Premier League fans have lamented the down turn in individual quality and wing play this season, and these five players have fed into that narrative with horrendous 2025/26 seasons.
Kaoru Mitoma, Brighton
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Remember when Kaoru Mitoma was the Khvicha Kvaratskhelia of the Premier League? The Japanese international was not but a sensation a couple of years ago, and now he is an absolute ghost for Brighton who can barely pose a threat to the opposition keeper. He was getting links to Barcelona, for goodness sakes, and now he is nowhere near a top five player on his own team.
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool
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Obviously, the biggest flop among the Premier League wingers is Mohamed Salah, who went from being the best player in the league during the 2024/25 season to being a liability for Liverpool. And yes, Salah has been a liability. He is constraining the attack with his inability to beat his man, as he has looked slower and more ineffective in one on ones than any other Premier League winger. Hear that? That’s the sound of the Saudi Pro League calling.
Anthony Elanga, Newcastle
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The flop of the summer transfer window, Anthony Elanga should be getting 10 times the criticism that Nick Woltemade is. There is a serious case to be made taht Elanga has been the worst forward in the Premier League this season, and he looks like a gigantic waste of money on the Magpies part. He has done literally nothing well.
Pedro Neto, Chelsea
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Out of the five players on this list, Pedro Neto has been the best of the bunch, though Cody Gakpo may make a claim on counting stats alone, but any Chelsea fan watching the games knows that the numbers only flatter Neto. And that is because he tries to demand so much of the ball that he does not deserve. Neto is a wasteful, mediocre with main character syndrome this season who should be stat padding at a mid table club.
Cody Gakpo, Liverpool
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While Cody Gakpo is a good finisher and passer of the ball who can play as an inverted playmaker, he is just too slow for the top level of the Premier League as a weekly starter. The drop off between him and Luis Diaz is massive, and Bayern Munich can certainly thank [Liverpool](https://walkon.com/) for this mistake. You have to wonder if Salah’s numbers would look better if the Reds had a more dynamic and positive actual winger on the left rather than the plodding Gakpo.
Joe Soriano is the editor of _The Trivela Effect_ and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like _The Real Champs_ (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage _NFL Spin Zone_ and _Daily DDT,_ covering the NFL and pro wrestling.