Premier League Power Rankings! - September

 10) Timothy Castage – Leicester’s summer signing from Atlanta has been a revelation at right back in the absence of Ricardo Pereira at the start of the season. The Belgian international has managed 3 goal involvements from the first 3 games of the season (1 goal and 2 assist) which has been a welcome surprise for The Foxes. On the defensive side of the ball, he has managed to contribute 1.5 tackles and interceptions per game to accompany his 1 clearance per game. His inclusion in this list was sealed after Leicester’s surprising trashing of Manchester City in GW3 where he contributed an assist.

9) Wilfred Zaha – The Ivorian forward has benefitted from playing in a front 2 at the start of the campaign. He now has less creative responsibilities and is afforded more opportunities to run directly at the opposition’s centre backs in Roy Hodgson’s counterattacking Crystal Palace team. They did this to detrimental effect vs both Southampton and Manchester United with him amassing 3 goals over the first 3 game weeks

8) Alexandre Lacazette – Arsenal’s number 9 is off to an impressive start so far this season having scored a goal in each of their 3 games. After some uncertainty over his future this summer and question marks surrounding his inclusion in the starting 11 amidst pressure from Eddie Nketiah, the former Lyon man appears to be ready to prove himself with his exploits for the month of September. 

7) Neal Maupay – Brighton have been a pleasant surprise this season with French striker Neal Maupay spearheading their attack. The constant movement and pressing by their forward line accompanied by the pace and trickery of Tariq Lamptey on the right wing has caught their opponents by surprise thus far. The forward already has 4 goal involvements this season with 3 goals and 1 assist from the first 3 games. He can consider himself unlucky to cost Brighton a draw vs Manchester United after conceding past final whistle penalty to the Red Devils.

6) Patrick Bamford – After a disappointing outing in his previous season in the EPL, the former Chelsea Academy graduate appears to be on a mission to prove his doubters wrong. The young striker has found the net in all 3 of Leeds United’s games in September in their return to the English football’s top division. He also managed to supply an assist to Helder Costa and draw the foul that led to the penalty which Klich converted vs fellow promoted side Fulham. These performances have landed him the number 6 spot on CornerFlagTalk’s September Power Ranking.

5) Heung-min Son – This position may come as a surprise to some but after a disappointing loss to Everton on the first Sunday of the season where Spurs were outplayed, they followed up with an entertaining 5-2 victory vs Southampton where the South Korean bagged 4 goals. Unfortunately, he suffered a first half injury vs Newcastle and was unable to continue the game. As a result, it was impossible to place him higher on this list based on what other players were able to do over the first three weeks.

4) Sadio Mane – After turning up a blank in GW1, Mane has managed to turn in back to back man of the match performances vs Chelsea and Arsenal respectively. In these two games, the left winger scored 3 goals from 4.3 shots per game and completed 3 dribbles and 3.5 key passes per game. 

3) Harry Kane – If you look only at goals scored so far this season, you’d be led to believe that Kane has been off to a slow start to the season. While that may be the case in terms of goal returns, it appears as though England’s captain intends to use Kevin De Bruyne’s blueprint on how to win Player of the Season awards without being on the title winning side with his 5 assists already. He managed to supply the pass for Son’s 4 goals vs Southampton and capped off the game with the closing goal. He was also unlucky to have his lethal finish in the first half called back for an offside in the build up to the goal. This performance was then followed by another assist to Lucas Moura vs Newcastle in GW3. 

2) Jamie Vardy – It appears as though the Jamie Vardy party has continued into this season with 5 goals from the first three games in a Leicester team who many tipped to continue their bad Project Restart form. On the contrary, Leicester have gone up another level with their 5-2 victory vs Manchester City. Vardy managed to score a hattrick in this game having bagged 2 on the opening day. However, 3 of his goals so far this season have come from the penalty spot, seeing the number one player just pip him for the top spot.

1)  Dominic Calvert-Lewin – Coming in at number one is Everton’s top striker with 5 goals with a goal apiece in both games flanking his 3-goal outing vs West Brom in GW2. The striker has been in red hot form in a revitalised Everton attack following the influx of talent into their midfield. Calvert-Lewin’s all-round game has also improved this season including his touch, movement and hold up play. The addition of James Rodrigues appears to be propelling this team to all new heights with Calvert-Lewin reaping the rewards of his hard work and dedication to his craft over the past 3 seasons.