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The Premier League is the richest football league in the world, and arguably the most competitive one as well.
Over the years, many world-class players have graced the competition, providing several memorable moments and walking into Premier League folklore. The likes of Ryan Giggs, Eric Cantona, Rio Ferdinand, Petr Cech, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero are examples of such players.
Despite none of the aforementioned players plying their trade in the competition now, there is no shortage of quality players in the Premier League. On that note, here's a look at the ten best players in the English top flight at the moment:
#10 Romelu Lukaku | Chelsea
Romelu Lukaku is one of the hottest strikers in the game at the moment. After a successful two-season stint with Serie A champions Inter Milan, the Belgian has returned to the Premier League with Chelsea.
The €117.5-million summer arrival scored on his second debut with the club as Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-0. It was Lukaku's 114th strike in the Premier League, first in more than two years, as the Belgian moved past Ian Wright to become the competition's 20th-most prolific scorer.
Incidentally, that goal was Lukaku's first in 11 Premier League games for Chelsea. The Belgian could be the spark the reigning Champions League winners need to launch an assault on the league title this season.
#9 Paul Pogba | Manchester United
Paul Pogba is finally living up to the hype after returning to Manchester United in the summer of 2016.
After a dazzling Euro 2020 campaign for France this summer, Pogba produced an emphatic performance in his opening game of the 2021-22 Premier League. He registered an incredible four assists in United's 5-1 home win over Leeds United.
The Frenchman followed that up with another assist in his next league outing against Southampton. In doing so, Pogba became the first player in competition history to register five assists in the first two games of a season.
Considering the quality of the 28-year-old, his tally of 29 goals and 39 assists in 139 Premier League games seems pretty underwhelming. However, Pogba is off to a blistering start to the 2021-22 campaign. The Red Devils have also done well in the transfer market this summer and Pogba could well win his first Premier League title. If the Frenchman can keep up his form, it could help United end their near decade-long drought in the competition.
#8 Jorginho | Chelsea
Jorginho is one of the best defensive midfielders and registas in the game at the moment. Fresh off a Champions League win with Chelsea last season, Jorginho played a key role in Italy's triumphant Euro 2020 campaign as well.
Much like his clubmate N'Golo Kante, Jorginho doesn't score a lot of goals or produce too many goal contributions. But he has been clutch from the penalty spot, with all seven of his Premier League goals last season being penalties.
A contender for this year's UEFA Men's Player of the Year (POTY) award, Jorginho is closing in on 100 Premier League appearances since arriving at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2018.
#7 Ruben Dias | Manchester City
Ruben Dias has been a breath of fresh air since his arrival in the Premier League last season. The 24-year-old hit the ground running, turning out to be a key cog in the Manchester City defense, as Pep Guardiola's men won their third league title in four years.
In 32 Premier League appearances, Dias helped the Cityzens keep 15 clean sheets. The Portuguese was especially brilliant towards the end of the season as City steered clear of the chasing pack.
Thanks to his exploits, Dias won the Premier League Player of the Season award, becoming the first Portuguese player to do so since a certain Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008. Incidentally, Dias is the first Premier League debutant to win the award since Kelvin Phillips in 2000.
Despite his staggering exploits in 2020-21, Dias endured a miserable Euro 2020 campaign with Portugal. But that could be just an aberration as the Portugal defender looks set for another big Premier League campaign.
#6 N'Golo Kante | Chelsea
N'Golo Kante hasn't looked back after playing a key role in Leicester City's improbable triumph in the 2015-16 Premier League.
Chelsea immediately snapped up the defensive midfielder, who has won the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup and UEFA Super Cup in five seasons at the club. Amidst a slew of managerial changes at the club during that period, the Frenchman has usually been one of the first names on Chelsea's team sheet.
The 30-year-old, regarded as one of the finest defensive midfielders in the game at the moment, won the 2018 FIFA World Cup with Les Bleus. He was also one of Chelsea's standout performers in their Champions League win against Manchester City last season.
Kante, who has made over 150 Premier League appearances for Chelsea, is only five away from making his 200th appearance in the competition.
#5 Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool
Virgil Van Dijk has been a key player for Liverpool since arriving at the club more than three years ago.
The Dutchman is widely regarded as one of the finest centre-backs in the game and has been one of the key players in Jurgen Klopp's team. He played every league game for Liverpool in 2018-19 and 2019-20, helping the club win their first English top-flight title in three decades last year.
A season-ending injury early last season meant Van Dijk made just eight appearances for the Reds in the 2020-21 campaign. His absence in turn led to Liverpool's dismal title-defence campaign. Van Dijk returned to action this season in the Reds' 3-0 win over Norwich on the opening day. Such has been his impact in the Premier League that Liverpool have won a staggering 72 out of 95 games in which Van Dijk has appeared for them.
With the return of their defensive lynchpin, Liverpool will fancy their chances of winning their second Premier League title in three years this time around.
#4 Bruno Fernandes | Manchester United
Bruno Fernandes has had a sizzling start to life in the English top flight. In just one and a half seasons at Manchester United, the 26-year-old has racked up an impressive tally of 43 goals in 82 games. 29 of those strikes have come in the Premier League.
Fernandes is the club's designated penalty taker and is also a set-piece specialist. He opened his account in the 2021-22 Premier League by scoring his first hat-trick for the Red Devils as he looks set for another big campaign.
The Portuguese has seemingly rediscovered his mojo after a forgettable Euro 2020 campaign. Fernandes' form could be key if Manchester United are to enjoy a first Premier League triumph in almost a decade.
#3 Harry Kane | Tottenham Hotspur
Harry Kane is arguably one of the best strikers in the Premier League at the moment. Last season, the English striker enjoyed one of his career-best campaigns, topping both the goalscoring and assist charts with 23 goals and 14 assists.
However, Kane endured another trophyless campaign as Tottenham Hotspur finished seventh in the Premier League after leading the pack early on. They could only qualify for the UEFA Conference League and also lost the EFL Cup final to Manchester City.
The Englishman, who scored four times in England's run to the Euro 2020 final, has racked up an impressive 166 strikes in the Premier League, all for Spurs. Despite strong interest from Manchester City, Kane is all set to stay on at Spurs for the 2021-22 campaign.
#2 Mohamed Salah | Liverpool
Mohamed Salah has been a prolific scorer in the Premier League since his arrival in the English top flight four years ago. The Egyptian opened his account in the 2021-22 edition of the competition by netting in Liverpool's 3-0 opening-day win at Norwich City.
That made Salah the first player to score in five consecutive opening-day games in the history of the Premier League. The Liverpool striker, who scored on his league debut against Watford on the opening day of the 2017-18 season, is now only four goals away from scoring 100 goals in the competition.
Salah has amassed 96 goals in just 146 Premier League games for Liverpool. An outstanding 32 of these strikes came in his debut campaign in the competition in 2017-18.
#1 Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City
Kevin De Bruyne is arguably the best midfielder in the game at the moment. The Manchester City and Belgium midfield metronome has consistently produced impressive performances for club and country for a while.
The 30-year-old, who has played almost 200 Premier League games, is the crown jewel in Pep Guardiola's expensively assembled Manchester City team. The assist king has amassed a staggering century of assists across competitions for the Sky Blues. De Bruyne has played an undeniably key role in their three Premier League wins in the last four years.
De Bruyne's best season in the Premier League came in 2019-20, as he scored 13 times and assisted on 20 occasions. However, City were beaten to the league title by a rampant Liverpool side that season.
