EPL 2017/18: 5 players who could become household names

Each new Premier League season throws up something different, but one thing is usually for certain – new stars will always emerge, some surprising and some more expected. The past few seasons have seen the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Jamie Vardy and N’Golo Kante rise to fame, and those players are now rated up there with the league’s best.

Who will rise to stardom this season? The big clubs have already been spending millions bringing in some world-class talent from abroad, while the success of England’s youth sides in this summer’s series of tournaments has also thrown up some names that could well end up starring in the league.

Here are five players who could potentially, with a good season behind them, become household names in the 2017/18 Premier League.

#5 Victor Lindelof

Victor Lindelof has been tipped for Manchester United stardom

There’s no denying that there’s pressure on Swedish defender Victor Lindelof. The 23-year-old has been signed by Manchester United for a monstrous fee of £30.75m from Benfica, where he spent two seasons in their first team. Lindelof recently broke into the Swedish national side, scoring his first goal for them in October 2016, and his performances in Portugal showed why Jose Mourinho was willing to part with so much money to bring him to Old Trafford.

Pre-season hasn’t been too kind to him, though. He’s performed largely poorly – a friendly against LA Galaxy saw the tiny Giovani Dos Santos outjump him to score a header and also ghost past him to score another goal, and he was hauled off at half time in games against Barcelona and Manchester City.

But you only have to look at Jaap Stam – who quickly became a rock in United’s defence in the late 1990s – to see that a poor pre-season doesn’t mean all that much when it comes down to business.

Mourinho’s track record with bringing in defenders is pretty exemplary – Eric Bailly looked excellent in his debut season last year and obviously in his runs with Chelsea, the pairing of John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho was hugely inspired. So really, there’s no reason to think that Lindelof would turn out to be any different.

Judging by his Benfica performances, he reads the game excellently, has strength and size on his side, and Mourinho apparently sees comparisons between the Swede and long time target Raphael Varane.

If Lindelof can fit into United’s defence alongside Bailly – or Phil Jones or Chris Smalling – and shore it up to the point that United can mount a true title challenge, then he could prove to be one of the season’s best buys.

#4 Dominic Solanke

Dominic Solanke has had a fantastic pre-season at Liverpool

Chelsea’s loss could well turn out to be Liverpool’s gain when it comes to young striker Dominic Solanke. Despite performing tremendously for Chelsea’s youth sides and also for Vitesse during his loan stint in Holland, the striker was always going to struggle for game time given the Blues’ distrust of their academy players when it comes to first team opportunities.

So with his contract up in the summer, Solanke moved to Liverpool for a fee still to be determined. Of course, this was prior to his star performances for England’s under-20 side as they won the U-20 World Cup in South Korea.

Solanke was awarded the Golden Ball in South Korea after scoring four goals – including a ludicrously cool penalty against Argentina – and he’s kept up his scoring touch for Liverpool in pre-season, hitting three goals thus far.

Only Mohamed Salah has scored more goals for the Reds this summer, and that’s thrown a wrench into Jurgen Klopp’s idea of keeping Solanke as more of a long-term project. With Daniel Sturridge injured again, the 19-year-old could find himself in the first team quicker than Klopp initially thought.

With Liverpool’s history of producing exciting young strikers – Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler instantly come to mind alongside Sturridge – Solanke could well join those names with a good debut season in 2017/18. Even an England call-up might not be out of the realm of possibility given Gareth Southgate’s penchant for youth. And surely Chelsea would then regret letting him walk away.

#3 Nathaniel Chalobah

Nathaniel Chalobah will finally get his chance at stardom with Watford

Another highly rated product of Chelsea’s youth academy, Nathaniel Chalobah’s move to Watford this summer came as a shock to many for a number of reasons. Firstly, Chalobah was one of the standout players for England’s U-21 side as they reached the semi-finals of the European Championships.

Secondly, with Nemanja Matic on his way to Manchester United, a spot had opened in Chelsea’s defensive midfield – Chalobah’s favoured position. Thirdly, the fee Watford paid - £5m - was tiny in comparison to some of the insane money being thrown around this summer.

Evidently Chelsea boss Antonio Conte couldn’t have rated Chalobah that highly – after all, he splashed out £40m for Tiemoue Bakayoko, arguing that the Frenchman’s Champions League experience was more valuable than the clear talent of the England youngster.

That means that Chalobah will be gunning to prove his former boss wrong at Watford, where he’ll be linking up with not only a highly rated boss in Marco Silva, but other exciting young players like his England U-21 teammate Will Hughes.

The move to Watford also means Chalobah goes instantly from a player on the fringes of the squad, struggling to make an impact, to one of his side’s key men and one of the first names on the team sheet. Only a fool would bet against a player of his talents being able to succeed highly, and even if Watford end up struggling, the fact that Chalobah will finally be getting first team football means that all eyes will be on him for once.

Gareth Southgate has already spoken of Chalobah breaking into the England senior squad due to the dearth of talent in his position, and a few good performances for Watford will likely see that come to fruition. With 2017/18 being a World Cup season, he might well be one of the names on everyone’s lips come the summer.

#2 Tammy Abraham

Tammy Abraham hopes to become a goal machine at Swansea

The step up from the Championship to the Premier League is always a difficult one to make, and we’ve seen plenty of players in the past fall by the wayside. But after a stunning season on loan at Bristol City that saw him score 26 goals in all competitions, Tammy Abraham is clearly ready for the big time.

And while his home club Chelsea haven’t chosen to give him a chance, they have rewarded him with a new contract and a loan move to Premier League side Swansea – a chance for the youngster to make his mark in the EPL.

After a successful showing for England’s U-21 team in the summer, Abraham appears to have fit right in at Swansea, as he’s already scored two goals in three pre-season games for the Welsh side. The fact that the Swans’ key striker Fernando Llorente is injured and will miss the beginning of the season is also a bonus for the young striker, as it means he’s practically guaranteed to start at least the first handful of EPL games, giving him invaluable experience instantly.

Already Swansea’s players are raving about the 19-year-old, praising his movement, intelligence, and surprising pace for a bigger player. Whether he can be as successful for Swansea – who may struggle in the league – as he was for Bristol City is anyone’s guess, but then Bristol struggled last season too and that didn’t stop him banging goals in.

If Abraham can continue on his current path then practically everyone will be talking about him this season and with only Harry Kane seemingly guaranteed a spot in England’s World Cup squad when it comes to strikers, the young hitman could well make a case for himself there too.

#1 Sead Kolasinac

Sead Kolasinac could become a cult favourite at Arsenal

With all the talk at Arsenal this summer focusing on new signing Alexandre Lacazette – as well as the possibility of key man Alexis Sanchez leaving – the signing of Bosnian left back Sead Kolasinac has largely flown under the radar. The fact that he moved to Arsenal on a free transfer after his contract expired has meant that he’s not gained the same amount of publicity as some of the summer’s more expensive signings, but after this Sunday’s Community Shield, that may well end up changing quickly.

Kolasinac replaced Per Mertesacker after an early injury and quickly became one of Arsenal’s star men, scoring his side’s equaliser and heading upfield for some daring attacking raids throughout the game. Previously, the Bosnian had a fantastic 2016/17 season in the Bundesliga for Schalke, where he appeared 25 times, scored three league goals, and was named in the Bundesliga’s Team of the Season.

Already Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger has been full of praise for the newcomer, and his new teammate Theo Walcott has also waxed lyrical about his work-rate on and off the field, stating that he can become “an absolute tank” in Arsenal’s defence. The Gunners have often been accused of having too little steel in their side in recent seasons, but this acquisition should definitely change that reputation.

Defenders who can also attack in dramatic fashion historically always become cult favourites with the fans, and so don’t be surprised if Sead Kolasinac finds himself on that list with a successful 2017/18 at the Emirates.