The Premier League is drawing to yet another close and looks set to be an exciting final stretch to decide who wins the league, who secures European football and who gets the chop and gets relegated down to the EFL Championship.

Each year, there are breakout stars who establish themselves on the scene from nowhere and this season has been no different.

We have compiled a list of our Team of the Season of surprise players who had little to no expectation at the start of the season and have since went on and had a great campaign.

In goal we have chosen Bernd Leno from Fulham, the German goalkeeper joined last summer from Arsenal after losing his place in the team to Aaron Ramsdale, a signing that went fairly under the radar due to Leno not having the best time in an Arsenal shirt during his time there, however, he has since become one of the best keepers in the league and deserves his spot in this team. 7 clean sheets and boasting the second best save rate in the League having 128 saves this season.

Alex Moreno of Aston Villa, Ben Mee of Brentford, Tim Ream of Fulham, and Pervis Estupinan of Brighton make up the defence. All 4 having a great season and seeing their teams reap the rewards with all clubs being in the top half of the table despite none being in the ‘big six’. Except Tim Ream, all are in their first seasons with their clubs and were expected to be apart of the squads upon signing but not thought at the time to be as vital for their clubs as they have turned out to be. All are chipping in with goal contributions from defence, which in itself is a great asset to have.

We now move into midfield where we have chosen two holding midfielders in Moises Caicedo of Brighton, and Joao Palhinha of Fulham. 1^st (Palhinha) and 2^nd (Caicedo) on the most tackles made in the league this season, the two are so vital to their teams to win the ball back when possession is lost and being able to retain possession and then move the ball forward is why both teams have found success this season. Palhinha is in his first season and has looked comfortable from the off and Caicedo is in his second season at Brighton but his first where he has been consistently in the team.

An attacking three sat in behind the striker sees us select Miguel Almiron of Newcastle, Julien Alvarez of Man City, and Karou Mitoma of Brighton. Almiron this season stepped up for Newcastle in such vital times, most notably when he netted 7 goals in 7 games throughout October. Mitoma burst onto the scene from the turn of the year where he went on a run of scoring 4 in 5 in January. Alvarez was signed along with Haaland and has had to force his way into the team and fit himself around Haaland, and he has done so tremendously, 8 goals in 26 appearances this season brings a 1 in 3 goal return which in his first season as a second choice is a testament to the player he is.

And up top we have gone with Callum Wilson of Newcastle, the striker is currently on a fantastic run of form scoring 8 in his last 7 and after the Magpies signed Swedish striker Alexander Isak for £70 million in the summer, fans thought Wilson would be a second choice striker and therefore expectations were lowered, but his return this season scoring 15 goals in 26 appearances is stunning form for the striker and therefore deserves his spot in this team.

On the bench we have Neto from Bournemouth as the goalkeeper, a fantastic first season for the 33-year-old but with Bournemouth seemingly safe from the drop, he has been a factor to their success in doing so this season.

Newcastle duo Dan Burn and Sean Longstaff make the bench with both players being one’s fans would have expected to see here and there in appearances off the bench, but both have been electric for Eddie Howe this season.

Andreas Pereira of Fulham, Ivan Perisic of Tottenham and Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal find themselves on the bench in this team. All 3 have been instrumental in their team’s success this season and with Pereira and Perisic being in a new team and finding form from early, it is why they have found themselves on the bench. Gabriel Martinelli is unlucky to be on the bench as there was an expectation there with him, but he has absolutely knocked that out the park this season.

The final spot on the bench goes to Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins who under Unai Emery has found immense form scoring 14 goals in 33 appearances with 6 goals, resulting in 20 goal contributions in 33, if it wasn’t for Newcastle’s success through Callum Wilson this season, Watkins wouldn’t be on the bench for this one.

Unai Emery is our surprise Manager of the Season, joining in October, he had time before the league paused for the World Cup and took that time to focus on how he wanted the games to be played. Since the return, Villa have looked solid at the back, free flowing in attack and ruthless in and out of possession. After a lackluster time as Arsenal manager, expectations were low from the fans, and he has proven a lot of people wrong.

Premier League 22/23 Surprise Team of the Season:

Bernd Leno (GK), Alex Moreno, Ben Mee, Tim Ream, Pervis Estupinan, Moises Caicedo, Joao Palhinha, Miguel Almiron, Julien Alvarez, Karou Mitoma, Callum Wilson

Subs:

Neto (GK), Dan Burn, Sean Longstaff, Andreas Pereira, Ivan Perisic, Gabriel Martinelli, Ollie Watkins

Manager: Unai Emery (Aston Villa)

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