Premier League: A Trio to Delight!

After the latest international break, Premier League highlights are set to return this weekend.

So, who are you looking forward to seeing in action?

My three (two of whom are teenagers) may not be the most obvious but they are players who can undoubtedly make their respective sides tick and provide moments of magic.

Rodri (Manchester City)

They may have lost two of their last three top flight games (and three in four in all competitions) but the SBOTOP Premier League betting odds still make Manchester City favourites to regain the title.

One of the reasons for that – and perhaps one of the reasons they have had a fairly poor last few weeks – is the return (and previous absence) of this Spanish midfielder.

It has been noted by football writers that, for all the changes manager Pep Guardiola can make, Rodri – the matchwinner in last season’s Champions League Final – is rarely left out when it matters.

In fact, he and Erling Haaland are never ‘Guardiolad’ out of the team because of tactics; in a sense, he is tactics.

It is Rodri’s passing that gets City going, Rodri whose positional discipline allows whatever else is happening to happen, and Rodri whose niggly fouls lie just beneath the yellow-card threshold.

This is possible because he combines the classic Spanish midfield model – deft touches, superior intelligence, disquieting confidence – with more traditionally English qualities – brutish strength, exhibition commitment, set-piece headers – such that when it comes to picking the country’s best No 6, he is always in the conversation.

He is back this weekend.

Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United)

Alejandro Garnacho reminds me of a young Cristiano Ronaldo.

That excites me, yet offers a degree of concern in almost equal measure.

For a start, there is no doubting the genuine talent of the 19 year-old Argentinian.

He has the potential to be one of the world’s best attacking players and is capable of causing twisted blood for any defender at any level.

Just a glimpse at his impact since coming off the bench to grab a last-gasp winner at Fulham last November is proof of that.

Alejandro Garnacho will try to score goals and help Manchester United secure points in the Premier League — Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho during their home match against Brentford

Yet the concern lies in keeping his feet on the ground and ensuring, like Ronaldo, his talent becomes as big as his ego.

Now there’s nothing wrong with having an ego – there can be a thin line between confidence and arrogance – and the swagger that this young player brings is as refreshing as it is illuminating.

The key now, as his club manager Erik ten Hag has already outlined, is to keep improving so he warrants more regular starts than appearances from the substitutes bench, from which he can make an electrifying impact.

The support network of club and family will be crucial for a young man who has just become a father.

With that in place, this boy can fulfil his dreams at the Theatre of Dreams and cement his place as one of the most exciting prospects, not just in the Premier League but the football world generally. By following the advice of his manager and coaches, Garnacho can certainly realise his sky-high potential under the blistering spotlight of Old Trafford.

Evan Ferguson (Brighton)

As a Manchester United fan, there were two players I cast envious eyes on all summer.

They both played for Brighton, in fact one of them still does.

Ewan Ferguson is the teenager who came from nowhere to catapult himself into the limelight.

The young Republic of Ireland forward has remarkable potential as she has shown on more than one occasion, including when he outgunned Newcastle last month.

Ferguson, as prodigious a talent as he is, might not have been given a regular run of games at another club after moving from Bohemians in 2021.

PREMIER LEAGUE