Just 5 games to go and another season of the Premier League will be over. Time has flown by, hasn’t it? Well, it has indeed and what a season this has been. Leicester City almost there, becoming the 6th side to win the Premier League title.
Now as the season approaches its end, the opening day of the summer transfer window gets closer and closer. There are just so many rumours, even when the window is closed. Many also involving the players who played a huge role in Leicester’s successful run.
Let’s take a look at 5 players who are surely going to leave their club this summer.
Dimitri Payet
I’m pretty sure everyone knows who Dimitri Payet is. For one’s who don’t know, he is the new dead ball specialist, currently playing for West Ham United and has played an instrumental role throughout the season.
West Ham is currently in 6th place, a point behind Manchester United – The team they are going to face in the FA Cup Quarter Final. That’s right, they’re still surviving in the FA Cup as well. Payet has been a key player in every game.
Be it scoring or setting someone up to score, he is always involved in the goals and hence he is attracting a lot of attention. Even more after he was called up for a recent friendly game for France in which he scored beautifully from a long range free kick.
Not that West Ham are a small club, but players like Payet should be at top clubs who play in the Champions League and there surely will be numerous bids for him when the window opens, most probably from his country – Paris Saint-Germain.
Riyad Mahrez
One of the key players involved in Leicester City’s dream run so far. The 25-year-old Algerian international has scored 16 goals so far and provided 11 assists. His prolific partnership with Jaime Vardy is the reason why Leicester are where they are.
With one hand already on the trophy, and Champions League football confirmed for next season, Leicester is ready for a new challenge and so is Riyad Mahrez. But the question rises, are ready for the same challenge?
Mahrez is definitely going to attract a lot of attention in the summer. There were already rumours linking him to big moves to teams like Barcelona and maybe Atletico Madrid. It will be very hard for Leicester to hold on to a player of his calibre.
For a handsome amount, I feel, Mahrez will leave Leicester this summer and is most probably headed for Spain, where Barcelona are looking for an ideal replacement for the ageing Andres Iniesta. He could turn out to be the perfect replacement.
Romelu Lukaku
Currently third in the goal-scoring charts with 18 goals, 4 behind the leader, Romelu Lukaku made a statement earlier this month that he would love to play in the Champions League next season. Everton is 14th and there is no way he is going to get Champions League football there.
So it’s certain that Lukaku will leave the Merseyside outfit and join a team which is already in the Champions League. Obviously, the first rumour was about him staying in England and joining strugglers Manchester United (If they make it into the top 4).
While others just said that he is going to leave England and was linked with both the teams in Madrid. Atletico Madrid will be out in the market looking for a proper striker while Real Madrid will be looking for one too if they decide to replace Karim Benzema because he’s in his 30s now.
Even Paris Saint-Germain are interested as we know their prolific striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is definitely going to leave the club this summer and Romelu Lukaku could turn out to be a perfect, long-term replacement of the Swede.
Christian Benteke
He was in top form with his former club Aston Villa, but since his transfer to Liverpool, he rarely gets to start a game under new manager Jürgen Klopp and with Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi being picked ahead of him, it’s certain that he’ll leave the club this summer.
He hasn’t been linked to top clubs so he will just probably move to a Premier League club. He could turn out to be a possible replacement for Jamie Vardy at Leicester if he decides to move. Or a shock switch to rivals Everton could be on the card as they’ll be looking for a replacement for Lukaku.
Benteke isn’t getting enough game time, but the teams know what he is capable of and as soon as his name goes on that transfer list, there will be plenty of clubs who’ll battle it out for his signature this summer.
It is highly unlikely, but there might just be some foreign interest too with clubs like FC Porto and Zenit St. Petersburg also on the lookout for a decent striker. But looking at Benteke, it seems that he definitely wants to stay in the Premier League with some club other than Liverpool.
