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Most Premier League players aspire to start the new campaign on a high. The English top-flight is so often regarded as being the most competitive league in Europe and it delivers time and again. The competition for places at each club only goes on to become more cut-throat every season.
As a result, no individual feels irreplaceable at their clubs and a starting spot cannot be guaranteed if purple patches don’t last longer. Due to the sheer popularity and appeal of the Premier League, there is plenty of talent on display in the English top-flight at the moment.
Foreign midfielders are making themselves heard in the Premier League
However, the bulk of such talent has arrived in the form of foreign players in recent years. Few foreign midfielders have enjoyed a blistering start to the campaign in the Premier League this season, with the aim of becoming an integral part of their gaffers' plans.
It’s still early days in the season and the critics don’t take long to surface but these players will hope they can carry the momentum for as long as possible. After five matches in the 2021-22 Premier League season, here are the foreign midfielders who have enjoyed the best start:
#5 Pablo Fornals
When Manchester United and Jesse Lingard decided they were both willing to give their marriage a second chance, West Ham supporters' hearts sank. Lingard was nothing short of a revelation for West Ham United in the Premier League last season during his loan stint at the London Stadium.
Luckily for the Hammers, Pablo Fornals, who has shown the pedigree of being a promising playmaker, is enjoying a productive start to the new campaign. Under David Moyes’ shrewd management, Fornals has been able to transform his game for the better and has netted two goals and provided one assist so far.
No doubt those figures could have been more impressive but Fornals has been central to West Ham’s rhythm while attacking alongside Michail Antonio and Said Benrahma. If those two had been any more clinical in their finishing than they already have been, Fornals could have bagged a couple more assists.
The Spanish midfielder has been impressive with his distribution and though he can be more consistent, his passing skills have helped his team-mates substantially. The transformation and increased efficiency in his game was spotted by Luis Enrique, who restored Fornals to the Spanish national side after nearly three years.
Fornals decorated his comeback for the Spanish side with a goal against Kosovo in World Cup qualifiers. He will now hope to replicate his form from the Premier League in the Europa League as well.
#4 Abdoulaye Doucoure
At a club like Everton, the presence of a decorated player like James Rodriguez can sometimes shadow those around him who are equally pivotal to the system. However, Rodriguez is yet to attain match fitness this term for Everton and is still angling towards a move away from the Premier League club. New manager Rafa Benitez, though, has established his own system and is happily utilizing those at his disposal.
This has allowed French midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure to hit an impressive purple patch in the Premier League. He has put his newfound freedom to good use in the new system. Doucoure has always been a box-to-box midfielder; a quality he showcased in the Premier League with Watford. His relentless running has always been crucial in the middle of the park.
Under Benitez, his movement without the ball has been crucial for Everton’s counter-attacking part of the game. The former Watford midfielder has been given the license to roam around the field and he’s paired that up with some clever movement that’s helped him provide crucial assists on three occasions. He’s playing more with the ball at his feet rather than chasing and man-marking.
He’s also been able to challenge the keeper frequently this season, which got him a goal against Southampton. Benitez has freed Doucoure of deep-lying duties to protect the back four, something that Ancelloti hesitated to do. The Toffees will hope that Allan stays fit from injury for a major chunk of the season so that Doucoure can continue to run riot in midfield.
#3 Mateo Kovacic
Signing Saul Niguez indicated that Thomas Tuchel wanted to manage the workload of his players in the Premier League, particularly of Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic.
Well, if the start is anything to go by, then Kovacic has made his intentions clear and he does not intend on missing a single minute of football. The Croatian has deservedly been given the No.8 jersey this season, previously worn rather underwhelmingly by Ross Barkley.
He has started four games this season in the Premier League and was brought in at half-time when 10-man Chelsea defended with utmost discipline at Anfield. Kovacic has always been admired for his control of the ball, sublime dribbling skills and the knack of finding a teammate anywhere on the field.
This season he’s provided the much-needed rhythm for Chelsea in attack and much of their attacking threat has materialized through Kovacic. The midfielder has displayed an attacking instinct inside the box where last season he felt indecisive and would fluff his lines.
His three assists and the fashion in which he’s setting up his teammates regularly is admirable.
He is being utilized majorly to fill the void left by Kante, who is yet to gain complete fitness. There’s no doubt that Kovacic hasn’t put a foot wrong in that time and has only taken giant strides so far this term.
Could Tuchel alternate between Jorginho and Kante while sticking with Kovacic for the better part of the season? It’s a difficult call to make, especially given the accolades that Jorginho and Kante keep receiving, but if this is a headache, it’s a good one to have.
#2 Bruno Fernandes
There really are no surprises here. This is a man who in his 56 appearances in the Premier League has had 49 goal contributions. Since the day he’s worn the Manchester United outfit Bruno Fernandes has only managed to garner love from United supporters.
Despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to the Premier League, Fernandes hasn’t become any less popular. In fact, he has already assisted Ronaldo twice in three games. Fernandes lit up Old Trafford in the very first game of the season with a brilliant hat-trick against Leeds United.
His next goal came three games later against Newcastle and even though the big news was Ronaldo’s brace on homecoming, the midfielder struck a peach of a strike. The Portuguese has been essential to the tempo at which the Red Devils play.
A dull outing for him generally sees United struggle to break the defensive block as was evident in their game against Southampton. With Ronaldo leading the line for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, it would be interesting to see if Fernandes' numbers start getting skewed.
We might see the Portuguese turning into the provider more often than the scorer. Interestingly, United haven’t been given a penalty in the Premier League yet and we can’t wait to see if it will be Ronaldo or Fernandes that steps up to take it.
#1 Paul Pogba
Since Paul Pogba’s arrival to Manchester United he has been criticized for never truly adapting to the conditions in the Premier League. Sometimes it’s about not gelling up well with the manager, sometimes it's his agent Mino Raiola crossing the line.
The clear criticism was that Pogba, who plays for the French national team under Didier Deschamps, was not the same one who turned up for the Premier League fixtures.
Well, it seems like a no-nonsense Pogba has finally decided to turn up in the Red outfit this season. He is only five games into the Premier League season and the France international has already stacked up seven assists.
The Athletic reported that Pogba was on holiday in Florida attending special training sessions with NBA side Miami Heat. A significant reason for the cutting edge we see in Pogba's Premier League appearances goes to those sessions. His passing and decision making has been accurate and he has also made important interceptions with great effect.
The midfielder’s chemistry with Bruno Fernandes has always been great and so far in the Premier League whatever they have tried to conjure has materialized. There have been rumors that Ronaldo’s return could possibly lure Pogba into extending a contract with Man United.
However, if another season goes by with Manchester United missing out on trophies again, it might be difficult for the Red Devils to keep hold of him.
