An XI of Big Six players who need to move to a smaller club this summer

Sitting on the bench for teams like Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United doesn’t mean a player is bad. It just means there is an unbelievable amount of competition for places.

Some fantastic talent is hidden from view merely by virtue of the even more fantastic talent that is preferred by those big clubs’ managers. We think that’s sad. What we want is to see those bench warmers become terrace heroes slightly further down the football food chain.

So here, we’ve pulled together an XI of Big Six players, lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, who we’d love to see take a step down to a non-Big Six club for more game time and a shot at immortality.

Remember those heady pre-pandemic days when Henderson was flying high with Sheffield United in the Premier League, marking himself out as Manchester United and England’s future No.1? Seems a long time ago now.

Two seasons warming the bench at Old Trafford while David De Gea has re-found his best form have put paid to the idea that Henderson might supersede Jordan Pickford as England’s first-choice ‘keeper.

In fact, they’ve done for his England hopes entirely as Aaron Ramsdale, Nick Pope, Fraser Forster and Sam Johnstone have made the squad ahead of him this season.

You know, we know, he knows and Manchester United know: it’s time for Henderson to move on and get the minutes he needs to become a top goalie.

Newcastle have been frequently mentioned in the same sentence as the 25-year-old and given their newfound oil wealth, it would make some sense.

To watch Wan-Bissaka play in 2021-22 was to watch a forlorn shadow of the defender Manchester United signed in 2019.

He looked bereft of confidence, not helped by the lack of protection from the United