It has been a fairly interesting summer transfer to say the very least, most of all in North London.

Arsenal are a team that have often been slow out of the gates when it comes to adding to their ranks but that has seemed more apparent than ever this year as transfer fees escalate and rivals spend with little financial concern.

In a close season that has seen Manchester United bring in the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Chelsea have signed Michy Batshuayi and N’Golo Kante whilst Manchester City have brought in Nolito and Ilkay Gundogan. The Citizens are also thought to be intent on adding Leroy Sane and John Stones whilst Paul Pogba is also edging closer towards a move to Old Trafford.

All that spending and it somewhat feels that Arsenal are being left behind again. We’ve seen Arsene move on the final day of the transfer window, but it sometimes feels forced, like he is trying to appease the unease the supporters are feeling surrounding the squad.

But despite this, the Gunners have moved to bring in a couple of names this summer with Granit Xhaka, Takuma Asana and finally Rob Holding coming into improve the ranks. However, some supporters have been left a little underwhelmed by Arsene Wenger’s activity so far, but have they been a little quick to jump the gun, in particular with Rob Holding?

Despite being only 20-years-old, the former Bolton man has been quick to impress for the Gunners on their pre-season tour so far, making two appearances and scoring in a 3-1 win over Club Deportivo Guadalajara.

Although pre-season is a difficult place to judge true performances, Holding has begun well and has shown some great signs of promise. He’s shown his defensive steel and seems like a positive character on the pitch, leading well from the back despite his inexperience.

But one thing that looks particularly promising is his tactical awareness whilst he looks at relative ease with the ball at his feet. He makes well-informed decisions when he does have the ball and seems to fit Arsenal’s footballing mentality in keeping the ball when in possession.

For Holding, he has an excellent opportunity to break-into this Arsenal starting eleven. With Per Mertesacker outlined for a number of months and no imminent signing to fill the void, Holding could be the man to add a little steel in defence.

There is little doubt that in time he will improve and get a lot better, but whether he is ready to straight into the first team is unlikely at this stage. Gabriel is a little rough around the edges and there is more to come from him, whilst Calum Chambers will be waiting for another opportunity to come into the first-team too. Holding has plenty of competition but the signs this far are extremely positive indeed.

It’s going to be another tough year for the Gunners but in Holding, Wenger has found an extremely useful young defender. Whether it’s going to instant promotion, a loan move or providing competition from the bench, Arsenal fans should be a little more optimistic.

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CalcioMercato (don’t you just love them?) have caused a stir today, claiming West Ham, Sunderland and Stoke are all keen on ‘unsettled’ Liverpool star Daniel Sturridge.

What’s the story?

Sturridge was dropped from Klopp’s starting XI on Saturday and reports allege that he could be on his way out of Anfield before too long. CalcioMercato claim Sunderland, Stoke and West Ham are all keen on the England international and that a January move ‘could’ happen.

Is it nonsense?

We don’t want to have a real dig at CalcioMercato, but it’s hard to take a two-sentence report at a grand total of 33 words seriously – especially when it’s accompanied by a picture from the 2014/15 season!

Alas, there is some fuel being poured onto the fire regarding Sturridge, who doesn’t seem to be Klopp’s favoured centre-forward – with Roberto Firmino often selected ahead of him. Injuries have played their part in the perception that the 27-year-old cannot be trusted and while there are no real suggestions that Klopp doesn’t value him to the extent he perhaps should, it’s not a giant leap of faith to buy into speculation of not all being well on Merseyside.

Caption this… A photo posted by Daniel Sturridge – Dstudge (@iamdanielsturridge) on Aug 29, 2016 at 12:07pm PDT

Klopp’s no fool, is he?

It’s really hard to see Klopp letting Sturridge go in January. The opening weeks of the current season have been tricky for Liverpool, playing a host of big teams away from home. These matches have leant themselves to a front three full of pressing and energy, and it perhaps wouldn’t be as big a story had Sturridge been dropped every few weeks for the ‘big game’ plan that Klopp seems to have. Indeed, it’s telling that he’s started against Burnley and at home to Leicester (an injury niggle kept him from the XI in the win over Hull), suggesting he’s seen as the striker for the ‘smaller’ games – a flat-track bully, if you will.

Would Sturridge want to leave?

Of the mooted three teams, it’s hard to see Sturridge being swayed. Stoke? Near bottom of the league and looking like a sinking ship. Sunderland? Likely to be entrenched in their usual survival scrap. West Ham? More appealing in that they have loftier ambitions, but the uncertainty surrounding Slaven Bilic doesn’t look like going away anytime soon. If a team of Spurs’ quality were keen, on the other hand, it may be a slightly different story, though.

It’s a 100% record so far for Manchester City in the Premier League in what’s been an ominous start for their opposition in the division.

Pep Guardiola’s men seem to have taken to his tactics pretty quickly and whilst their first three games you’d have expected them to win anyway, it was their performance against Manchester United that’s made everyone sit up and take note.

The Citizens sauntered into Old Trafford and played the Red Devils off the pitch particularly in the first half of the game as a number of their key players rose to the occasion.

There can be no doubt after that, then, that the club will be right in the title race all the way to the end of the season.

We’ve teamed up with 7 Of The Best to bring you a footballing treat for the season. It’s free to play and the best individual score each week wins £500, the highest scoring team wins £1,500 a week and there is a prize of £2,000 for the best individual over the course of a month. Want to win bigger? Nab yourself a whopping £500k if you get all seven of your selections correct for seven consecutive weeks.

Many of their players seem to have adopted Pep’s tactics pretty easily which is obviously a bonus and, in keeping with the theme of seven, we think these seven have been the most impressive of all so far…

Sergio Aguero

Despite the elbow on Winston Reid, Aguero has still been hugely impressive. The Argentine is simply world class and looks to understand what Pep Guardiola wants from him which is hardly surprising given his talent. City are beginning to look like a Pep team especially after the Manchester Derby and that was without Aguero so with him the prospects for the rest of the teams in the Premier League are looking pretty grim.

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Kevin De Bruyne

The Belgian was the best player on the pitch in the derby on Saturday and has been in that form pretty much all season so far. Opposing teams know they need to stop him from playing to stand a chance but actually doing so is a very different proposition. He very rarely has a bad game and seems to be able to score goals from all kinds of angles. Aguero will get a lot of the attention but De Bruyne deserves just as many plaudits.

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David Silva

The tricky Spaniard is the heartbeat of Manchester City and also the key man in Pep Guardiola’s possession based blueprint. He ghosts past players with consummate ease and makes opposing midfielders look like they’re running in treacle. He pulls the strings from his central area and as long as he doesn’t get injured this season, City are going to control pretty much every game they play with him in their side.

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Fernandinho

The Brazilian has arguably taken on Pep Guardiola’s instructions most with the way he has changed his game since last season. His new manager has asked him to play deeper than ever before and be the springboard for attacks which he has duly delivered on. He may not be Xabi Alonso but he’s certainly made a good go of trying so he has to be commended for that but whether he continues with Ilkay Gundogan regaining fitness remains to be seen.

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Raheem Sterling

Sterling was absolutely torn apart last season after his move from Liverpool and that gradually wore away at his confidence until it hit rock bottom. Now though, he looks rejuvenated under Guardiola and you have to applaud him for the way he’s bounced back. The goals and assists are flowing for the England international once more and with his young age he’s only going to get better under his new Spanish boss.

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Nolito

Nolito was bought with the view of him improving on Jesus Navas and he’s certainly been able to do that down the wing. He’s got both goals and the ability to create chances in him whilst he also won’t go hiding compared to where Navas would dip in and out of games. It was a bit of a risk signing him given his age but he’s hit the ground running so it looks like he’ll be a success for the Etihad side.

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John Stones

The marquee signing of Pep Guardiola’s first transfer window at Manchester City Stones seems to have fitted in quickly for Man. City. Many were excited to see the England international under the former Barcelona manager’s tutelage and it looks as though that partnership is beginning to pay dividends. Ultimately the verdict will be made on Stones over the next few years as he works with Guardiola but the initial signs are good.

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Manchester United playing in the Europa League is an evident frustration for Jose Mourinho.

The former Chelsea manager has previously been vocal about his distaste for the competition, although his own innate competitiveness means he certainly will be aiming to lift the secondary European trophy this season.

Mourinho might not feel that Manchester United belong in the slug of Thursday night football, but that is where they are with good reason. And this season there is yet to be proof that they belong in the Champions League, either.

With only one win from five in the Premier League, Mourinho’s side are struggling severely domestically. Admittedly, that could look a little more positive if they had claimed victory as they should have done against Stoke, as a superhuman goalkeeping performance from Lee Grant restricted the Red Devils to just one goal.

Recent disappointments aside, elimination from Europa League football would harm the team psychologically. Whether it is considered a tournament to be fussed about or not, a team of Manchester United’s worth and stature will receive endless criticism if the final result of their Europa adventure ends in anything other than silverware. Those critics will be easier to brush aside if league results are closer to what is expected at Old Trafford, instead the pressure is now at a greater level in every single game for Manchester United.

Sitting five points away from their bitter table-topping rivals, Manchester City, greater attention will be paid to their Thursday night efforts. Two enormously underwhelming performances against Feyenoord and Zorya Luhansk mean that anything other than three points against Fenerbahce will leave the Red Devils in a perilous position in Group A. Whether progress matters to Mourinho or not, failure to even progress from the group stage would be significant in his early months at the club.

Yet should Manchester United find themselves in the knockout phases of the competition, it will raise a number of questions for Mourinho, and we will quickly have a strong indication of his priorities for his first season.

Competitive instinct can only carry a team so far. A time will come when the club and Mourinho need to choose what to invest most heavily in. If silverware is the main requisite for success and the league title is out of reach, will we see a shifting of Mourinho’s resources towards Thursday nights? The more probable outcome, however, is that an intense league season – whether battling for the top four or the title – will quickly see Mourinho return to his status quo and reject the importance of the Europa League.

The squad depth is there for Manchester United to plod through the Europa group stages without burning out their first choice starters for Premier League football, but it will ask questions of Mourinho’s ability to rotate his squad that he has previously failed to answer.

Europa League football does not pander to Mourinho’s ego, nor does it return Manchester United to the pinnacle of Europe, but it could be a welcome chance at silverware, not to mention Champions League qualification for next season should their Premier League campaign continue to charge towards the depths of the Van Gaal and Moyes regimes.

Leicester City are the Premier League champions.

Those words are still yet to sink in but we’re well and truly into the next season, in which the Foxes are now taking part in their very first Champions League campaign.

One of the crucial cogs in that team, N’golo Kante, transferred to Chelsea over the summer and it has noticeably affected the squad’s performances.

However, unbeaten in their past two Premier League matches, it appears they are back on track on the domestic front.

Despite their wobbles in England, they have been mesmeric in their debut season in Europe’s elite competition.

In their first match, they pulverised Club Brugge in Belgium 3-0, before defeating Porto and Copenhagen at home, both by a score of 1-0.

That means they are yet to concede in the competition and currently have nine points from a possible nine.

They face Copenhagen in Denmark on Wednesday night and all eyes will be on Leicester because victory will see them safely progress to the next round of the competition – likely as group winners.

But with domestic and continental obligations to balance out, it’s imperative Claudio Ranieri gets his starting XI exactly right.

GK: Kasper Schmeichel

Schmeichel was one of the top performers in Leicester’s surprise march to the title last season. Whilst the rest of the squad performed admirably as well, Schmeichel’s ability between the sticks was the difference on more than one occasion.

RB: Danny Simpson

The former Manchester United youth product was once seen as an average full back but he was one of Leicester’s most consistent performers last season and has made the No.2 berth his own. Summer signing Luis Hernandez, on the other hand, has struggled to live up to his billing.

CB: Robert Huth

The German giants has started this season disappointingly but impressed in the last couple of matches and will keep his place for this crunch clash against Copenhagen.

CB: Wes Morgan

Like his central defensive partner, Morgan has failed to replicate last season’s heroics. But he’s improved recently and his leadership remains invaluable to the Leicester cause.

LB: Christian Fuchs

The Austrian full-back cored a wonderful goal for Leicester last weekend against Crystal Palace, which was actually his first for the club. A top left-back, Fuchs is consistent and strong. 

RM: Marc Albrighton

Albrighton was rested for the clash against Spurs this weekend and Musa impressed as his replacement. The winger was great last season though and deserves his chance to impress on the European stage.

CM: Danny Drinkwater

Like Simpson, Drinkwater came through the Manchester United academy but his Paul Scholes-esque passing only became truly evident last season. That should help Leicester control the match via the ball against Copenhagen.

CM: Andy King

Since Kante left in the summer, Leicester have struggled in midfied. However, King played well on the weekend and should get another chance in the Champions League. Currently, the Foxes are pretty short on viable alternatives anyway.

LM: Riyad Mahrez

Riyad Mahrez was arguably the best Leicester player last season but he hasn’t quite hit the heights of the this year. He’s been impressive in Champions League though and Copenhagen represent a good opportunity to fire Leicester through whilst also impressing individually.

ST: Jamie Vardy

Jamie Vardy stayed at Leicester this season despite interest from Arsenal. He’s not been as prolific for the Foxes but he did assist Ahmed Musa’s equaliser at Spurs this weekend, suggesting the England international may be about to rediscover his spark.

ST: Shinji Okazaki

Probably one of the most undervalued members of this Leicester City squad. The Japanese international always runs his socks off and gives everything for the team. Unsurprisingly, his reintroduction into the first team has seen more impressive results and performances.

Rooted to the bottom of the table, this season couldn’t be going much worse for David Moyes and his Sunderland side.

The January transfer window will likely play a key part in any survival bid with Moyes having to buy economically, smartly and most importantly players ready for first team football.

It’s likely to be a battle all the way to May for the Black Cats and they need quality in key areas if they are to improve their results.

Sunderland aren’t expected to be one of the big spenders in January but there is plenty of value out there for Moyes in markets he knows well. He did, after all, recruit expertly at Everton for a number of years.

Competition for first team places is fiercer than ever in the Premier League and there are many talented players on the fringes of squads, seeking regular football.

Here are FIVE January signings Football FanCast reckon would ensure Sunderland’s survival…

Luciano Narsingh

PSV’s Dutch international winger Lucian Narsingh could add real quality to Sunderland’s wide areas in January.

In his sixth season at the Dutch club, he’s scored 40 goals in 205 appearances from the wing and could provide serious competition for the likes of Adnan Januzaj in the Black Cats’ attack.

Narsingh is struggling to reach the form he has in previous seasons this year but did play in five of PSV’s six Champions League games, even scoring away to Bayern Munich.

Bringing in a player of his calibre would show Sunderland fans that the club mean business and are doing everything in their power to avoid relegation.

Marouane Fellaini

Marouane Fellaini isn’t the most popular man around Old Trafford this season. A series of poor performances has cost United this season and he’s now struggling to keep his place in Mourinho’s plans.

That’s not to say he isn’t a quality player though and if anyone can get the best out of him it’s David Moyes, who guided him so expertly during his time at Everton.

If Fellaini indeed does not have a future in Manchester, he could be available for a loan or a transfer fee of decent value and he’d add a lot to the heart of the Black Cats’ midfield.

Tom Cleverley

Another classy midfielder struggling to get a game for his side is Everton man Tom Cleverley.

With close to 150 Premier League appearances he certainly knows how to play in the division and could easily slot into the heart of the Sunderland midfield.

Like Fellaini, he’s probably a better player than his current form and opportunities suggest. With the ability to get stuck into a midfield battle and defend well, he could be a vital player in a relegation fight.

If Everton don’t see a future for him under Ronald Koeman, he’s another who could be well within the budget David Moyes has at his disposal.

Florin Andone

One thing that does keep you up in the Premier League is goals and that’s hard to find on a budget, especially in January.

One man could offer good value though and that’s Deportivo La Coruna’s Romanian striker Florin Andone.

The 13-cap attacker didn’t score for the Spanish side in his first ten games after moving in the summer but recently hit a rich vein of form, scoring five goals in his last five and chipping in with an assist.

Despite joining in the summer past, a move to the Premier League could prove tempting for the striker and his club are unlikely to be able to command that large a fee for him.

Moussa Marega

This one could be tricky to pull off considering he’s on loan at Vitoria Guimaraes but Porto attacker Moussa Marega could be worth the effort it would take to bring him to the Stadium of Light in January.

The Malian can play both out wide and through the middle in attack, versatility that could be key in the run-in for Sunderland.

More important than that, he’s deadly in front of goal and has scored ten goals in ten appearances in the Portuguese top flight this season.

Could he be the man to fire Sunderland to survival?

Despite starting the afternoon on the bench, Sergio Aguero again bailed Manchester City out to give them a massive three points against Burnley at the Etihad.It was going very badly for the Citizens when Fernandinho picked up his 3rd Man City red card in 6 games in the 32nd minute.Heading into half-time, many were wondering if this was another occasion where City would drop vital points. Guardiola made two changes, bringing on Aguero and Silva, who both sparked the home side into life. First Gael Clichy scored, then the striker popped up to score what proved to be the winner.It was Aguero’s 14th goal in 19 appearances for City this season but it’s his historical record for the Citizens that is truly impressive, as this stat by Squawka shows.Since the Argentinian striker arrived from Atletico Madrid in 2011, no player has scored more Premier League goals than him.

For half a decade Aguero has been tearing apart Premier League defences and all signs point to him doing so for quite a while yet. If Guardiola can keep him firing on all cylinders then it will go a long way to securing UEFA Champions League qualification.

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Liverpool are having their best season for years. Jurgen Klopp’s first full term at the club has seen a resurgence from the Reds in the Premier League.The Anfield side are five points behind Chelsea and leading the best of the rest in the chase to take down Antonio Conte’s men.A hallmark of the side has been their exceptional attacking performances. Klopp’s team have ripped most sides in the division apart with a free-flowing, exciting brand of football. With 48 goals scored so far this season, no other side in the top-flight has scored more goals than them.Key to that success is the Reds’ ability to build from the back and have their full-backs bomb forward and overlap creative players in the final third.This stat from Squawka shows just how effective that’s been and how one man is stepping up to the plate with full belief in Klopp’s system.No defender has created more chances in the Premier League this term than Nathaniel Clyne.

It’s a terrific signifier that Jurgen Klopp is getting the best out of the former SaintsÂman. While he may not look the most rock solid defensively at times, he’s clearly contributing massively to the side.

Clyne will be hoping to create more chances on Wednesday night when Liverpool visit his former club Southampton in a vital EFL Cup semi-final.

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The January transfer window is a time when football takes it’s (sort of) sensible hat off and descends into the mud for a wild old time of rumours and hearsay. Indeed, your average day through the first month of any given year now consists of a player’s name being mentioned (usually from an outlet abroad) before being splashed across newspapers and websites only for it all to get shot down a coupe of hours later.And that was the case this week with Liverpool and Sporting CP’s William Carvalho. The midfielder, as Sport Witness (via A Bola) discuss here, was linked before the whole saga was brought crashing down by the Liverpool Echo’s club correspondent James Pearce:

However, the web has got even thicker with Tancredi Palmeri suggesting that talks are rumbling on:

It’s hard to work out what is actually going on then, but we think he would be a great addition for Liverpool, and here are THREE reasons why…

£25.6m is not mad money

What is any player’s value in the modern game? At the risk of sounding like a footballing Luddite, the cash in the beautiful game has swelled to another level over the course of the past year or so, with the Premier League’s mega TV deal and the Chinese Super League flooding the market with new money, which clubs, understandably, are splashing willingly.

Indeed, the summer saw a significant 13 English top tier teams break their transfer records and the fact that Crystal Palace, for example, can have a £30m forward in Christian Benteke shows the spread of the pound.

Moving on to Carvalho, A Bola (below) claim that Sporting would be willing to sell their holding midfield star as long as a potential suitor offers at least €30m (£25.6m).

Such a sum is far from ‘crazy’ for a player who is just 24-years-old and has won major honours at club and international level. Add into the mix that Liverpool made a profit on transfers over the summer and have since added more cash to their coffers by offloading Tiago Ilori in the current window, and it becomes clear that they have the financial muscle to consider a deal for the mooted fee as almost a justifiable mid-season ‘bargain’.

Genuine holding midfielder

Klopp’s 4-3-3 system this season has, largely, operated without an orthodox holding midfield player, with Jordan Henderson very much tasked with starting the play rather than disrupting. While this has worked on the whole, there have been occasions when Liverpool have missed a bit of grit in the middle of the pitch to get a hold of a game – which is where Carvalho comes into play.

Far from being a ‘kick ‘em up in the air’ enforcer like Nigel de Jong, the Portuguese ace is a combination of destruction and creation. Although that means Klopp may have to compromise in terms of funnelling the ball forward with the pace he seemingly likes, moments like Tom Carroll charging into the Reds penalty area en route to Gylfi Sigurdsson’s winner in the 2-3 loss to Swansea on the weekend may be a less frequent site with Carvalho in the middle alongside Henderson and Adam Lallana or Georginio Wijnaldum.

Alongside this, should Liverpool qualify for the Champions League or Europa League for 2017/18, which looks likely, they will need a deeper squad and players capable of carrying out certain performances in certain matches – for example, going away to Real Madrid and not shipping goals.

Impressive 2016/17 season so far

As our infographic shows, Carvalho has been effective this season in a Sporting team that has, largely, struggled in the Primeira Liga – they sit fourth behind Benfica, Porto and Braga. Maintaining a passing success rate of 88% while creating eight chances from a deep role shows that he has the technicality to function in a Klopp team, while his aerial duels won (24), tackles (21) and 31 interceptions illustrate his work in the central and back thirds of the pitch.

Of course, these stats mean little in isolation, so above are Carvalho’s numbers vs. Liverpool’s current central/holding midfield options (via Squawka). The EURO 2016 champion matches his counterparts in most areas and excels in terms of interceptions, while his overall rating is only just short of Henderson’s, which is no mean feat considering the Kop skipper has been lauded for his showings this term.

The January transfer window is over and all the rumours and speculation and conjecture will now have to wait until the summer. Let’s be honest, we all love a transfer story and the last month has been a real rollercoaster as Premier League squads shake themselves out into various forms.

Stories have been plentiful around the top five clubs in the table with big stars such as Diego Costa and Alexis Sanchez linked with moves away, as reported by The Guardian and The Sun over the last six weeks.

Now all of that is over and eyes are focused on the pitch as teams do battle for glory and silverware come May.

Chelsea might be eight points clear but an extended run of form can really put any of the teams behind them into a position to strike given how competitive the league is and how wildly momentum and points can swing from one way to another.

With the squads now settled, these are the FIVE players we think will be most important in determining who wins and who loses come the end of the season…

Diego Costa

There’s no doubt that Diego Costa was affected by the transfer speculation surrounding him in January, even falling out with staff at the club and being dropped for a visit to Leicester.

Antonio Conte, to his credit, managed the situation expertly and guided his player through the upheaval. The striker returned the next week at home to Hull on 22 January and netted his 15th goal of the season, which makes him the current joint-top scorer with a certain other London club superstar, Alexis Sanchez.

The title race is pretty simple when you get down to it, if Chelsea can keep Costa motivated, fit and in-form then they’re very, very likely to be lifting the trophy in transfer

y more tranfer speculation, bust-ups or absences, though? Well, it could be up for grabs despite that commanding lead…

Alexis Sanchez

With Alexis Sanchez having still not signed a new Gunners contract, there have been questions asked about his long-term future in an Arsenal shirt.

That’s not stopped him being arguably the Premier League’s most effective player this season, though. With 15 goals and seven assists, no player has directly contributed to more goals in the league than the Arsenal attacker.

That kind of form is enough to make sure that Arsenal maintain their winning streak. If they can take maximum points from their next five or so games then it could put significant pressure on Chelsea.

Perhaps it all comes down to the match this coming weekend when the Blues host the Gunners at Stamford Bridge. If Sanchez can inspire Arsenal to victory that day then the title race is most certainly on.

A poor performance from the striker? Well, it could be curtains…

Sadio Mane

Liverpool have had an absolutely rotten January and you could argue that’s been in part due to the absence of Sadio Mane.

The 24-year-old attacker has been missing since 2 January when he scored during a 2-2 draw with Sunderland and the Reds have been dire ever since. His return from the Africa Cup of Nations must be a hugely welcome sight not just for Liverpool supporters but his team-mates and manager, too.

With nine goals and four assists this season he’s been one of the Anfield side’s most effective players, generally giving them an edge in the final third that opponents struggled to deal with.

Whether he can inspire the Reds to close the nine-point gap on Chelsea remains to be seen, but if anyone in Klopp’s squad can, it’s him.

Christian Eriksen

Tottenham are on an absolute hot streak right now and central to that has been influential playmaker Christian Eriksen.

The Danish international has a massive eight assists so far in the Premier League this season and with five goals also to his name, he’s one of the division’s most consistent midfielders.

Spurs are unbeaten in their last nine matches and have won eight of those, a creditable draw away to Manchester City. They also ended Chelsea’s winning run at White Hart Lane.

If they can keep that form up they have every chance of influencing final destination of the Premier League trophy this season, even if not becoming kings themselves.

Kevin De Bruyne

No player in the Premier League has more assists in the Premier League this season than Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian attacking midfielder has contributed nine for his side this term and also added three goals to that too.

Manchester City may be a vast twelve points behind Chelsea but they are due to play three of the top five in the closing stages of the campaign and could play a massive hand in deciding where the trophy ends up in May.

The man most likely to influence those games is De Bruyne, making him perhaps one of the most decisive players in the entire league over the coming months.

The playmaker has been the driving force of City’s best spells of the season so Pep Guardiola needs to get him playing if they are to secure Champions League football next term.