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This Premier League season is turning out to be one to remember for a really long time. It has provided the neutrals with some new favorites in Everton and West Ham, while champions Liverpool have faltered in the last couple of months after remaining at the summit for much of the initial part and are facing a serious threat of losing out on even Champions League qualification.
Manchester City made a painfully slow start to the season with goals at a premium, but have returned emphatically to the summit by winning 15 on the trot in all competitions, a record for a top-flight team, and look set to regain the Premier League title.
Manchester United have enjoyed a renaissance this season and looked like genuine title contenders for a while but their home form has been their nadir in the league. Mourinho's Tottenham are back to their frustrating best, while even heavy spending this summer couldn't give Lampard the time he felt he deserved at Chelsea.
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While there is still a long way to go to proclaim anything conclusively in the Premier League at this stage, it's a good time to reflect on the performances of players who ignited hope in the hearts of supporters but have flattered to deceive.
5. Rhian Brewster
Rhian Brewster was a Champions League winner at the age of 18 with Liverpool when they defeated Tottenham in one of the most uneventful Champions League finals in recent memory in 2019, although he didn't play in any of the matches.
He was one of the stars of England's U-17 team that won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017 in India alongside current Premier League star Phil Foden, winning the Golden Boot. His performances included hat-tricks in knockout matches vs the USA and Brazil, and the opening goal in the 5-2 win over Spain in the finals.
Brewster was highly regarded by Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp, but not enough to give him an extended run in the team. Despite impressing on loan at Swansea in the second half of the 2019-20 season, he wasn't given enough chances at Liverpool in the Premier League matches owing to the presence of Salah, Firmino and Mane.
In came last season's Premier League overachievers Sheffield United, who made him their record signing at a staggering transfer fee of £23.5 million.
After no goals in 20 appearances in all competitions this season, it is safe to say that Sheffield United are yet to see returns on their investment as they languish in the basement of the table after making the worst start by any team in the history of the Premier League.
Blades boss Chris Wilder has backed him to be successful at the club, but it says a lot that he has relied more on his aging strikers Billy Sharp and David McGoldrick in recent matches. However, the fact that Liverpool have inserted a buy-back clause in his transfer contract demonstrates their faith in his abilities, and with age still on his side, we can expect him to establish himself as a good goalscorer in the years to come.
4. Timo Werner
There is no arguing that Timo Werner was a phenomenon in the Bundesliga, and that was exactly what was expected of him in the Premier League. He was prolific throughout his time at RB Leipzig, where he scored close to 100 goals in a little over 150 appearances over 4 years.
He was just behind Robert Lewandowski with 28 league goals in the Bundesliga last year, and there was nothing to suggest of the impending struggle he has endured in the Premier League with Chelsea. A pacy forward who can even operate as a winger, he is nimble, elusive and can also drop deeper to link up with the midfield. But this season has been one to forget.
Werner has scored just five league goals in 23 league appearances this season and has often been overlooked in favour of Olivier Giroud or Tammy Abraham.
Experiments with his playing position by Lampard didn't help either, with the lack of tactical nous also being cited as the reason for his poor performances in the Premier League. But with the arrival of German coach Thomas Tuchel, who prefers the high pressing style Werner has played in during his time at Leipzig, there is still hope that Timo can find his scoring boots.
3. Donny Van de Beek
Ajax prodigy Donny Van de Beek has faded away this season like nobody could have expected him to. A much-loved figure at Ajax, he was instrumental in them reclaiming the Eredevisie title after a long gap of 5 years in the 2018-19 season, but he reserved his best for the Champions League as a young Ajax team dazzled the heavyweights, knocking out Juventus and Real Madrid.
He carried on his brilliant form in the Champions league and ultimately curtailed Eredivisie 2019-20, and was on the wishlist of all the top clubs in Europe throughout last summer. Manchester United were the lucky winners and the £35 million fee for bringing him to the Premier League was claimed to be a bargain.
Donny arrived amidst much fanfare and even scored an ultimately meaningless goal on his Premier League debut, but has failed to display the sort of performance he did at Ajax.
The sight of him sitting on the bench has become all too familiar as it seems like there is no place in the starting 11 of the Premier League for him in a midfield stuffed with the phenomenal Bruno Fernandes and the resurgent Paul Pogba.
It can also be attributed partly to the unfamiliar roles he has often been asked to play in, not being trusted with his favored box-to-box midfield role but even when given chances, he hasn't justified his selection with dour displays.
Solskjaer has often defended his team selection and labeled it a transition phase in the Premier League for the midfielder. With a decision to be made on Paul Pogba's future with Manchester United soon, Donny needs to raise his performance levels to show he can be a mainstay in that Manchester United midfield for years to come.
2. Kai Havertz
Prior to his arrival in the Premier League, Kai Havertz was touted as a generational talent in the Bundesliga and was called an Alleskönner, which translates to 'a player who can do everything'.
He was the youngest player to reach 100 Bundesliga appearances last season, breaking the record held by Chelsea and German teammate Timo Werner. A technically gifted, two-footed midfielder, he can play as an attacking midfielder as well as a little backwards in central midfield.
He also proved to be a prolific goalscorer for Bayer Leverkusen last season, and all the hype around him was enough for Chelsea to dish out a potential £71 million for him last summer to bring him to the Premier League.
However, things haven't gone according to plan as despite scoring a hat-trick in the EFL cup just days after his Chelsea debut, the expensive midfielder finds himself more on the bench than in the starting XI. He has also been unlucky as he was diagnosed with COVID-19 at a time when he was starting to get more game time, but more recently he seems out of pace in the fast-moving Premier League.
Not finding the perfect position for his abilities is often described as one of Lampard's biggest failures, but the arrival of Tuchel may yet spark a new lease of life for the much-maligned teenage prodigy.
1. Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale is a name that needs no introduction. After some excellent performances in his first spell in the Premier League, he became a vital part of Real Madrid's golden era as he, along with Ronaldo, Benzema and Co. and was instrumental in Real winning four Champions League titles between 2014-18.
Brought in for a world-record fee from Tottenham Hotspur, he helped Real Madrid to a Copa del Rey and Champions League double, and won 13 major trophies with Real in the 7 years till 2019-20. However, relations soured between Zidane and Bale at the end of the 2018-19 season and keen to get his wages off the club books, Real were willing to listen to potential suitors.
Enter Premier League title hopefuls Tottenham Hotspur and Jose Mourinho, who were looking for a winner to guide the underachieving squad, and a romantic return back to where it all started was scripted.
If Tottenham fans were hoping for a miracle, they have had to suffer a huge disappointment as Bale's Tottenham return has been a perennial journey of injury concerns and recovery. He has made a grand total of just six appearances in the Premier League this season, mostly as a substitute, while most of his appearances have come against lowly opposition in cup competitions.
Tottenham have been in desperate need of creativity and a fear factor this season and it's time for Bale to start firing off on all cylinders as it might be his last chance to prove he still remains a world-class footballer.
