by Stephen Barston
As the English Premier League season continues on, there have been innumerable surprises. Arsenal remain on top of the table with a two point lead over crosstown rival Chelsea, while Manchester United have struggled to find their typical stellar form, falling heavily to Manchester City and failing to win against a comparatively weak Southampton side. In addition to several teams shocking the fans so far, there have been some new players in the league who have helped their teams immensely and can hardly go unnoticed. Below, I've listed (in no particular order) the top three Premier League transfers, based on performance as of the latest round of matches, October 19.
1. Mesut Özil, midfielder for Arsenal (approximately $68.6 million)- Özil's performance at this point in the season has been one of the main reasons for the success of Arsene Wenger’s side. In five appearances, he has two goals and three assists for the Gunners, but those basic stats do not tell the full story; according to the website WhoScored, he has had an average match rating of 8.0 in those five matches and has completed an astonishing 87.6% of his passes. Impeccable technique and vision allow Özil to set up his teammates well for scoring opportunities, and despite the large price tag, he has been entirely worth the sum so far.
2. Dejan Lovren, center back for Southampton (approximately
$13.7 million)- One of the surprise teams of the season, Southampton and their supporters have
several players in particular to thank for their current 6th place
position. One of these is newcomer Dejan Lovren, a passing-oriented center back
who has tallied an assist and a goal for his side in eight appearances. His
superb vision is also complemented by an unwavering composure at the back
line. The highlight of his season so far came on September 21st against
Liverpool, where he scored the aforementioned goal and received the Man of the
Match, with a WhoScored match rating of 8.63. Look for more performances like
this one from the Croatian international in the future.
3. Romelu Lukaku, striker for Everton (loan, undisclosed
amount)- After a slightly disappointing start to the season and a notorious
missed penalty late in the UEFA Supercup final versus German power Bayern
Munich, Lukaku was dealt out for the remainder of the season by new Chelsea manager José Mourinho. Everton just so happened to be the team lucky enough to get him. In his
first appearance for The Toffees, he scored once in 45 minutes of action;
however, this was just a small foreshadowing of things to come for the Belgian.
In the September 30th matchup against Newcastle United, Lukaku had a say
in all three goals that his team scored, scoring twice and tallying an assist
in a full 90 minutes of play, receiving Man of the Match as well. The
20-year-old has loads of potential, and luckily for Everton manager Roberto
Martínez, this season might be the year it is finally unlocked.
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| Lukaku is introduced to the Everton fans at Goodison Park shortly after his loan deal was finalized (Credit: London Evening Standard) |
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