Footballers you should watch more: Underrated Prem XI
I made a team filled with some of the most underrated players in the English Premier League that I think you should be adding to your regular scheduled viewing.
Look, everyone who watches the Premier League week in and week out knows players like Cole Palmer, Mo Salah, and Bukayo Saka are class. We’ve seen them score goals and make defenders look like muppets on the biggest stages for the biggest clubs in England.
But who are the best players that don’t get nearly as much PR? Who are the Prem’s unsung heroes who always seem to turn up and ball out when you watch them?
Let’s create an entire starting lineup with the best 11 of these lads. And who knows — maybe they’ll even let me coach the squad.
[Disclaimer: I didn’t include players at the caliber of, say, Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo or Wolves’s Matheus Cunha. To me, they have entered the upper echelon of Prem footballers, to which they would no longer be considered “underrated.”]
LW: Simon Adingra (Brighton Hove & Albion)
Adingra is a dynamic Ivorian left winger who uses his pace, 1v1 technical ability, and clinical finishing to create chances for fun. Kaoru Mitoma and Joao Pedro get all the headlines for the Gulls, but Adingra’s name should be right up there at the top of the teamsheet.
Your next chance to watch Adingra: Brighton vs. Everton (Saturday, Jan. 25 at 10 AM EST)
ST: Yoane Wissa (Brentford)
Just scores goals, plain and simple. No nonsense Congolese forward who can play with his back to goal, and can also get in behind with his rapid speed. He’s a clinical finisher as well. He and Bryan Mbeumo have formed one of the more formidable forward pairings in recent years from a non-top-six side. Some real “streets won’t forget” football.
Your next chance to watch Wissa: Brentford vs. Crystal Palace (Sunday, Jan. 26 at 9 AM)
RW: Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth)
It’s only a matter of time before a top six club comes calling for the 25-year-old Ghanian winger. Rapid, strong, good technical ability in tight areas, and a rocket for a left peg. He’s a goal waiting to happen. I know a certain North London club that could really use his services right now, while their star right winger is hurt for an extended period of time…
Your next chance to watch Semenyo: Bournemouth vs. Nottingham Forest (Saturday, Jan. 25 at 10 AM EST)
CM: Lucas Bergvall (Tottenham)
Just a smooth operator. The young Swede is a real champagne footballer. Watching Bergvall play is like going back in time to when aesthetics were nearly as important as output in football. The era of Pirlo, Zidane, and those lads. Elegant on the ball with suave looks to match. At just 18 years old, Bergvall may be on the ascent to stardom.
Your next chance to watch Bergvall: Tottenham vs. Leicester City (Sunday, Jan. 26 at 9 AM EST)
CM: Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
The physical profile Rogers has is really rare. A powerful runner with the football at his feet, he’s nearly impossible to get the ball off when he gets a head full of steam. He just sort of tosses defenders off of him like an NFL running back. The kind of player that spurs counter attacks out of thin air. A press-resistant goal creator.
Your next chance to watch Rogers: Aston Villa vs. West Ham (Sunday, Jan. 26 at 11:30 AM EST)
CM: Carlos Baleba (Brighton Hove & Albion)
Unreal motor on this lad. The Brighton midfielder is a box to box engine that erases opposition attacks, drives through the lines with the ball at his feet, and sprays accurate passes into dangerous areas. Reminiscent of Moises Caicedo’s rise on the south coast. I wouldn’t be shocked if he goes to a bigger club in the not-too-distant future.
Your next chance to watch Baleba: Brighton vs. Everton (Saturday, Jan. 25 at 10 AM EST)
LB: Leif Davis (Ipswich Town)
Wicked chance creator from left back. In a bigger team, he’d be a household name. And while rising star forward Liam Delap gets all of the plaudits and headlines for the Tractor Boys of Ipswich Town, Davis may well be their best player. If Ipswich do go down this year, he will likely stay up with another Premier League side. This is his level.
Your next chance to watch Davis: Liverpool vs. Ipswich Town (Saturday, Jan. 25 at 10 AM EST)
CB: Murillo (Nottingham Forrest)
An absolute brick shit house. This Brazilian center half is built like a Ford F150 — and he tackles like one too. The better half of the Prem’s most underrated center back pairing alongside Nikola Milenkovic, Murillo is one of the main characters in Forrest’s success story this season. Just 22 years of age as well.
Your next chance to watch Murillo: Bournemouth vs. Nottingham Forest (Saturday, Jan. 25 at 10 AM EST)
CB: Dean Huijsen (Bournemouth)
The 19-year-old Spaniard has burst onto the scene for the Cherries this season with an elite mix of aerial presence and composure on the ball at the heart of defense. It looks like Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has pulled off another worldy bringing the young lad into the team. The challenge will be trying to hold onto him.
Your next chance to watch Huijsen: Bournemouth vs. Nottingham Forest (Saturday, Jan. 25 at 10 AM EST)
RB: Ola Aina (Nottingham Forrest)
Where has this lad been? The Chelsea academy alum has found the form of his life at Nottingham Forrest this season and has put the league on notice. And with Reece James perpetually missing time for the Blues, Chelsea probably wish they had him back. Quick — throw another £100M at him!
Your next chance to watch Aina: Bournemouth vs. Nottingham Forest (Saturday, Jan. 25 at 10 AM EST)
GK: Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool)
Always seems to play well when Alisson goes out with an injury. I’d be shocked if another club doesn’t try to snatch him up to be their number one. He’s way too good to be wasting away on the Reds bench.
Your next chance to watch Kelleher: Who the hell knows, sadly.