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If the start of the Premier League is anything to go by, it's safe to predict that we have got ourselves a three-way title race. Chelsea sit atop the table with 25 points and the best defense, having conceded only three. Liverpool, three points behind Chelsea, sit second and Manchester City are third with 20 points from their 10 games.
These clubs have played some high-intensity and tactically strong football thanks to three masterminds managing the sides. They have also had some standout players who are clearly giving top performances in the Premier League with great consistency.
Premier League has witnessed some phenomenal performances this season
We are far from the business end of the Premier League right now but certain players have already established themselves as front-runners for the player of the season award.
Some have added a cutting edge to their team, while others have established increased faith in their ability by putting their best foot forward. On that note, here are the five players who can win the Premier League Player of the Season award based on their current form:
#5 Virgil van Dijk
Back from his long-term injury, captain supremo of the Reds has taken to his old position like he never left. The aggression remains the same, the control remains the same, physicality remains the same and Virgil van Dijk has remained the same.
With eight goals conceded Liverpool have the third best defense in the Premier League and Van Dijk's comeback has been pivotal. It was not just the defense that benefited from Van Dijk's presence at the back. They missed a guy who could effortlessly help them bypass midfield and land the ball in the final third.
The Dutchman has been raking some lovely long balls over the opposition for Salah and Mane to pounce on. Jurgen Klopp is favoring the centre-back pairing of Joel Matip and Van Dijk this season and the two will get more used to playing alongside each other after a gap.
A rock at the back, the Liverpool defender knows it will take him a few more games to get back to his absolute best. As such, he's tweaked his game a little. Rather than enjoying the duels with centre-forwards where he can bully them, Van Dijk is more focused on protecting himself and his team.
The colossal centre-back has made 51 clearances in total in the Premier League, 16 of which were with his head. It's not easy to shrug off the after-effects of an ACL injury. However, if the Liverpool man is putting in these performances after just being back, he'll soon be back to his bullyish best.
#4 Mateo Kovacic
Mateo Kovacic has stepped up big time for Chelsea in the Premier League this season. The Croatian has pulled the strings from midfield with good effect.
The Premier League is finally witnessing the real Kovacic, who even Jose Mourinho expressed his desire to work with. He won the Chelsea Player of the Year award in 2019-20 and he's putting in the hard yards to become the Premier League's best.
The midfielder has been successful with his creativity inside the final third, which wasn't one of his strengths before, so far this season. He is well and truly capable of starting a move from the back and making run-ins from the deep. Notably, Kovacic has registered five assists and scored one goal in nine Premier League games.
He's one of the best in the whole division when it comes to holding onto the ball while progressing the play. The Chelsea man hasn't disappointed with his pin-point passing and has also helped out with ball recoveries.
Thomas Tuchel recently expressed that it was a joy to be his coach. Kovacic has really upped the ante and if Chelsea can claim the title, he will be among the frontrunners to win the Premier League player of the season award.
#3 Joao Cancelo
It is not easy to claim the right-back spot at Premier League champions Manchester City's camp due to the ever-present Kyle Walker. Joao Cancelo found this out after joining Pep Guardiola's side in 2019. However, instead of fighting for the spot as the second best, he created his own spot in the team.
Cancelo, who is playing at left-back these days, has shown his versatality to play on both flanks and can also play in midfield whenever required. He has been extremely elegant with the ball at his feet and even more decisive when he's playing it to his teammates.
The stats rarely lie and the Portuguese's are quite exceptional at this point. He has completed 25 passes in the opponent's 18-yard box. To put that into perspective, Salah has done 21 and Bruno Fernandes's 26 is only higher than Cancelo's.
In the Premier League, Cancelo has been the most intended target of a pass, on 646 occasions. The next best is as many would have assumed, Salah, at 558. But the full-back's top priority is to defend and the Manchester City man is not shying away from that either.
He has made 20 tackles and averages 3.11 interceptions per 90 minutes, the most in the Premier League at this moment. If Cancelo plays over 30 games for Manchester City this season and they can win the title, he may well be crowned the Premier League Player of the Season.
#2 Edouard Mendy
In the Premier League, where some of the most highly rated goalkeepers like Alisson, Ederson and David De Gea feature regularly, it can be difficult to make a name. Edouard Mendy accepted the challenge with open arms and just went over the bunch with a giant leap.
From putting on a fight in Ligue 1 with Rennes to winning the Champions League with Chelsea, Mendy deserves every bit of his meteoric rise. Chelsea boast the best defense having conceded three and the Senegal keeper deserves plenty of praise.
Mendy, the first African goalkeeper to win the Champions League, has six clean sheets in the Premier League in the nine games he started.
The fact that the Chelsea goalkeeper did not make it into the 30-man Ballon d'Or list was really unexpected. However, the Champions League winners are looking like the favorites to win the Premier League title. The Premier League player of the season award will earn Mendy the respect he truly deserves, but he'll need more than a few good games to get there.
#1 Mohamed Salah
Look up in the sky, is it a bird, is it a plane, no it's Mo Salah flying again! He's the best player in the world right now based on form, and is slicing through defenses like it's all child's play. Mohamed Salah is a man with a big ego and if not he wouldn't be making the Premier League all about himself game after game.
10 games gone and the Egyptian has made 16 goal contributions this season in the Premier League with six assists and 10 strikes. Only Paul Pogba has more assists than Salah at seven, and four of those came in Manchester United's league opener against Leeds United.
Since the start of 2021, Salah has averaged 0.75 goals-per-game. Liverpool sit top of their Champions League group that also consists of Atletico Madrid, Porto and AC Milan. The Reds forward has scored against each of the three and his total tally in the competition is five goals in three games.
His hat-trick against Manchester United saw him become the only player since Ronaldo Nazario (2003) to score one at Old Trafford. He was also the first away player in the Premier League to do so at the Theater of Dreams.
With 107 Premier League goals to his name, Salah also surpassed Didier Drogba to become the leading African goalscorer in the competition. He will claim the Premier League player of the season award by a fair margin if he can keep his form going.
