#2 Anthony Knockaert
French winger Knockaert – who had an earlier stint in England with Leicester City – signed with Brighton & Hove Albion in January 2016, and his impressive performances throughout 2016-17 played a large part in allowing the Seagulls to finish second in the Championship and gain promotion to the Premier League. Knockaert was, in fact, so good that he was named the Championship Player of the Year in April.
Both a consistent and flashy player who possesses the ability to play on both the left and right sides, Knockaert contributed 15 goals and eight assists last season, and by appearing in 45 of Brighton’s 46 league games, he also showed the sort of durability needed for a hard season in the Premier League, facing off against much tougher defences than those in the Championship.
While there are some questions around his ability to play at the very top level, I don’t think he has too much to worry about judging on last season’s form – while he was on the periphery at Leicester under Nigel Pearson and wasn’t really given an opportunity, he’s probably Brighton’s key player and can be expected to play a large role in attempting to keep them in the Premier League.
Given how good he looked in 2017-18, it should definitely be fun to see him try.
