It’s the start of a new year and the perfect time to focus on the future. There are many reasons to be positive about the year ahead with the most tightly contested Premier League title in the last decade up for grabs and the European Championships due to take place in the summer. Both of these events will interest most of the players in England’s top flight, with footballers keen to win the domestic league and secure their place in their country’s squad for the Euros.
Some English players have really stepped up this season and their performances have not gone unnoticed. Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions are 11/2 joint favourites to be European Champions, and with increasingly impressive starlets lighting up the league, it’s worth taking advantage of bookies’ new account offers to back England. In this article I’ll rate the top five most improved English players of the past season.
Ben Chilwell
Leicester must have been rubbing their hands together when Chelsea stumped up a whopping £50 million for Ben Chilwell in August, but Leicester will now be wondering why they let him leave so cheaply. The England left-back has slotted straight into the Chelsea side and has taken no time to adjust to the loftier expectations of the London club.
The 24-year-old had developed a reputation at Leicester for being a good attacking full back but with limited defensive capability. Less than six months into his tenure with Chelsea and manager Frank Lampard has started to tap in to the potential the talented player has. Chilwell currently ranks in the top 10 in the Premier League for assists this season, and is ranked as the second most productive defender in that category behind only Andrew Robertson.
Chilwell doesn’t just limit himself to assists though, twice he’s appeared on the scoresheet for The Blues and he’s also established himself as an integral part one of the Premier League’s most robust defences. Chilwell is a nailed on starter for England in the Euros if he stays fit and he could help the Three Lions at both ends of the pitch.
Jack Grealish
It seems as though Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish has been around forever so it’s difficult to think that he is still improving as a player and is only 25 years of age. Until this season, the playmaker would drift in and out of games and whilst he’d show glimpses of talent, the prodigy known for his slicked back hair and low worn socks would demonstrate style over substance too often.
Over the past year, the once raw prospect has blossomed into a complete playmaker and constant threat to opposition defences. Grealish set a record at the end of the 2019/20 campaign as the most-fouled player in a top-flight English season, and that is all down to his consistency and probing play.
Grealish has the third most assists in the Premier League this campaign and he’s developed mentally as well as physically. The attacking midfielder is the captain of an overachieving Aston Villa side, who are firmly in the hunt for European football. Grealish has recently broken into the national set-up and if he continues his form then he’ll be pushing for a place in the starting XI in the summer.
James Ward-Prowse
As the former captain of England U21s you would expect that James Ward-Prowse would inevitably graduate into the senior squad and become a regular, but it hasn’t been an easy transition for the midfielder.
Pre-season it would be a long shot to consider Ward-Prowse for the England squad with such an array of creative players already in the national side, but the 26-year-old has stepped up this campaign and has been the leader for an impressive Southampton side.
Ward-Prowse is now the first name on the team sheet for manager Ralph Hasenhüttl, and has become paramount to Southampton’s style. The Portsmouth born dead piece specialist has one of the premier deliveries in the world and attackers know exactly where the ball will land when JWP is assisting.
This season Ward-Prowse has broken Southampton’s record for most free kicks scored in the Premier League and this skill could be utilised by Gareth Southgate. England rely on efficiency from set pieces and the likes of Harry Maguire or Tyrone Mings will fancy their chances of getting a rare goal if the Southampton Captain is taking them.
Patrick Bamford
Patrick Bamford has taken the Premier League by storm this season and after 17 games, the Leeds striker is in the running for the Premier League Golden Boot. You’d be forgiven for thinking Bamford had graced the top flight for years given the ease at which he’s taken chances this season, but his road to the top has been far from easy.
Now 27, Bamford was a promising young player at Chelsea but despite being at the club from 2012-2017, the striker never made a first team appearance in the Premier League. The 6’1’’ attacker was loaned out to various clubs in the lower leagues with mixed results until Middlesbrough signed him in 2017. After 18 months with ‘Boro, Leeds saw Bamford as their next permanent striker and gave him the illustrious number nine.
Bamford has improved his game dramatically under manager Marcelo Bielsa and it’s clear the Brazilian’s creative flair has rubbed off on Bamford as his footwork and body feints have helped him to carve out chances from nothing this season.
Uncapped at international level, it’s unlikely the Leeds man will make it into the England set-up for the Euros, but pundits are calling for his consideration from Gareth Southgate as he continues to bag key goals.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been a breath of fresh air for Evertonian’s over the past year. Since Carlo Ancelotti took charge of The Toffees, DCL has developed and refined his scoring ability to become one of the league’s most complete strikers.
Powerful and clinical, the former Sheffield United man has scored 11 goals in the Premier League this season and has seemingly mastered being in the right place at the right time – something he struggled with under Marco Silva.
With Harry Kane the first choice and captain, as well as England usually opting for a lone striker, it seems unlikely that the Everton man will lead the line but we can expect him to make an impact off the bench due to his scintillating club form.