In the relentless churn of a Premier League season, some high-profile names can quietly disappear from view. A combination of managerial changes, costly new signings, and cruel injury luck has left a number of once-prominent players on the periphery.
At Chelsea, the situation for Raheem Sterling is particularly stark. Once a marquee £50 million arrival and a regular for England, the winger now finds himself training separately from the main squad. Despite a trophy-laden career, he has become a symbol of the club’s extravagant and often chaotic recruitment strategy, with over half a billion pounds subsequently spent on players in his position.
Sharing a similar fate at Stamford Bridge is defender Axel Disasi. A World Cup finalist not long ago, his time at the club was effectively ended by a costly error in a defeat to Ipswich last December. Deemed surplus to requirements by the manager, he has been firmly relegated down the defensive pecking order.
Over at Liverpool, Rhys Williams’ story is one of a meteoric rise and an equally swift fall. Thrust into the first team as a teenager during an injury crisis, he became an unlikely hero in a campaign that saw the club secure a top-four finish. However, that promising spell proved to be a false dawn. A series of loan moves have followed, and he has not featured for the Liverpool senior side since that breakout season.
Manchester United’s Tyrell Malacia arrived with significant fanfare as one of the first signings of a new era. A serious knee injury, however, kept him sidelined for over 550 days. By the time he regained fitness, the club’s landscape had transformed, and the left-back is now training away from the main group, his early promise a distant memory.
For Fábio Carvalho, the path has been one of frustrating stagnation. Hailed as a magical talent upon his move to Liverpool, he has struggled for consistent minutes at every club since. A recent move to Brentford was meant to offer a fresh start, but a devastating ACL injury in training has now ruled him out for the remainder of the season, halting his progress at a critical moment.
At Brighton, long-serving winger Solly March is facing his own battle against time and fitness. A club stalwart since their promotion to the top flight, a series of knee problems have severely limited his involvement. After working his way back from one long-term layoff, he suffered a fresh setback almost immediately, casting doubt on his future role at the club.
For these players, the challenge is no longer about winning titles or earning new contracts, but simply about finding a way back onto the pitch and reclaiming a piece of the spotlight they once commanded.
