Six struggling Premier League stars who just made things worse over the international break

The international break gave these struggling Premier League players time away from club life, but things only spiralled with their countries.

Here are the ones who were better for country than club.

Thomas Strakosha
It seemed like a potential battle for the ages but David Raya has won by landslide. Thomas Strakosha did not leave his role as Lazio No. 1 upon the expiration of his contract to warm benches at Brentford, but that is precisely how the move has transpired thus far.

Strakosha has played just once for the Bees, keeping a clean sheet in the League Cup second-round win over Colchester. He has otherwise spent his time watching Raya between the sticks, likely not consoled by the Spaniard being statistically one of the worst keepers in the entire Premier League.

But it should be noted that Strakohsa wasted a potential chance to make his voice heard by Thomas Frank. While Raya was an unused substitute for both of Spain’s games, his Brentford understudy started for Albania in defeat to Israel and a 1-1 draw with Iceland. An opportunity to gain the upper hand, at least in terms of momentum, went begging.

Christian Pulisic
After digging his boot into the prone Thomas Tuchel, it was important for Christian Pulisic to draw a line under that situation and part the clouds that had formed over his time at Chelsea.

The forward has started a single game for the Blues all season – and even then he was subbed after an hour of the win against West Ham. A week or so with the USMNT offered a clean break after Tuchel’s demise, with Graham Potter monitoring the development of his new charges.

The overwhelming feeling when watching Pulisic would have been disappointment. Sitting out the insipid 2-0 defeat to Japan gave the Chelsea forward a chance to prove his worth against Saudi Arabia and underline the difference between him playing and not. But a goalless draw further compounded both his and the United States’ misery.

“I have a fresh start now, and I’m excited to play for the new manager. So really just looking forward to it. I just have to prove myself, as everyone does, and as I’ve done before,” he said after the game, a possible head-start on his club peers wasted.

Caglar Soyuncu
While the Foxes can find no current use for Caglar Soyuncu, Turkey were happy to live up to their name and accommodate their captain and centre-half. But when you’re sh*t out of luck, it is important to remember that things can always get worse.

Soyuncu was…