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

As the Premier League pauses for the final international break of 2024, Liverpool have a five-point lead over Manchester City at the top.

Then there is a further four-point gap between Pep Guardiola's side and a cluster of clubs from third place to sixth - Chelsea, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Albion - who are separated only by goal difference.

But while all 20 teams have been jostling for position, have any players particularly caught your eye? Is it one of Arne Slot's table-topping men or someone in another squad who has impressed you the most?

Here, football writer Ben Bloom selects 10 of his top performers from the Premier League so far. Do you agree? We want YOU to tell us who has been the standout player by voting in our poll.

Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool)

While Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has tended to rotate players such as Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones this season, Gravenberch has been the midfield mainstay in a deep-lying position.

The Dutchman was not a regular starter under Jurgen Klopp last season, but has been a revelation since converting to a more defensive role.

“It feels good but to be honest I have to adapt more because I’m not a natural defending No 6,” Gravenberch told The Guardian last month.

“First [at the start of his career] I was like a more attacking midfielder, so for myself I have to adapt more.”

In a manner not dissimilar to Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo (who is unfortunate not to make this list after his fine start to the season), Gravenberch's all-round play has proved vital both in breaking up play and aiding Liverpool’s attacking efforts.

No midfielder has made more interceptions in the Premier League this season than Gravenberch's 21, while he has won possession 63 times, a total bettered by only four players in any position.

Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

It speaks volumes about Haaland that despite not being as prolific as his brilliant best in recent weeks, the Man City striker still averages more than one goal per match.

Indeed, his total tally of 12 goals puts him four clear of any other player in the division and keeps the Norwegian firmly on track to win the Golden Boot award for the third consecutive season.

Haaland began the 2024/25 campaign in devastating fashion, notching hat-tricks in victories over Ipswich Town and West Ham United as part of a run of 10 goals in just five matches - the fastest anyone has ever reached double figures in the Premier League.

Haaland's hat-trick v West Ham

While he only scored twice in his next six outings, Haaland has still outperformed an Expected Goals (xG) of 11.09 this season, which is far ahead of the next best player, Mohamed Salah, whose xG is 6.57.

Haaland has a division-leading 55 shots and also tops the rankings for hitting the woodwork, having done so three times.

Cole Palmer (Chelsea)

Palmer’s outstanding season is reflected in him being nominated for all three EA SPORTS Player of the Month awards so far - the only contender to have achieved that - as well as winning the accolade in September.

In only his second campaign as a first-team regular in the Premier League, 22-year-old Palmer has been pivotal to Chelsea’s impressive early performances and results, which have put them third in the table.

His standout moment came against Brighton & Hove Albion in Matchweek 6, when he became the first player ever to score four goals in the first half of a Premier League match.

Palmer's four goals v Brighton

Palmer also netted one and assisted three goals in a 6-2 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers in Matchweek 2.

But it is his consistency that has been most notable. Palmer’s combined tally of seven goals and five assists puts him second only behind Liverpool’s Salah for goal involvements; the recent draws against Manchester United and Arsenal marked the first time he had gone two matches without either scoring or assisting.

He is second in the league ranking for chances created, with 29, while no player has created more than Palmer's 25 chances from open play.

Antonee Robinson (Fulham)

Robinson has been one of the standout reasons why Fulham sit just one point off third place.

The American left-back earned the club’s Player of the Season accolade in 2023/24, during which he provided a career-best six assists that was bettered by only three other defenders in the league.

Robinson has already contributed three assists this season, as well as helping Fulham keep clean sheets in away victories at Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.

Dominant going forward and when trying to seize possession, Robinson sits second in the division for successful open-play crosses, with 13, while he has the third-highest tally of sprints (245).

He is also one of only three players to have made 30 or more tackles (33) and 20 or more interceptions (20) this season.

An honourable mention must go to Robinson's fellow left-back - and sometime centre-back - Josko Gvardiol, who has scored three goals for Man City since late September.

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

After setting up seven goals in Arsenal’s opening seven matches of the Premier League campaign, it is of little surprise that Saka’s extraordinary rate of assists has slowed in recent weeks.

He missed the Matchweek 8 defeat at AFC Bournemouth through injury and has not added to his tally in the Gunners' subsequent three matches.

Saka does, however, remain top of the assists chart as he eyes the league record of 20, jointly held by Arsenal’s Thierry Henry (2002/03) and Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne (2019/20).

He has proven equally dangerous from dead-ball and open-play situations, providing two brilliant assists in Arsenal’s 3-1 Matchweek 7 win over Southampton.

Saka made history in that match as the first player since records began in 2003/04 to register seven shots and create seven chances more than once in the Premier League, having also done so a week earlier against Leicester City.

His hard work off the ball is reflected by Saka winning possession 11 times in the final third, putting him fourth in the league rankings.

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

When Salah was linked with a potential move away from Liverpool in the summer after seven seasons at Anfield, it was with the expectation that Slot might look to take his new side in a different direction.

Instead, the 32-year-old has remained at the core of Liverpool’s title charge, scoring and assisting at both a remarkable rate and consistency.

He tops the Premier League charts for goal involvements with a combined 14, and sits second for both goals scored (eight) and assists (six).

While only Haaland sits above him in the goalscoring stakes, the Man City forward is a distant second for touches in opposition penalty areas, with 85 to Salah’s 102 - a tally that puts the Egyptian far ahead of any player. 

Incredibly, Salah has scored or assisted in nine of his 11 league appearances this season. He was involved in every Liverpool goal during their wins over Ipswich (2-0), Man Utd (3-0), Chelsea (2-1) and Aston Villa (2-0).

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

The third Liverpool player to make the shortlist, Van Dijk has been a regular presence at the heart of their defence since moving to the club in early 2018 and has not missed a minute this season.

The captain's consistency has been key to Slot’s side being the most miserly team in the Premier League this season, keeping a league-high six clean sheets and conceding only six goals in the process - four fewer than the next best team.

At the age of 33, Van Dijk is still as important as ever, winning 33 aerial duels, a total bettered by only two centre-backs, while his 840 successful passes rank him second among all players.

While injury has forced Slot to change goalkeepers, his defence is one of the most settled in the Premier League, with Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate forming a formidable central partnership.

Danny Welbeck (Brighton & Hove Albion)

In what many might assume would be the twilight of his career, Welbeck had enjoyed such a resurgence that this is already his most successful Premier League season for more than a decade.

The former Man Utd and Arsenal forward netted in Brighton’s opening match of the season, a 3-0 win at Everton, and has not looked back since, adding a further five goals and two assists to put him alongside some of the league’s most lethal goalscorers.

Welbeck's sixth goal of 24/25 v Wolves

Just at the point where 20-year-old Evan Ferguson would be looking to muscle his way into becoming a permanent presence in Brighton's attack, Welbeck - 13 years his senior - has instead started every league match this season, also earning the captain’s armband in recent weeks.

“My role has changed,” Welbeck told The Times this week, describing life under Fabian Hurzeler.

“It’s a new manager with different ideas and maybe this season I’ve been getting into a lot more dangerous positions. The ball is being put in nice positions for me by my team-mates, and I’ve been putting them away.”

Yoane Wissa (Brentford)

Wissa has formed a dangerous partnership with Bryan Mbeumo that has made the summer departure of Ivan Toney seem almost insignificant this season, with the Congo international scoring seven goals and assisting one.

The fact Wissa has achieved these numbers despite missing multiple matches through injury gives him the nod over his team-mate Mbeumo, who has scored one more goal while ever-present and on penalty duty.

Among all players to have five or more shots this season, Wissa has the best shot conversion rate of 46.7 per cent, scoring with seven of his 15 attempts.

He also sits third behind only super-subs Harry Wilson and Jhon Duran for minutes per goal (minimum three goals), with his tally of one goal every 81.1 minutes surpassing even Man City striker Haaland.

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank says Wissa is relishing his role as the front man: “I think he’s better as a [No 9] nine and I think he’s developed fantastically.”

Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest)

Now playing for his fifth club in the Premier League, Wood has enjoyed the most prolific start to a season in his long career, scoring eight times already to place him behind only Haaland in the Golden Boot stakes.

Those eight goals have come at an impressive conversion rate of 38.1 per cent from 21 shots, and his four goals in Forest’s three October league matches were rewarded when he became the club’s first player, and the first New Zealander, to be named EA SPORTS Player of the Month.

Wood then scored for a fourth successive match as Forest beat West Ham 3-0 at the start of November.

His form has been key to a surprisingly strong opening to the season by Nuno Espirito Santo's side, and they now sit in fifth spot, level on points with third-placed Chelsea.

Wood is one of only two players to score more than half of their club’s Premier League goals this season, with a 53 per cent share, along with Haaland's 55 per cent for Man City.