10 Players with Much to Prove in 2016
It's the time of a new year when the amount of new leaves being turned over creates a deafening rustling sound, and for footballers, that is no different.
For a variety of reasons, things might just not have worked out for a variety of Premier League players in 2015, and as they enter the new year, they do so with much to prove.
There are plenty of players to whom this description could apply to, and here are 10.
Memphis Depay
1 of 10
When they beat Liverpool to his signature at the back end of last season, the Manchester United scriptwriters got to work on mapping out Memphis Depay's Old Trafford career.
The Dutchman was supposed to be the lively, attacking presence who would serve as a standard-bearer for a new, young, fearless United team being pieced together by his compatriot Louis van Gaal.
It hasn't quite worked out like that.
From a promising beginning, Depay has become a wasteful, often careless member of the United team, with his error in the recent defeat at Stoke City only serving to show how much he's struggling to adapt to English football.
Improvement is needed.
Roberto Firmino
2 of 10
Instead of signing Depay, Liverpool instead ended up with the Brazilian Roberto Firmino, who has had a curious beginning to life in English football.
Injuries haven't helped him, and when he's been good, he's been very, very good, but Reds supporters have also seen him drift through far too many matches and fail to make an impact upon them.
With only one goal for the club so far, the former Hoffenheim attacker also needs to improve his form in front of goal, but in Jurgen Klopp, he has the perfect manager to encourage him to replicate the displays he used to produce in the Bundesliga.
Wilfried Bony
3 of 10
It's difficult to be too critical of Wilfried Bony given that his chances in the Manchester City side have been limited, but it is tough to escape the conclusion that he's really just passing through the Etihad Stadium before an inevitable move away when City snap up a better forward.
Of course Sergio Aguero rules the roost in Manuel Pellegrini's side when he's fit and available, and perhaps City will look to sign a forward of his type to try and cope with his frequent injury absences, but Bony is at the club for now and needs to show that he can step up.
Oscar
4 of 10
Seen as one of the key protagonists behind the fall of Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, the Brazilian midfielder Oscar was way off his best form in the latter half of 2015.
A terrifically complete player when he's fully fit and firing, Oscar turned in his best performance of the season in Chelsea's first match following the sacking of Mourinho against Sunderland, but he followed that up with a missed penalty against Watford as the Blues dropped two points.
Such highs and lows need to be replaced with a greater consistency if Oscar is to help Chelsea get back to their best under Guus Hiddink, who is sure to see the No. 8 as a key man.
Dejan Lovren
5 of 10
Once a laughing stock at Liverpool, defender Dejan Lovren has benefited from the appointment of Jurgen Klopp perhaps more than any of his team-mates.
Brendan Rodgers' insistence that his teams play out from the back put an unnecessary pressure on the Croatian defender, but Klopp now encourages him to keep it simple as he's taken his place in the heart of the Reds defence.
Injuries to Martin Skrtel and Mamadou Sakho have increased Lovren's importance to his club, and he'll enter 2016 still with a lot to prove but with the confidence to do so.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
6 of 10
We've been saying this for a while, but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain perhaps needs to use 2016 to really evaluate what he wants to do with his career.
The Arsenal midfielder saw Joel Campbell surpass him in the Gunners pecking order earlier this season, and although a terrific player on his day, he seems destined to spend most of those days looking on from the bench at Emirates Stadium.
Chamberlain would walk into most other sides in the division, so will he decide to seek first-team football at one of them in the summer?
Eden Hazard
7 of 10
Imperious in 2014/15 as he deservedly took the plaudits as the best player in the Premier League, Eden Hazard's form fell off a cliff in the closing months of last year.
Still to score a goal this season, the Belgian has been a shadow of his former self and put all talk of challenging the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for the title of "best player in the world" to bed without its supper.
With Euro 2016 to come in the summer, Hazard simply has to get back to being the player Chelsea supporters know and love if the Blues are to salvage their season.
Wayne Rooney
8 of 10
Ah, here he is. You were waiting for Wayne Rooney, weren't you?
The form of the Manchester United and England captain remains a national talking point in the UK, with his unconvincing displays for club and country leading many to wonder whether he deserves starting places in either team.
He'll still go to the Euros and is likely to start more games for United than not, but could 2016 be the year that Rooney's dropoff in form becomes more tangible? Maybe a move back to Everton could be on the cards?
Jesus Navas
9 of 10
Manchester City pepped up their attack with the expensive captures of Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling in the summer, but Manuel Pellegrini still sees room in his squad for Jesus Navas. It is becoming increasingly unclear as to why.
The Spanish winger certainly has pace, but with a complete lack of goalscoring instinct and often hitting wayward crosses, it isn't clear just what he's supposed to be doing.
Perhaps a move back to Spain would see him recapture his glory days because it is looking increasingly obvious that he won't do that in the Premier League.
Adam Lallana
10 of 10
A player seemingly destined to spend his career on lists such as this, Adam Lallana is finding his role at Liverpool coming under more scrutiny now that the manager who signed him, Brendan Rodgers, has left.
In fairness to the Englishman, his displays under Jurgen Klopp have been largely encouraging, but there is a lack of end product that often frustrates Reds supporters.
Perhaps his somewhat accidental assist for Christian Benteke in the last Premier League match of 2015 at Sunderland is a sign that things are about to change for the stylish midfielder, who remains one of the hardest-working players in the Liverpool squad.
