WHILE FABIANSKI WOULDN’T feature at the top of a poll taken for the best goalkeepers in the Premier League, his turnaround in form since his Arsenal days has been remarkable. Once known for his unreliability and tendency to commit howlers of Massimo Taibi proportions, Fabianski has now become a steady shot-stopper with the ability to do the sublime at times.
He’s been given five man-of-the-match awards, most notably the one he received against his former employers at the Emirates in what must have been a sweet victory. He’s played in all but one of Swansea’s games in their march towards their highest ever Premier League finish and has barely put a foot wrong.
9. Robert Huth (Leicester City)
EMPICS Sport
EMPICS Sport
The remarkable turnaround in fortunes at the King Power Stadium is due to a whole load of different factors but surely the loan signing of Robert Huth from Stoke City in January is the biggest one. The burly German arrived having played little football in the first half of the season but his transition into the Leicester team has been seamless.
His signing allowed Nigel Pearson to switch to three at the back, with wing backs Marc Albrighton and Paul Konchesky bombing forward. In Leicester’s last eight games they have conceded just six goals, three of which came against Chelsea after Huth left the field in the 24th minute. He was, without doubt, the best piece of transfer business done by any club in January.
8. Kieran Trippier (Burnley)
Dave Thompson
Dave Thompson
Not many people had heard of Trippier before his debut campaign in the Premier League but we will surely see more of him in years to come. In a side that has shown its collective qualities rather than that of its individuals this season, Trippier and Danny Ings have been a class above the rest.
An impressive average of 2.0 tackles per game, along with completing 4.1 clearances per game, shows his defensive capabilities. He is known for his forward ventures, however, and a decent tally of four assists in a side that scores very little goals is impressive. Talk of an England call-up is fanciful at this stage, despite their paucity of options at right-back, but he’ll surely earn a move to a mid-table side.
7. Ryan Mason (Tottenham Hotspur)
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PA Wire / Press Association Images
PA Wire / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
Such is the limelight afforded to Tottenham’s Harry Kane this season, you’d never think there was another local lad who was playing in his first full Premier League campaign. Despite being 23, Mason’s rise should receive just as much hat-tipping as Harry Kane’s. Last season he was playing for Swindon Town.
Both he and Nebil Bentaleb have proved a perfect combination at the base of the Spurs midfield, and while the Moroccan provides the bite, Mason keeps the side ticking over. He appears at ease on the ball and averages over 50 passes per game. While it’s probably not too hard to be an upgrade on his Brazilian team-mate Paulinho, the engine room of Spurs’ midfield looks relatively fine for the moment with him there.
6. Yannick Bolasie (Crystal Palace)
Andrew Matthews
Andrew Matthews
Bolasie is a rare breed in the modern game. With managers so intent on making sure their side keeps possession of the ball as much as possible, there’s little place for the likes of Bolasie in the modern game. Until only a number of months ago Bolasie lacked end-product and was a liability at times.
While he may only have four goals to his name this season, he also has six assists and has steadily improved as the year has gone on. Alan Pardew seems to like him, commenting that the winger is worth £40-60 million. Such a figure is highly-inflated, even in the modern transfer market, but the Congo international’s progress over the last few months shows he may have the credentials to play at a higher level.
5. José Fonte (Southampton)
Richard Sellers
Richard Sellers
As many predicted the demise of Southampton this season following a string of departures last summer, some pointed to the loss of Dejan Lovren as the most crucial. Looking at the now-Liverpool defender’s performances at his new club and comparing Fonte’s continued excellence for the Saints, perhaps it was the Portuguese centre-back who was making the Croat look good all along.
Southampton still share the meanest defensive record in the division with Chelsea (just 31 goals conceded) and Fonte has been an ever present in the heart of his team. An average of 3.2 interceptions and 5.5 clearances per game is the highest in each category in the Saints back-line, but it’s his leadership abilities that have helped his side so much.
4. Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United)
PA Archive / Press Association Images
PA Archive / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
Never has a player’s reputation gone so far downhill in the space of eight months. While Fellaini was quite poor in almost every game he played for United last season, he was by no means the only one under-performing. Because he played under Moyes at Everton and was the only major signing made during the summer of 2013, the Belgian became a symbol of the whole Moyes era, a stigma that was hard to shake.
Under Louis van Gaal he’s one of a number of renaissance men. The Belgian has scored a respectable seven goals this season while being utilised in a slightly forward role to the left of a midfield three. His goals have been important too, directly resulting in seven points for United over the course of the campaign. While his limitations are there for all to see, it’s nice to see a player performing close to his capabilities after being such a figure of fun.
3. Francis Coquelin (Arsenal)
Nigel French
Nigel French
The fact that Coquelin started the season at Charlton Athletic is a well-documented point, but his emergence as the enforcer in Arsenal’s midfield is quite extraordinary. He is far ahead of his competitors in the Arsenal squad for the anchor role in Wenger’s midfield. His main opponent for the role, Mathieu Flamini, averages 1.9 tackles and 2.1 interceptions per game; Coquelin has averaged 3.3 tackles and 3.8 interceptions upon his return from the Championship.
While it would be foolish for Wenger to place all his eggs in a Coquelin-shaped basket next season and decide against signing a defensive midfielder, he has proved to be a more-than-capable player for the Gunners.
2. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Dominic Lipinski
Dominic Lipinski
It’s impossible not to feel happy for Harry Kane and what he has achieved this season, with both Spurs and England. In an age where the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo or Mario Balotelli celebrate a goal with a brooding demeanour it is refreshing to see a young man losing himself in the emotion of scoring for the club he loves.
Kane has scored just once since his hat-trick against Leicester back in March but a tally of 20 league goals in his first full Premier League season is truly phenomenal. What has been so surprising about Kane is the longevity of his scoring streak, and the fact that he was scoring important goals throughout that hot patch too.
He is not just a goalscorer; he’s proved that with four assists and an ability to drop deep and help bring the wingers either side of him into the game. For Kane himself I’m sure he will always cherish the memories of dismantling Chelsea, scoring the winner in the North London derby and his first England goal.
1. Ashley Young (Manchester United)
Richard Sellers
Richard Sellers
Young has been largely vilified by most sections of the United fanbase ever since the beginning of his second season at Old Trafford. His alarmingly steep dip in form, along with his tendency to hurl himself to the floor in search of penalties, hardly endeared him to the masses.
When van Gaal took over at United, Young was expected to be among the deadwood thrown out of Old Trafford. What has followed is incredible. Deployed as a left wing-back for the majority of the season, the former English international showed great discipline in his defensive duties to everyone’s surprise.
The most striking revelation has been his superb link-up play with Marouane Fellaini down the left wing. Young has been utilised further up the pitch in recent games, keeping Di Maria firmly on the bench. Had someone predicted that last year you would have called them mad.
Power ranking the top 10 surprise performers this season in the Premier League
10. Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea City)
WHILE FABIANSKI WOULDN’T feature at the top of a poll taken for the best goalkeepers in the Premier League, his turnaround in form since his Arsenal days has been remarkable. Once known for his unreliability and tendency to commit howlers of Massimo Taibi proportions, Fabianski has now become a steady shot-stopper with the ability to do the sublime at times.
He’s been given five man-of-the-match awards, most notably the one he received against his former employers at the Emirates in what must have been a sweet victory. He’s played in all but one of Swansea’s games in their march towards their highest ever Premier League finish and has barely put a foot wrong.
9. Robert Huth (Leicester City)
The remarkable turnaround in fortunes at the King Power Stadium is due to a whole load of different factors but surely the loan signing of Robert Huth from Stoke City in January is the biggest one. The burly German arrived having played little football in the first half of the season but his transition into the Leicester team has been seamless.
His signing allowed Nigel Pearson to switch to three at the back, with wing backs Marc Albrighton and Paul Konchesky bombing forward. In Leicester’s last eight games they have conceded just six goals, three of which came against Chelsea after Huth left the field in the 24th minute. He was, without doubt, the best piece of transfer business done by any club in January.
8. Kieran Trippier (Burnley)
Not many people had heard of Trippier before his debut campaign in the Premier League but we will surely see more of him in years to come. In a side that has shown its collective qualities rather than that of its individuals this season, Trippier and Danny Ings have been a class above the rest.
An impressive average of 2.0 tackles per game, along with completing 4.1 clearances per game, shows his defensive capabilities. He is known for his forward ventures, however, and a decent tally of four assists in a side that scores very little goals is impressive. Talk of an England call-up is fanciful at this stage, despite their paucity of options at right-back, but he’ll surely earn a move to a mid-table side.
7. Ryan Mason (Tottenham Hotspur)
Such is the limelight afforded to Tottenham’s Harry Kane this season, you’d never think there was another local lad who was playing in his first full Premier League campaign. Despite being 23, Mason’s rise should receive just as much hat-tipping as Harry Kane’s. Last season he was playing for Swindon Town.
Both he and Nebil Bentaleb have proved a perfect combination at the base of the Spurs midfield, and while the Moroccan provides the bite, Mason keeps the side ticking over. He appears at ease on the ball and averages over 50 passes per game. While it’s probably not too hard to be an upgrade on his Brazilian team-mate Paulinho, the engine room of Spurs’ midfield looks relatively fine for the moment with him there.
6. Yannick Bolasie (Crystal Palace)
Bolasie is a rare breed in the modern game. With managers so intent on making sure their side keeps possession of the ball as much as possible, there’s little place for the likes of Bolasie in the modern game. Until only a number of months ago Bolasie lacked end-product and was a liability at times.
While he may only have four goals to his name this season, he also has six assists and has steadily improved as the year has gone on. Alan Pardew seems to like him, commenting that the winger is worth £40-60 million. Such a figure is highly-inflated, even in the modern transfer market, but the Congo international’s progress over the last few months shows he may have the credentials to play at a higher level.
5. José Fonte (Southampton)
As many predicted the demise of Southampton this season following a string of departures last summer, some pointed to the loss of Dejan Lovren as the most crucial. Looking at the now-Liverpool defender’s performances at his new club and comparing Fonte’s continued excellence for the Saints, perhaps it was the Portuguese centre-back who was making the Croat look good all along.
Southampton still share the meanest defensive record in the division with Chelsea (just 31 goals conceded) and Fonte has been an ever present in the heart of his team. An average of 3.2 interceptions and 5.5 clearances per game is the highest in each category in the Saints back-line, but it’s his leadership abilities that have helped his side so much.
4. Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United)
Never has a player’s reputation gone so far downhill in the space of eight months. While Fellaini was quite poor in almost every game he played for United last season, he was by no means the only one under-performing. Because he played under Moyes at Everton and was the only major signing made during the summer of 2013, the Belgian became a symbol of the whole Moyes era, a stigma that was hard to shake.
Under Louis van Gaal he’s one of a number of renaissance men. The Belgian has scored a respectable seven goals this season while being utilised in a slightly forward role to the left of a midfield three. His goals have been important too, directly resulting in seven points for United over the course of the campaign. While his limitations are there for all to see, it’s nice to see a player performing close to his capabilities after being such a figure of fun.
3. Francis Coquelin (Arsenal)
The fact that Coquelin started the season at Charlton Athletic is a well-documented point, but his emergence as the enforcer in Arsenal’s midfield is quite extraordinary. He is far ahead of his competitors in the Arsenal squad for the anchor role in Wenger’s midfield. His main opponent for the role, Mathieu Flamini, averages 1.9 tackles and 2.1 interceptions per game; Coquelin has averaged 3.3 tackles and 3.8 interceptions upon his return from the Championship.
While it would be foolish for Wenger to place all his eggs in a Coquelin-shaped basket next season and decide against signing a defensive midfielder, he has proved to be a more-than-capable player for the Gunners.
2. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
It’s impossible not to feel happy for Harry Kane and what he has achieved this season, with both Spurs and England. In an age where the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo or Mario Balotelli celebrate a goal with a brooding demeanour it is refreshing to see a young man losing himself in the emotion of scoring for the club he loves.
Kane has scored just once since his hat-trick against Leicester back in March but a tally of 20 league goals in his first full Premier League season is truly phenomenal. What has been so surprising about Kane is the longevity of his scoring streak, and the fact that he was scoring important goals throughout that hot patch too.
He is not just a goalscorer; he’s proved that with four assists and an ability to drop deep and help bring the wingers either side of him into the game. For Kane himself I’m sure he will always cherish the memories of dismantling Chelsea, scoring the winner in the North London derby and his first England goal.
1. Ashley Young (Manchester United)
Young has been largely vilified by most sections of the United fanbase ever since the beginning of his second season at Old Trafford. His alarmingly steep dip in form, along with his tendency to hurl himself to the floor in search of penalties, hardly endeared him to the masses.
When van Gaal took over at United, Young was expected to be among the deadwood thrown out of Old Trafford. What has followed is incredible. Deployed as a left wing-back for the majority of the season, the former English international showed great discipline in his defensive duties to everyone’s surprise.
The most striking revelation has been his superb link-up play with Marouane Fellaini down the left wing. Young has been utilised further up the pitch in recent games, keeping Di Maria firmly on the bench. Had someone predicted that last year you would have called them mad.
Statistics via WhoScored.com
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Ashley Young Harry Kane Marouane Fellaini surprise packages Arsenal TEAM:MANCHESTER CITY Team:Manchester United