Football

TT’s Player of the Year ladder: New leader emerges; Liverpool trio fall

Our new feature ranks the players leading the charge to be named Player of the Year, as a new leader takes charge at the summit and the top 10 receives three new entries.

Every month we’ll be ranking the Premier League’s 10 best players in a bid to calculate who is on course to be crowned Player of the Year.

We’ll explain our thoughts, show you the climbers and fallers and name the players threatening to break into the top 10….

Recall who made our top 10 in September here

 

1/ Raheem Sterling

The City ace ended the month of October with six goals in four appearances for club and country. For someone whose finishing we once questioned, he now has the remarkable figures of 17 goals in 18 appearances for City and England this season. Causing havoc at a Premier League ground near you on a weekly basis.

(Last month: 4th)

 

2/ Kevin De Bruyne

We all know that the Belgian can put a ball on a plate like no-one else but nine assists in eight starts and one sub appearance this season… well that’s ridiculous. To be precise, it’s more than twice as many as any other player. A couple of goals too although they did come in 4-0 and 8-0 wins!

(Last month: 1st)

 

3/ Sadio Mane

Liverpool have started their Premier League campaign with nine wins and a draw to build a healthy six-point lead and Mane has been a huge part of it. There’s goals (nine in all comps), three man-of-the-match displays and the boy knows how to win a penalty too, constantly pestering defenders and earning the match-winning spot-kicks in recent wins over both Leicester and Spurs.

(Last month: 2nd)

 

4/ Jamie Vardy

The Premier League’s leading scorer with nine and, what’s more, they’ve come from just 20 shots! Vardy’s chilling efficiency in front of goal is as good as it ever was and he remains the horns of this charging Leicester bull.

(Last month: N/A)

 

5/ Sergio Aguero

It’s 12 in 12 for the Argentine, who ended the month with braces against Atlanta in the Champions League and Southampton in the Carabao Cup, the latter showing he’ll never miss an opportunity to do what he does best. Joint-second in the Premier League Golden Boot race with eight.

(Last month: 3rd)

 

6/ Fabinho

Jurgen Klopp’s rotation of his hard-working midfielders is accepted and understood by those involved but the Brazilian is becoming the one constant. Brilliant at breaking up play and his creative eye shouldn’t be underestimated either. Hugely important in Liverpool’s fast start.

(Last month: N/A)

 

7/ Virgil van Dijk

Virgil Van Dijk TEAMtalk

Liverpool’s lack of clean sheets this season suggests some holes have appeared but the Reds still have the joint-best defensive record in the Premier League (eight in 10) and Van Dijk makes numerous blocks and points-saving interceptions per game, even though we now take it for granted.

(Last month: 5th)

 

8/ Wilfried Ndidi

Doesn’t get the same headlines as Fabinho but his numbers are outstanding. He’s gone in for 60 tackles this season and made 45, that success rate of five per game putting him a mile clear of his rivals. The Leicester man also has an interception rate of 3.6 per 90 minutes. A powerhouse at the base of the Foxes midfield.

(Last month: N/A)

 

9/ Trent Alexander-Arnold

 

The Liverpool right-back has whipped in 109 crosses this season, 26 more than any other player. He’s also had more touches of the ball (1,025) than anyone. Of course, there’s quality to go with the quantity and, from right-back, TAA remains one of Liverpool’s most potent attacking weapons.

(Last month: 6th)

 

10/ Tammy Abraham

(Last month: 8th)

Let’s not forget that Chelsea ended October with the same number of points (20) as Leicester so Frank Lampard’s men deserve a presence in the top 10. With eight Premier League goals, the same as Aguero, Abraham has had a superb start and looks to be solving what has often been a problem position for the Blues.

 

Bubbling Under

Youri Tielemans, Roberto Firmino, David Silva, James Maddison, Mo Salah, Mason Mount, Ricardo Pereira, John McGinn, Jack Grealish, Matteo Guendouzi.

 

 

The post TT’s Player of the Year ladder: New leader emerges; Liverpool trio fall appeared first on teamtalk.com.

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