The Premier League is flooded with stars but sometimes it can be hard for players to come into the division and impress.
The astronomical TV revenue has allowed for a spread of talent, from those fighting it out for prizes at the top to those scraping and scrapping their way to earn enough points to escape the dreaded drop. But being flush with cash does not equate to guaranteed success: there are as many flops as there are transfer success stories.
Around Europe, there have been a number of Premier League flops who are now playing regular football and reviving their careers after disappointing spells in England. The Europa League and Europa Conference League can be the perfect platform for players to showcase their ability at clubs that wouldn't be able to compete at the top of the Premier League but do get their chance in Europe.
Nice are the perfect example. The French club signed six either former or current Premier League players in the summer - some of which joined on permanent deals - while others made the switch on loan.
Joe Bryan was amongst the cavalry to make the move to Southern France as he joined on a season-long loan from Fulham and the defender scored his first Nice goal in their 1-1 draw with Partizan Belgrade on Thursday. The ball fell kindly to Bryan inside the box and he coolly slotted the ball into the bottom corner with his weaker right foot - a moment he would've dreamt of after leaving Fulham.
He was joined by Kasper Schmeichel, Mario Lemina and ex-Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe in the starting XI, with Ross Barkley and Aaron Ramsey not in the squad. But it was Bryan who stole the show as he showcased why Fulham may regret not keeping him despite signing Laywin Kurzawa from Paris Saint-Germain on deadline day.
In the same game, former Leicester City winger Fousseni Diabate produced a bit of magic to level the scorelines - beating ex-teammate Schmeichel in the meantime. Diabate jinked inside onto his left foot inside the area before curling the ball into the top corner - a strike of pure quality as he scored his fourth European goal of the season.
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Meanwhile, Alexander Sorloth scored the winner for Real Sociedad in their Europa League win over Omonia Nicosia. The ex-Crystal Palace frontman struck the all-important goal in the 80th minute after Bruno Felipe had equalised for the Cypriot side. It was his first of the campaign, having joined on loan from RB Leipzig.
At the time, Alireza Jahanbakhsh became Brighton's club record signing after joining from AZ Alkmaar. However, the Iranian struggled to adapt to English football despite scoring one of the most remarkable Premier League overhead kicks against Chelsea on New Year's Day 2020. Now at Feyenoord, the 29-year-old struck twice in their 6-0 win over Sturm Graz on Thursday - his first two goals of the season.
Steven Gerrard decided to freshen up his Aston Villa squad in the summer and allowed four wingers to depart - two of which went on loan while the other duo were sold permanently. One of the players that left for good was Trezequet as he joined Super Lig side Trabzonspor. The Egyptian scored some crucial goals for Villa, especially when they stayed in the division back in 2020, but didn't make the grade under Gerrard.
However, he scored his first goal for the club in their 2-1 win over Red Star Belgrade on Thursday, with Trezeguet netting in the 68th minute. This was a similar theme for another ex-Villa man, with Bertrand Traore striking late for Istanbul Basaksehir as they continued their impressive start with a 3-0 success against Fiorentina. Traore left Villa Park on loan in the summer to get some much-needed game time.
Enner Valencia. Rememeber him? The Colombian joined West Ham with a big reputation having banged in the goals for Pachuca in the Mexican top-flight, however, he never really got going in England. Having scored just 11 times in 75 Premier League matches for the Hammers and Everton, Valencia decided to return to the Liga MX in 2017.
He re-found his scoring boots at Tigres, before securing a move to Fenerbahce in 2020. Valencia has begun the season on fire and netted his seventh of the campaign to secure a last-gasp 2-2 draw with Rennes.
