As we await the return of the Premier League on December 26, let’s take a look at who impressed in the first ‘half’ of the season. Few would have predicted Newcastle would be in the top four and even fewer would have had Arsenal leading Manchester City at the top of the table.
Half of the players in this list hail from those two Premier League agencies of chaos. These are the top ten players of the season so far.
5) Harry Kane
In any other season we would be marvelling at Harry Kane’s form – 12 goals in 15 games is his best ever start to a Premier League season. Erling Haaland has raised the bar to such an extent that Kane, a player on course to score 30 Premier League goals this season (a feat achieved just ten times in 30 years), isn’t playing second fiddle, rather holding the sheet music while Haaland bows his violin until it smokes.
Just don’t ask him to take two penalties in one match.
4) Miguel Almiron
He’s not alone in the Newcastle squad, but Almiron is the most obvious example of the benefits of good coaching and management. Where opposition teams could previously relax with the ball at Almiron’s feet, as although he may beat a man or two his efforts would ultimately come to nothing, his possession of the ball now spreads panic.
He’s scored some beautiful goals this season and it’s hard not to root for someone who’s so clearly enjoying his football having been the butt of a joke that’s now far funnier after it’s come back to bite the mocker.
3) William Saliba
Other than the golden-haired Norseman, no other summer arrival has had a greater impact on a Premier League team this season.
Saliba’s got the stuff all top centre-backs have always needed – he’s big, strong, quick and can jump – combined with the skill and calmness on the ball generally reserved for more recent Premier League defenders like Thiago Silva and Virgil van Dijk.
He’s also got the arrogance of youth, that may sometimes get him into shtuck, but far more frequently allows us to either swoon or swear, depending on your allegiance or level of envy, at a centre-back doing un-centre-back-like things.
2) Kevin De Bruyne
The best midfielder in Premier League history, you heard it here, I don’t know, fifth? It’s not the brilliance, which many have shown, but the consistent brilliance. He’s got the ability to shoot and score from anywhere, with either foot. He runs past players with and without the ball. But most impressive of all is his ludicrous vision and passing, which is so good that he sees gaps and free teammates before we have the chance to tell him from the stands or through our TV screens, and before those teammates even know they’re an option for him.
He’s assisted Haaland five times this season, and as an offensive pair they’re a cut above.
1) Erling Haaland
The stats say it all and that can be disheartening. Where’s the je ne sais quoi? Does his objective excellence leave less room for joy? Would some fallibility allow us to peel back the machinery and appreciate his artistry?
He probably, and quite fairly, doesn’t give a damn that his arrival in the Premier League has led to some sort of footballing existentialism among the masses. He likes scoring goals and winning, and will continue to lots of both at Manchester City.