Football headlines have always been reserved for star names: Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah, Bukayo Saka and company reign supreme, and rightly so. But dig a little deeper and you’ll see plenty of other brilliant performances across the Premier League, many of which remain sadly unsung.
Now that we’re a quarter of the way through the season, we’ve compiled a lineup of players we think are flying under the radar. If you’re a fan of the clubs mentioned here, chances are you’re already raving about the player in question, but a broader appreciation is still lacking. Hopefully this helps put them in the spotlight.
Goalkeeper: Mads Hermansen, Leicester City
From a pure shot-stopping perspective, Hermansen has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League this season.
He avoided 3.3 more goals than expected based on the shots he faced. And there were a lot of them: 58 on target to be exact. Only Mark Flekken (73) from Brentford has been subjected more this season.
On the ball, Hermansen’s role has been simplified; he’s been playing longer than in the Championship, but there are still signs of quality here and there.
RB: Kenny Teté, Fulham
It was a bounce-back season for Tete, who started all 10 Premier League games, meaning he matched his tally for 2023-24. He won the favor of manager Marco Silva and firmly held off Belgian international Timothy Castagne’s challenge for the right-back position with his boisterous and action-packed performances.
He has more interceptions (20) than anyone else on the team and loves to run 50 yards with the ball on occasion.
CB: Nikola Milenkovic, Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest’s fantastic start to the season has been fueled by defensive resilience. They went from the sixth-worst defensive record in the league last season (with 1.8 goals per game) to the second-best, conceding just seven in 10 so far.
Aside from the simple luxury of working longer under Nuno Espírito Santo, the significant change from last season is the presence of Milenković in the center of defense, who was signed by Fiorentina for £12 million after some good campaigns in Serie A. and a solid Euro 2024 for Serbia.
His start to life at Forest has been superb, dominating the box in most games, remaining composed enough to help track matches and significantly improving their ability to defend set pieces.
CB: Illia Zabarnyi, Bournemouth
Zabarnyi is continually present, but somehow always underestimated. He arrived one game into an Ironman Premier League season in 2023-24 – starting and finishing 37 of 38 matches – and is back there this season, playing every minute of the nine games so far.
The Ukrainian international is incredibly reliable in defense, confident in the passing game and has a knack for winning his duels on the ground. He can take on all kinds of attackers and has become the physical side of the Premier League since his arrival.
Cherries fans cherish him – hence his player of the season award in 2023-24 – but that wider appreciation is yet to follow.
GM: Lucas Digne, Aston Villa
Aston Villa have brought in two new left-backs during Unai Emery’s tenure, Álex Moreno and Ian Maatsen, but so far Digne has held them both back, forcing Moreno out and largely keeping Maatsen on the bench.
He is renowned as an attacking full-back and set-piece threat, but over the last year he has worked hard to complement the defensive side of his game and become a much more balanced player. This season, only one Villa player (Youri Tielemans, 17) has made more tackles than Digne (15) and the Frenchman is first in interceptions (14).
Digne’s determination to improve and his resilience to show his worth year after year is something to be admired.
DM: Now Lukic, Fulham
Lukic represents some great forward planning from Fulham, who signed him in January 2023 in anticipation of João Palhinha’s eventual exit from the club. This season, with Palhinha’s departure to Bayern Munich, Lukic was given a key role and shone.
Defensively, he was busy, totaling 20 attempted tackles and interceptions, and he balanced a midfield that often contained an attacking midfielder playing deeper.
There are times in football when a player’s true impact can be measured in his absence, and in these last three weeks without him (he injured his shoulder in the national team), the midfielder Fulham field has sometimes worked a lot.
CM: Dejan Kulusevski, Tottenham Hotspur
The waves of appreciation for Kulusevski are growing bigger and bigger, but the weight of the role he plays still goes unnoticed. Now moved from the wing to central midfield, he offers power and strength, defensive work rate, brilliant ball carrying, an eye for a pass and a legitimate goal threat. Very few people can match this range of skills.
No one on the Spurs created more shooting opportunities (51) or recorded more progressive runs (40). His performance in Tottenham’s 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in September was one of the finest individual performances we’ve seen this season.
CM: Moisés Caicedo, Chelsea
Caicedo carries the burden of a frankly ridiculous contract. His £115 million move from Brighton & Hove Albion has put huge pressure on his performances – so much so that even though he still plays well or very well, he often doesn’t get the credit he deserves.
This season he has displayed his usual defensive frenzy, making by far the most interceptions and tackles won (52) of any Chelsea player. Additionally, he played more passes into the final third (54) than anyone else, while only Cole Palmer played more progressive passes than him (50). He also has two assists – two lovely through balls to Nicolas Jackson – and a bigger goal to his name, against Manchester United.
Take a look at the league and you won’t find many central midfielders outperforming Caicedo.
FW: Callum Hudson-Odoi, Nottingham Forest
Forest’s win over Leicester two weekends ago sparked murmurs of appreciation for Hudson-Odoi. The winger’s career hasn’t exactly followed the fast track to stardom that many imagined after he exploded into Chelsea’s first team in 2018-19, attracting the attention of Bayern Munich, but keep it up and perceptions could change once again.
He has been a notable creative presence so far, leading all Forest players in shot creation actions (42), key passes (18) and passes into the penalty area (19). He has now scored two goals this season, both cut and curled from distance – including one at Anfield, paving the way in a remarkable 1-0 victory over Liverpool.
Away: Keane Lewis-Potter, Brentford
You could be forgiven for thinking that Lewis-Potter was a new signing at Brentford this season, given his first two years at the club were so heavily disrupted by injury. Now, finally, he is fit enough to show his talent consistently in year three.
He has played in every league match so far this season, starting eight, with his best coming in late October when he tormented Ipswich Town defender Harry Clarke. The right-back, making his full Premier League debut, scored an own goal, conceded a penalty and received a red card – all because of pressure from Lewis-Potter. The Brentford winger has been humming along quietly all season but this was an explosion of his ability to the extent that manager Thomas Frank called it “probably his best game” in a Bees shirt.
ST: Matheus Cunha, Wolverhampton Wanderers
Teams struggling at the bottom of the table usually struggle to score goals, but that’s not the case for Wolves at all. They scored 14 – more than eight other teams, including Newcastle United and Manchester United – and Cunha grabbed four.
Cunha is every manager’s dream, as he is extremely hardworking and excellent at coming off the line to link up with midfield, and can drive with the ball at his feet for long distances. In addition to goals, he leads his team in runs into the final third (27), runs into the penalty area (16) and shot-creating actions (36).
New signing Jørgen Strand Larsen also scored four goals, attracting a lot of attention, but Cunha has more and remains Wolves’ X-factor striker.