Author: Joe Soriano

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.

Premier League Power Rankings: Every Big 6 defense from worst to first in 2025/26
29Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Premier League Power Rankings: Every Big 6 defense from worst to first in 2025/26

I'm not sure how much the American football saying "defense wins championships" holds true in world football, but it seems pretty appropriate when you look at the difference between teams that were and were not successful in the title races last season. For example, Napoli won Serie A against the odds over one of the best striker tandems in European football in Inter Milan with only Romelu Lukaku as a true standout forward. And they did so because they were so organized defensively and structurally under Antonio Conte. In the Premier League, Manchester City fell out of the Premier League title race entirely because their defense was no longer a stalwart engine, as they clearly suffered from Rodri's torn ACL. Liverpool and Arsenal, meanwhile, had the best defenses in the league. So...
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Premier League Power Rankings: The 10 best U21 players for the 2025/26 season
27Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Premier League Power Rankings: The 10 best U21 players for the 2025/26 season

Even though it's been just two games, the 2025/26 Premier League campaign is already giving us the impression that this is going to be a season written by the young stars of the league. And I'm not just talking about players who are indeed young but are already established Premier League superstars like Erling Haaland, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, Martin Odegaard, and now Florian Wirtz. No, I'm talking about players who haven't even turned 21 years old yet or are just teenagers, already scoring decisive goals and shining for some of the Premier League's biggest clubs. So with the 2025/26 Premier League campaign now fully under way, let's preview the youngsters who could have a big say on the final table, ranking the top 10 U21 players in English football right now. 10. Arsenal LB My...
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Champions League Power Rankings: The 5 most likely first-time winners
24Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Champions League Power Rankings: The 5 most likely first-time winners

The usual suspects are the favorites to win the 2025/26 Champions League, with reigning champions PSG joining the holy trinity of Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Real Madrid, as well as last year's Premier League winners Liverpool, as the top five favorites to conquer European football this season. However, what's just as interesting is talking about which teams could break through and win their first Champions League title in history. And not all of those teams are underdogs, as sides like Atletico Madrid that have been regulars or Premier League title contenders Arsenal are also among the list of teams still seeking their first taste of the very summit of European football. Perhaps the 2025/26 Champions League season will be the one that gets one of these historic clubs off the schne...
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Ranking the 5 best teenagers in European football for the 2025/26 season
19Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Ranking the 5 best teenagers in European football for the 2025/26 season

It's not easy to step right in and be a star in one of the top five leagues in European football before you've turned the age of 23, let alone before turning the age of 21...or 20, for that matter. Lamine Yamal's success at Barcelona may be leading some to unrealistic expectations of what young players can do, because the 18-year-old's success in his first two seasons as a full-time starter - and Barca's most crucial player on a team filled with stars - has been nothing short of extraordinary. Not even the two GOATs, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, were playing at this level before they even became legal adults. But for the most part, the wider world of football fans understand both how special Yamal is and how difficult it is for anyone to even start at the highest levels of Eur...
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Ranking the 5 best Manchester United players for the 2025/26 season
16Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Ranking the 5 best Manchester United players for the 2025/26 season

As Manchester United prepare for the start of the 2025/26 season and their opener against Premier League title contenders Arsenal, there's a lot of optimism in the air regarding their future. That's a sudden change from where they were at a few months ago, but Manchester United actually went out and signed proven attackers who can bring goals and bags of quality, rather than overspending on gambles without established goal-scoring track records, namely Serie A youngsters Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund (the latter of whom is likely headed back to Italy this summer. These players - Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha, and Bryan Mbeumo - are immediately among Manchester United's best players, but where exactly do they rank on the list? Are they immediately in the top three, are they all...
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Ranking the 10 best left-footed players in the Premier League for 2025/26 season
14Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Ranking the 10 best left-footed players in the Premier League for 2025/26 season

There's just something extra special about a left-footed footballer who can dazzle on the ball, and whether it's Lionel Messi or Diego Maradona, some of the world's most legendary and captivating players of all time have been left-footed wizards. In 2025/26, the Premier League boasts an enviable collection of left-footed stars, both in terms of well-established legends of the league, as well as young superstars with Ballon d'Or potential. There are even defenders who are a class above the rest on the ball with their left feet. So in honor of the southpaws, let's rank the top 10 left-footed players in the Premier League heading into the 2025/26 season. 10. Tottenham CB Micky van de Ven We begin with a center back because defenders are important, too. And Europa League-winning Totten...
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The 10 best young Bundesliga players to watch in the 2025/26 season
13Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

The 10 best young Bundesliga players to watch in the 2025/26 season

Perhaps no league in world football has a bigger reputation for building top young talents than the Bundesliga, and that's because clubs like Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Monchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt, RB Leipzig, and, of course, Borussia Dortmund have made it a regular habit of signing and developing young players into superstars. But even the most historic and successful club in the German top flight, Bayern Munich, has produced more than its fair share of homegrown elite players, including five-time Champions League winning center midfielder Toni Kroos. The Bundesliga is almost like a factory for talent to the other big leagues in Europe, especially the Premier League, and Liverpool alone spent well over 200 million euros this summer on two of the biggest German league talent...
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The top 10 Premier League transfers under £25M in the 2025 summer window
10Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

The top 10 Premier League transfers under £25M in the 2025 summer window

Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, and all the other top clubs in the Premier League have made major headlines this summer transfer window by splashing serious cash on big names like Florian Wirtz, Bryan Mbeumo, Viktor Gyokeres, and Joao Pedro this summer transfer window. But there were so many other quality signings made in this window so far that could go a long way in shaping relegation battles, the fights for the Conference League, and perhaps even the battles in the top five, including the Premier League title race. So in the spirit of the moves that didn't get quite the same press, let's break down the best 10 transfers of the 2025 summer window that cost teams under 25 million pounds. And because free transfers are too obvious, let's only look at the moves that ca...
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Ranking the 5 Best Striker Transfers of the 2025 Premier League Summer Window So Far
9Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Ranking the 5 Best Striker Transfers of the 2025 Premier League Summer Window So Far

Pretty much every top club in the Premier League was after a new No. 9 this summer, as there's been a clear gap in the quality at the striker position in the English top flight - and in world football as a whole - when comparing the names of today to the strikers gracing the pitch 10-20 years ago. So Premier League sides were busy trying to snag new strikers in the summer 2025 transfer window, and there were plenty of splashes to be made around the top (and a certain team in the bottom) half of the table. Here are the five best striker transfers of the summer 2025 window thus far. 5. Liam Delap to Chelsea Ipswich Town were a predictable disaster last season and totally overmatched for the Premier League, but they did have a couple of young gems, including Liam Delap at striker. ...
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Top 10 Young Wingers in the Premier League 2025/26: Future Stars to Watch This Season
8Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Top 10 Young Wingers in the Premier League 2025/26: Future Stars to Watch This Season

The 2025/26 Premier League season is set to showcase a new wave of electric young wingers ready to take over English football. From explosive dribblers to versatile goal threats, these wide players aren’t just promising; they’re already impacting the biggest games. In an era dominated by pace, creativity, and tactical flexibility, the league is stacked with under-23 talent destined for superstardom. Whether it’s Manchester City’s next breakout star or a Brighton gem flying under the radar, this list ranks the top 10 young wingers in the Premier League to watch in 2025/26. Expect future Ballon d’Or contenders in here. 10. Wilson Odobert, Tottenham Tottenham invested 25 million pounds in Wilson Odobert from Burnley last summer, and while the highly talented Frenchman has yet to break ou...
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