Top 10 players who are undroppable for club and country
The modern game places great demand on players, especially the ones who ply their trades in Europe's top clubs. Apart from league football, these players are also involved in various domestic and European cup competitions.
Fixture pile-up is not a new problem; it is faced by all top clubs in the game who play anywhere between 50 to 60 games in a season, with their top players expected to feature in most of these games if not all. Throw international football commitments to the mix, and players can have their hands full, especially in a COVID-19-ravaged year that has further shrunk the football calendar.
Nevertheless, despite these challenges, most modern-day football players are the epitomes of supreme fitness and longevity. Not counting friendlies or pre-season games, these players typically play close to 50 games for club and country in a season.
Top ten undroppable players for club and country
Most top players feature in both club and international football and are an integral part in both set-ups. On that note, let us have a look at ten such players who are virtually 'undroppable' for club and country.
#10 Andrew Robertson (Liverpool/Scotland)
Along with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson forms one of the most potent full-back partnerships in club football. Last season, the two marauding full-backs produced 12 and 13 assists respectively as Liverpool won their first league title in three decades.
Robertson doesn't score too many goals - he has scored only five times in 136 games for Liverpool since arriving at the club in 2017 - but he provides a truckload of assists. The 26-year-old has provided 28 of his 32 assists in the Premier League and is undoubtedly Jurgen Klopp's first-choice left-back at the club.
For Scotland as well, Robertson is a key player as he has appeared in 38 games in various competitions for his side. Incredibly, the player is yet to provide an assist in international football but has three goals to his name.
#9 Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur/South Korea)
Son Heung-Min is in the form of his life. The left-winger has already netted ten times in just nine appearances for Tottenham Hotspur this season as he struck up a lethal partnership with Harry Kane up front.
He has been an integral part of the Spurs set-up for a while, scoring 95 times and providing 51 assists in 238 games since arriving at the club in 2015. However, this season, Son Heung-Min has taken it up a notch and has become an undroppable player for Jose Mourinho.
The Spurs player has been less prolific in international football - scoring only 26 times in 89 appearances for South Korea - but remains one of the few players in his country's set-up who ply their trade at a top-five league club in Europe.
#8 Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/Germany)
Toni Kroos has made a name for himself since arriving at Real Madrid in the summer of 2014.
The German midfielder is renowned for his passing range, creativity and goal-creating ability while also possessing an accurate shot from distance. Kroos doesn't score a lot of goals in club football - he has scored just 19 times in almost 300 games for Real Madrid - but has conjured goal-scoring opportunities aplenty - 68 of them to be exact.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup winner, who can don a plethora of roles in midfield, has made exactly 100 appearances for four-time world champions Germany and remains one of the key players under Joachim Löw's revamped set-up.
#7 Kylian Mbappe (Paris St. Germain/France)
One of the best young players in the world, 21-year-old Kylian Mbappe has already left an indelible mark in both club and international football since breaking into the scene a few seasons ago.
Touted to be one of the all-time greats in the sport, Mbappe is already a three-time Ligue 1 winner with Paris St. Germain, for whom he has averaged more than a goal contribution per game - 1.17 to be exact (96 goals and 51 assists in 131 appearances).
Even in France colours, the youngster has been in sizzling form. At the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Mbappe became the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since a certain Pele in 1958. A tally of 16 goals and 12 assists in just 38 games for Les Bleus is an indicator of his pedigree with the Les Bleus squad.