VOTE: Who has been the best player of 2024/25 so far?

Cole Palmer. Erling Haaland. Bukayo Saka. These are just some of the players who have starred so far this Premier League season. 

Here, football writer Adrian Kajumba picks out 10 of the best performers of the first seven Matchweeks. We want you, the fans, to tell us who has been THE standout player. 

Jhon Duran (Aston Villa)

Duran is yet to start a Premier League match for Villa this season, which makes his output all the more remarkable.

All seven of the Colombian’s appearances have been off the bench and he is the joint most-used substitute in the division alongside team-mate Ian Maatsen. Duran is joint-fourth in the Premier League’s top scorers' chart with four goals, three of which have been winners - making him the definition of a "super sub".

Duran’s stunning long-range strike against Everton in Matchweek 4 earned him the Guinness Goal of the Month award for September, while his spectacular lobbed winner against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League will be one of the highlights of Villa’s season, regardless of what still lies ahead.

His incredible impact is further highlighted by Duran having the lowest minutes-per-goal ratio of players to score at least three goals, with 46 minutes bettering Haaland’s 63. Duran also has the best shot-conversion rate of Premier League players to score at least two goals, with 40 per cent. 

Gabriel (Arsenal) 

Gabriel is one half of arguably the best centre-back partnership in the Premier League alongside William Saliba and has made some eye-catching contributions at both ends for Arsenal this season.

He has scored twice already this season - one of only three defenders to so - with the Brazilian’s headed efforts from corners coming in successive weeks in two of Arsenal’s biggest away matches - at Spurs and Man City in Matchweeks 4 and 5 respectively.

Gabriel's winner v Spurs

Gabriel was key to Arsenal finishing last season with the best defensive record of only 29 goals conceded in 38 matches, while their six goals conceded in 2024/25 is bettered only by Liverpool's two. He has more than played his part again, not least in making 12 blocks, the third-highest number in the Premier League this season.

Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool)

Gravenberch has been a revelation in Liverpool’s midfield this season, emerging as the pleasantly surprising solution in their search for someone to fill the No 6 role.

The Dutchman has proved to be an impressive all-rounder, standing out in numerous categories to highlight how big a contribution he is making to each department of Slot's side.  

Gravenberch has contributed to Liverpool’s defensive efforts and has won 41 of his 64 duels, a success rate of 64.1 per cent - the second-highest among Premier League midfielders. His 42 possession wins is also second-highest, while he has made the joint-third most interceptions with 12. 

Liverpool have completed the second most passes in the Premier League (4,000, behind only Man City's 4,457) and Gravenberch has certainly played a part in that. His 426 successful passes has given him an accuracy of 89.5 per cent, the second-most among Premier League midfielders.

Gravenberch has also impacted Liverpool’s attacking efforts by recording the third-most carries among Premier League midfielders, with 123, and forward passes, with 25.

Erling Haaland (Man City)

Haaland went into the international break on the back of two matches without a goal, but he could be forgiven after an incredible, record-breaking start to the season.

The Norwegian became the quickest player to reach 10 Premier League goals, doing so in only his fifth league match of the season, when he scored against Arsenal. That strike was also his 100th for Man City across all competitions, in only 105 appearances (he has now scored 101 in 108).

Haaland's 100th Man City goal

It's an ominous beginning to the campaign for anyone hoping to deny Haaland a third successive Golden Boot award. He is already four goals clear of his current nearest challenger, Chelsea’s Palmer, while Haaland’s 10-goal haul included successive hat-tricks against Ipswich Town and West Ham United in Matchweeks 2 and 3 respectively, taking him to eight Premier League trebles. 

Sergio Aguero’s record of 12 hat-tricks for Man City will surely be in the Norwegian's sights, especially if he can retain his ruthlessness in front of goal. Nobody is outperforming their xG more than Haaland, whose 10 goals have come from an xG of 6.50, a difference of +3.50.

Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford)

Brentford’s lightning-quick starts have been one of the stories of the first part of the season - and Mbeumo is a big reason why the Bees have made history.

Thomas Frank's side became the first team to score a goal inside the opening minute in three successive Premier League matches - on 22 seconds at Manchester City, after 23 seconds at Tottenham Hotspur, and on 38 seconds at home to West Ham United.

Mbeumo played a big part in that. The Cameroon star netted against Spurs and West Ham in Matchweeks 5 and 6 respectively, after Yoane Wissa grabbed the first goal at Man City in Matchweek 4.

Mbeumo's goal v West Ham

He stands joint-second in the scoring charts with six Premier League strikes in seven matches, behind only Erling Haaland's tally of 10 for Man City.

Mbeumo has now overtaken Ivan Toney as Brentford’s most productive attacking player in the Premier League, with 49 goal involvements (28 goals, 21 assists) in 105 appearances. He has stepped up when the Bees have needed him to, with fellow forwards Wissa and Thiago both being out injured.

How Mbeumo is outperforming his Expected Goals (xG) is confirmation of that. His over-performance of +3.15 (six goals from an xG of 2.85) is also bettered only by Haaland.

Cole Palmer (Chelsea) 

The Premier League’s 2023/24 Hublot Young Player of the Season has picked up where he left off by starring in the opening weeks of this campaign, being the only candidate nominated for the EA SPORTS Player of the Month award in both August and September, winning the latter. 

Palmer inspired Chelsea to reach fourth spot heading into the international break, but the undoubted highlight of his season so far was his historic Matchweek 6 haul against Brighton & Hove Albion when he became the first player to score four goals in the first half of a Premier League match.

That 4-2 triumph was actually the second game this season in which the forward has had four goal involvements, having scored one goal and assisted three in Chelsea's 6-2 win at Wolves in Matchweek 2. 

Palmer's total of 11 goal involvements consists of six goals and five assists; he ranks second in the league in each of those categories. His combined tally is also a league-high, while his two goals from outside the box and two attempts that hit the woodwork both rank joint-top.

There are so many other areas in which Palmer impresses in the rankings - he is second for chances created, with 23, and for through balls, with six, while he is third in the chart for passes into the area. This further highlights how big a threat he has been, and he will surely be in the race for this season’s individual awards once again.

David Raya (Arsenal)

Arsenal goalkeeper Raya has made a strong start to the defence of his Golden Glove award after claiming the honour in 2023/24 with 16 clean sheets. He kept three in his first four Premier League matches this season - an early statement of intent from the Spaniard, who only has one goalkeeper, Manchester United’s Andre Onana, with four, ahead of him in the current standings. 

Raya has had to work hard for his clean sheets too. His reaction stops against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa in Matchweeks 1 and 2 respectively were two of the best this season, while he also produced a stunning double save on his way to earning another clean sheet in the UEFA Champions League against Atalanta. 

Raya’s total of 25 Premier League saves is the third-highest while his save percentage of 80.7 per cent is bettered by only one goalkeeper who has also played in all seven league matches, Newcastle United’s Nick Pope, who has a percentage of 81.6 per cent.

High claims have also been a feature of Raya's displays and his tally of 11 is the best in the league.

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

Saka has been one of the standard setters when it comes to creativity and attacking threat in the Premier League this season with a division-high seven assists, and being equally threatening in open play as he is from set-pieces. 

His seven shots and seven chances created against Southampton made Saka the first player on record (since 2003/04) to register these numbers in two separate Premier League matches, having also achieved the feat against Leicester City seven days earlier in Matchweek 6. 

Overall, Saka's 27 total chances created, 12 big chances created, 11 goal-creating actions and 51 shot-creating actions are all competition-highs this season, while his nine goal involvements and 16 successful crosses both rank third-best in the division.

Relentless and consistent, it will be a surprise if Saka does not keep breaking new ground. The all-time record of 20 assists set by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry in 2002/03, and then matched by Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne in 2019/20, is a realistic target. 

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Salah began the campaign by scoring and assisting against Ipswich Town, with his strike making him the outright leading scorer of opening-day goals in the Premier League, with nine.

He now has four goals and four assists this season, with these eight involvements ranking him fourth in the Premier League, a reason why he just edges out team-mate Luis Diaz in our list of the 10 best players so far. Diaz has six involvements in 2024/25, consisting of five goals and one assist. 

Salah has displayed remarkable consistency to finish each of his seven Liverpool seasons in the top four for goal involvements. He has led the chart twice, in 2017/18 with 42 and in 2021/22 with 36.

Seven matches into Liverpool's campaign, Salah, who also has a league-high 27 carries into the penalty area, finds himself among the goals again. It might be a new season and a new Liverpool, under Arne Slot, but it has been the same old Salah so far in 2024/25. 

Salah's goal v Ipswich

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

The defender has been an ever-present at the heart of the division's best defence this season, with Liverpool conceding a mere two goals in their opening seven matches. Van Dijk has played every minute of every match and he has kept more clean sheets than any other Premier League player, with five.

Since Ibrahima Konate’s half-time introduction in Liverpool’s opening 2-0 win at Ipswich, the two have formed a formidable partnership which has provided the foundation for the league leaders’ impressive start to life under new head coach Slot.

Individually, Van Dijk has stood out in numerous ways - by making the most interceptions (17) and winning the second-highest number of aerial duels (30). He's ranked fourth for his success rate in the latter, on 73.2 per cent.

Van Dijk has more than played his part in Slot’s brand of possession-based football - his 530 successful passes and 651 touches each rank sixth-highest in the Premier League.