The Premier League season is about to reach the half-way point.
And unlike Paul Merson, we’ve named Mohamed Salah in our team of the season so far.
David De Gea
De Gea is widely regarded as the best goalkeeper in the Premier League. However, this selection wasn’t as obvious as many might imagine. Ederson has been brilliant for Manchester City, and the most notable difference between the team that finished third last season and the one running away with the title this season. He’s extremely comfortable in possession and his distribution is fantastic. But De Gea is probably the best in the world right now.
If any goalkeeper other than De Gea was in the net for Manchester United’s 3-1 win over Arsenal at the Emirates, then the result would have been a lot different. Jose Mourinho’s “masterplan” saw Arsenal take 33 shots on United’s goal, and De Gea made 14 saves in the match, a Premier League record. The Spanish goalkeeper faced 222 shots in the first 18 games of the season, double the number of shots Ederson has faced, and he has an impressive save percentage of 85.5 percent.
De Gea is the best ‘keeper in the Premier League, probably the best in the world and still United’s most important player.
Cesar Azpilicueta
Azpilicueta is never injured, never misses a game and never seems to play poorly. Like a Spanish Denis Irwin, the Chelsea defender is ultra dependable, and an excellent all-round footballer. He has set-up five of Alvaro Morata’s nine goals in the Premier League this season, and has been part of a Chelsea defence which has kept seven clean sheets.
Azpiliceuta plays on the right side of Chelsea’s back-three, but we have him at his natural position in this team.
Nicolas Otamendi
Otamendi has proved the doubters wrong, after a shaky first few seasons in the Premier League, to become a mainstay of Pep Guardiola’s team. He’s also the top scoring central defender in the Premier League so far this season. Otamendi has scored four goals in 17 games, after managing just two goals in his previous 97 matches. The Argentine is clearly improving under Guardiola, but is also less exposed as his team win the ball high up the pitch and allow fewer shots on target as rival sides.
John Stones has also been very good for Guardiola’s team, and probably would have been named in this team had he not picked up an injury.
James Tarkowski
Many pundits predicted Burnley would be in a relegation battle because they lost Andre Gray and Michael Keane before the season started. After 18 games, they’re in sixth place with 32 points, above Spurs and two points away from the top four. They have missed neither player, particularly Everton defender Keane. Sean Dyche’s side have been excellent, especially in defence where Tarkowski has proven a more than adequate replacement for his former teammate.
Only Brighton’s Shane Duffy has made more blocks than Tarkowski (28), clearances (145) and headed clearances (94). The Burnley defender has been part of a defence which has kept nine clean sheets in his 18 appearances this season.
Ashley Young
Young has earned his position in Mourinho’s team and has been very good for United. He scored two stunning goals against Watford and is a constant threat down the left-hand side, regularly cutting inside and whipping dangerous, accurate crosses into the box. He set-up Marouane Fellaini with a fantastic delivery against Crystal Palace in September in September and registered another assist against Newcastle. His deflected shot also earned United three points against Brighton.
Young was bought by Alex Ferguson in 2011. The fact he remains a regular six years and three managers later, and after United have spent over £600m in the transfer market, is testament to the club’s fortunes over the last few years, but also Young’s ability as a footballer.
David Silva
It’s difficult to say much more about Silva. He’s arguably City’s best ever footballer, he’s certainly one of the best the Premier League has seen, and he has had a fantastic season. As his teammate Vincent Kompany said, “as much quality as we have in the team, there is only David that can pick certain passes.” He’s a world-class creative midfielder, and would improve any team in Europe.
Philippe Coutinho
Coutinho has only made 11 league appearances this season, but he has had a massive impact for Liverpool. The Brazilian has scored five goals, and registered five assists in those games, and looks on course to break his total of 13 goals and seven assists recorded last season. Coutinho has often been used centrally, and is the creative fulcrum for Klopp’s side. The 25-year-old has developed into a complete attacking player, and will inevitably be linked with a move to Barcelona at the end of the season.
Kevin De Bruyne
The best player in the Premier League and one of the best players in Europe on current form, De Bruyne has been incredible for City. In 18 Premier League appearances, the Belgian has scored six goals and has eight assists, but those numbers don’t do justice to how brilliant he has been. Guardiola has used De Bruyne in midfield, and he has developed into the most complete player in the Premier League. It’s extremely difficult to pinpoint an area of weakness in his game.
De Bruyne starts and finishes attacks, sets-up his teammates, scores goals and, as Guardiola said, works like a “conference player” when City don’t have the ball. His range of passing is stunning, he’s creating on average three chances per game and he has scored some breathtaking goals. The 26-year-old is reportedly set to sign a new contract with City until 2024, meaning the club and the Premier League will get to see the best years of his career.
Mohamed Salah
Some pundits and football fans worried that Salah would struggle at Liverpool, because of his difficult spell at Chelsea a few years ago. Such a view didn’t make a lot of sense in the summer, because the Egyptian had played brilliantly for Roma, and his manager at Chelsea was Mourinho, who also allowed De Bruyne leave Chelsea for £18m. But it now looks completely foolish. Yet, no-one could have predicted that Salah would be this good. It’s difficult to remember a player making such an impact in the Premier League. It’s not even Christmas, and he’s only played 26 games for Liverpool, but Salah has already scored 20 goals. Possibly the only player capable of mounting a challenge to De Bruyne winning player of the year.
Raheem Sterling
When Sterling broke into Liverpool’s team age 17, his potential was obvious. He didn’t look out of place alongside brilliant players such as Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez, and became a key player in their title challenge under Brendan Rodgers in 2014. After a couple of underwhelming seasons, the 23-year-old now appears to have become the elite player many thought he could be, and he has perhaps even surpassed expectations, particularly when it comes to scoring goals.
Sterling used to be an erratic finisher, often snatching at chances. He’s now an assassin in front of goal. In 16 appearances this season, and from 44 shots, the England forward has 11 goals. He’s a constant threat, averaging eight touches per game in the opposition box, and has scored key goals, including the winners over Southampton and Huddersfield.
Harry Kane
With two games to go in 2017, Kane has scored 50 goals in 48 games – that’s a similar rate of scoring to Robert Lewandowski, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Spurs forward is the best centre-forward in the Premier League and very few would bet against him being top scorer at the end of the season.
Here’s the team in full:
