Former Tottenham striker-turned-radio pundit Darren Bent has had his say on who he feels have been the top five performing players in the Premier League this term.
It has been a thrilling start to the league campaign and three months in the table is springing a few surprises. Arsenal are the shock leaders, with the Gunners boasting a slender two point advantage over Manchester City, while Liverpool languish as low as ninth 15 points adrift from top spot.
There has also been a number of standout stars for a number of different clubs and Bent has whittled it down to the top five after 13 games played. In what is a testament to the enthralling nature of this division, four of the big-six don't have a single player mentioned by the former England international.
Bent told talkSPORT how in fifth place he opted for Newcastle's previously much-maligned forward Miguel Almiron, who has turned the tide on his Magpies career and then some this term. The Paraguayan international has six goals to his name so far, many of which have been absolute stunners.
In fourth was the man of the hour over at the Emirates in Arsenal defender William Saliba. Having waxed lyrical over the Frenchman's form so far, Bent was pressed on whether he'd consider the 21-year-old a top 10 defender in Europe.
He replied: "It's tough, it's too early but in Premier League terms I'd put him in the top five, he has been absolutely brilliant."
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Just in front of Saliba was Brighton's Leandro Trossard. The Belgian has lit up the Amex this season and has an excellent return of seven goals already, with three of those coming in the form of a memorable hat-trick against Liverpool at Anfield.
Clearly a man for the big occasions, Trossard has also netted against both Manchester City and Chelsea.
No prizes for guessing who the top two were, as Manchester City duo Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland claimed the final two spots.
So good is this aforementioned duo that Bent simply couldn't split them as he explained: "What a guy he [De Bruyne] has been, he has been brilliant again. He's got nine assists, but he is probably better than three goals."
Analysing Haaland, former striker Bent added: "The guy has got 17 Premier League goals already in 11 games, he is six goals off last season's golden boot winner. He's got 22 in all competitions."
The City double-act have been nothing short of sensational this season and are worthy winners of Bent's top five players list.
