Whether it’s a team, manager or club that’s quietly gone about their business in the top flight so far this season, who has been the surprise package?
We spoke to football writers from across the nation to get their opinions and give out some credit to those in the Premier League who may not have been noticed.
We spoke to football writers from across the nation to get their opinions and give out some credit to those in the Premier League who may not have been noticed.
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00:00Daniel, moving on to the Premier League, in terms of players who maybe make that sort of surprise package,
00:08whether it's a player, a team, a manager, it's been quite an interesting season so far in the top flight.
00:14Who sort of stands out for you in that sort of category?
00:17Well, I think there's actually a lot of players who have done quite well, perhaps unexpectedly so far this season.
00:21One player I'd like to nominate first is Harvey Barnes of Newcastle United,
00:25because let's be honest, at the start of the season, he was behind Anthony Gordon in the pecking order.
00:29Now, Gordon has been a bit better in the last few games, but he started the season quite poorly.
00:34I think another player as well is Liam De Lappe of Ipswich Town.
00:37Now, people might say, well, Ipswich haven't won a game yet, but he's adapted really well to the Premier League levels,
00:42because, of course, it is a jump up. We all know this, going from the Championships to the Premier League,
00:46and some players who haven't really experienced what the Premier League is like before don't adapt too well.
00:52But he has, and despite Ipswich's lack of wins, he's got amongst the goals, and I think that's credit to him.
00:59In terms of the surprise packages of the season so far, well, I think there have been a number of players who have impressed in the Premier League.
01:04I think Morgan Rodgers at Aston Villa has been exceptional in the opening weeks of the campaign.
01:08The player who really has stood out for me, a bit of a surprise one perhaps, is Antoine Semenu at Bournemouth.
01:14I watched the game recently against Southampton, thought he was excellent.
01:16His stats this season are off the charts. He's had them really impressed in terms of the number of shots on target,
01:22the number of chances created. His xG is also excellent.
01:25And for a player playing for Bournemouth, who perhaps they don't maybe expect to see quite as much of the ball,
01:30he really has stood out for me in these opening weeks of the new campaign.
01:34Well, I've got a couple in mind. From covering Aston Villa, I think Morgan Rodgers is quite a standout player,
01:40and a lot of people are starting to talk about him.
01:42If you're a fantasy football player, definitely you'll be bringing him into your team, a real bargain option in midfield.
01:47And then Nottingham Forest as the club, Nuno Espirito Santo, all fans won't want to hear this,
01:53but he is working wonders with Forest. They've only lost one Premier League game in their opening seven fixtures.
01:59Yes, they have drawn four of them. Maybe that'll be a little bit frustrating.
02:02But the way they kind of sit in and then press up high on the transition, on the counter-attack,
02:07a lot of people thought they might be relegation contenders this season.
02:10Well, I think they might be even competing for the top half now. They've been that impressive.
02:14Last week, but Ryan Gavenbert has been immense in the holding midfield role for Liverpool.
02:21After a fairly difficult opening season, he didn't play as much as he'd like, more than he did as a Bayern Munich,
02:27but he's really thrived in that number six role and shown that there is life for Liverpool
02:33after not being able to prize Martin Supermendy to the club in the summer.
02:37And I also want to give a mention to Adamo Traore, one who's had a little bit of criticism in the past,
02:43not a lot of product, but he's really worked his way into a full-on team who has a really good start
02:50to the season and if Adamo Traore can add a few more goals and assists to his game,
02:56then he'll be a force to be reckoned with.