Five potential stars for the 2015-16 season - Barclays Premier League
Following on from Micho's five potential stars from the Bundesliga in 2015-16, today I'm doing to be unveiling my five players that I believe will thrive for their respective clubs in the Barclays Premier League in the 2015-16 season, including three players new to England and two others that you know all about already.
Virgil Van Dijk (Southampton FC)
It's been a mixed start to life on the South coast of England for Dutch centre-back Virgil Van Dijk. After being awarded the Barclays Man of the Match on his debut at the Hawthorns in a 0-0 draw against West Bromwich Albion, he was given a torrid time on his home debut by Anthony Martial, notably being turned inside out for the teenagers opening goal.
However, those that have watched Van Dijk over the past two season at Celtic will assure you that his performance against the red half of Manchester was no more than a blip in what should be a very good season. Van Dijk signed for the Saints on transfer deadline day for a reported fee of £11.5m after two seasons of players at Celtic Park; Arsenal had also shown interested in the Dutchman. In his period north of the border he netted nine goals, showing his attacking prowess from both open plan and set pieces as well as helping the Bhoys to back to back SPL titles.
Southampton set high standards though and having finished the 2014/15 campaign with the second best defensive record in the top flight of English football, won't be afraid to drop Van Dijk if needs be with the likes of Maya Yoshida and relegation specialist Steven Caulker waiting in the wings as Southampton look to push for Europe again.
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City FC)
The Algerian started to show flashes of what he could do last season, including a brace against Southampton on the penultimate day of the season, but only at the beginning of the current campaign has Riyad Mahrez really showed Premier League fans what he could do. Nominated for the Barclays Premier League Player of the Month award for August in 2015-16, Riyad has began the campaign in fine form scoring five goals and assisting his teammates three times in just six appearances.
Leicester remain the only unbeaten side in the Premier League after getting points against the likes of Tottenham and getting fantastic results away at West Ham and Stoke, however with a side like Leicester, you know it isn't going to last forever. How long it does last for though is going to be down to the likes of Mahrez, as well as Jamie Vardy who is another Leicester player who's had an outstanding beginning to the campaign. New boss, 'The Tinkerman', Claudio Ranieri has also signed well, bringing in the likes of experienced Premier League centre-back Robert Huth, the tough-tackling N'Golo Kante as well as Shinji Okazaki from Bundesliga side Mainz, where the Japanese striker had reached double figures in the league for two seasons running. Given they've shown what they can do in these opening weeks of the season, I fully believe Leicester should avoid relegation, but by what margin is going to be down to individuals like this tricky Algerian winger.
Jefferson Montero (Swansea City)
I wasn't sure how 'Baby Jeff' would cope with English football after moving to Swansea post the 2014 World Cup. Notorious from being frustratingly inconsistent from his days in Spain and Mexico, however on his day, the winger is one of the best out and out wide men in World football.
In his debut season he managed a return of seven assists which is pretty handy for a side like Swansea and he's began this season in fantastic fashion, bar a minor injury which has somewhat halted his progress and ruled him out of the win against Manchester United. Before that though, he'd torn apart both Chelsea and Newcastle and was the first player to really show up Branislav Ivanovic this season who has had vast amounts of criticism from pundits and fans alike since. Then again, can you blame the Serbian for having a tough time? Jefferson Montero has a combination of pace and dribbling unlike many in the Barclays Premier League and if he had the consistent crossing ability to match, would be playing Champions League football by now.
The Ecuadorian does need to work on his goals though - he's only found the net once in his Swansea career so far and, yes, English defenses are a little higher quality than that you'd expect to find in Mexico, but if Montero wants to take his game to the next level and attract high quality bidders, that's what he's got to do.
Dimitri Payet (West Ham United)
The signing of the summer? Could very well be. The 28 year old made the trip from South France to East London for a fee slightly in excess of £10m and at the moment, that seems to be a little bit of a bargain. Payet made over 300 Ligue 1 appearances in France for the likes of Nantes, Saint Etienne, Lille and the aforementioned Marseille, where he registed seven goals and 17 assists last season, before moving onto pastures new and joining Slaven Bilic's West Ham, where to say he's settled in well would be an understatement.
In the previous season under Sam Allardyce, West Ham had been in the top four at Christmas but it's fair to say everything went a little pear shaped after that. They only managed three league wins between Christmas and the end of the season, which was enough for the chairman to decide not to renew Allardyce's contract. However, they stumbled into Europe after topping the Premier League 'Fair Play' table and that meant reinforcements. In came Payet, as well as Obiang, Ogbonna, Antonio, Moses and much to my surprise, Manuel Lanzini; Alexander Song also returned on loan for another season.
The signings and change in management appear to have worked; the Hammers have already managed to beat Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City this season, which makes the home losses to Leicester and Bourenmouth all the more puzzling. It's safe to say Dimitri had a key part to play in all three victories, registering assists against both Arsenal and Manchester City, as well as pulling off a fantastic bit of skill which beat Liverpool's Phillipe Coutinho all ends up and lead to the Brazilian's early bath. He's also wowed the English footballing public with his long range shooting at set pieces, both of which were on display as he scored both of the Hammers goals in a 2-0 win over struggling Newcastle.
Anthony Martial (Manchester United)
Imagine the situation. You've been plucked out of your homeland by one of the biggest clubs in World football for a fee of £36m, not to mention the fact it could rise to £58m, making you the most expensive teenager in the World. You're being compared to arguably the best striker in Premier League history and you've been told you're making your debut against your club's fiercest rivals. How well do you think you'd cope? Exactly, which is what makes Anthony Martial, to me, so incredibly impressive.
He began his senior career at French giants Lyon, where he made a handful of apperances before moving to moneybags Monaco in 2013. His chances during his first season at the club were limited, he was sat 4th in the striking pecking order behind Radamel Falcao, Emmanuel Rivere and Valere Germain. The following season however, Falcao and Rivere both left for English football and the 18 year old seized his opportunity. He scored nine times in 35 league appearances and duly earned himself a huge money move to Manchester United.
And the rest, will be history. His goal (and Martin Tyler's commentary) against Liverpool gave me goosebumps. The speed and technical ability he showed just in that short cameo appearance was fantastic. He didn't stop there either, he made his full Premier League debut against the aforementioned Southampton and Virgil Van Dijk, turning the Dutchman inside out for his first goal before picking up on a sloppy Maya Yoshida back-pass to race through 1 on 1 with Maarten Stekelenburg and stroke home his second. This kid's up there with the Tielemans', the Odegaard's, the Brandt's and the Halilovic's when it comes to the very best teenage players in World football and is going to be one to watch for the next 10 seasons, let alone the 2015-16 season.
Let us know what league or category you guys want to see next!