One from every Premier League team that was not a starter on the first game but is now an essential part of the team. Not every one is as spectacular as Harry Maguire’s ascent.

Darwin Nunez, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Harry Maguire

One from every Premier League team that was not a starter on the first game but is now an essential part of the team. Not every one is as spectacular as Harry Maguire’s ascent.

ARSENAL: Gabriel
“Sometimes you just need to sit down on the bench and realize things and then you suddenly become a much better player,” Mikel Arteta said last week, presumably implying that his own meddling at the beginning of the season, when he overthought the hell out of improving on Arsenal’s second-place finish and tried to play Ben White alongside Saliba and Thomas Partey at right-back, can be partly blamed for the incredible partnership he and Gabriel have fostered once again. Mikel, it wasn’t actually broken.

ASTON VILLA: Diego Carlos
In early November there was talk of the Brazilian leaving Villa Park as he had started only a handful of Premier League games and was very much stuck in the Thursday night groove. But something has changed and he has now started a run of matches that has included back-to-back clean sheets against Manchester City and Arsenal, forming a phenomenal partnership with Pau Torres (how mad does that sound?) as Ezri Konsa has been shifted to right-back as an option instead of the crazed stylings of Matty Cash.

BOURNEMOUTH: Justin Kluivert
The ‘son of’ with a reputation as a drifter was doing nothing to change that reputation in the early part of the season for a floundering Bournemouth but after his goalscoring performance in Carabao Cup defeat to Liverpool, teammate Alex Scott said: “I’m proud of him and hopefully we can kick on together and get more results in the Premier League.” While Scott was sadly sidelined by injury, Kluivert has nailed down a place in a Bournemouth line-up that is somehow one of the form teams in the Premier League.

BRENTFORD: Yehor Yarmoliuk
“Thomas just asked me to play and be myself, just be the best version of myself,” said the Ukrainian midfielder given his first Premier League start against Arsenal after spending most of the season on the bench. Injuries forced Frank’s hand but that was the first of three consecutive starts for Yarmoliuk, who came through the B team at Brentford. So there’s hope for junior Beckham.

BRIGHTON: Evan Ferguson
Rotation has been the name of the game at Brighton this season but Ferguson – now Brighton’s top Premier League scorer of the season – started only two of their first six games of the season. That seems an awful long time ago now.

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BURNLEY: Jay Rodriguez
Vincent Kompany really wanted to concentrate on youth – and brought in about three-dozen promising players in the summer – but there’s just no substitute for a wily 34-year-old and his two goals and an assist in his six straight Premier League starts have helped to give the Clarets a chance of survival.

Jay Rodriguez scoring the 12th and 15th fastest goals in Premier League history 10 years and one day apart 📅 pic.twitter.com/HQn8bESIIR

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CHELSEA: Marc Cucurella
Before October, the Spaniard had not played a minute in the Premier League. One good Carabao Cup performance against Brighton later and he has started every Premier League game – at left-back or right-back – for which he has not been suspended. It’s hardly a feather in the cap to get in this particular Chelsea line-up but it’s got to be better than being on the bench. Maybe.

CRYSTAL PALACE: Chris Richards
“I wasn’t expecting it, but I just want to be on the pitch – so whatever it takes!” said Richards, who has been deployed as a defensive midfielder in recent weeks as injuries have bitten. We’ll just ignore the fact that Palace are yet to win a Premier League game when the US international has started.

EVERTON: Vitaly Mkykolenko
For the first four Premier League games of the season, Sean Dyche had an Ashley Young and he was going to use him at left-back. But once the Ukrainian grabbed that first-team spot, there was absolutely no looking back. He has been brilliant and has absolutely earned his place in our Premier League team of the season so far.

FULHAM: Calvin Bassey
Shifting either Tim Ream or Issa Diop from the centre of Fulham’s defence was always going to be tricky and getting sent off on his Premier League debut was not the start Bassey needed. But now the Cottagers have logged back-to-back Premier League wins and Bassey is right in the centre of that Fulham defence along with Tosin. He will take some shifting now.

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LIVERPOOL: Darwin Nunez
Nunez, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota have all had a good pop at that central striker role for Liverpool this season but the Uruguayan started only one of the first five Premier League games of the season. Fast-forward to December and he has been benched for only one of the last five despite being one of the worst finishers in the top flight.

LUTON TOWN: Alfie Doughty
Hard to believe that Rob Edwards ever thought that Luton could survive without Alfie bloody Doughty.

MANCHESTER CITY: Josko Gvardiol
The Croat probably did not expect to join Manchester City as one of the world’s most expensive defenders and then start only half of the opening bout of Premier League games. But this is Pep Guardiola’s Man City and you don’t get to walk straight in. “Maybe it’s not easy at the beginning to change one league to another but he’s played at a high level,” said Guardiola, with Gvardiol now starting almost every City game.

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MANCHESTER UNITED: Harry Maguire
No Premier League starts before October and then Premier League player of the month for November. Football that.

NEWCASTLE UNITED: Jamaal Lascelles
“Ultimately, he was desperate to show how good he was on the pitch and the biggest compliment I can pay him is that he’s stepped in and stepped up to the challenge and performed really, really well in the last few games,” said Eddie Howe after the club skipper had somehow helped to beat PSG. An injury to Sven Botman had opened the door but he has since wedged his foot in it.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST: Anthony Elanga
It seems hard to understand but one of Forest’s few bright spots for this season did not start any of their first four Premier League games as Steve Cooper tried to ease him into action. But he’s now one of the first names on the teamsheet with Cooper saying: “He’s a really young player with such high potential and a really good mentality to learn and engage to get better.” No Forest player has more combined Premier League goals and assists this season.

SHEFFIELD UNITED: Auston Trusty
He will be very thankful that he was not in the Blades team for the 8-0 shoeing by Newcastle United, though he had been drafted in to an injury-hit side by the time they got battered 5-0 by both Arsenal and Burnley. Having started none of the opening seven Premier League games of the season, he has been ensconced for the following nine, and was impressive at left-back in a long-awaited Premier League clean sheet for the 1-0 win over Brentford.

TOTTENHAM: Ben Davies
Somewhat forced by injuries, of course, but Davies has – in Ange Postecoglou’s words – “become a centre-back” and has been quietly excellent in the main since the Chelsea debacle left him as one of the few defensive men standing. Not bad for a player who had not played a single Premier League minute until late October as Destiny Udogie locked down the left-back role.

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West Ham: Kudus, Mohammed
Even after paying £38 million, it’s nearly impossible to convince David Moyes to change course, and Kudus had to wait through the first nine Premier League games to be given a start. He’s now comfortably (well, as comfortably as one can be at West Ham) established in the Hammers’ lineup, playing a hybrid striker/winger position alongside Jarrod Bowen. which is better than Michail Antonio, at least.

WOLVES: Hwang Hee-Chan
Wolves’ top scorer only started one of the first four Premier League games of the season. Silly Gary O’Neil.

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