Romelu Lukaku has struggled this season at Chelsea
The 2021-22 Premier League season is gradually coming to an end with just four matches left to be played.
This season, players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Son Hueng-Min and Mohamed Salah amongst others have shone like a million stars. These players have given a good account of themselves with their performances throughout the season.
Some Premier League stars gave a poor account of themselves in the 2021-22 season
There are others, though, who much was expected from but they failed to deliver. These players performed below par throughout the season, either in terms of statistics or in terms of their overall performance.
On that note, let’s take a look at the four Premier League stars who have failed to live up to expectations this season.
#1 Romelu Lukaku
Chelsea v Brighton & Hove Albion – Premier League
Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku is one of the most highly-rated strikers in Europe, but the 2021-22 season has been an awful one for the Belgian star. The Blues spent £97.5m last summer to get his services from Inter Milan, making him the club’s record signing. However, the 28-year-old has failed to justify this fee.
Lukaku was one of the hottest strikers in Europe in the 2020-21 season. He scored 24 goals in 36 Serie A appearances as Inter Milan won the Scudetto. However, this season, he has struggled to find the back of the net, scoring just five times in 23 Premier League appearances.
The Belgian started the season in good form, scoring three goals in his first five games. However, the goals have dried up, and Lukaku has dropped down the pecking order in Thomas Tuchel’s side.
#2 Jadon Sancho
Manchester United v Norwich City – Premier League
Manchester United finally signed Jadon Sancho last summer after a long chase for the English youngster, paying £73m to Borrusia Dortmund.
Sancho painted the German Bundesliga with goals and assists from the flanks. He scored 50 goals and made 64 assists in 137 appearances for Dortmund in all competitions.
He was expected to replicate the same while playing in his home country. However, the 22-year-old has found it hard adapting to the Premier League.
He failed to register a single goal or assist in his first 13 matches and has not looked like the player he was while in Germany. Sancho currently has three goals and three assists in 29 league appearances this season.
#3 Bruno Fernandes
Manchester United v Brentford – Premier League
The 2021-22 season has been a topsy-turvy one for Manchester United as well as Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese playmaker has been inconsistent this season unlike last season where he was the club’s best player. He scored 18 goals and made 11 assists in 37 league appearances last season.
Fernandes started the current season on fire, scoring a hat-trick on match-day one in United’s 5-1 win over Leeds United. However, his goal ratio and overall performance has taken a drastic drop.
His performances last season led United to the Europa League final and a second-place finish in the league.
Hence, more was expected from Fernandes following the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo this season. However, it looks like Ronaldo’s presence has overshadowed Fernandes. The 27-year-old has managed just 10 goals and six assists in 34 league appearances.
#4 Jack Grealish
Jack Grealish has failed to live up to his £100m tag price
Manchester City completed the most expensive signing in British football history last summer, when they paid £100m for Jack Grealish. The 25-year-old penned a six-year deal and was handed Sergio Aguero’s jersey number 10 after joining from Aston Villa.
The question of whether Grealish was worth such a huge amount was a topic of discussion. Another question was whether he could live up to the expectations that come with such an amount.
His statistics show that the former Aston Villa man has performed woefully in his first season at the Etihad. He has scored just two goals and two assists in 23 league appearances this season.
To put that into perspective, he scored six goals and made 10 assists in 26 Premier League appearances for Villa last season.
