Ryan Nyambe

Nyambe's biggest asset is not raw pace or a single standout position. It is the trust managers place in him to slot into whichever defensive role a game plan needs that week. He grew up admiring Rio Ferdinand and defends with a similar unhurried quality, stepping across attackers early rather than lunging into rushed last ditch challenges, a harder habit to build than it looks from the stands. That range has kept him a regular pick despite never settling into one role.

Serious injuries, including bad knee damage, have interrupted him more than once. That is the real tension with a defender whose value rests on staying fit across several positions at once. Once fully recovered, the question becomes whether a versatile defender like this ever gets to master one position properly, or whether he is simply too useful everywhere to be left in just one place.