25. Amad Diallo - Manchester United
Playing either as a wing-back or further forward, Diallo was a rare positive in Manchester United’s latest annus horribilis until injury got in the way. The Ivorian is everything their attack otherwise hasn’t been – dynamic, fast, direct – and he’s become more creative, too.
HIGHLIGHT That brilliantly-taken derby winner at the Etihad Stadium.
24. Antoine Semenyo - Bournemouth
The Ghana international, 25, is all-action – goals, assists, tackles, cards – and a product of the hard yards. Rejected by Crystal Palace, he knuckled down at Bath, Newport and Bristol City, and is now linked to big clubs having monstered their superstar full-backs all season.
HE SAID “My aim is to make defenders hate me.”
23. Youri Tielemans - Aston Villa
Having worked on his physical and defensive attributes after a mixed first season at Villa, adding tenacity to his passing ability, the Belgian started every one of their Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup fixtures up to mid-April.
HE SAID “I originally wanted to be a goalkeeper. But once I conceded, I’d dribble past everyone and score.”
22. Jean Phillipe-Mateta - Crystal Palace
Few players came into the 2024-25 campaign in such top form as Mateta. The question was whether Mateta could continue his hot streak, having netted just twice in 29 Premier League appearances during 2022-23. The 27-year-old responded dubiously, scoring just four times in the first half of the campaign, but then he turned a corner.
Mateta struck seven times in his opening six league encounters of 2025 and found himself on a more than respectable 13 by mid-April.
DID YOU KNOW? Mateta’s ear injury that he suffered against Milwall was so gruesome that the plastic surgeon who was hired to fix it refused to show the Frenchman a photograph of the wound, fearing he could pass out.
21. Morgan Gibbs-White - Nottingham Forest
A key member of the England side that won the U17 World Cup in 2017, Gibbs-White then took a little time to make his mark but has thrived under boss Nuno Espirito Santo. The former Wolves man chalked up 13 goal involvements in 15 league matches between December and March.
THEY SAID “He’s full of energy and very difficult to play against” – Lee Carsley, giving him a first senior cap.
20. Bruno Fernandes - Manchester United
You dread to think where United might be without the skipper scoring or assisting nearly half of their goals, from set-pieces, attacking midfield or deeper under Ruben Amorim. He’s the club’s sole post-Sir Alex Ferguson buy to have enhanced his reputation.
DID YOU KNOW? No Premier League player had made more shot-creating passes (121) up to the end of March.
19. Morgan Rogers - Aston Villa
Two years ago, Morgan Rogers was part of a Blackpool side relegated to League One. Now, he is established as one of England’s brightest prospects. This term, Rogers had scored 14 goals and added 11 assists in all competitions by early April, helping the Villans into the latter stages of the Champions League and leaving Manchester City wondering if letting him go was such a good idea.
HIGHLIGHT Becoming the second youngest Englishman to register a Champions League hat-trick, after Wayne Rooney in 2004, by smashing three goals past Celtic in January.
18. Alisson - Liverpool
There haven’t been any indications of the 32-year-old’s powers fading in his seventh season on Merseyside. Alisson had nine league clean sheets by the end of February despite missing two months through injury.
DID YOU KNOW? As of early April, the Brazilian’s save percentage was an impressive 73.5 per cent; it’s been above 70 per cent in all seven of his Premier League campaigns. Solid.
17. William Saliba - Arsenal
A totem of consistency, the French centre-back is dominant in the air, a superb reader of the game and comfortable with the ball at his feet. Saliba has everything in his armoury to become a Premier League great, not least because he’s still only 24.
HIGHLIGHT Scoring in back-to-back matches in December, against Manchester United and Fulham.
16. Justin Kluivert - Bournemouth
For a little while, Kluivert was mainly known for two things: being the son of the legendary Patrick (and that is going to stay with him forever) and being an answer to a quiz question. His first campaign in England produced seven league goals, his best tally since his Ajax days, and he has stepped up further in 2024-25. By the end of February, he’d struck 12 times and provided six assists, with his two most notable afternoons prompting two more quiz questions.
At Wolves, he became the first player in 67 years to score a hat-trick of penalties in an English top-flight fixture. At Newcastle, he bagged another treble (this time from open play), which meant that he’d scored more Premier League goals at St James’ Park than his dad, who represented the Magpies in 2004-05.
DID YOU KNOW? Just like Justin and Patrick, Justin’s grandfather was a full international. Kenneth Kluivert played for Suriname three times in the 1960s, as well as being a goalscoring legend at Paramaribo club SV Robinhood.
15. Bukayo Saka - Arsenal
How different might the Gunners’ campaign have turned out if their cutting-in-from-the-wing king hadn’t been injured for months while Liverpool’s scored goals galore? Only that long layoff prevents Saka from being higher in this list – and at 23, he has nearly a decade on Mo Salah. He deserves to lift big trophies soon.
THEY SAID “It’s impossible not to love him” – Mikel Arteta.
14. Bryan Mbeumo - Brentford
The Premier League's most underrated forward is finally getting his flowers. Not only a top creator, presser and finisher (15 league goals from 8.5 xG with a third of the season still to go), he’s resilient, amassing 250 French and English league outings aged just 25.
HIGHLIGHT Scoring after 23 seconds against Spurs, then after 38 seconds against West Ham only a week later.
13. Matheus Cunha
One of the best players in the Premier League this season has been playing for a side battling relegation. It’s easy to see why top clubs are increasingly interested in Matheus Cunha. The 25-year-old has been talismanic at Molineux.
Prior to his four-match ban and £50,000 fine for violent conduct in a game against Bournemouth, Cunha posted 13 goals and four assists in 26 league outings and had won widespread praise for his all-round forward play.
DID YOU KNOW? It’s not unusual for footballers to speak other languages, but Cunha is a bona fide polyglot: he can talk fluently in Portuguese, English, Italian, French, German and Spanish.
12. Bruno Guimaraes - Newcastle United
The heart and soul of Newcastle’s revival, Bruno Guimaraes is more than just a midfield maestro - he’s a symbol of the club’s rebirth. His leadership isn’t for show - lifting the cup alongside long-serving figures like Jamaal Lascelles was his idea, rooted in deep respect. Bruno isn’t just loved by fans for his passing or pressing, but for his emotional connection to the club. “We behave like fans,” he says, and it shows.
HIGHLIGHT Becoming Newcastle’s first trophy-winning captain in 70 years.
11. Declan Rice - Arsenal
The Gunners shelled out a club-record £105m to recruit Rice from West Ham in 2023. It’s been money well spent. After a stellar debut campaign at the Emirates Stadium, his second season got off to a slower start – dismissed against Brighton with a second booking for kicking the ball away. The Gunners have been aiming to win a Premier League crown for the first time since the club’s days at Highbury. Rice could be crucial if they’re to achieve that in the near future.
HIGHLIGHT That night at the Emirates against Real Madrid – one of the finest performances of Rice’s career to date.
10. Trent Alexander-Arnold - Liverpool
It’s been a uniquely triumphant but tricky season for Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool’s many highs offset by the distraction of ever-increasing reports about Real Madrid signing him. But he’s used to it, and usually silences the old ‘defensive liability!’ naysayers with a couple of impossible passes.
HE SAID “The more you play, the more extravagant your dreams and ambitions become.” Poetic.
9. Alexis Mac Allister - Liverpool
The World Cup winner now looks every inch of it at Anfield, after an awkwardly deep-lying first season in which his instinctive passing caused some defensive palpitations. In Arne Slot’s system, Mac Allister makes things tick further forward. He takes ball retention to another dimension.
THEY SAID “I cannot think of a poor performance from him” – Arne Slot.
8. Cole Palmer - Chelsea
Palmer played more than half of this season in the same scintillating form as last term, so we probably shouldn’t be surprised that he finally hit a wall at Chelsea.
His latest campaign burst into life with an extraordinary four-goal first-half haul against Brighton in September – surely the best performance of his career, an exuberant interviewer enquired afterwards? “I’m not sure... maybe,” the underwhelmed star replied, as if she had just stopped him on the high street to ask about switching energy suppliers.
DID YOU KNOW? Prior to his England debut, Palmer was eligible to represent St Kitts & Nevis via his father’s side of the family. He’d start for them, at least.
7. Gabriel Magalhaes - Arsenal
A mighty presence at both ends, Gabriel was the Premier League’s ‘most feared attacker’ according to one newspaper in October, due to his set-piece prowess. He’s crucial at the back, too, so his season-ending injury on April Fool’s Day was no joke.
HIGHLIGHT Scoring the winner in a North London Derby? That’s hard to beat... unlike Spurs this season.
6. Ryan Gravenberch - Liverpool
The Premier League’s most improved player? A fellow Dutchman in the dugout has revitalised the midfielder, who rarely started last season but is now so essential – winning the ball and moving balletically upfield with it – that he’s arguably been overused.
DID YOU KNOW? His mum, dad and elder brother all played football; the latter, Danzell, was briefly at Reading.
5. Erling Haaland - Manchester City
Even in an off year, Haaland clears 20 league goals – with some early flat-track bullying to thank, admittedly. Doubts persist about his potency in big games, but many a great striker went quiet for an hour; he could yet be the greatest.
HIGHLIGHT August’s back-to-back hat-tricks against West Ham and Ipswich. He looked unstoppable.
4. Chris Wood - Nottingham Forest
The ’90s are back, and Wood is proof: a 6ft 3in striker scoring freely for a high-flying Nottingham Forest side. Clever movement catches defenders unawares, and the New Zealander’s goals – 18 in 25 Premier League outings up to mid-February – earned him a contract extension to 2027.
HE SAID “I don’t think the No.9 ever went out of fashion – they were still appreciated by certain managers.”
3. Virgil Van Dijk - Liverpool
The Dutch skipper is back to doing what he does best: making mugs of much younger strikers, with a few rare exceptions. At 33, Van Dijk is still Liverpool’s titanic, totemic lynchpin.
DID YOU KNOW? He and Wataru Endo had a big night out to get over the disappointment of a Champions League exit to PSG: watching their kids star in Fantastic Mr Fox at school.
2. Alexander Isak - Newcastle United
For a decade, fans arrived at St James’ Park longing to see the Alan Shearer arm-raise. These days, they tap their digital season ticket on the turnstile and head inside with the hope that Isak’s trademark thumb celebration will make an appearance. It usually does.
Newcastle have their our hands a generational talent, and there’s a collective sense that they need to enjoy watching the 25-year-old while we can. Few have seen a forward like Isak in black and white. His style of play is incredibly easy on the eye. His movements are balletic, even out of possession.
1. Mohammed Salah
The new season was just 65 minutes old when Mo Salah set his first record of the campaign, and he’s carried on breaking them ever since. On December 4, Salah became the first player to both score and assist in 37 Premier League matches, surpassing Rooney’s tally. A fortnight later, he was the first Premier League player ever to reach double figures for both goals and assists before Christmas.
On February 19, he became the first player in Premier League history to score 15 away league goals in a season. On February 23, he was the first player ever to score and assist in 11 Premier League matches in the same season. On March 8, Salah drew level with Sergio Aguero on 184 Premier League goals, making him the joint-leading overseas goalscorer in English top-flight history. It also took him to 44 goal involvements for the season (27 goals, 17 assists), a joint Premier League record for a 38-game campaign.
Factor into all of this that he isn’t even a striker, and Salah’s numbers have been absurd. Little wonder that he has been tipped as a Ballon d’Or contender, and that Liverpool surged so far clear at the top of the table.
