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#3 Mateo Kovacic
Signing Saul Niguez indicated that Thomas Tuchel wanted to manage the workload of his players in the Premier League, particularly of Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic.
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Well, if the start is anything to go by, then Kovacic has made his intentions clear and he does not intend on missing a single minute of football. The Croatian has deservedly been given the No.8 jersey this season, previously worn rather underwhelmingly by Ross Barkley.
He has started four games this season in the Premier League and was brought in at half-time when 10-man Chelsea defended with utmost discipline at Anfield. Kovacic has always been admired for his control of the ball, sublime dribbling skills and the knack of finding a teammate anywhere on the field.
This season he’s provided the much-needed rhythm for Chelsea in attack and much of their attacking threat has materialized through Kovacic. The midfielder has displayed an attacking instinct inside the box where last season he felt indecisive and would fluff his lines.
His three assists and the fashion in which he’s setting up his teammates regularly is admirable.
He is being utilized majorly to fill the void left by Kante, who is yet to gain complete fitness. There’s no doubt that Kovacic hasn’t put a foot wrong in that time and has only taken giant strides so far this term.
Could Tuchel alternate between Jorginho and Kante while sticking with Kovacic for the better part of the season? It’s a difficult call to make, especially given the accolades that Jorginho and Kante keep receiving, but if this is a headache, it’s a good one to have.
#2 Bruno Fernandes
There really are no surprises here. This is a man who in his 56 appearances in the Premier League has had 49 goal contributions. Since the day he’s worn the Manchester United outfit Bruno Fernandes has only managed to garner love from United supporters.
Despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to the Premier League, Fernandes hasn’t become any less popular. In fact, he has already assisted Ronaldo twice in three games. Fernandes lit up Old Trafford in the very first game of the season with a brilliant hat-trick against Leeds United.
His next goal came three games later against Newcastle and even though the big news was Ronaldo’s brace on homecoming, the midfielder struck a peach of a strike. The Portuguese has been essential to the tempo at which the Red Devils play.
A dull outing for him generally sees United struggle to break the defensive block as was evident in their game against Southampton. With Ronaldo leading the line for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, it would be interesting to see if Fernandes' numbers start getting skewed.
We might see the Portuguese turning into the provider more often than the scorer. Interestingly, United haven’t been given a penalty in the Premier League yet and we can’t wait to see if it will be Ronaldo or Fernandes that steps up to take it.
#1 Paul Pogba
Since Paul Pogba’s arrival to Manchester United he has been criticized for never truly adapting to the conditions in the Premier League. Sometimes it’s about not gelling up well with the manager, sometimes it's his agent Mino Raiola crossing the line.
The clear criticism was that Pogba, who plays for the French national team under Didier Deschamps, was not the same one who turned up for the Premier League fixtures.
Well, it seems like a no-nonsense Pogba has finally decided to turn up in the Red outfit this season. He is only five games into the Premier League season and the France international has already stacked up seven assists.
The Athletic reported that Pogba was on holiday in Florida attending special training sessions with NBA side Miami Heat. A significant reason for the cutting edge we see in Pogba's Premier League appearances goes to those sessions. His passing and decision making has been accurate and he has also made important interceptions with great effect.
The midfielder’s chemistry with Bruno Fernandes has always been great and so far in the Premier League whatever they have tried to conjure has materialized. There have been rumors that Ronaldo’s return could possibly lure Pogba into extending a contract with Man United.
However, if another season goes by with Manchester United missing out on trophies again, it might be difficult for the Red Devils to keep hold of him.
