“Premier League players who will not return to play in 2025-26.”

The 2024-25 season of the Premier League is far from over, with fierce battles taking place in both the league and the Champions League. However, for some players, their fate is already sealed: the rest of the season is over for them, thanks to monumental disasters in the FA Cup that have left them out of their coaches’ plans until 2025-26. Let’s unveil the five names who, after a bleak journey in the FA Cup, will not step onto the pitch in the coming months.

We begin with an emblematic case from Arsenal: Kepa Arrizabalaga. The Spanish goalkeeper, whose career has been a rollercoaster, saw his situation become even more complicated following disastrous performances at Wembley and in the match against Southampton at St Mary’s. Despite being a luxury signing for Arsenal, Kepa has failed to convince Mikel Arteta, who prefers to continue with David Raya in goal for the rest of the season. Even though he was decisive in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, Kepa will not play again until September, when he may be called upon for the third round of the Carabao Cup. A cruel fate for a player who, in the 2023/24 season, spent a loan period at Real Madrid, but is now relegated to mere backup.

Another young player at Arsenal facing an uncertain future is Myles Lewis-Skelly. Despite the usual challenges of a teenager adapting to top-level football, his playing time has been virtually non-existent, with only one minute played in the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen. Mikel Arteta has opted for a three-defender line reminiscent of Tony Pulis, which further marginalizes a player who is learning to play as a left-back. Lewis-Skelly has already accumulated ten appearances in the Premier League as an unused substitute, a clear indication that his immediate future does not involve a starting role.

At West Ham, the situation is even more dramatic with two players who seem destined to vanish from the radar until next season. Max Kilman, who arrived for £40 million in one of the worst signings in the recent history of the Hammers, has seen his confidence completely shattered following a serious mistake that cost a penalty in the elimination against Leeds in the FA Cup. With only 25 minutes played in the Premier League since January and being booed by his own fans, Kilman is a dead weight in Nuno Espírito Santo’s squad, which is unlikely to rely on him again until the end of the season.

Freddie Potts, also of West Ham, is experiencing a nightmare in his first serious season with the first team. After some promising performances at the start of the campaign, the 22-year-old has been consistently substituted at halftime, received a straight red card against League One’s Burton Albion, and had a disastrous display against Leeds. Despite being a product of the academy, Potts is far from salvaging his reputation in a team that is going through a deep crisis, where numerous other players also share the blame for the poor form.

Finally, at Liverpool, the humiliating defeat against Manchester City in the FA Cup has implications for some of the most expensive and experienced players in the squad. Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk, key figures for Liverpool, seem immune to punishment as they are pillars of the club, but Federico Chiesa may be the main casualty. The Italian winger, who has struggled to justify the investment made in him, could see his playing time drastically reduced, being the chosen target to pay for the early elimination in a competition where Liverpool aspired to win another trophy.

These five players are the clearest example of how a poor performance in a key competition can dictate the premature end of the season for some athletes. While teams continue to fight for titles and survival, these figures will be on the sidelines, watching from afar and preparing for a return that will only happen next season. The brutality of modern football does not forgive mistakes, and the 2024/25 FA Cup will forever be marked as the turning point in the careers of these five promising players and veterans in free fall.

This article first appeared on Apito Final.