Eleven random players brought in from the cold by panicking Premier League clubs during Twixmas

The packed schedule over the festive period calls for creative solutions, like asking Christian Eriksen to face a Joelinton-Guimaraes-Tonali midfield.

It feels like a uniquely Twixmas thing to make up the numbers with fringe squad players and the games between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve did not disappoint. Here are the most random called up to feature having barely done so all season.

James Hill
Andoni Iraola suggested back in March that Hill would be “valuable” to Bournemouth, but only recently has it really been possible to properly measure his worth to the Cherries.

A £1m signing from Fleetwood in January 2022, versatile defender Hill had loans with Hearts and Blackburn before making his Premier League debut two years later. Since a chastening first top-flight start in a comprehensive win for Liverpool in the same month, only the latest of substitute cameos were made available for a player on the periphery.

But with Iraola’s squad stretched – their bench against Fulham contained the most Bournemouth names possible in Max Aarons, Will Dennis, Mark Travers, Archie Harris and Max Kinsey – the honour of replacing Adam Smith was bestowed upon 22-year-old Hill.

The opportunity was maximised with a delightful assist for Evanilson, although Antonee Robinson did do Antonee Robinson things down his flank for one of Fulham’s goals.

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Ben Winterburn
Another member of that brilliantly Bournemouth bench. The midfielder turned 20 in September, only made his first Premier League matchday squad on November 30 and spent last season in the sixth tier’s mid-table with Weymouth. His father might also be called Nigel. No idea.

Willy Boly
Not nearly as random a name but perhaps as unexpected an appearance. Boly started for Forest on the opening weekend played only two of their subsequent 17 Premier League games, both as a substitute in stoppage-time to shore up the defence in single-goal wins.

There was no realistic hope of Boly breaking the Milenkovic-Murillo partnership himself and even when the latter was withdrawn from the starting line-up against Everton with an injury in the warm-up, Ramon Sosa was promoted into the side instead.

Boly replaced the Paraguayan in the 69th minute, was immediately booked for time-wasting, helped consolidate a two-goal lead and increased his chances of being eligible for a Premier League winner’s medal by the end of the season in the process.

Ramon Sosa
“He has to work really hard to get in the team,” said Nuno Espirito Santo upon the £11m signing of an obviously talented but inexperienced winger. Sosa was given a start in the Carabao defeat to Newcastle but was otherwise a perennial Premier League substitute, making his first 11 appearances in the competition from the bench.

There is little doubt Sosa worked hard but his big break came with the injury to Murillo and Nuno’s pre-match switch in formation. The 25-year-old should have repaid that faith with a goal in the first half but contributed plenty to the Everton win.

Sergio Reguilon
Back in October, Ange Postecoglou explained that “we need 20 players for training” when Spurs supporters were stunned to spot Reguilon during a session before a Europa League game, a competition for which he is not eligible having not been named in their squad.

By November, he had been fully ostracised by Postecoglou and was reportedly planning to terminate a contract which is due to expire at the end of the season.

Before the turn of the year, the incredible Spurs injury epidemic of 2024 reached the point where Reguilon was forced to make his first appearance for Spurs in the Premier League since April 2022, facing Matt Doherty in a situation seemingly designed to give Antonio Conte as many anger-inducing flashbacks as that late Wolves goal.

James McAtee
There was not a great deal for Manchester City to cling to in their second win since October 26 but even just a decent cameo from McAtee showed the power of fresh ideas and relatively new faces when things have gone awfully stale.

McAtee’s first five Premier League appearances for Manchester City totalled 21 minutes; his sixth came to 24 and was genuinely crucial in finally putting Leicester down at the King Power.

It won’t have been enough to dissuade Pep Guardiola from pushing for the January recruitment drive he feels necessary to rescue this season, but McAtee cannot be accused of wasting his chance.

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Armando Broja
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has his critics but there can be fingers pointed at a one-striker system which succeeds in specifically stifling that one striker.

He has started 16 of a possible 18 Premier League games this season; Beto and Broja were given the nod in the others, a 4-0 defeat to Manchester United and 2-0 reverse against Nottingham Forest respectively, in which Calvert-Lewin was brought on in either the 67th or 68th minute.

There aren’t many tougher tasks than leading a solitary line against this Forest defence, not least as a 23-year-old who has suffered from a long-term injury and substantial recent upheaval at club level. Three off-target shots and three fouls almost certainly equal an imminent Calvert-Lewin recall.

Luis Guilherme
Nothing quite says ‘back in from the cold’ like a nine-minute cameo at 4-0 down to the runaway league leaders. It might not sound impressive but that was Guilherme’s longest West Ham appearance since joining in the summer.

Someone needs a chat with their agent; he has been one of the worst signings of the season so far.

Joao Felix
It always felt like a bizarre signing which likely would never have gone through if the Conor Gallagher to Atletico pole did not need greasing, and the majority of Felix’s game time coming in the Europa Conference and Carabao Cup bears that out.

Enzo Maresca did hand down a third Premier League start of the season to the Portuguese against Ipswich, but did also remove Felix before anyone else in the 55th minute when unsuccessfully trying to figure out how to crack the code.

Jakub Moder
Not seen in a Brighton shirt since being given a combined four minutes against Liverpool and Manchester City in early November, Moder had just as long to make his presence known against Aston Villa.

The Poland international, to his credit, created a couple of chances and made a tackle despite barely being given a chance to find his feet. His manager is too busy getting habitually booked to focus on giving his fringe players opportunities.

Christian Eriksen
It felt like Ruben Amorim had something about him. Then he looked at a Newcastle midfield of Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali, and decided that the energy, legs and aggression of *checks notes* Casemiro and Christian Eriksen was what Manchester United needed.

That was Eriksen’s first Premier League start since Amorim’s dugout debut against Ipswich. It was also ever so surely his last because good lord that was bad.