Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has suggested the Premier League should have a US-style all star game between North and South clubs.
US tycoon Boehly, co-owner of the LA Dodgers baseball team, says it could raise millions for the football pyramid. Boehly, speaking at the Salt conference in the United States, said: "Ultimately, I hope the Premier League takes a little bit of a lesson out of the American sports teams and really start to think about why don’t we do a tournament with the bottom four teams.
"People are talking about why don’t we have more money for the pyramid? MLB did their all star game this year. They made $200m from a Monday and a Tuesday, you could do a North vs South all-star game from the Premier League to fund the pyramid very easily."
So, with Boehly's idea in mind, here is how the North and South teams could look like if the game was set to take place this weekend based on a mixture of current form and past performances.
North
A first of many difficult decisions starts in goal. Ederson or Alisson? It is an extremely difficult argument that boils down to personal preference, as the stats suggest there isn't much between the pair.
Last season, the Brazilian duo shared the Golden Glove, having kept 20 clean sheets each although Ederson did come out on top with Manchester City winning the Premier League title. And Ederson just pips his compatriot as the goalkeeper for the North side due to his excellent shot-stopping ability and distribution.
In defence, the two centre-backs pick themselves. Although Virgil van Djik hasn't made the most impressive start to the season, he is still renowned as one of the best defenders in the world and can turn it on, on any given day. He would slot straight into the side alongside Ruben Dias, who has been immense since joining City back in 2020.
Meanwhile, deciding the two full-backs is a much harder debate. Joao Cancelo has to be in the team, but the question is whether he starts on the left or the right? The main deciding factor was either Andy Robertson or Trent Alexander-Arnold. Both have struggled for form, but due to Robertson's injury, Alexander-Arnold has made the side with Cancelo starting at left-back.
The midfield is unsurprisingly City dominated, with Rodri and Kevin de Bruyne both in the team. The latter scored a career best 15 Premier League goals last term and has started this campaign in fine fettle, while Rodri, who will act as the sitter in this side, is a midfield general and can dictate the game so easily.
While there are so many options for the other midfield slot, Wolves ' Ruben Neves is going to get the nod due to his passing ability and work off the ball. Bernardo Silva, Fabinho and Bruno Guimaraes were close to making it into the side, but the trio instead make the bench.
Moving to the front three, and this was arguably the easiest set of picks. Mohamed Salah hasn't quite lived up to expectations this season, but with over 30 goals in all competitions last term, the Egyptian has to be in the side. Then City forward Erling Haaland has to be the central striker, having already netted 10 times this campaign, with Phil Foden on the left-wing.
North XI: Ederson; Alexander-Arnold, Van Djik, Dias, Cancelo; Rodri, Neves, De Bruyne; Salah, Haaland, Foden
Subs: Alisson, L. Martinez, Varane, Fabinho, Guimaraes, Maddison, Rashford, Diaz, B. Silva
South
Like the North team, selecting the goalkeeper was extremely difficult. Robert Sanchez has got the nod, however, ahead of Aaron Ramsdale, Eduoard Mendy and Hugo Lloris.
Sanchez has already leapfrogged David de Gea and Kepa Arrizabalaga as Spain's No.2 behind Unai Simon, with the Brighton man expected to become their first-choice within the next couple of years. He has superb distribution, excellent shot-stopping skills and is one of the most in-form keepers in the division at the moment.
Would you make any changes to either side? Let us know in the comments below!
Reece James is arguably the best right-back in world football right now and slots straight into the XI, with Oleksandr Zinchenko on the left. Kieran Tierney was close to pipping the Ukrainian but his fitness issues and lack of regular game time sees the Scot miss out, with Marc Cucurella also putting up a good case to come in.
There is another mass debate when deciding the two centre-backs for the South side. There could be an argument to select the likes of Ben White, William Saliba, Kalidou Koulibaly and Christian Romero, but neither of those four make the XI. Instead, Arsenal's Gabriel and Chelsea stalwart Thiago Silva have made it into the side.
With the back-four all relatively experienced, the midfield three exuberates youth. Brighton's Moises Caicedo has started the season in impeccable form and has already been linked with a move to Arsenal and Manchester United. He has the qualities to act as the sitter, with West Ham star Declan Rice in front as him as the No.8 alongside Martin Odegaard, who would play just further forward.
In attack, the front three has Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal representation. Raheem Sterling, who has scored three times in his opening seven matches for Chelsea, makes it into the side because of his Premier League knowhow and ability to score at any time, while Harry Kane leads the line.
There was a debate to put in Gabriel Jesus or even Aleksandar Mitrovic, but Kane gets the nod with the Tottenham forward in form and arguably the second-best striker in world football behind Haaland. On the left, Gabriel Martinelli takes the position ahead of Heung min-Son. Yes, based on reputation, Son should take the spot, but Martinelli has been sensational this season, while Son has failed to find the net in eight matches so far.
South XI: Sanchez; James, Gabriel, Silva, Zinchenko; Caicedo, Rice, Odegaard; Sterling, Kane, Martinelli
Subs: Lloris, White, Romero, Bentancur, Mount, Son, Saka, Zaha, Jesus
