📸 The worst Premier League XI of the Season so far | OneFootball

The international break is behind us, the Premier League is returning, and these 11 players really need to sort themselves out.

Some of them have been the worst in the league in their position, others the most disappointing. Either way, it’s been a campaign to forget so far.

Let’s get stuck in.

GK – Ben Hamer – Huddersfield Town

No goalkeeper in the Premier League has made more errors leading to a goal this season than Ben Hamer, who has started just twice.

That’s that pick justified, right? Hamer took Jonas Lössl’s place to start to the season and conceded nine goals in two games (albeit against Chelsea and Manchester City) before losing his spot between the sticks.

In his defence, Huddersfield (still winless) haven’t fared much better without him.

RB – DeAndre Yedlin – Newcastle United

As a full-back, Yedlin’s biggest attribute is his pace. In Rafa Benítez’s side, he hardly ever gets to use it.

The American international is expected to focus on his defensive duties before venturing forward. That’s fine but he’s just not a great defender.

That’s all there is to it.

CB – Denis Odoi – Fulham

In the five games Odoi has started this season, Fulham have conceded 15 goals and let in at least two in each of those matches. It doesn’t look good.

The versatile defender isn’t too bad when forwards run at him but appears to be struggling with how quickly the ball moves in the Premier League. Easily dragged out of position, it’s hard to see Fulham’s leaky defence improving too much as long as he’s in the side.

CB – Wes Morgan – Leicester City

It’s sad to see a player in decline but that’s what Wes Morgan is now.

Leicester’s title-winning captain is now 34 and no longer the fearsome defender he was a few years back. Slow to turn, he can’t keep up with quick forward. He can also no longer physically dominate bigger strikers.

It’s very much the end of an era for Leicester and their skipper.

LB – Gaëtan Bong – Brighton

Bong is the weak link in an otherwise solid Brighton team.

The Cameroon left-back offers very little going forward and often looks suspect in one-on-one situations.

CM – Nemanja Matić – Manchester United

Matić has been a shadow of himself so far this season and Manchester United have struggled to get going.

Where he used to stamp his authority over the game, the Serbian is struggling to make things work for United off the ball. He’s winning fewer tackles and making fewer interceptions per game than in any of his previous five Premier League campaigns. On top of that, he’s being dispossessed more often.

A lot of attention goes to Paul Pogba but Matić is the midfielder truly underperforming at Old Trafford.

CM – Jack Wilshere – West Ham United

West Ham picked up zero points in four games with Wilshere in the starting line-up. Since his injury, they’ve taken seven points from a possible 12 by beating Manchester United and Everton, plus drawing against Chelsea.

Now maybe it’s not all on Wilshere, it’s probably partly to do with the fact he doesn’t form a particularly balanced midfield with Mark Noble, but it doesn’t look great. Wilshere remains an excellent dribbler but he rarely does anything of note after beating his man and his positional indiscipline is costly.

The midfielder left Arsenal to prove a point, to play regularly, and to get back in the England squad. Looking ahead right now, none of those things are likely to happen.

AM – Mesut Özil – Arsenal

So often the focus of people’s ire no matter how he’s playing, Mesut Özil hasn’t had an easy start to life under new boss Unai Emery.

The German does have two goals in his six Premier League appearances so far but Arsenal need more from him. He isn’t his usual creative self and playing out wide doesn’t help his cause.

Worryingly for Özil, Arsenal don’t look worse when he’s out of the side at the moment. If Emery doesn’t adapt to his playmaker, Özil will have to find a way to adapt to Arsenal’s new head coach.

AM – Ayoze Pérez – Newcastle United

While he’s never been prolific, Ayoze has scored at a pretty consistent rate – a goal every 300 minutes or so – in his three previous Premier League seasons. That should mean about seven or eight goals a season if he’s starting regularly – a very valuable contribution for a Newcastle side devoid of creativity.

Yet here he is, seven starts into the campaign, without a single goal.

He’s barely creating chances either and the 25-year-old is looking like a much worse player than when he arrived in England at 20. What a shame.

AM – Alexis Sánchez – Manchester United

What’s happened to Alexis Sánchez?

The Chilean has always had a high risk, high reward sort of style but lately the rewards have been scarce.

Alexis looks like a player who is starting to burnout after his all-action style defined his game for so long. There’s every chance he’ll turn it around but right now, he’s not the player Manchester United thought they’d signed.

ST – Chris Wood – Burnley

The man who shot Burnley into Europe last season, Chris Wood is having a campaign to forget. He’s played in all eight of Burnley’s Premier League games so far this season but is yet to complete 90 minutes and, more worryingly, is yet to score.

When a team focuses on defending as much as the Clarets do, they need their striker to carry the burden at the other end of the pitch.

So far this season, Wood has managed one shot every 77 minutes of Premier League action. It’s not nearly enough.