over.
Then he went back to Chelsea, started the season on the bench and didn’t see any Premier League action until October. When he did claw his way back into Tuchel’s team, he knacked his knee six games later.
8) Harry Maguire
If we are to base this ranking on current standings and public opinion, Maguire would be bottom by some distance. He had a wretched season last term and a mixed one the campaign prior to that following a positive first year at United.
But when you move for £80million as the world’s most expensive defender, patience and sympathy will always be in short supply when you screw up. Which Maguire did last season. A lot.
He wasn’t alone, though, and Erik ten Hag seems to believe, quite rightly, that Maguire isn’t a lost cause. Though he needs to shape up sharpish under the new manager before he finds himself on the same scrapheap as Wan-Bissaka.
7) John Stones
Stones is a streaky mo-fo. Pep Guardiola either loves him, or can’t stomach the sight of him.
He cost City around £50million when they signed him from Everton in…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football365…