The winter transfer window is approaching, and the European top five leagues are about to reach the halfway point of the season. In the major European football giants, some players have swept away the gloom of last season and re-proven themselves, such as Chelsea's Enzo, Mudrik, and Manchester United's Diao stars. However, many stars have experienced a cliff-like decline in performance and are likely to be kicked out by their teams.
Manchester United - Rashford
As a prodigy from Manchester United's youth training, Rashford holds a special place in the hearts of Manchester United fans, and he has always been one of the core players at Manchester United, with a very stable position. However, after contributing "30+9" in the 2022-2023 season, he quickly declined in the following two seasons, scoring only 7 goals this season, which does not match his high salary of 320,000 pounds.
Worse still, recently, the conflict between him and head coach Amorim escalated rapidly, with the latter believing that he was not actively participating in the game and being benched for four consecutive games. The 27-year-old Rashford responded defiantly, publicly stating that he was ready to leave Manchester United and embrace new challenges. This has caused a stir, and Rashford has gradually become a marginal figure at Manchester United. The club's management has also decided to clean up Rashford and warned other players within the team that if they do not train hard and pay attention to their behavior, Rashford will serve as a warning to them.
Arsenal - Zinchenko
In July 2022, Arsenal spent 35 million euros to sign Zinchenko from Manchester City. Initially, Zinchenko performed exceptionally well upon joining Arsenal, earning unanimous praise from fans and winning the Arsenal Player of the Month award for two consecutive months. However, it didn't last long, and Zinchenko's weaknesses in attack and defense began to show.
This season, Zinchenko's form has been poor, representing the team only 10 times without any goals or assists, falling behind Skriniar, Calafiori, and Timber in the left-back lineup. Despite his current age of 28 and a market value of 30 million euros, he has lost Arteta's trust, and his career at Arsenal may come to an end at the end of the season.
Tottenham Hotspur - Son Heung-min
As a representative of the most successful Asian player in Europe's top five leagues, Son Heung-min helped Tottenham reach the Champions League final in 2019 and won the Premier League Golden Boot in 2022. However, this season, Son Heung-min's form has been very poor, scoring only 7 goals and providing 6 assists in 22 appearances for Tottenham. Although the data looks decent, it is far from last season's performance, and Tottenham's ranking in the Premier League has plummeted to 12th.
Despite his outstanding performance in Tottenham's 5-0 victory over Southampton, ending a five-game winless streak in all competitions, where the South Korean star contributed 1 goal and 2 assists in just the first half, his overall performance this season shows a clear decline, especially having missed two crucial penalties this season, leading people to doubt whether the 32-year-old South Korean forward's peak period has passed. Currently, the 32-year-old Son Heung-min's contract with Tottenham has six months left, and there are reports that the Turkish Super League team Fenerbahce is interested in signing him.
Paris Saint-Germain - Mouani
In September 2023, Paris Saint-Germain signed Mouani from Frankfurt for a transfer fee of 95 million euros. In his first season with Paris Saint-Germain, his performance was acceptable, contributing 9 goals and 6 assists in a single season, becoming an important scorer for the team. Although it cannot be compared to the 23 goals and 17 assists in a single season during his time at Frankfurt, Paris still placed great trust in him, hoping that he could replace Mbappe's role in the team.
However, this season, the 26-year-old Mouani's form has continued to decline. So far this season, Mouani has played 14 times for Paris, starting only 3 times, with a total playing time of only 425 minutes. In these 14 appearances, Mouani scored 2 goals and provided 1 assist, with his value dropping to 30 million euros. According to France's maxifoot, Paris Saint-Germain has decided to sell the French forward Mouani, aiming to receive at least a 60 million euro transfer fee. Currently, despite interest from AC Milan, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Tottenham, and Leipzig, doubts remain about his form.
Manchester City - Walker
In Manchester City's 0-2 loss to Juventus, City's defensive general Walker made another major mistake, leading to a goal conceded by the team. This is not the first time he has made a major mistake this season; he has become the king of mistakes in the Premier League this season. Last season, Walker was still a key player for the team, but this season he has shown such a significant decline that it has clearly exceeded the expectations of the team and fans.
Now, this 34-year-old English right-back has lost the trust of the team's management and fans. Moreover, the 34-year-old Walker is experiencing setbacks both on and off the field. His former lover has repeatedly appeared on the front page of The Sun and is suing Walker for alimony. On the field, Walker has gradually become a weak point for Manchester City. Last year, Walker was close to joining Bundesliga Bayern Munich for nearly 13 million pounds, but at the last moment, Guardiola and his teammates persuaded him to stay. According to The Sun, several Saudi giants, including Al-Nassr, are interested in signing Walker during the winter transfer window.
