The Premier League has always been known for being the most competitive football league in the world, given its collection of highly talented players from all 20 participating clubs.
While there have been a lot of players who have produced fantastic campaigns that were given plaudits such as the likes of Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah, and Heung-Min Son, that is not the case for some, so SBOTOP is here to give them the credit they deserve.
So who are these underrated stars who caught our eye in the early proceedings of the 2023-24 campaign? Take a look at our list down below, and let us know what you think.
Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa
Aston Villa have emerged as one of the dark horses for the title this season, sitting in fifth at the table, and Ollie Watkins is a huge reason why. The 27-year-old striker has clearly benefited from Unai Emery’s brand of attacking football.
Watkins leads the Villans in scoring with 11 goals across all competitions. Six of those have come in the Premier League, which is good for sixth in the Golden Boot race, and he also has five assists.
Because he is in the form of his life, Watkins has enjoyed call-ups to the England national team, and in fact, he has never been subbed out in a single Premier League match so far, a testament to his durability.
While seeing this all unfold, Aston Villa were smart enough to lock down Watkins to a long-term contract extension last month, which will see him commit to the team up until 2028, as per the Premier League 2023 news.
Sam Johnstone, Crystal Palace
Sam Johnstone being on top of the Golden Glove race as of this writing is a development that no one really saw coming, especially accounting for the pre-season Premier League 2023 odds.
The 30-year-old has recorded five clean sheets in the first 12 matchdays, better than the likes of Alisson Becker and Ederson, making him one of the main reasons why Crystal Palace are steady in 13th place in the Premier League standings.
When Vincent Guaita left for Celta Vigo this summer, the Eagles brought in Dean Henderson to replace him, and he was supposed to be the first-choice goalkeeper. However, the former Manchester United shotstopper suffered an untimely thigh injury, which is expected to keep him sidelined for several months.
When the opportunity presented itself, Johnstone has been making the most of it, which has also earned him call-ups to the England national team.
One of his best performances recently was when he had five major saves in their 2-0 clean sheet victory against Burnley.
Jeremy Doku, Manchester City
Manchester City’s vaunted attack just got stronger with the arrival of Jeremy Doku, as the young Belgian now has three goals and six assists already under his belt.
Doku has effectively replaced Riyad Mahrez, who left the Sky Blues last summer to join Al-Ahli, at right wing for the team.
Many pundits say that Doku is an atypical Pep Guardiola player, and they’re right, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. With his speed and ball-handling ability, Doku is great at isolating opposing full-backs to give Manchester City a lot more room to operate.
His best performance so far was when he had five goal involvements in their 6-1 rout of Bournemouth earlier this month. Doku scored the first goal after 30 minutes, and he assisted an impressive four more goals for his side.
Harry Maguire, Manchester United
Perhaps stripping the captain’s armband from him was the best thing that has happened to Harry Maguire’s Manchester United career.
Maguire was supposed to be sold to West Ham United this summer, but he was insistent on fighting for his place at Old Trafford. His opportunity came when the Red Devils had a myriad of injuries, and to his credit, he has delivered.
This season, the 30-year-old centre-back has cemented his place back in Erik ten Hag’s starting XI after having only started eight Premier League matches last term.
And this year, Maguire already had several strong performances, including his marginal goal against Copenhagen in the Champions League and the game-winning assist to Scott McTominay in their comeback victory against Brentford.
Maguire has gotten so much better to the point that he is starting over Raphael Varane, who is arguably the better centre-back when fit.
And when Lisandro Martinez returns from injury, Manchester United’s centre-half depth is going to be much better than it is today, which is a good problem to have if you’re Erik ten Hag.
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