Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher disagree on including Chelsea star as they pick Premier League Team of the Season so far
Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher picked their Premier League Team of the Season so far, with the latter controversially including Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer.
Neville and Carragher selected eight of the same players in their starting XI. These included a back four of Trent Alexander-Arnold, William Saliba, Virgil van Dijk, and Destiny Udogie with all four defenders impressing for their respective clubs so far. Declan Rice, Mohamed Salah, Jarrod Bowen, and Heung-min Son also featured in both teams.
Carragher lined up his Team of the Season in a 4-3-3 formation but chose Chelsea's Cole Palmer over other contenders like Rodri and Douglas Luiz. To his credit, Palmer has looked promising in recent weeks, scoring eight goals and providing six assists in 20 appearances across all competitions.
However, Chelsea have struggled as a unit and are 10th in the league table with 28 points from 20 games, 17 points behind leaders Liverpool.
On the other hand, Neville lined up his XI in an unorthodox 4-2-4 formation to include an extra attacker with Rodri and Rice being his two holding midfielders. He justified his selection by saying (via Daily Express):
“I could have gone with Douglas Luiz at Aston Villa and I compared the stats between Luiz, Rice and Rodri. Luiz could have got in but with Rice and Rodri, it gives the front four more freedom to attack. Rodri is the best midfielder in the world in his position, and City have lost games when he’s been missing.”
Carragher hilariously responded:
“Gary, I know for a fact that you had Douglas Luiz in your team at 6pm tonight!”
Gary Neville's XI: Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, William Saliba, Virgil van Dijk, Destiny Udogie, Declan Rice, Rodri, Heung-min Son, Mohamed Salah, Jarrod Bowen, Erling Haaland
Jamie Carragher's XI: Guglielmo Vicario, Trent Alexander-Arnold, William Saliba, Virgil van Dijk, Destiny Udogie, Declan Rice, Bernardo Silva, Cole Palmer, Heung-min Son, Mohamed Salah, Jarrod Bowen
Turkish giants could terminate Chelsea star's loan deal after just five months at the club: Reports
According to Turkish news outlet NTV Sport (via We Ain't Got No History), Galatasaray are considering terminating Hakim Ziyech's loan deal and sending him back to Chelsea in the January transfer window.
Ziyech failed to impress for the Blues last season, making just 24 appearances in total. He joined Galatasaray on a season-long loan deal over the summer in a bid to reinvent his career.
Unfortunately, the move hasn't quite worked out for either party yet. The 30-year-old has netted four goals and provided two assists in 14 appearances this season. But he has struggled with injury issues and has played less than 800 minutes of football the entire season, making just nine starts in five months.
Ziyech is set to depart Turkey to represent Morocco in the upcoming AFCON. This reportedly also is playing a factor in Galatasaray's decision as he has failed to live up to expectations.
The Morocco international is contracted to Chelsea until the summer of 2025 but it is unlikely he has a future at Stamford Bridge either.