New signings along with cup competitions from around Europe have given us a nice mix of fresh releases, custom colourways and throwback specials in a week that's heavily dominated by Nike. It's Monday, it's Boot Spotting. Let's get this thing going...
Gonzalo Higuain (Chelsea) Nike PhantomVNM
New club, new boot. With his long mooted move to Chelsea finally complete, Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain opted for a completely fresh start, changing his Hypervenom Phantom III for the newly released Phantom VNM, as seen in his debut as Chelsea beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 in the FA Cup.
Keiren Westwood (Sheffield Wednesday) Nike Tiempo Legend VI iD
That fourth-round match also saw Wednesday's goalkeeper Keiren Westwood turn out in a sharp pair of black and white customised Tiempos. Clean aesthetics all over, one of the smarter but more simple efforts on show at the weekend.
Kyle Walker (Manchester City ) Nike Mercurial Vapor XII iD
Also hitting the Nike personalisation game for a bespoke design was Manchester City's right back, Kyle Walker. Walker opted for an all-white look for his Mercurial Vapor XII boots in training, however he was back in his regular 'Always Forward' colourway as City mauled Burnley 5-0 to progress in the FA Cup.
Michail Antonio (West Ham) Umbro Velocita IV
Breaking the hold that Nike have on this week's boot spotting proceedings, we have Michail Antonio in the latest colourway for the Umbro Velocita IV. West Ham had a shocker, crashing out of the FA Cup against bottom-of-the-third-tier-of-English-football, AFC Wimbledon 4-2. Ouch. Still, boots looked good on pitch...
Isco (Real Madrid) Nike Mercurial Vapor IX
Moving away from the FA Cup and over to Spain, and during the Copa del Rey match between Real Madrid and Girona at the Santiago Bernabeu, attacking midfielder Isco pulled out a pair of Mercurial Vapor IX from 2013. Los Blancos went on to win the match, taking a 4-2 lead in this first-leg clash.
Pawel Jaroszyński (Chievo Verona) Nike Tiempo Legend VII
Giving us a sneak peek ahead of the official launch, Chievo Verona's right back, Pawel Jaroszyński wore the Tiempo Legend VII from the 'Game Over' pack as his side narrowly lost out to Fiorentina 3-4. You can see why he jumped the gun with these; the yellow trim of the boots working perfectly with his kit.
Denis Suarez (Barcelona) Nike T90 Laser III
From a brand new Nike boot to a classic. We'll always take our hat off to players who rock up to training in throwbacks, and this week saw just such an occasion as Barcelona's Denis Suarez turned up in a pair of T90 Laser III boots from 2009. Sadly he didn't stick with them beyond training, but we thank him for sending us into daydreams of Wayne Rooney volleying the living daylights out of a football.
Max Gradel (Toulouse) Nike Mercurial Vapor III
And thank you Max Gradel. The Ivorian forward went one better than Denis Suarez by actually wearing some Mercurial Vapor III boots in his side's cup match against Stade de Reims. The Vapor III landed waaaay back in 2006 but still looked fantastic on pitch. But Gradel didn't stop there...
MaxGradel (Toulouse) Nike Mercurial Vapor III
In his following match against Angers, the Toulouse forward changed things up by wearing a different colourway of the Vapor III. He must have a secret stash of them somewhere. Lock 'em up pal, they're precious.
Jimmy Durmaz (Toulouse) Nike Mercurial Superfly GS360
Swedish winger Jimmy Durmaz laced up in last year's coveted black and white Mercurial Superfly GS360. The appearance of such stunning limited edition boots wasn't quite enough to earn a win for Toulouse though. In fact, they were the highlight in an otherwise uneventful 0-0 draw.
Shamal George (Liverpool) Nike Hypervenom Phantom DF II
As a youngster on the books of one of the biggest clubs in the world, you want to make an impression. Shamal George decided that the way to do this was to pull on the Euro 2016 Hypervenom Phantom III. They look like they've seen better days Shamal. Time for an upgrade?
