What if the Premier League had an all-star game?

Romelu Lukaku has had a banger of an idea

Ever hoped the so-called 'best league in the world' would copy other sports and chuck together its best players together for a once-a-season showcase? Romelu Lukaku has...

Big Rom's plan to create an exhibition game between the Premier League's best players to determine bragging rights of the country's perennial north-versus-south struggle sounds pretty fun.

Granted there is nothing to be gained here but our entertainment, and the idea is popular in other sports and leagues around the world, with American sports in particular loving a star-studded showdown.

It's not the first time football has flirted with the idea. Check out this amazing Europe v Rest of the World game in Marseille in 1997 before the France '98 World Cup draw. No surprise to see the original Ronaldo and Gabriel Batistuta ripping it up for fun.

Whilst some fans might squeal at the sight of seeing Manchester United and Liverpool or Arsenal and Spurs stars side-by-side, surely the chance to put the whole north-south rivalry to bed once a year would be well worth it.

(Before you start, I know about the Midlands. I'm from Wolverhampton.)

A Premier League all-star game could be epic, but how might it work? We’ve taken a look at different sports from around the world for inspiration.

North America's big basketball league has been hosting all-star exhibition games since 1951 - usually with stars selected to play for NBA's two conferences, the East and West. A bit like Lukaku's north-south split. 

However, the 2018 edition got a revamp - making it more reminiscent of how PE teams are selected in school.

This time, two team captains were selected by a vote, who then took turns in selecting their teams. This year LeBron James and Steph Curry were the ones picking.

Unfortunately the draft wasn't televised, probably to spare the blushes of those players who got picked last - for example Cleveland's Kevin Love thought he might have been last to be chosen.

Imagine Harry Kane and Paul Pogba doing the same. Dance partners and selfie-crazed players would probably get first pick for Pogba’s squad, whereas Kane might opt for a team of playmakers to help him pile up front and score the goals.

How does it work?

The NFL’s version of an all-star game is called the Pro Bowl and normally takes place the weekend before the Super Bowl somewhere nice and sunny - this year it was in Orlando, Florida. It chucked it down.

It's part-exhibition match, part-game show, external, but getting selected to go is a pretty big deal.

Minus a brief dalliance with other formats, most of the time the teams are picked based on the NFL's two conferences - the NFC and AFC.

Players, managers and coaches all get to vote on who goes - which means you have to be universally respected to get a chance to play. You'll often hear players referred to as a three, four or five-time Pro Bowler - which means they're pretty good.

Opening a Premier League all-star game up to a public vote would mean players who’ve tried to force through transfer moves, like Riyad Mahrez for example, might not pile up the votes from managers, so it would provide a good incentive for players to stay on their best behaviour throughout the season to secure a place in the all-star game.

It would also allow us fans to build our own real life fantasy football squads. Finally we could put all those hours spent on a well-known football management simulator to good use. The late nights spent mulling over nail-biting, deadline-cusping fantasy football transfers would not have been in vain. 

Forget a one-off game. Why not go the whole hog and make an all-star competition.

The Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket competition offers teams the chance to buy the world's biggest stars, with the players being auctioned off to the highest bidder before the start of the season.

The football equivalent of this would Roman Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour going at it in an auction house, bidding for Harry Kane's services. The best episode of Bargain Hunt imaginable.

The IPL format also follows a system where the players have the power to set their base price to make sure they’re not sold on the cheap, which makes for an interesting are they-aren’t they worth it? scenario for the captains.

Actually, it all sounds remarkably like the Premier League already.

The best players from the Northern teams against the best players from the Southern teams. If you could select the squads, who do you think would come out on top?

Consider the likes of Hazard and Kane partnering up to go against a team featuring Salah and Aguero and the results are too mouth-watering to comprehend.

That’s why we’re leaving the decision down to you.

The North team would be built of players from Man City, Man United, Liverpool, Burnley, Everton, Huddersfield, Newcastle, as well as Leicester, West Brom and Stoke, helping even out the numbers.

The South team on the other hand, would feature players from Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal, Watford, West Ham, Swansea, Brighton and Hove Albion, Southampton, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace.

Choose wisely.