Ranking the 20 best players in the Premier League so far: August 2016.
21.
JJ Bull power ranks the 20 best players in the Premier League during August.
20.
Wayne Rooney (Man Utd)
Do they? Maybe they do. The thing is, Wayne Rooney has assisted two goals, scored one, managed an 87.5% passing accuracy (which is really hard to do in such a creative attacking role) and created the second highest amount of chances for teammates of any player in the league. He’s actually been one of the most important players in Jose Mourinho's team.
19.
Leroy Fer (Swansea)
Three games. Two goals. Nine interceptions. This isn't the intro to a
summer blockbuster movie trailer. Oh no. These are the stats which
prove Leroy Fer deserves to be at number 19 in our list. He very
probably won’t appear too often in the rankings this season but then if
Leicester taught me anything last season, it was that I don’t know
anything about football.18.
Luke Shaw (Man Utd)
The most expensive left-back in all history, Luke Shaw has been
superb this season and is clearly a massive upgrade on what Man Utd had
in the same position last season. Excellent at preventing attacks, Shaw
is also a regular threat when he sprints further forward.
17.
Etienne Capoue (Watford)
Watford don’t look like they're going to be especially great this season but Etienne Capoue
has already been excellent and made a big difference to the start of this campaign. Two goals
in three games, 10 tackles and seven interceptions - Capoue ranks high in both offensive and
defensive statistics already.
16.
Claude Puel bought wide midfielder Nathan Redmond because he reckons he’ll make a good striker
and it looks like he might be right. Playing alongside Shane Long and Dusan Tadic, Redmond
is quick, forward thinking, and extremely creative. Only Roberto Firmino has created more chances
than Redmond AND 90% of his passes are accurate! Need a cheap Fantasy Football midfielder? Redmond’s your guy.
15.
Liverpool look scarily good on the counter-attack this season and the attacking play of Sadio Mane
is one of the reasons for this. Spurs found out how he quick he is on a number of occasions and
Arsenal’s defence was destroyed in the opening game of the season. A superb signing by
Jurgen Klopp.
14.
Paul Pogba (Man Utd)
Paul Pogba may only have played two games for Manchester United, but you can already see
that he’s very good. Expensive things usually are. Defenders aren’t keen to get tight to him,
his range of passing and ability to shoot from long range makes him stand out from other
Premier League midfielders and he’s already shown he’s disciplined enough to know when
to venture forward, when to sit back and isn’t afraid to take hold of the game and try to make
things happen.
13.
Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)
Alexis Sanchez might not be at his absolute best as a central striker but he’s started the season
extremely well. Sanchez was at the heart of everything good Arsenal did in the first half against
Watford, dropping into space and causing problems everywhere. His work rate seems to rub
off on the teammates around him and can wake up an occasionally sleepy looking Arsenal side.
12.
Antonio Valencia (Man Utd)
It’s taken a long time but Antonio Valencia has finally completed his journey from being a
high flying, all-action United winger to an excellent wing-back. Jose Mourinho hasn’t deemed
it necessary to spend money recruiting a new right-back - one of the only positions he's content with
- and has been rewarded with seriously impressive performances.
11.
Erik Lamela (Spurs)
We need to talk about Erik. He runs… so much. Spurs are known for how
hard they work,constantly running and closing down opponents, but nobody does it as often or for as long in that
team as Erik Lamela. He’s already scored one and assisted one so far this season but even more
impressive is that he’s made seven tackles – one fewer than N’Golo Kante, whose job is to tackle.
10.
N'Golo Kante (Chelsea)
At Leicester, N’Golo Kante had to run everywhere all of the time to
break up moves andstart the counter-attacks that made the team so dangerous. At Chelsea, he is expected to sit
behind the midfield and only deal with the threat of danger when it comes looking for him.
Some wondered whether he’d have the discipline to do such a job and it turns out the answer
is yes. Absolutely yes he can. Really well. What a player this guy is.
9.
Pep Guardiola loves a midfielder who anchors the side, and it looks like Fernandinho is his new
favourite. He’s been around for a few years now but it feels like nobody really knows how good Fernandinho is. Except for Guardiola, that is. For all Man City’s exciting attacking play, having
the disciplined Brazilian controlling the middle of the pitch has been integral to Man City’s great
start to the season.
8.
Raheem Sterling (Man City)
Sterling looks a different player under Pep Guardiola. The lightning acceleration, balance
and movement which made him such an exciting player at Liverpool are back and although his
end product is still nowhere near good enough (save for the two tidy finishes against West Ham),
it looks like the old (slightly younger) Sterling is back and on course to fulfill that potential.
7.
Eric Bailly (Man Utd)
Eric Bailly might be the defender Man Utd have needed since Nemanja
Vidic disappeared.He has absolutely no fear, batters through strikers as soon as they get near his box, he reads
the game brilliantly – as his nine interceptions show – and he is composed on the ball. Out of 111 passes, 96% were accurate. Tidy.
6.
He’s just so lovely to watch, isn’t he? David Silva has dropped slightly deeper into midfield
in Pep Guardiola’s new look Man City but has the freedom to roam and look for the ball, bursting
forward when the opportunity arises. Against West Ham he kept popping up in the centre of the pitch
and driving the team forward, skinning players on his way to threading teammates through on goal.
An absolute joy when on form, and he’s on form right now.
5.
Hull might not be very good (sorry Hull) but held on for nearly a full 90 minutes against a constantly
attacking Man Utd team and have already - somehow - won two games. Davies has assisted one
goal but it is his defensive work and organisation which have helped Hull start the season well. Davies
has made 21 interceptions – six more than his closest rival, Scott Dann, who has 15. It’s not beyond
the realms of lunatic transfer window spending for one of the big clubs to come in and make a bid
for him based on how well he’s playing.
4.
Dirty Diego is back. Now 80% angry, 20% goalscorer, the new “please stop bullying us” referee
rules are sure to result in a red card or two for Costa this season, with the striker already having
picked up a booking for saying something he shouldn’t, but it is this antagonistic, furious energy
that makes him such a great striker. Costa constantly harasses defenders, is always looking for
the ball over the top of the last man and is cool and composed in the box. People moaned about
Eden Hazard going missing last season but Costa’s lack of goals for the first half of the season
was just as significant.
3.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has adjusted to Premier League football as though he were always meant to ply
his trade there. It’s almost as if he’s actually very talented and those people who said he was
overrated while at Barcelona and Juventus and PSG and everywhere he’s ever been… were wrong.
But that… that just can’t be. Jose Mourinho has already discussed his desire to get Ibrahimovic
to stick around for another season – at 34 years old, he looks much fitter than a lot of strikers in the
league and he’s scored three goals in three games too. Some of the high reaching first touches,
where he throws his leg above his giant frame to take a ball out of the air, are incredible.
2.
Sergio Aguero has started the season on fire and will very probably be one of the top scorers in the Premier League. It’s the same every year – he’s great. Three goals in three games and a near decapitation of Winston Reid are the standouts. However, a retrospective three-match ban will mean he may struggle to make this list again come the end of October.
1.
Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
in the USA and working on a farm in Australia, to play football. Wherever the real Eden Hazard
was last season, Chelsea fans will be delighted that he’s back and playing somewhere close
to his best. Hazard has been up to his old tricks, cutting in from the left, flying past defenders
and scoring goals (two) on his way to making Chelsea look like they’re going to compete for
the title this season.
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