Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)
Pedants may protest that Eze’s sublime FA Cup form (quarter-final and semi-final screamers before a winner at Wembley) is inadmissable evidence in a Premier League review. But he was already one of the players of the season long before helping Crystal Palace win their first major trophy. Always capable of the spectacular, Eze’s stay at Selhurst Park had been characterised by inconsistency, but his finest season has come after he finished 2023-24 in red-hot form and earned a place in England’s Euros squad. The 26-year-old south Londoner has matured into a relentless menace to opposing defences who is downright unplayable at times. His eight Premier League goals and eight assists helped Palace to mid-table respectability under Oliver Glasner despite a worryingly slow start; they were winless in their opening eight league games. Playing in front of Adam Wharton, English football’s answer to Andrea Pirlo, certainly hasn’t hurt: is the former QPR player Eze now poised to follow Michael Olise and join one of Europe’s super-clubs? The romance of a European campaign under Glasner may prove more alluring but, regardless, his potential looks unlimited.
Nikola Milenkovic (Nottingham Forest)
Nottingham Forest’s counterattacking style has been founded on rock-solid defence, where no one has been more influential than Milenkovic. The all-action Murillo attracts more attention but the commanding, calm presence of the Serb gives his Brazilian teammate licence to shine. It is hard to think of such a well-balanced central defensive partnership elsewhere in the division, with Milenkovic’s aerial ability allied to Murillo’s pace. Nuno Espírito Santo has also employed a back three, with Morato slotting in alongside his compatriot Murillo and the former Fiorentina defender Milenkovic. That was Nuno’s approach in December’s 2-0 win at Brentford, one of several notable results that showed Forest would go the distance in the European qualification race. An honourable mention must go to Mats Sels, the goalkeeper with a joint league-best 13 clean sheets, and several Forest regulars – Ola Aina, Neco Williams, Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Elanga and Chris Wood – might have been chosen instead of the Serbia centre-back. Forest’s team spirit has been one of the most enjoyable facets of the season; if the Guardian hosted a lavish end-of-season dinner, Milenkovic would probably use his acceptance speech to dedicate the award to his teammates.
Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
Palmer makes the cut for the second year running on the strength of his frankly ridiculous pre-Christmas form. Asking the England forward why he could not maintain such a level for the entire season would be akin to asking Joseph Heller why he never wrote anything as good after Catch-22. Goals, assists and Panenka penalties rained down on Chelsea’s hapless opponents between August and January as the 23-year-old established himself as the most exciting creative talent in the league. Like Eze there is something old-school in Palmer’s approach: a willingness to take defenders on and to attempt the outrageous, disproving the idea that young players are over-coached and robotic. You won’t see a better pass than Palmer’s curling long-range effort to create Nicolas Jackson’s goal in October’s win against Newcastle, but the Paul Cézanne of the Premier League provided so many inspired moments. All four goals against Brighton, an artful strike to seal victory against Aston Villa, before his orchestration of the comeback from 2-0 down against Tottenham, sealed with an impudent Panenka.
Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
“‘Why not me?’ is the mindset I’ve adopted, especially this year,” Morgan Rogers told Ben Fisher last August. “Why can’t I be the best player on the pitch today and show what I’m about?” That mindset served Rogers well in the campaign to come. His pace is frightening but pace without control and good decision-making has never been much use. Aged 22 the Aston Villa forward has shown remarkable maturity and looked at home competing against Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, while helping Villa finish in the top six. Rogers has forced his way into the thinking of Thomas Tuchel, the England manager, and prompted a concession from Pep Guardiola that Manchester City let an “exceptional player” slip through their fingers when he left for Middlesbrough in 2023. The most notable thing is how natural his progress has seemed. In four seasons at City Rogers was loaned to Lincoln, Bournemouth and Blackpool, before a season at Boro. Apparently the perfect pathway for him to blossom under Unai Emery at Villa.
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Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Twenty-nine goals, 18 assists, the Premier League crown secured – in effect if not mathematically – before the clocks changed. Anything else to add? The main jeopardy for Liverpool supporters during the club’s march to the title was the uncertainty surrounding Salah’s future at Anfield but that has concluded happily; the 32-year-old last month signed a two-year deal. Salah tops the season charts for goals and assists despite his prodigious output slowing recently. On 8 March, two goals against Southampton took the Egyptian to 27 goals and 17 assists, at which point he looked set to obliterate the goal involvements record for a Premier League season. Two goals and one assist followed in the remaining nine matches. “Throughout this season he’s been almost unhuman,” said Slot after Salah missed a chance against Brighton last week. “There were moments where he was human … but the good thing is, this hardly ever happens.” The winger’s all-time numbers for Liverpool in the Premier League – 301 matches, 186 goals, 87 assists – support Slot’s assertion. He appears to have scope to keep improving.
