Most players will be looking forward to the Premier League restart but some will be itching to get out there more than others.
The 2019/20 season’s sudden stop came at a good time for those who should have performed better.
It will have given footballers time to get fit, get used to tactics, or even just give themselves a rest mentally.
But the return to action gives them a second chance at saving their season, with most clubs in the division still having nine games to play.
talkSPORT.com has picked out NINE Premier League players who will have a point to prove after the restart.
Che Adams (Southampton)
Premier League appearances: 22, goals: 0 – it’s been an utterly forgettable season for the Southampton striker so far.
Having joined from Championship club Birmingham for £15million there were high hopes that Adams would provide some much-needed goals to Saints.
Danny Ings’ excellent form has been one reason why Adams has not played as much as he would have liked – he’s only started eight league matches this term.
But momentum is a wonderful thing in football and it could switch in Adams’ favour after the three-month hiatus.
Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea)
The Blues seem to be running out of patience for their record signing, who was benched in four of their last five league matches before coronavirus halted football.
Kepa is still technically Chelsea’s No.1 but there have been numerous reports suggesting manager Frank Lampard is looking to sign a new goalkeeper, including Dean Henderson or even World Cup winner Manuel Neuer.
However, lots of clubs will have to be more careful with their spending this summer so this and nine more league matches gives Kepa a chance to win back the trust of the club and fans.
Rob Holding (Arsenal)
Reports last week suggest there’s going to be a massive summer clearout at Arsenal, with a number of their defenders expected to leave.
David Luiz, Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos have all been linked with an exit, while a cryptic Instagram post by Holding suggests he could be shown the door too.
A cruciate ligament rupture came at an awful time for Holding as he was in decent form last season and the long recovery has seen him only make two league appearances this term.
The restart is likely to spell last chance saloon for him at Arsenal if he’s fit enough to play.
Joelinton (Newcastle United)
When Newcastle claimed a surprise victory at Tottenham all the way back in August, it looked like they’d found a truly top striker in Joelinton, who scored the only goal of the game.
He bossed the Spurs defence about but has been a shadow of the player he was that Sunday afternoon for the rest of the season.
It’s his only Premier League goal to date and the Brazilian cuts a figure totally bereft of confidence, with Magpies boss Steve Bruce calling on the player to ‘do the basics better’.
A long stoppage to the season could be the ideal medicine for Joelinton as he looks to rediscover his touch in front of goal.
Moise Kean (Everton)
The signing of Italy striker Kean was a massive coup for the Toffees last summer but all we’ve seen from him in England is evidence of why Juventus were happy to let him go.
He rather bizarrely set himself a target of scoring seven goals in 2019/20 but is still six strikes away from reaching that unambitious total, scoring just once in 22 Premier League appearances.
The likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison, who are comfortably Everton’s top scorers this season with 15 and 12 strikes respectively, have been preferred to Kean up front.
The Italian even hit the headlines for in April for a breach of lockdown rules where he filmed himself partying with friends so will have to prove himself that he has the correct personality to take the Toffees forward.
Naby Keita (Liverpool)
Things have gone swimmingly for the Reds in the Premier League and most of the squad can give themselves a huge pat on the back when they seal the title.
Takumi Minamino has been pretty anonymous since moving signing in December but one player who will be desperate for a good end to the season is Keita, who can’t get a run of games without either a bad performance or an injury in it.
The latter has primarily stunted his progress since he made his first Reds appearance last season and there’s a risk the club may lose patience with him.
Keita shone during an 11 v 11 game between the Liverpool players at Anfield and he must carry on that form between now and the end of the season to prepare for what will be a crucial 2020/21 campaign for him.
Tanguy Ndombele (Tottenham)
Arguably the worst signing in the Premier League last summer, Ndombele really has to pull his socks up when the season restarts.
Tottenham’s record signing is adapting to a new league but hasn’t helped himself with a lack of effort on the pitch, which reached a real low point during Spurs’ last league match, a draw at Burnley.
Jose Mourinho publicly criticised the player after the match while Jamie Carragher labelled Ndombele’s performance at Turf Moor as ‘disgraceful’.
His season surely can’t get any worse.
Jordan Pickford (Everton)
His heroics for England at the 2018 World Cup must feel like a lifetime ago and now there’s a danger Pickford could lose his No.1 jersey for the national side.
This is chiefly due to the errors he’s made in an Everton shirt this season, with the likes of Gary Neville even criticising his attitude.
‘Everybody hates me’ was Pickford’s response to this criticism so it’s clear his mindset was not in a good way before the season was halted.
He’s had plenty of time to gather his thoughts and the restart could see a calmer Pickford between the sticks which should help the Toffees.
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
There’s no doubting he is a great player but the Old Trafford faithful were expecting to see more from him when the club forked out £89m to re-sign him in 2016.
It’s been a frustrating season personally for the midfielder, who’s made just seven appearances in the league having been dogged by injury throughout 2019/20. United will be desperate for Pogba to stay fit as they look to finish in the Champions League spots.
Meanwhile, if the many rumours suggesting Pogba wants a move to either Real Madrid or Juventus are true, Pogba will want to have a good final part of the season to prove he’s ready to sign for them this summer.
