The start of a new season for footballers is just like the start of a new year for common folk; time to set new goals, break new ground and attain new heights.
But every year, some players come into a new season with a make or break mentality. More often than not these players are coming off a poor campaign last time out, or making up for lost time due to injury, or even trying to justify massive transfer fees.
Below are five players who with something to prove in the 2016/17 football season:
3Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich)
For about four years Gotze was the darling of the German media, a midfield maverick capable of playing anywhere behind the striker, and even as a false 9.
But his move to Bayern Munich hasn’t gone as planned and he made only 114 appearances in all competitions for the German giants spanning across three seasons.
Although his name is permanently etched in history as the man who won the 2014 World Cup, he has suffered the ignominy of being told that his services are not needed by both the coach and the chairman of Bayern Munich.
A move back to Dortmund looks likely, and he will be looking to rekindle his career under the tutelage of Simon Tuchel.
Why do people keep repeating the lie that Depay had a good start to his United career?
He had a terrible debut against Spurs, then was just as bad at Villa, then had a pretty good game against FC Bruges and then quickly went back to being poor once United started playing decent teams in the Premier League again.
Depay can obviously perform well at a certain level but that level clearly isn’t the Premier League, so he needs to leave ASAP.
There is absolutely no point in him staying at United because he isn’t going to go from the worst player in the PL to one of the best and he isn’t even going to come on as a sub once Jose realises how bad he is!