Premier League 2024-25 awards: From best game to worst signing

The champion home league successful the satellite didn't precisely bask its astir thrilling play successful 2024-25. The Premier League rubric and each 3 relegation spots were locked up earlier May, and portion the contention for UEFA Champions League berths went each the mode to the extremity of the season, the lone final-day play we got revolved astir a arguable refereeing decision. Hell, with Mohamed Salah's dependable heroics -- astatine 1 constituent successful the fall, helium scored successful 7 consecutive matches and 11 of 12 -- adjacent the league's subordinate of the twelvemonth honors were decided early.

Still, each play is simply a clip capsule successful itself, and this 1 inactive gave america an unthinkable Salah declaration year, wonderfully intriguing charges by teams specified arsenic Nottingham Forest and AFC Bournemouth and, indeed, a down-to-the-wire contention for Champions League spots. A big-time league is ever going to nutrient moments and players worthy celebrating, truthful present are immoderate of this season's astir sparkling stats and superlatives.

Best XI

Goalkeeper: Matz Sels, Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest suffered immoderate of the worst goalkeeping you'll ever spot past season; as I wrote successful the play preview, Sels, Matt Turner and Odisseas Vlachodimos combined to let implicit 17 much goals than expected based connected the prime of shots they faced, and it prevented them from surging nether Nuno Espirito Santo precocious successful 2023-24.

With some Vlachodimos and Turner gone, the occupation was each Sels' this play ... and damn, if helium wasn't spectacular. Forest did a bully occupation of preventing excessively galore high-quality opportunities from coming Sels' mode -- the halfway backmost duo of Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic was outstanding -- but his 4.3 goals prevented were 4th highest successful the league, and his 13 cleanable sheets were tied for the most.

Backup: Alisson Becker, Liverpool

Left back: Antonee Robinson, Fulham

Robinson has been a coagulated Premier League afloat backmost for a while, but helium shifted into a caller gear. No 1 balances the demands of the presumption amended than the 27-year-old, who someway ranked archetypal among each Premier League afloat backs successful some assists (10 -- 4 much than adjacent Trent Alexander-Arnold) and antiaircraft interventions (496). He was 2nd among afloat backs successful progressive carries (284), too, trailing lone Manchester City's Josko Gvardiol. He was astir virtually everyplace for an overachieving Fulham.

Backup: Josko Gvardiol, Manchester City

Center backs: Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool, and James Tarkowski, Everton

Like Robinson, Van Dijk has agelong been among the league's champion defenders successful 2 wholly antithetic ways: He starts the buildup crippled arsenic good arsenic anyone -- helium was archetypal among each defenders successful touches, walk attempts and completions -- and helium contributes to the onslaught successful presumption of some passing (10th among halfway backs with 12 chances created) and acceptable pieces (three goals, 27 changeable attempts). But past he's besides inactive conscionable astir the champion information broad successful the world: He ranked 11th among halfway backs successful antiaircraft interventions (despite Liverpool not needing arsenic galore of them arsenic others), and helium was 2nd among regular halfway backs successful aerial occurrence complaint (72.1%). At 33, he's inactive the full package.

Tarkowski, meanwhile, produced adjacent amended antiaircraft stats, adjacent if they came without arsenic galore violative fireworks. Tarkowski and Forest's Murillo mightiness person been the champion defending defenders successful the league, and we'll springiness Tarkowski the borderline due to the fact that of axenic aerial prowess: Not lone was helium 5th among halfway backs successful some antiaircraft interventions and blocked shots; helium besides won 74.6% (first) of his 138 aerial duels (ninth). He's the astir talented and effectual histrion successful the league, and helium gets bonus points for the information that his lone league extremity of the play was a melodramatic game-tying 1 astatine the Merseyside derby against Liverpool.

Backups: Murillo, Nottingham Forest, and Fabian Schär, Newcastle United

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'Van Dijk & Salah are much Scouse than him now' - Paddy Pimblett's afloat Trent rant

Paddy Pimblett shares his sentiment connected Trent Alexander-Arnold's departure from his boyhood nine Liverpool.

Right back: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool

The vibes were awkward arsenic the champion passing afloat backmost of the 2020s prepared to permission for (presumably) Real Madrid, but don't fto that instrumentality distant from the information that Alexander-Arnold remains ridiculous successful presumption of shot distribution. Among afloat backs, lone Robinson and Wolves' Rayan Aït-Nouri -- who was lone partially a afloat backmost -- topped his six assists, lone Gvardiol topped his 278 progressive passes, and nary 1 topped his 7.4 expected assists from completed passes oregon his 5 palmy one-on-ones successful the box. Combine that with ever-decent antiaircraft numbers, and it's beauteous wide that Trent was inactive Trent successful Liverpool's rubric season.

Backup: Pedro Porro, Tottenham Hotspur

Defensive midfielder: Youri Tielemans, Aston Villa

An A-grade attacking midfielder playing from antiaircraft positioning. The 28-year-old Tielemans was decent capable successful defense, blocking 16 shots (fifth among midfielders) with 331 antiaircraft interventions (18th), but helium was asked to bash a ton successful pivoting Villa into attack, and helium was conscionable superb astatine it: He was 3rd among each midfielders successful touches (2,526), 4th successful progressive passes (285) and eighth successful some assists (7) and chances created (61). He could unit the issue, too, scoring 3 goals and winning 9 fouls successful the attacking third.

Backup: Enzo Fernández, Chelsea

Central(ish) midfielder: Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United

Okay, we're surely gathering a beauteous attack-friendly XI here, but portion Fernandes has done astir of his enactment from attacking midfield positions done the years, helium was asked to play further backmost erstwhile Ruben Amorim took implicit astatine Manchester United. Being Bruno Fernandes, helium was fantabulous astatine it. He finished the twelvemonth archetypal among midfielders successful progressive passes (364), 2nd successful assists (10) and archetypal successful chances created (91). He scored 8 goals, too, and of the eight, 3 gave United the pb -- nary tiny feat successful a play successful which they finished 15th successful the array -- and 2 much tied the game.

Backup: Martin Ødegaard, Arsenal

Central attacking midfielder: Cole Palmer, Chelsea

Sure, helium did a batch of his enactment aboriginal successful the season, but 23 combined goals and assists is inactive dynamite output for idiosyncratic typically based good extracurricular the box.

In his archetypal 15 league matches, Palmer combined 11 goals with six assists, producing 2 of the astir staggeringly awesome performances of the season: a one-goal, three-assist effort successful a 6-2 triumph implicit Wolverhampton Wanderers successful August, and a four-goal, four-chances show successful a 4-2 triumph implicit Brighton & Hove Albion. He had a spot successful this XI locked up by December.

Backup: Morgan Gibbs-White, Nottingham Forest

Left winger: Luis Díaz, Liverpool

For arsenic bully arsenic Salah was -- and helium was ridiculous -- Diaz's ain betterment was an unfair proposition for opponents.

Diaz, 2022-23: 0.54 goals+assists per 90 min., 0.34 xG+xA per 90 min
Diaz, 2023-24: 0.44 G+A/90, 0.57 xG+xA/90
Diaz, 2024-25: 0.67 G+A/90, 0.62 xG+xA/90

After producing a coagulated 8 goals and 5 assists successful league play past season, Diaz went for 13 and five, portion playing 235 less minutes, successful 2024-25. Salah vacuumed up opportunities, but Diaz's 18 combined goals and assists inactive tied for 12th successful the league and archetypal among near wingers.

Backup: Eberechi Eze, Crystal Palace

Center-forward: Alexander Isak, Newcastle United

You cognize it was a unusual play for center-forwards erstwhile Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood astir finished with the aforesaid fig of goals arsenic Manchester City's Erling Haaland. But Isak topped them both. He produced arsenic galore assists arsenic some of them combined and scored lone 1 less non-penalty extremity than Salah successful astir 600 less minutes. He carries a batch of value successful the Newcastle attack, and he's perpetually up for the challenge: He scored successful 18 league matches this play -- the Magpies averaged 2.44 points per crippled (14 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses) erstwhile helium scored and 1.4 erstwhile helium didn't.

Backup: Erling Haaland, Manchester City

Right winger: Mohamed Salah, Liverpool

Obviously.

Backup: Bryan Mbeumo, Brentford

Player of the season: Mohamed Salah

The large numbers are awesome enough: His 47 combined goals and assists matched the grounds acceptable by Alan Shearer (1994-95) and Andy Cole (1993-94), and some Shearer and Cole did it successful 42-game seasons. His 29 goals and 18 assists were each six much than anyone else. He attempted much shots than anyone (130) and created the third-most chances successful the league. Ridiculous successful each imaginable way.

Honestly, though, Salah mightiness person produced an adjacent much awesome fig than immoderate of that. Only 2 players won much than 15 one-on-ones successful the antiaircraft container this season: Manchester City dribble maestro Jérémy Doku had 18 ... and Salah had 28. Best scorer, champion passer and champion dribbler successful the league? At property 32?? Come on.

Game of the Season

1. Everton 2-2 Liverpool, Feb. 12: Everton's caller stadium volition inevitably beryllium gorgeous and sparkly and fresh, but the athletics loses strands of its DNA erstwhile aged stadiums autumn by the wayside. At slightest we sent Goodison Park disconnected into the sunset with 1 past glorious derby.

2. Newcastle United 3-3 Liverpool, Dec. 4: Countless crippled twists here. Anthony Gordon gave Newcastle a 2-1 pb successful the 62nd minute, lone for Salah to people doubly successful 15 minutes to springiness the eventual league champs the advantage. They couldn't spot it out, though: Liverpool keeper Caoimhín Kelleher fto a escaped footwear spell implicit his head, and a sliding Fabian Schar someway slid it into the nett from an intolerable angle.

3. Brentford 2-2 Manchester City, Jan. 14: Blown leads were a happening for City this year, and this 1 mightiness person been the astir maddening of the bunch. After much than an hr of frustrating misses, City got 2 goals successful 13 minutes from Phil Foden and led 2-0 into the last stages. But Yoane Wissa scored successful the 82nd minute, past Christian Norgaard acceptable Brentford Community Stadium alight, flicking a header past Stefan Ortega successful the 5th infinitesimal of stoppage time.

4. Manchester City 2-1 Aston Villa, April 22: After a shocking midseason funk, City yet gathered themselves (with assistance from hundreds of millions of pounds successful January transportation spending), going connected a late, 10-match unbeaten streak to fastener up a Champions League bid. This result, against top-five rival Villa, was the astir vital. A Marcus Rashford punishment drew Villa level aboriginal on, but Matheus Nunes got connected the extremity of a Doku transverse successful the 94th minute, and City took each 3 points.

5. Tottenham Hotspur 3-4 Chelsea, Dec. 8: Who doesn't emotion a bully popcorn flick? In the UEFA Europa League, Spurs played sufferball to large effect, narrowly holding connected to leads successful the knockout rounds and taking the trophy. In league play, however, they couldn't clasp their corporate nervus astir arsenic well. In this one, they led 2-0 aft conscionable 11 minutes acknowledgment to a brace of Marc Cucurella errors, but Chelsea scored 3 second-half goals, including a brace of Palmer penalties, to instrumentality a commanding 4-2 lead. Son Heung-Min chopped the pb to 1 successful stoppage time, but the Blues held connected for a roadworthy win.

Best single-game performance

1. Cole Palmer vs. Brighton & Hove Albion, Sept. 28: I mean, you people 4 goals (in 1 half!) and make 4 chances, and you're starring this list. No-brainer.

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What has happened to 'invisible' Cole Palmer?

Steve Nicol reacts to Cole Palmer's show successful Chelsea's 1-0 triumph vs. Everton.

2-3. Mohamed Salah vs. Tottenham Hotspur, Dec. 22, and Mohamed Salah vs. Southampton, March 8: Really, prime your spirit here. In the former, Salah scored 2 goals with 2 assists successful a 6-3 way conscionable triumph implicit Spurs, 1 that opened up a four-point pb implicit Chelsea (and six implicit Arsenal) with a crippled successful hand. In the latter, helium scored 2 second-half goals to interruption a 1-1 halftime tie, and helium created six chances for 5 antithetic teammates. Only 2 fantabulous saves from Southampton's Aaron Ramsdale prevented a 2nd two-goal, two-assist game.

4. Murillo vs. Liverpool, Jan. 14: Nottingham Forest pulled a thrilling and seemingly captious 1-1 gully with Liverpool successful January, 1 successful which Liverpool enjoyed 70% possession and deployed changeless pressure. The main crushed for the draw? Murillo's 31 antiaircraft interventions, the 2nd astir anyone produced successful 2024-25.

5. Mads Hermansen vs. Arsenal, Sept. 28: Leicester's keeper produced the azygous champion goalkeeping show of the play ... successful a 4-2 loss. He made 13 saves, and portion Arsenal scored 3 goals (with an ain extremity added in), their post-shot xG worth for shots connected people was 6.1. Only Hermansen's heroics prevented thing similar a 7-2 loss.

6. Cole Palmer vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aug. 25: One extremity and 3 assists from 4 chances successful a 6-2 triumph successful the 2nd crippled of the season. A beauteous bully mode to commencement 2024-25.

7. Ezri Konsa vs. Tottenham Hotspur, May 16: In a captious 2-0 triumph for Aston Villa, Konsa was a shot progression machine: His 60 combined progressive carries (42) and progressive passes (18) were the 2nd astir anyone produced each season.

8. Justin Kluivert vs. Newcastle United, Jan. 18: This was the champion crippled of the Bournemouth winger's breakout season. He netted a chapeau instrumentality with an assistance (from 3 chances created) successful what definite felt similar a connection triumph for the Cherries astatine the time.

9. Kevin Schade vs. Leicester City, Nov. 30: After scoring 2 goals successful 2 seasons for Brentford, the 23-year-old enjoyed an 11-goal breakout, and 3 came successful this game. The Bees won 4-1 -- helium assisted connected the different extremity arsenic well.

10. Josko Gvardiol vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Oct. 20: Lost amid what turned retired to beryllium a alternatively turgid play for Manchester City (by their standards) was Gvardiol's ain excellence. He played much near backmost than halfway backmost successful 2024-25, and helium ended up playing a beauteous important relation successful some defence and shot progression. The blueprint was acceptable successful this match: He completed a whopping 30 progressive passes and tied the crippled with a glorious long-range extremity successful an eventual 2-1 win.

Best young subordinate (22 and under)

1. Murillo, Nottingham Forest, 22: A large difference-maker for the astir astonishing squad of the season.

2. Morgan Rogers, Aston Villa, 22: Second connected the squad successful goals (8), archetypal successful assists (10) and 2nd successful shot recoveries (115). That's a uncommon combination, particularly connected a bully team.

3. Dean Huijsen, AFC Bournemouth, 20: Extraordinary mess-cleaning, positive set-piece goals successful memorable wins implicit Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Arsenal? That volition get you remembered successful Bournemouth. It volition besides get you a £50m summertime transportation to Real Madrid.

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Marcotti: Huijsen's £50m transportation clause 'like a escaped transfer'

Gab Marcotti talks astir Dean Huijsen's reported transportation to Real Madrid from Bournemouth.

4. Liam Delap, Ipswich Town, 22: Asked to transportation an outmanned Ipswich attack, Delap responded well, scoring 12 goals with 2 assists. A one-on-ones and progressive carries machine.

5. Lewis Hall, Newcastle United, 20: He's an progressively important contributor for a Champions League team, and helium can't legally portion successful the States yet.

Honorable mentions: Amad Diallo, Manchester United; Elliot Anderson, Nottingham Forest; Savinho, Manchester City; Jarrad Branthwaite, Everton; Yankuba Minteh, Brighton & Hove Albion; Carlos Baleba, Brighton & Hove Albion; Destiny Udogie, Tottenham Hotspur; Tino Livramento, Newcastle United

Manager of the season

1. Nuno Espirito Santo, Nottingham Forest: He's really the continent's manager of the season and impervious that erstwhile a manager has the pieces to acceptable his oregon her identity, magic tin follow.

2. Arne Slot, Liverpool: He did specified a bully occupation this twelvemonth that it made america wonderment if managers substance astatine all.

3. Andoni Iraola, AFC Bournemouth: He had a young, banged-up team, and his Cherries managed to frustrate the hellhole retired of richer, much experienced teams each season.

Honorable mentions: Thomas Frank, Brentford; David Moyes, Everton; Eddie Howe, Newcastle United

Best signing of the season

1. Dean Huijsen, Bournemouth, €19.6m: He came from Juventus, spent 1 superb play for a brilliantly overachieving team, and present leaves for a large nine (and large profit). Good business.

2. Nikola Milenkovic, Nottingham Forest, €12.3m: Murillo's breakout play was captious to Forest's success, but having a cranky enforcer adjacent to him successful the backmost surely helped. Premier League teams paid astatine slightest €40m successful transportation fees for 17 antithetic players successful the summertime and wintertime transportation windows. None of them worked retired arsenic good arsenic this €12m deal.

3. Mikel Merino, Arsenal, €32m: Known chiefly arsenic a presser with bully shot progression astatine Real Sociedad, Merino proved his adaptability by picking up a coagulated scoring load (he netted a career-high 7 goals) for a banged-up Arsenal attack.

4. Liam Delap, Ipswich Town, €17.9m: He couldn't prevention Ipswich from relegation, but a apt summertime transportation means he'll apt present a decent nett connected the mode retired the door.

5. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, West Ham United, €17.6m: After a frustrating tally astatine Manchester United, Wan-Bissaka moved to eastbound London, took connected a much divers relation and ended up either mounting oregon tying Premier League vocation highs successful goals (2), assists (4), changeable attempts (16), progressive passes (161), one-on-ones (128), fouls suffered (26) and, astatine the different extremity and by a wide margin, antiaircraft interventions (459). He couldn't marque West Ham a peculiarly absorbing team, but helium was precise solid.

Honorable mentions: Emmanuel Agbadou, Wolves (€20m); Sander Berge, Fulham (€23.6m); Lewis Hall, Newcastle (€33m); Omar Marmoush, Manchester City (€75m); Ismaïla Sarr, Crystal Palace (€15m)

Best loan: Marco Asensio, Aston Villa: Aston Villa played 22 matches successful each competitions aft bringing the Paris Saint-Germain seasoned connected indebtedness connected Feb. 3. He played lone 56% of minutes successful this span, but helium led the squad successful goals (8) and was 4th successful chances (24). More importantly, helium helped Villa triumph 8 of their last 10 Premier League matches to complaint backmost into (but, sadly, autumn conscionable abbreviated of) Champions League contention. Asensio has ever been a versatile attacker, and helium acceptable similar a mitt connected Unai Emery's squad.

Worst signing of the season

1. João Félix, Chelsea, €52m: This has been a mostly affirmative acceptable of lists -- "superlatives" and each -- but the transportation marketplace is simply a two-way street, and mediocre signings tin resistance you down arsenic overmuch arsenic bully ones prop you up. Chelsea snagged a top-five decorativeness and volition instrumentality to the Champions League successful 2025-26, but they astir apt expected to get much than a full of 10 league goals and 14 assists from the €276m worthy of transfers they brought successful this year. Pedro Neto, the astir costly signing, contributed 4 of the goals and six of the assists, but Felix managed conscionable 1 and one, respectively, doing immoderate harm successful the UEFA Conference League but getting loaned retired to AC Milan (and not doing overmuch determination either) for the 2nd fractional of the season.

Felix's method accomplishment acceptable is immense capable to person convinced galore large clubs to instrumentality a accidental connected him. But helium lone occasionally really makes those teams better.

2. Joshua Zirkzee, Manchester United, €42.5m: After a uniquely palmy play astatine Bologna -- helium scored 12 goals with six assists successful each competitions but did not supply immoderate large changeable measurement oregon spot overmuch of the shot -- the 23-year-old Zirkzee seemed astir destined to marque a big-money transportation to a nine that wouldn't truly cognize what to bash with him. That nine is often Manchester United. Zirkzee played 2,256 minutes successful each competitions (about 25 90s) and scored conscionable 7 goals with 2 assists for a squad that needed acold much from the halfway guardant position.

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Amorim: Important changes coming astatine Man United

Ruben Amorim speaks aft Man United's 2-0 triumph implicit Aston Villa connected the last time of the Premier League season.

3. Matthijs de Ligt, Manchester United, €45m: In the past six years, 3 antithetic teams person paid a combined €197.5m successful transportation fees for De Ligt's services. He has spent astir of those six seasons playing decent-to-solid ball, but injuries and frustrating glitches person held him back. On a squad arsenic fragile arsenic United, helium wasn't capable to supply galore answers and managed lone 14 Premier League starts.

4. Niclas Füllkrug, West Ham United, €27m: A twelvemonth ago, helium was starting successful the Champions League last to wrapper up a 16-goal, 11-assist twelvemonth with Borussia Dortmund. West Ham paid a batch for the services of a 32-year-old precocious bloomer, but they astir apt expected much than 877 minutes and 3 goals successful each competitions.

5. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Chelsea, €35.4m: You could database rather a fewer antithetic Chelsea signings here, but we'll spell with Dewsbury-Hall, who shone with Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca astatine Leicester City but hardly saw the tract successful 2024-25, logging conscionable 259 minutes successful league play and, similar Felix, serving mostly arsenic a scorer successful the Conference League.

Honorable mentions: Fabio Carvalho, Brentford (€23.4m); Ian Maatsen, Aston Villa (€44.5m); Eddie Nketiah, Crystal Palace (€29.7m); Luis Sinisterra, AFC Bournemouth (€23.4m); Emile Smith Rowe, Fulham (€31.8m)

Worst loan: Raheem Sterling, Arsenal: You could marque a lawsuit for Jadon Sancho present -- similar Füllkrug, helium went from starting for BVB successful the Champions League last to playing a spot relation for a frustrating squad -- but Sancho did inactive negociate 1,702 league minutes, 3 goals and 4 assists. Sterling, connected the different hand, seemed to perfectly deed a partition this season. Instead of providing a dependable seasoned manus successful Arsenal's attack, the 30-year-old scored conscionable 1 goal, against Bolton Wanderers successful the League Cup, and managed conscionable 496 minutes successful Premier League play.