10 BEST PREMIER LEAGUE PLAYERS THIS SEASON RANKED BY GABBY AGBONLAHOR

This Premier League season has been one to remember, with goals aplenty, a title race that looks set to go down to the wire and a relegation battle that could end up doing the same.

Manchester City and Arsenal are vying for the crown at the top of the table, while Luton, Burnley and Nottingham Forest are all battling to stay in the Premier League, with two from three guaranteed to be relegated.

There have been plenty of star performers over the last nine months, and former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor, in his relatively new role as a pundit on talkSPORT, has picked out his 10 best players of the season. Declan Rice and Mohammed Salah are both snubbed, but there are plenty of predictable names on the list...

Jarrod Bowen

West Ham United

Jarrod Bowen is enjoying a brilliant season at West Ham and looks a decent bet to make it into England's squad for this summer's European Championship in Germany. He has scored 16 times in the Premier League, also registering six assists, and it's that kind of form that earned him a recall by Gareth Southgate for the October, November and March international breaks.

Bowen has some stiff competition on the right wing, with Bukayo Saka currently ahead of him in England's pecking order, but his performances for the Hammers can only be a good thing for his international chances.

Agbonlahor told talkSPORT of Bowen: "He's that guy at West Ham, he's got 15 goals in the Premier League in a team you can say doesn't play as attacking as other teams. I think with the squad being 26, he definitely goes to the Euros as well with England."

Erling Haaland

Manchester City

Erling Haaland scored 52 goals in 53 appearances for City last campaign, so any slight drop-off this time around was always likely to be scrutinised and that is exactly what has happened. Haaland still boasts a remarkable scoring record, with 32 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions, and he is the Premier League's top scorer with 21 goals - one more than former City teammate Cole Palmer.

Haaland, however, has missed more big chances than any other player this season with 30 - four more than Darwin Nunez in second and eight more than even the derided Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson. Agbonlahor said: "The standards he set last season, this season he has missed a lot of chances."

William Saliba

Arsenal

Arsenal have got the best defence in the Premier League and William Saliba's performances are a big factor in that. Gunners fans expected a lot of the Frenchman when he returned to the club in 2022 after a fruitful season on loan at Nice and he has delivered in brilliant fashion over the last two years.

Saliba has been involved in more shut-outs than any other player in the division this season, with 16 clean sheets - two more than second-placed teammate David Raya and three more than defensive partner Gabriel.

Agbonlahor praised Saliba off the back of his performance in the Community Shield win over Manchester City last August, saying: "People don’t want to take him on. If he can stay fit the whole season, then they will have a better chance [of winning the title]."

Emiliano Martinez

Aston Villa

Emiliano Martinez is more than just a wind-up merchant - he is also a very good goalkeeper. He will forever mostly be remembered by a lot of football fans for the manner of his celebration after Argentina won the 2022 World Cup, but that's not what Villa supporters primarily associate him with.

Only four goalkeepers have kept more clean sheets in the league than Martinez, who has also played a key role in the Villans' Europa Conference League campaign, performing penalty shoot-out heroics in their quarter-final win over Lille.

"There's a reason why he's the best goalkeeper in the world for me," Agbonlahor said of Martinez.

Rodri

Manchester City

Rodri is coming to the end of his fifth season at City and over the last couple of years he has established himself as one of, if not the most important player in Pep Guardiola's team.

The Spaniard had big boots to fill at the Etihad but has gone strength to strength since Fernandinho's departure in 2022, and is now widely regarded as the best holding midfielder in the division, and perhaps even the world.

Rodri is currently on a remarkable run of not having lost a match in regulation time in his last 70 appearances for the club, a run that stretches back to a defeat by Tottenham in February 2023.

Bukayo Saka

Arsenal

Bukayo Saka's output at Arsenal has improved in every season since he was promoted to the first team. The 22-year-old scored four goals in 2019-20, before seven goals the following season, then 12, then 15, and Saka is currently on 19 goals for the current campaign, the latest of which came in the Gunners' North London derby win over Tottenham a week ago.

Saka is seemingly a shoo-in for England's starting line-up at the Euros and he will hope that he will be heading to Germany this summer as an English champion. Agbonlahor is a big fan of Saka and said last year that he would take the youngster over England legend David Beckham in his best Three Lions' XI of all time.

Ollie Watkins

Aston Villa

Ollie Watkins looks to be well on the way to becoming a Villa legend, and his goals could well end up earning the club a place in the Champions League. Villa haven't competed in Europe's elite club tournament since winning it in 1983, and prior to this season had not figured at all in European competition since a run to the last 32 of the UEFA Cup in 2008-09.

Agbonlahor said: "Ollie Watkins, I wanted to put him higher because he has been outstanding. What he's done for Aston Villa this season - 19 Premier League goals, 12 assists, zero penalties - he's been outstanding, definitely goes to the Euros, and you can argue that he deserves to break into the starting team."

Cole Palmer

Chelsea

Eyebrows were raised when Chelsea spent over £40million on Cole Palmer last summer given the youngster had only started three times for Manchester City in the Premier League. Palmer has eliminated any doubts about his top-level quality, though, emerging as the talisman for Mauricio Pochettino's struggling team.

Much has been made of the amount of penalties Palmer has scored for Chelsea but his statistics would still be mightily impressive with spot-kicks taken away. Nine of Palmer's 25 goals have come from 12 yards, while has also registered 13 assists in all competitions.

"He's been outstanding, and when you watch him, he looks better with every game," Agbonlahor said. "No Palmer against Arsenal (in the recent 5-0 defeat), no Chelsea. They really rely on Cole Palmer."

Martin Odegaard

Arsenal

Martin Odegaard's story is a rare case of a wonderkid realising his potential. Real Madrid have an embarrassment of riches in their team but they must still rue letting Odegaard join Arsenal in 2021 having watched from afar just how good of a player he has developed into in North London.

The 25-year-old creative midfielder is not just a great player, but he is also a leader in this young Arsenal team, having embraced his captaincy role after being handed the armband by Mikel Arteta two years ago.

Agbonlahor said: "When you watch Odegaard, his first touch, his clever balls, he's an outstanding player and one Arsenal need to definitely keep for the rest of his career."

Phil Foden

Manchester City

Agbonlahor reckons Phil Foden has been the best player in the Premier League this season, and it's difficult to argue with him. Foden has 24 goals and 10 assists in all competitions and has finally established himself as one of City's most important players after years of gradual progression under Pep Guardiola.

"Not many players in the Premier League are world class, Phil Foden is world class," Agbonlahor said. "16 Premier League goals, he's the main man now. In previous seasons it's been De Bruyne. He's been outstanding, he can play anywhere across the front line, even as a false nine. We have to build a squad and a team at the Euros around Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham."

All statistics are from Transfermarkt

2024-05-04T22:46:45Z dg43tfdfdgfd