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Football

08th Aug 2017

Paul Merson brands Irish player as “one of the signings of the season”

For once, you'll agree with Merson

Darragh Culhane

Merson

What an endorsement.

The Premier League is kicking off this weekend and with that it is time for predictions of how every team will do.

Paul Merson was up to the task for Sky Sports and has said that Manchester City are going to win the league this season.

His reasoning is that the players that were brought in, in particular, the defensive signings of Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy and Danilo could be the platform for success.

This is followed by Chelsea in second place, Tottenham in third, Manchester United in fourth, Liverpool in fifth and Arsenal sixth place.

Down further the former Arsenal player ranked Burnley a lowly 16th but was full of praise for one Irish player in particular.

Merson

“Jonathan Walters, for me, is one of the signings of the season so far. For £3m, in this day and age, it’s the price of a cup of tea. You couldn’t buy a Championship player for £3m,” Merson said.

“You’ve got a player that buys into Burnley, a hard-working team, gives his all and will never moan. If you tell Jon what to do, he’ll do it, and he’ll chip in with the odd goal in big games too.”

Burnley seems to be the new home for Irish internationals with Walters joining Jeff Hendrick, Robbie Brady, Stephen Ward and Kevin Long at the club.