Diego Costa rescued a dramatic point for Chelsea over Manchester United, Leicester have defied the odds and extended their lead at the top of the Premier League, it was a decent weekend of football for all. But here we are at Monday and Monday only means one thing at The Instep, and that is the weekly boot spotting article. There were plenty of new boots on display from the all new Metal Flash Pack, while we also picked up a few other interesting spots from this weekend’s football action. Check it all out below.

Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) – Nike Mercurial Superfly IV

Alexis Sanchez Arsenal SF IV edited

Adidas certainly dominated the headlines during January with the laceless ACE 16+ PureControl, but now it is time for Nike’s rebuttal, and they have done so with the all new Metal Flash Pack. All the boots in the Metal Flash pack stand out on the pitch, and none more so than the Bright Mango Superfly IV, which is certainly a flashback to the Bright Mango Vapor VIII launch colourway. Alexis Sanchez rocked the boots during Arsenal’s Sunday afternoon win over Bournemouth.

Thiago Silva (PSG) – Nike Tiempo Legend VI

Thiago Silva PSG Tiempo VI edited

Nike released the Tiempo VI in the standard white and black colourways in late 2015, but the Tiempo VI receives it’s first bright colourway in the form of the Light Crimson Tiempo VI. It seems a lot of players made the shift to the new Light Crimson, there was hardly a white or black Tiempo VI to be seen. Thiago Silva was one of those players making the shift to the Tiempo VI, and looking ahead to the Nike catalogue for 2016, it is time to get used to brighter Tiempo VI colourways.

Keylor Navas (Real Madrid) – adidas ACE 16.1 Primeknit

Keylor Navas Real Madrid custom ACE 161 edited

We thought we would see it sooner rather than later, but Keylor Navas is the first player we have seen heavily customising their ACE 16+ boots. We have seen several cases of Nike players customising the Dynamic Fit Collar on their respective Nike boots, and we thought we would see the same with adidas players given the release of the ACE 16+. Keylor Navas has cut off the Primeknit ankle sock, effectively leaving Navas with the standard 16.1 except it has a Primeknit upper as opposed to the CTRL/WEB upper found on the normal 16.1.

Abdelhamid El Kaoutari (Stade de Reims) – Nike Mercurial Superfly IV Leather

Abdelhamid El Kaoutari Stade de Reims tech craft SF IV edited

It should have been so popular in theory: the technology of Nike boots fused with a supple K-Leather upper? Strangely, the professionals did not quite take to the boot, and Abdelhamid El Kaoutari is one of very few players who has taken to the canvas and volt Superfly IV. The second Tech Craft pack was arguably less popular than the first one, as the canvas and volt combination was not quite to everyone’s taste. But we have a feeling the next Tech Craft pack that looks not too dissimilar to the Nike Green Speed II (remember those boots?) will be a surefire winner.

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) – Nike Hypervenom Phinish

Wayne Rooney Man Utd HV Phinish edited

The Hypervenom has returned to an all green boot for the once again since the Green Strike Hypervenom released last year. However, while the two boots do look a little similar, the new Hypervenom comes in more of a fluorescent Green Glow colourway compared to the stock green found on the former Hypervenom. Rooney showed off the new Phinish colourway in the blockbuster United vs Chelsea clash. We have an article coming up featuring the Phinish, as I successfully managed to blackout a Hypervenom Phinish. Keep an eye out for our blackout boot guide later this week.

Femi Ilesanmi (York City) – Concave Quantam+

Femi Ilesanmi York City Concave Quantam edited

We had a surprise Concave boot spot a few weeks ago, and yet another mysterious Concave boot has popped up in England’s lower leagues. This time, it is Concave’s entry to the Power boot silo (it is not like there are too many Power boots around anymore) the silo they originally tried to make a name for themselves in all those years ago. The Quantam+ is said to offer the wearer up to 15% more power and accuracy (that is a bold claim) thanks to the very same Concave Component that featured in the early incarnations of Concave’s boots, while a K-Leather upper provides the user with a soft feel for the ball.

Mikey Lopez (New York City FC) – adidas ACE 15.1 (Custom)

Mikey Lopes NY City FC custom ACE 151 edited

Now these boots are awesome. We always love it when players go one step further to get their boots customised, and while it is hard to see what exactly Mikey Lopez has done to his boots, a zoomed in version of his boots shows he has got an Aztec-like design on his boots. The right boot is more of a monotone patterned boot, while the left features a bold red and black image. A striking boot customisation from Lopez, but we wonder what inspired the customisation…

That is it for our boot spotting today, what was your favourite spot this week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

 

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