Premier League underrated XI features Arsenal, Man City players and Brentford duo
We believe these guys do not get the credit they deserve. Here is our most underrated Premier League XI, featuring one Arsenal and Man City player.
GK: Bernd Leno (Fulham)
Kicking off our Premier League underrated XI is former Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno, who currently occupies the no. 1 shirt at Fulham, who have started the 2024/25 campaign bizarrely well.
Leno is Mr Consistent and has captained Fulham in all their Premier League matches this season. One clean sheet in seven matches is not the greatest record but the German has often kept Fulham in matches since joining for pennies from the Gunners.
You might disagree but Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana deserves an honourable mention.
The goalkeeper with the best record this season? Step this way…
RB: Pedro Porro (Tottenham)
Signed to play as a right-wing-back under Antonio Conte, Porro was written off by many following the arrival of Ange Postecoglou, who would surely want more of an out-and-out right-back in his starting XI. Nope. It turns out Porro is just fine.
We have been very pleasantly surprised by the Spaniard. He is in our Premier League team of the season so far.
CB: Manuel Akanji (Manchester City)
The most underrated player in the Premier League, the Swiss international is actually a Swiss army knife. Pep Guardiola adores the 29-year-old’s versatility, using him as a centre-back, full-back and defensive midfielder since signing him for a measly £16million in 2022. What a bloody signing.
It sounds bizarre to say that trophy-hogging Man City have underrated players but that does not make it any less true. It usually takes new signings longer to adapt than it has Josko Gvardiol, while Nathan Ake has proved to be a top-class defender. Ilkay Gundogan was also criminally underrated before becoming a goalscoring phenom from midfield.
CB: James Tarkowski (Everton)
There were a few centre-backs in contention here. Harry Maguire came to mind, as did Ake, Ethan Pinnock and Ezri Konsa, but we believe Tarkowski is the second-most underrated centre-back in the Premier League.
He is asked to do a lot of defending in this Everton team but he is thriving and absolutely loves it. Tarkowski has played next to a lot of centre-backs during his time at Goodison Park and making Michael Keane look half-decent is quite the achievement. Helping turn Jarrad Branthwaite into a £50m defender is also quite the trick.
LB: Antonee Robinson (Fulham)
Robinson is someone who always finds himself top, or near the top, of defensive statistic rankings. He is an intercepting and tackling machine and Fulham would be an awful lot worse without him.
It’s time to put respect on this guy’s name.
CM: Christian Norgaard (Brentford)
Brentford deserve a midfield representative and Norgaard is our man. The Bees have started the campaign very well and the Danish international is still performing at a high level. It is not easy for a player to be a seven out of ten every week in the Premier League but Norgaard is that guy.
CM: Lewis Cook (Bournemouth)
Injuries were a big issue for Cook but he has come #BackStronger in Bournemouth colours, emerging as a crucial player in Andoni Iraola’s engine room.
Integral to the Cherries’ build-up play, Cook is confident on the ball and makes things tick in the middle of the park.
CM: Mario Lemina (Wolves)
Not the best time to praise a Wolves player, granted, but Lemina is fantastic, made all the more impressive by how average he was at Fulham and Southampton.
The Gabonese midfielder is yet to captain a Premier League victory this season but his form has been acceptable in a very poor Wolves side. We predict they will turn things around and will likely give Gary O’Neil the chance to do so, having handed him a fat new contract in the summer.
In terms of honourable mentions, we think Tottenham’s Pape Matar Sarr is underrated and Morgan Gibbs-White would have been included if he wasn’t rightly in the England squad.
RW: Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford)
If he had a fancy haircut, he’d be a £60m player. Try and change our mind; you will be wasting your time.
Mbeumo averages a goal every 105 minutes in the Premier League this season, which is a bloody fantastic return. Life after Ivan Toney looks absolutely fine after all.
The Cameroonian might look older but he is still only 25 years old, which should make him a transfer target for elite clubs when the window re-opens in January.
LW: Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
We will get the elephant out of the room straight away by naming Dwight McNeil as an honourable mention. We know you were all thinking it.
McNeil has been brilliant for Everton but Rogers is the flavour of the month for us. He has been fantastic this season and is exceeding expectations since his move from Middlesbrough in January.
We would be lying if we said we predicted Rogers to play regularly this season, let alone be Aston Villa’s best player. The 22-year-old only has one goal and two assists in seven league appearances this season but that does not tell the full story. What a player, Clive.
CF: Kai Havertz (Arsenal)
Havertz is getting his flowers now but it still doesn’t feel like enough. He was written off by a lot of people when Arsenal signed him for £60m from Chelsea last summer. As an Arsenal fan, I wasn’t convinced, but always said Mikel Arteta has earned the right to take chances in the transfer market.
Havertz has turned out to be a bona fide wonderful signing. His all-around play is outrageous at times and his ability in front of goal has come on leaps and bounds since moving up front.
Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson is worth an honourable mention too, though being in the shadow of Cole Palmer is no bad thing.
