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Who's been the best player in the Premier League this season?
It's been a long old campaign, and we're approaching the end of term in the Premier League, with the title race and relegation battle still very much alive, with places for Europe still up for grabs 'n' all.
Article continues belowThe best players in the Premier League this season: 50 - Jarrod Bowen (West Ham)
One of few West Ham players to come out of this campaign with any credit, the Hammers would be in an even worse position without him. Pacy, direct and clinical, he had eight goals and two assists by the end of January.
49 - James Garner (Everton)
After starting out the season as a makeshift left-back, he has produced career-best form in central midfield, averaging more touches, passes and expected assists than ever – even being touted for a World Cup call-up.
48 - David Raya (Arsenal)
The Spaniard is presiding over the Premier League’s meanest defence once again this term. While his save percentage isn’t the highest, pinpoint distribution makes him a favourite of Mikel Arteta.
47 - Robin Roefs (Sunderland)
Regis Le Bris’ decision to sign a young gloveman with no Premier League experience proved a smart £9 million gamble, with the 23-year-old’s shot-stopping, measured distribution and growing penalty reputation all impressive.
46 - Tijjani Reijnders (Man City)
The Dutch international joined from Milan last summer and quickly showed why he was Serie A’s midfielder of the season last term. His ability to drive with the ball, unlock defences with a pass and chip in with goals have given City fresh impetus after Kevin De Bruyne’s exit.
45 - Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
£18m for a scrawny Championship teenager? Surely that's a recipe for disaster...
Not for Adam Wharton. The 22-year-old has dazzled at times in his two Premier League seasons for Crystal Palace, with a razor-sharp passing repertoire and an admirable insistence to keep the ball on the floor.
44 - Micky Van de Ven (Spurs)
The 24-year-old has all the ingredients to be among the world’s best defenders for years to come – exquisite timing, speed to burn and he’s now added more goal threat, both with his head and thanks to lung-bursting runs forward. Spurs fans just hope he’ll fulfil his potential in north London.
43 - Joao Pedro (Chelsea)
The forward made a lightning start after his switch from Brighton, scoring three goals in Chelsea’s Club World Cup win, and hit the ground running in the league. Five goal contributions over his first four matches had Blues swooning.
42 - Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
The likelihood is that Palmer would be much higher on this list had he not missed huge chunks of the season because of a string of injuries. He’s still Chelsea’s talisman nevertheless, and if he can stay fit, Palmer could be a big player for England at the World Cup.
41 - Malick Thiaw (Newcastle)
A frustrating summer window on Tyneside was softened by the arrival of defender Thiaw, his aggression, adventurous passing and goal threat making for a sublime debut season. At just 24, he has the potential to become a world-beater.
40 - Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea)
The defender’s future at his boyhood club looked over in the summer of 2024, but his aggression and composure on the ball led to a resurgence under Enzo Maresca, while he also scored three times in the first half of this season.
39 - Danny Welbeck (Brighton)
Almost 18 years since his Premier League debut, Danny Welbeck is putting up the best numbers of his career.
Brighton's campaign has never really sparked into life, but they have their veteran striker to thank for never looking in danger of relegation, especially as £40m man Georginio Rutter has proved to be a flop in his brief Seagulls career. Will Thomas Tuchel be picking up to phone to the south coast?
38 - Eli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth)
The 19-year-old Frenchman could easily have looked like a fish out of water in his first Premier League season following his £20m move from Lorient, but he has been anything but.
His selfless centre forward play perfectly matches Bournemouth's ethos of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts, and Adoni Iraola's side have been reaping the rewards as they continue to trouble the league's big boys this season.
Kroupi has been rotated with Evanilson, but such prolificacy is exceedingly rare for someone his age, and will undoubtedly be turning managers' heads across the country.
37 - Dan Ballard (Sunderland)
Of Sunderland’s 11 most used players until February this season, only three started last term’s play-off final – Trai Hume, Enzo Le Fee and centre-back Dan Ballard.
Ballard scored against his former club Arsenal in November, becoming the first man to maim Mikel Arteta’s side in more than 13 hours of football. Later in the match, he laid on Brian Brobbey’s equaliser to secure a point against the league leaders and claim man of the match.
There have been more sensational displays against top sides, including wins over Chelsea and rivals Newcastle. Ballard has earned his status as one of Le Bris’ most trusted performers thanks to his aggression, physicality and leadership at the heart of defence.
36 - Leandro Trossard (Arsenal)
For all the money splashed on big-name forwards, it’s so often a bargain buy from Brighton in 2023 who Arsenal rely upon when they need a moment of magic. The £20m silver fox was already vital for his versatility and tenacity, but a knack of scoring and creating have made him a cult hero.
35 - Lewis Hall (Newcastle)
There’s an England World Cup starting spot up for grabs at left-back and Hall is making a strong case – defensive instincts and potent attacking thrust mean he’s a must-pick for Eddie Howe. Now to work on Thomas Tuchel.
34 - Boubacar Kamara (Aston Villa)
A free transfer from Marseille in 2022, the midfield screener has been key for Villa, who won 73 per cent of the games he played before a January knee injury. A screamer against Wolves earned one of those victories.
33 - Gianluigi Donnarumma (Man City)
Replacing six-time Premier League champion Ederson wasn’t something that Pep Guardiola could afford to get wrong, but Donnarumma’s physicality and lightning reactions have made the Brazilian’s departure a non-story.
32 - Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
A sluggish start saw Watkins net just once by December, but typically ice-cold form since has propelled Aston Villa into a surprise title charge. The 30-year-old remains a near guarantee of Premier League goals year in, year out.
31 - Jack Grealish (Everton)
The 2025-26 season has been a reset for Grealish – prior to injury, he’d rediscovered much of the twinkle that encouraged Manchester City to part with £100m for his services in 2021.
A loan switch to Everton may not have had the same lustre as that big move to the Etihad, but it was exactly what the winger needed – discovering a renewed freedom on the Toffees’ left flank.
His August Player of the Month award promised a vintage Grealish season, but a foot injury has likely ended his time on Merseyside and any faint World Cup ambitions he may have harboured.
30 - Nordi Mukiele
Whether providing assists from right-back or thwarting strikers at centre-back, he has been an integral part of Regis Le Bris’ swashbuckling Black Cats. It’s easy to forget this is the ex-Leverkusen and PSG man’s first English season.
29 - Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool)
The Hungarian’s versatility has seen him everywhere from attacking midfield to full-back, but regardless of position, he always plays when available. As well as his energy and passing range, Szoboszlai has also weighed in with multiple trademark set-piece goals.
28 - Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
The man who makes the Gunners tick has had to battle injuries this term, but his experience and creativity are invaluable. His relationship with Bukayo Saka sees most of Arsenal’s attacks channelled down the right.
27 - Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest)
If last season was a breakout campaign, 2025-26 has been the one when Anderson has become a household name. Handed a first England cap in September, he’s become a mainstay thanks to his elite composure and game sense.
26 - Martin Zubimendi
Close to joining Liverpool 18 months ago, the Spaniard has provided the positional awareness and tidy passing that’s allowed Arsenal’s other midfielders the freedom to do damage.
25 - Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa)
Mr Reliable in Villa’s midfield, the Belgian is always available in possession and rarely gives the ball away. His composure was a foundation for them to launch their unlikely title tilt, before picking up an ankle injury in January.
24. Reece James (Chelsea)
Back on the field after several injury-ravaged seasons, the Blues skipper has reminded everyone why he’s England’s most well-rounded right-back. Six goal contributions before New Year were evidence of his attacking prowess.
23 - Jurrien Timber (Arsenal)
Ousting Ben White was never going to be a simple task, especially after a serious knee injury early in his Arsenal career, but aggressive defending, and ability to create and score have made Timber a key cog in the league’s best defence.
22 - Matheus Cunha (Man United)
The Brazilian was brought to Old Trafford to inject creativity and goals into a sluggish side. It took eight Premier League games to break his duck, but swagger and an infectious personality have drawn comparisons to Eric Cantona.
21 - Rayan Cherki (Man City)
Highly rated since early in his career, the former Lyon man has risen to the challenge in his debut Premier League campaign. Vision, technique and an eye for the audacious have had City fans purring.
20 - Cristian Romero
This has been another testing Premier League campaign for Spurs – but for Romero it could have been even worse. At times it’s felt as though the skipper has been on a one-man mission to haul them up the table.
Following May’s Europa League win and Thomas Frank’s arrival as boss, there was hope the latest rebuild would propel them back towards the top of the league, but things faltered after an early-season run of just one league defeat in seven.
One key reason has been a lack of creativity, meaning an over-reliance on the back line, not least Romero’s central-defensive pairing with Micky van de Ven. They have been their side’s best two players, Romero snapping into duels as the Dutchman sweeps around him.
Finding a way to marry that enthusiasm with fewer cards would be welcome – 10 yellows and two reds in his first 21 league games this term was the highest tally in the league.
19 - Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds)
If the striker wasn’t drinking in the last-chance saloon when he joined Leeds on a free transfer in the summer, he was at least en route. Leaving Everton has given him a new lease of life, leading to calls for an England return.
18 - Marc Guehi (Man City)
The England defender had to “shut his mouth and keep his head down” (his own words) after a summer deadline-day move to Liverpool was kiboshed by Crystal Palace at the last. He did just that to earn a January switch to Man City.
17 - Phil Foden (Man City)
Mental health and fitness issues from last season have been laid to rest, with Foden close to his devastating best again. A streak of six goals in four autumn games confirmed his return to form ahead of a crucial World Cup year.
16 - Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea)
Not only forming one of the division’s most solid midfield pairings with Moises Caicedo, he has deputised for oft-injured Cole Palmer on penalties and is enjoying career-best form in front of goal.
15 - William Saliba (Arsenal)
Three separate loan spells in France now feel like a distant memory, with Saliba crucial to the league’s best rearguard. He adds pace and composure alongside Gabriel’s more front-foot defending. It’s a match made in heaven.
14 - Moises Caicedo (Chelsea)
The list of record Premier League transfers is littered with cautionary tales – Paul Pogba, Robinho, Andriy Shevchenko and Juan Sebastian Veron to name just a few.
While Chelsea initially paid £100m to recruit Caicedo from Brighton in August 2023, slightly less than the £107m they shelled out for Enzo Fernandez seven months earlier, the add-ons took his purchase to a British record £115m.
Caicedo was key to the Blues winning the Conference League and Club World Cup in 2025, and ranks among the best in the Premier League this season for interceptions and accurate passes. His partnership with Fernandez has become one of the most solid in Europe.
13 - Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle)
The deep-lying playmaker has added a greater goal threat to his already bulging repertoire. His previous best Premier League tally for a season was seven – he’d surpassed that by early January this time around.
12 - Bryan Mbeumo (Man United)
Many players have struggled to make the step up at Old Trafford, but Mbeumo has had no problem. His flexibility was key for Ruben Amorim – ending some games at right wing-back – and he quickly became an asset for Michael Carrick.
11 - Hugo Ekitike (Liverpool)
After Alexander Isak joined Liverpool for a British record £125m, Ekitike was expected to play second fiddle. But the July buy from Frankfurt has outshone Isak at Anfield, bagging 10 league goals by the end of January.
10 - Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
The Englishman’s load has lightened this season, much to Arsenal fans’ relief, with the arrival of genuine competition in Noni Madueke. But Saka remains the talisman, local hero and danger man.
9 - Harry Wilson (Fulham)
The Welsh wizard has been around England's top flight for a while now, but his wand of a left foot has never been so deadly.
His 12 goals across the last three Premier League seasons have been about par as he has flitted in and out of Marco Silva's starting 11, but this season Wilson has exploded, reaching eight goals by the end of January.
Howitzers, dead balls, and poached finishes. You name it, Harry Wilson has scored it, and almost three million Fantasy Premier League managers have sat up and taken notice.
In a congested mid-table, Fulham have a real chance of squeezing themselves into European qualification, and with a potential World Cup appearance with Wales on the horizon, it all looks rosy for the 28-year-old.
8 - Granit Xhaka (Sunderland)
Having previously left Arsenal to win a shock Bundesliga crown with Bayer Leverkusen, the 33-year-old’s surprise Sunderland switch was arguably the signing of the summer, providing much-needed leadership and nous.
7 - Gabriel Magalhaes
The steel alongside William Saliba’s silk at the heart of English football’s best defence, he bullies forwards and is a focal point in both boxes. A dedication to launching himself at set-pieces, scoring several this term, is key to Arsenal’s dead-ball prowess.
6 - Igor Thiago (Brentford)
It's fair to say Igor Thiago has taken the road less travelled.
The Brazilian first joined his first professional setup at Cruzerio as a 17-year-old, but struggled mentally as the team battled for survival in Brazil's second tier.
His coach, Mozart, began to get a tune from the young striker, who was swayed into a European move to Ludogorets Razgrad in Bulgaria. One year later, he moved to Belgian Champions League outfit Club Brugge. The year after that the Premier League came calling.
Unfortunately, Brentford's £30m Ivan Toney replacement suffered a season-ending injury early on, but has battled back to become Erling Haaland's primary golden boot rival. With a staggering 17 goals in just 25 top-flight appearances by early February, the 24-year-old has already become the highest-scoring Brazilian in a single Premier League season.
5 - Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
“One win in 17 – it can’t go on like this, can it?” the journalist asked Blackpool boss Mick McCarthy at a press call in February 2023. “It can,” was his blunt response. The clip sparked a thousand memes, and a young Morgan Rogers soon learned his manager was right.
Three years ago, he was marooned in the Championship relegation zone, learning his trade the hard way. Today, he’s one of the Premier League’s best players, the key man for an Aston Villa team who have been flying high for most of this season.
Rogers became the second-youngest Englishman ever to score a Champions League hat-trick, behind only Wayne Rooney, with a 4-2 victory over Celtic, and appears in pole position for the highly-coveted number 10 spot in Thomas Tuchel's England lineup.
4 - Antoine Semenyo (Man City)
This has been the season Semenyo has come of age. He had long been one of Bournemouth’s major threats, finding another level this term that propelled him to a January transfer to Manchester City. Last season, his 16 Premier League goal involvements marked him out as the Cherries’ talisman, but while suitors came in to buy his defensive colleagues, Semenyo remained.
An opening-night brace against Liverpool set the tone for 2025-26. He followed it up with four goals and three assists in the next six games, and hit double figures for goals by the time he joined City for £64m. Judging by the early signs at the Etihad, his powerful, direct style will wreak havoc in the years to come.
3 - Bruno Fernandes (Man United)
Fernandes has been the key man since his January 2020 arrival from Sporting – the only thing likely to change that is if the club hierarchy try to cash in on him again, like they did last summer. The Portuguese was the subject of a £100m bid from Saudi side Al Hilal, but turned it down to keep playing “at the highest level”.
He’s since shown what a mistake it would have been to let him go, with five goals and 12 assists in the league by early February – Rayan Cherki had the next best assist tally with seven. What makes Fernandes’ return even more impressive is that he was deployed in a deeper midfield role under Ruben Amorim, rather than his most effective No.10 position.
2 - Declan Rice (Arsenal)
At one point, the question was if Declan Rice was worth £105m. Now, it’s whether he’s the best midfielder on the planet.
The Arsenal star has evolved from midfield enforcer to an all-action Swiss Army knife who’s been the driving force behind the Gunners’ four-pronged assault for silverware.
What’s changed this season is Rice’s output. He’d already matched last term’s league tally of four goals by the first weekend in January, and is on track to exceed his previous bests for goals and assists by some margin. No longer just an elite number six, he also has the statistics you’d find in a regular match-winner.
A big part of Rice’s transformation is the freedom Martin Zubimendi’s arrival has provided. Where previously he had a tendency to be dragged deeper to plug any gaps in Mikel Arteta’s safety-first approach, he’s had the insurance to make more of a difference going forward this term.
If Rice can play a leading role in seeing Arsenal to a long-awaited league title, then cap it off with a strong showing at this summer’s World Cup, the noise around him is only going to grow louder. Best midfielder in the world? It’s a big claim, but it’s one that Rice is looking increasingly at ease with.
1 - Erling Haaland (Man City)
It was the first time he hadn’t finished as Premier League top scorer – Haaland netted 27 in 31 during Manchester City’s title-winning campaign in 2023-24, and a ludicrous 36 goals in 35 games during his debut season at the Etihad as Pep Guardiola’s side won the Treble.
His disappointing 2024-25 record was symptomatic of City’s general malaise last term. Guardiola’s men haven’t been back to their very best for much of this season either, but Haaland’s goals have moved them closer to the top. By early February, he had hit 21 in 25 – only one goal shy of last season’s tally with 13 games still to go.
This has also been the season Haaland reached 50 Champions League goals, doing so faster than any player in history, after 49 games – next best Ruud van Nistelrooy did it in 62, Lionel Messi took 66 and Cristiano Ronaldo needed 91. If that wasn’t enough, he’s also led Norway to a first World Cup since 1998, thanks to a far-fetched 16 goals in just eight qualifiers.
Haaland’s statistics are generational – his goals have been so metronomic you can almost take them for granted. Be in no doubt, though: the Premier League is currently witnessing one of the greatest strikers in history. He’s proved that once again this season.
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