Premier League’s Underachievers: 5 Big Names Missing the Mark So Far
By Ivan Buss
Even the best players can have stinkers. Here are the worst underperformers this season in the Premier League.
Every season, without fail, there are always those players that just don’t quite put it together. There are so many reasons why things can go wrong for a player. Whether it’s the difficulty of coming into the Premier League from another country or coming off an incredible season only to find themselves struggling to repeat their heroics from the past, it happens to even the best players.
From fighting off persistent injuries, trying to deal with schedule congestion, or having to live up to an enormous price tag, the Premier League can be ruthless. This year, there are some high-profile names that have been well off the pace. Here are the top-5 players underachieving this season in the Premier League.
1. Heung-Min Son
Son happens to be coming off his best-ever season. With 30 goal contributions in total, 23 of which were goals, the South Korean was absolutely lethal in front of goal last year. In fact, he shared the Golden Boot in the Premier League with that tally.
This year, however, that does not seem to be the case. With only 3 goals to his name (all of which came off the bench in an incredible cameo) and two assists, it’s hard to deny that Heung-Min Son has been way off his game this season.
Antonio Conte was cool, calm, and collected with Son’s form to begin the season, but as the drought wore on, his stance changed. As noted by The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare and Mark Carey, Conte had this to say about Son and the squad:
"“all the players have to accept the rotation, especially up front, where we have four players”."
Son has always been one to outperform his xG, but this season it seems his lack of goals is beginning to affect his confidence in front of goal and he is not taking the chances he has in years gone by. In fact, he is underperforming in that department, with his xG at 3.55 according to understat.com.
To add to the frustration, Son now has surgery ahead of the World Cup and is questionable to participate for his country, likely wearing a mask if he does end up playing for South Korea. Hopefully, he can turn it around after the World Cup.