Football News: Premier League Standouts

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Following on from my previous article listing the players who have most disappointed me in this season so far, now it is time to pick out that one player from each team who has most impressed me. It is not about the best player on the team, but the one that has performed to the highest level compared to the expectation levels I had of them.

Cesar Azpilicueta, Chelsea.
This was a tough one, the only player that has not looked hopeless for large parts of the season is Azpilicueta, but I rate him highly so he is only at a level I would expect from him. It just shows how poorly the rest of the team are playing, in the main, that, other than 'Dave', the players which seem best at Chelsea this season are the ones left out. Each poor performance makes the players missing the match seem better players, purely because they are not taking part! The only other player who is really playing well on a consistent basis, though recent performances are improving overall, is Asmir Begovic. The more he plays, the more it is hard to believe that the best offer he received in the summer was to be Chelsea's back up keeper.

Aleksandr Kolarov, Manchester City.
There were a few contenders in the City ranks, Bacary Sagna has upped his game, Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure look back to their best. Fernando/Fernandinho look like quality defensive midfielders, though I am never sure which one I am watching! Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling have caused havoc with their pace, Sergio Aguero was starting to get back in to top gear before getting injured. David Silva was the main other contender, before his injuries, he was simply unplayable and the best player in the Premier League. He was breathtaking to watch at times, but you almost expect that of him, which is why I am choosing Kolarov, as he normally struggles. This season Kolarov has looked a solid defender and been a creative presence on the left.

Hector Bellerin, Arsenal.
This was a battle between two full backs. Nacho Monreal has come on in leaps and bounds since he signed for Arsenal, becoming a very reliable left back, but his fellow Spanish full back, the right back Bellerin, has gone to a whole new level. It is not just his blistering pace that makes him, it is the quality of his play that is outstanding this season. This season he has been without doubt the best right back in the Premier League, and among the very best in European football.

Anthony Martial, Manchester United.
This was the easiest pick so far, Martial has been so far above the level expected of him that it could only have been him. While I keep hearing people talk about how great Chris Smalling is playing, he only ever looks good when the midfield is protecting him well, so I remain to be convinced he has actually improved, rather than it is just the midfield is much better now. Ander Herrera was the other main possibility, he is playing some excellent stuff, but he is just not getting as many games as he should. It really had to be Martial anyway, as this is just a raw talent who was not meant to be ready for the Premier League yet. He has grown into the role given to him, raising his game and putting established internationals to shame.

Danny Ings, Liverpool.
Until his injury, he was looking better and better by the game. It took a while for him to get his chance, but, once he did, he seized it with both hands and made the most of it. You could see the confidence growing in him game by game.

Eric Dier, Tottenham Hotspur.
Despite being asked to play an unfamiliar position as a defensive midfielder, Dier has looked better and better by the game. The arrivals of Toby Alderweireld, Kevin Wimmer and Kieran Trippier looked to have forced him out of the side, with the centre back and right back positions he occupied most of last season taken. Instead he just moved in front of the defence and made the holding role his own. Spurs have looked a solid defensive unit with him there, unlike the frail Spurs of old.

Ramiro Funes Mori, Everton.
While there were a few candidates, Mori just beat Steven Naismith to get my vote. Naismith has played to the expectations I had, but Mori has come in and way surpassed them, being extremely unlucky to be dropped at the weekend. Tom Cleverley came under consideration, not because he is playing particularly well, but because he is not as catastrophically bad as expected. Though being able to kick the ball without falling over his own feet is probably exceeding the expectations most people had for him.

Sadio Mane, Southampton.
This could easily have been Oriol Romeu, who has seemed to lose his way in recent years, after being extremely highly rated when younger, but Mane just pips him. Mane missed out, if that is the right term to use for it, on a move to Manchester United in the summer, and that could have easily seen his head turned and his performance level dip. Instead he has kept going, kept doing the things that made them notice him, and really become the Saints main danger man. His rawness is still evident, but his ability is becoming more and more refined.

Ayoze Perez, Newcastle United.
Bigger spending clubs have been sniffing round Perez in recent years and it is easy to see why. Technically excellent and very rarely do you see him come off the pitch with the feeling he has not left it all out there, unlike so many of his Toon team mates. Georginio Wijnaldum may have grabbed the headlines with his goal haul at the weekend, but his other performances have been lacking, and, like every player in black and white stripes this season, he has failed to offer enough defensively. Perez offers a threat each and every week, as well as showing an excellent workrate.

Dimitri Payet, West Ham United.
This was a very easy choice, Payet has stood out like a sore thumb each and every game for the Hammers. Slaven Bilic and the owners took a big gamble on a player most clubs were avoiding due to the attitude issues he was thought to have, to the point where his national coach, Didier Deschamps, has left him out of the France squad to avoid upsetting his team. Bilic is showing that his quality is worth the risk. It is not difficult to see how Payet has managed to get so many assists, his vision is sublime.

Jefferson Montero, Swansea City.
While Andre Ayew was grabbing the early season plaudits for the Swans good form, it was Montero that was destroying opponents with his incredible pace and trickery. It was an injury to Montero that saw Swansea's form fall apart, and he is still not quite back to his best since returning. Still, no one is performing particularly well for them now, it is clear that the confidence has gone from their play altogether, so no one else had stepped up and taken the mantle for themselves.

Jason Puncheon, Crystal Palace.
While Yohan Cabaye and Yannick Bolasie are the men grabbing the headlines, it is Puncheon that makes the team tick. Bolasie's trickery and pace is very hit and miss, he can be as hopeless as he can be sensational, while Puncheon tends to be effective in his work. Cabaye also tends to also have an end product, even his 'tackling' tends to produce something, usually a foul, but that is what is expected of him. Puncheon is someone who has taken a long time to get a real chance at Premier League level and he is really proving himself.

Libor Kozak, Aston Villa.
This might seem a strange choice, because Kozak has not played for Villa this season, but the less he plays in this hopeless team under a hapless manager the better for his career. Each and every player on the pitch in a Villa shirt has been doing their transfer value no favours at all, as they struggle from week to week. Jack Grealish is beloved of the commentators and pundits, but gives the ball away so often it is hard to tell which team he is playing for at times. His lack of end product is almost embarrassing at times. Jordan Ayew is showing why he is the lesser Ayew brother, Gabriel Agbonlahor is as utterly average as ever, and it would be easy to sit here and pick every member of the team apart like that. So it ends up going to a player that impressed in pre-season but has not been given a run out since, as his perceived value to the club is going up.

Glenn Whelan, Stoke City.
Despite all the high profile talents arriving at Stoke in the last couple of seasons under Mark Hughes, Whelan has not just retained his place in the midfield, but he has become even more important to the way they play. He is far from their best player, unless Bojan Krkic is stood next to him, but he has become a lynchpin that they have built around. Never spectacular, but he is a very effective central midfielder who can be relied on week after week.

Jeremain Lens, Sunderland AFC.
Lens I chose simply because he has offered them a real threat, with his pace and direct running, that they have lacked for years now. The whole Sunderland team seems to be packed with lumbering one-paced players, that lack the quality to play around opponents, so he is a breath of fresh air who actually attacks with purpose.

Jamie Vardy, Leicester City.
Shinji Okazaki has offered them a real presence up top, Riyad Mahrez has been the best player in the Premier League in the early weeks, but the one that has gone furthest beyond expectations this season has to be Jamie Vardy. Okazaki and Mahrez are top quality players that the Foxes are lucky to have on their books, but Vardy is lucky to have a Premier League career, let alone becoming an England international. He nearly blew his chance, slipping out of the system into the non-league, following his release from Sheffield Wednesday's junior teams. Instead of giving up, he has worked hard and improved his game immeasurably to become one of the most feared strikers in English football.

Darren Fletcher, West Bromwich Albion.
It is not so much that he is playing particularly well, as no one is in Tony Pulis's team, which is more about stopping the opposition, rather than his team playing well. Fletcher's recovery from a career threatening illness to play again at Premier League level is reason enough to be impressed by him.

Troy Deeney, Watford.
While Etienne Capoue has impressed me every time I have seen Watford this season, providing them with a real platform to build on, Deeney has stood out in an unfamiliar role behind the forward. He has become a real playmaker, playing some delicious passes for Odion Ighalo to work with. His movement and workrate have been excellent so far this season, making him the centrepiece of everything Watford do going forward.

Robbie Brady, Norwich City.
Nobody has really impressed all that much for Norwich, the whole team has looked out of its depth at times, like watching a League Two side facing a Premier League team in the FA Cup each week. I am going to make my choice Robbie Brady, because he has provided some lovely crosses with his left peg, and does it on a regular basis.

Callum Wilson, AFC Bournemouth.
The forward was lighting up the Premier League with his pace and goalscoring exploits, almost carrying Bournemouth in the first few games, until his unfortunate injury. With his loss the Cherries lost their main offensive capability, despite signing Glenn Murray in the summer. While Murray scores goals and leads the line well, he lacks the pace to force opponents deeper that Wilson possesses. It was a big loss for the Cherries.

Written by Tris Burke October 22 2015 09:15:00