5 players from promoted teams who have been in fine form

With a quarter of the 2017/18 Premier League season over, the three teams promoted from Championship last season have all started the campaign on a good note, with each of them competitively challenging for a top-half spot in the league table.

While old EPL regulars Newcastle have done well under Rafael Benitez, the new boys Brighton and Huddersfield have impressed as well. David Wagner’s Huddersfield have even managed a shock 2-1 win over the strong Manchester United already and will look to unsettle more top teams in the future.

Each of the three teams have invested to improve the squad quality to compete in the much stronger Premier League after the promotion from Championship. Incomings like Steve Mounie (Huddersfield), Pascal Gross (Brighton) and Mikel Merino (Newcastle) have improved their sides and made an impact already. However, some of the existing players have also raised their games to excel in the top division of English division.

We look at five players from the promoted teams, who played for their current teams in the Championship last season, and have a good start to their EPL season.

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5. Shane Duffy (Brighton & Hove Albion)

Shane Duffy

The Irish centre-back joined the Seagulls in August 2016 as their then-record transfer signing (for £4 million) from Blackburn Rovers and helped his new club to promotion to the Premier League in the same season.

Duffy had been tipped to be successful in the Premier League when he joined Everton as a teenager, but had to take the difficult route of playing for lower league clubs like Yeovil Town, Blackburn Rovers and Scunthorpe United, before getting a chance to establish himself as a regular in the EPL.

The 25-year-old, who has cemented his spot in the setup of the Irish national team, has been central to Brighton’s impressive start to the campaign, especially defensively. He has formed a solid centre-back partnership with Lewis Dunk, which hasn’t gone unnoticed by the experts, with Jamie Carragher commenting,

“Vital in the air, that's Duffy, he's more of the commanding one in the air, a young player that came through at Everton. We don't see enough of this in the Premier League now, we want a lot more from our centre-backs, that's the way the game is going, but there's nothing better for me in the role that I played to see defenders defend like this, and want to defend. Doing everything they can to stop that ball going into the back of the net.”

4. Matt Ritchie (Newcastle United)

Matt Ritchie

After playing a key role in Newcastle’s Championship winning run in the 2016/17 season, Matt Ritchie continues to be a key player for Rafa Benitez in the current season. With the manager not getting adequate support from the club owners in the summer transfer window, Benitez has had to rely on many of his existing squad players, who haven’t let him down with the team currently placed in the top half of the league table.

Ritchie, who has played Premier League in the past for Portsmouth and later Bournemouth, was among the signings made by Benitez at the start of last season to push for their quest for an immediate return to the top division. Ritchie justified the manager’s trust by enjoying a successful season which included 16 goals across all competitions.

Now back in the Premier League once again, Ritchie has continued his good form, and his count of 4 assists places him among the top players for the maximum assists till date this season.

Newcastle have boasted of some of the very best talent in the Premier League era in the past, and while Ritchie may not be categorised with them in terms of skills and ability, his importance to the current squad isn’t too different. His ability to score and create goals will be a key factor in ensuring that the Magpies avoid the scare of another return to the lower division.

3. Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town)

Aaron Mooy celebrates after scoring against Manchester United

The Australian international was at Huddersfield on loan from Manchester City in the 2016/17 season and played an instrumental role in the team’s surprise promotion to the Premier League.

The Terriers moved to sign Mooy permanently before the start of the 2017/18 Premier League season for a reported £8 million fee, with City having a buyback option for him in the future.

Mooy has continued to be a key player for David Wagner’s side in the Premier League, which has impressed everyone despite starting the season with low expectations (given their limited resources). He was involved in two of the three goals in the 3-0 win at Crystal Palace in the team’s first game of the season and followed it up with the match winner and the only goal in the win over Newcastle.

The highlight of Mooy’s and Huddersfield’s season so far has been the 2-1 win over Manchester United (which has been the only defeat in the league till now for Jose Mourinho’s team), in which Mooy scored the opening goal.

Mooy was also in the news recently when the Huddersfield club director made public a handwritten letter and a gift of £5 from a 9-year-old fan for Mooy after the win over Manchester United, which was followed by the player meeting the young fan.

2. Christopher Schindler (Huddersfield Town)

Christopher Schindler

The former German youth international joined Huddersfield in June 2016 from his hometown club 1860 Munich and quickly established himself as the main centre-back for David Wagner’s team. He went on to score the winning penalty in the Championship playoff final, which sent the Terriers to the English top division for the first time in 45 years.

Schindler has continued his good form in the Premier League campaign and has been rated as the WhoScored Man of the Match twice already for his solid defending. He has been the rock in the Huddersfield defence which was particularly impressive in the opening games of the season, where they kept 4 clean sheets in first six games.

Such has been the impact of the 27-year-old, that there has been some buzz about a possibility of a first call-up from the German national side (which was however quickly dampened by Wagner).

With the exorbitantly high transfer fees being quoted for central defenders in the transfer market, and the struggle for top teams to find the required personal for the position, the £1.8 million that Wagner paid 1860 Munich for the services of Schindler makes a lot of recruiting teams look silly.

The Huddersfield coach will hope that his defence mainstay will build on the good start to the season, and go on to play a key role in ensuring the club’s continued participation in the top flight next season.

1. Jamaal Lascelles (Newcastle United)

Jamaal Lascelles celebrates after scoring the match-winner against Stoke City

23-year-old Jamaal Lascelles is the youngest captain in the Premier League. Rafa Benitez opted to give the then 22-year-old the armband at the start of last season while plotting an instant return to the Premier League. It was a show of faith by the Spaniard in the youngster, who was still unproven and lacked much experience but impressed Benitez with his attitude.

Lascelles justified his manager’s faith in him as he led the side to Championship win (which included him playing through the pain barrier in the last four months of the campaign).

The player has continued to lead by example in the Premier League, and his performances don’t show that it’s his first ever campaign in the top flight. He has ensured solidity at the back, and also scored the match-winners in the games against Swansea and Stoke City. His efforts to ensure unity and team spirit along with zest to excel in the squad have also been appreciated by the manager and other players.

Benitez has worked with many elite players in his coaching career, and recognises the talent that his young captain has:

“Jamaal, when we talk about a centre-back, an English centre-back, a young centre-back, a captain of the team and still very young, you’re talking about a player who has the potential. I think he’s learning about his job, on the pitch and off the pitch, so he has the potential. He can become much better because he’s keen to learn. He wants to improve”