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Premier League Players Who Have Shocked The World This Season
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Premier League Players Who Have Shocked The World This Season

Premier League Players Who Have Shocked The World This Season

With the 2024/25 Premier League campaign drawing to a close, there have been plenty of surprises at both ends of the table.

Several teams will be disappointed with their underachieving seasons, while there have also been plenty of surprise packages — with Nottingham Forest being the prime example.

Here, we take a look at some of the standout performers who few would have predicted to shine at the start of the season.

Chris Wood - Nottingham Forest

As mentioned above, Nottingham Forest have been one of, if not the most, surprising team in the league this season. They are looking to cement a Champions League spot for next season, currently sitting sixth, but a win in their next game would see them jump back up to third.

One man who has contributed significantly to their strong campaign is New Zealander Chris Wood. The forward sits fourth in the Golden Boot race, having scored 19 goals so far in 31 appearances — only Haaland, Isak and Salah have more.

At 32 years old, Wood is enjoying the best form of his career at Forest under Nuno Espírito Santo, following previous spells at Burnley and Newcastle. The Kiwi has already bettered last season’s tally of 14 goals, and with five games remaining, Wood could hit 20 Premier League goals for the first time in his career.

Bryan Mbuemo - Brentford

When Ivan Toney left Brentford, there was a big question over how they would replace their star forward and where the goals would come from. Step forward Bryan Mbeumo.

The Cameroonian winger has played a pivotal role in helping Brentford sustain their Premier League status over the past four seasons alongside Toney, who departed for Saudi Arabia at the start of this season.

What was not expected, however, is just how lethal Mbeumo would become in front of goal. This season, he has almost equalled his goal tally of the previous three seasons combined. Having scored 22 Premier League goals across those campaigns, the winger has impressively found the net 18 times already this season — a total that sees him sit fifth in the top-scorer rankings.

Ryan Gravenberch - Liverpool

At the start of the season, there were plenty of raised eyebrows around the Liverpool midfield, with many believing it needed a revamp. Ryan Gravenberch, however, had different ideas.

The Dutchman has been instrumental in Liverpool’s title-winning campaign, having struggled last year in his first season under Jürgen Klopp. Gravenberch made 26 appearances under the former manager, with 14 of those coming from the bench.

This season, however, under new manager Arne Slot, the 22-year-old has started all 34 Premier League games and has relished playing as a number six. In the space of a season, the midfielder has gone from being predominantly a bench player to an integral part of Slot’s title-winning system.

Dean Huijsen - Bournemouth

Five months ago, Dean Huijsen wasn’t even a regular starter for Bournemouth. He had only been handed a couple of opportunities in his first few months on the South Coast following his summer arrival from Juventus in a deal that cost the Cherries £12.8 million — a fee now looking like an absolute steal.

Injury problems opened the door for Huijsen to make his mark when first-choice centre-back Marcos Senesi picked up a hamstring injury. A man-of-the-match performance and a match-winning goal in a 1–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in December put his name on the map and proved that he belonged in the Premier League.

Since then, Huijsen has made the position his own and was recently called up to make his debut for Spain during the latest international break. Bournemouth are flying this season, currently sitting 10th and remaining in the hunt for European football next season — with the Spaniard more than playing his part in Andoni Iraola’s side. Having made 28 league appearances, the 20-year-old has been part of a backline that has kept seven clean sheets while also contributing two goals.

It comes as no surprise that after such an impressive debut season, some of Europe’s top clubs — including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Arsenal — are being linked with the young talent.

Myles Lewis-Skelly - Arsenal

Arsenal may have gone another year without getting their hands on the Premier League trophy, but they remain in the Champions League, where they will face PSG in the semi-finals on Tuesday. One major positive to come from this season, regardless of whether they win silverware, has been the emergence of young talent Myles Lewis-Skelly.

The 18-year-old made his first-team debut for Arsenal on 22 September 2024, coming on as a late substitute in a 2–2 Premier League draw away to Manchester City. Since then, he has claimed the left-back position. The youngster has impressed and added stability to the Gunners' backline, boasting an impressive passing accuracy of 95.4% in the Premier League along with winning 74.2% of his duels.

His performances at club level earned him his first call-up to the England squad for the World Cup qualification fixtures, where Lewis-Skelly scored on his debut against Albania while completing 90 minutes. The full-back also played 79 minutes in a 3–0 victory against Latvia three days later.

If he continues to develop and perform at the level he is currently, we could well see him hold down his place in the Arsenal defence for years to come.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Callum Gill

Writer

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