The final day of the Premier League season was an emotional one as Michael Carrick hung up his boots and Arsene Wenger took charge of Arsenal for the last time.
It didn’t tell us much we didn’t already know, however, with Swansea’s fate being mathematically confirmed as they joined West Brom and Stoke in heading to the Championship.
Perhaps it will come as some comfort to them to know that even among the league’s ostensibly more fortunate, there is still plenty of disappointment lurking around every corner.
The Sportsman takes a look at the biggest losers of the 2017/18 season.
Alvaro Morata
Replacing Diego Costa as the lynch pin of Chelsea’s attack required a striker of some mettle. Most sympathised with Morata - who looked to be a top international forward with Spain and in his loan at Juventus - when he failed to establish himself at Real Madrid. It might be true that Antonio Conte would have preferred Romelu Lukaku, but the Morata deal should still have been a boost. A tally of 11 league goals and six assists, while not exactly ground-breaking anyway, doesn’t really tell the whole story of the 25-year-old’s struggles.
Marcus Rashford
Teddy Sheringham is the latest pundit to suggest Rashford needs to leave Manchester United if he is to fulfil his potential. Since Jose Mourinho started moving the starlet around the Red Devils’ attack, putting him out wide and in the Portuguese’s preferred position for him, on the bench, what was at first an electrifying career has been dampened. The 20-year-old has been lumped in with Anthony Martial as a player being wasted by their divisive manager and both of them could have a decision to make this summer.
Danny Rose
The left-back stuck his neck out three days before the season began, when an incredibly ill-judged interview with The Sun was published attacking Tottenham’s wage structure, lack of silverware, and some fans’ treatment of him in previous campaigns. At the time, his position in north London looked untenable amid links to Manchester United, but their interest has cooled in the wake of Ben Davies’ elevation to Spurs’ first-choice. Coming back from a long-term knee injury, Rose has done little to justify a more regular starting place – or higher wages - though in the 5-4 win over Leicester he gave plenty of reminders of what he offers going forward. Whereas a year ago, he was arguably one of the standout defenders in the Premier League, he is now rumoured to be attracting interest from Everton. Ouch.
Tiemoue Bakayoko
Chelsea were one of a number of clubs to dip into Monaco’s boot sale following their Ligue 1 success, but it seems they got something of a raw deal. Bakayoko’s debut season in English football has been poor, reaching a head with his own fans singing “you’re f***ing s***” at him when he was sent off in a 4-1 defeat to Watford. In the 1-0 win over Liverpool at the start of May, he was much improved, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll get a chance to continue that progress next term.
Davy Klaassen
One of the many uninspiring products of Everton’s spending was the £24million midfielder who had looked so promising at Ajax. Playing under three different managers in one season must have been difficult for any Toffees player, but he made a mistake turning down the chance to join Napoli in the New Year. The Holland international had scored 49 times in 163 appearances for his former club. At Goodison Park, he has started just three league games, not helped by Sam Allardyce’s comment that he isn’t featuring because Everton “need to win”.
Renato Sanches
Two summers ago, Sanches won the Golden Boy award and was about to participate in Portugal’s victorious European Championships. Manchester United were devastated to miss out on his services when he joined Bayern Munich, yet Carlo Ancelotti’s decision to sideline him in Bavaria has been completely justified during his loan spell in South Wales. What was supposed to be one of Paul Clement’s biggest coups has turned into a disaster. The 20-year-old’s only really memorable moment came when he accidentally passed to the advertising boards because they were the same colour as Swansea’s away kit.
Joe Hart
The stopper has had a season at West Ham probably best described as “the vindication of Pep Guardiola’s decision”. David Moyes has twice had to drop Hart and his loan move will not be made permanent. A player who has enjoyed a career such as Hart’s now finds himself in the wilderness as he waits to hear more on his future, having ultimately squandered what could have been a valuable chance to get back to his best.
