While the majority of the division's top performers ply their trade at England's elite clubs, this season saw plenty of players excel further down th…
On Monday, GOAL published our Premier League Team of the Season following the dramatic culmination of the campaign.
As tends to happen with these sides, the players selected were largely from the same small number of clubs, with 10 of this year's 11 players from what has come to be known as the 'Big Six': Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United.
For the first time since 2019, those six clubs finished in the top six positions (and in the exact same order, for what that is worth), meaning their monopoly on select XIs is likelier to be even greater than in previous seasons.
So with that in mind, GOAL has put together a team that discounts players from the 'Big Six', and gives those who excelled further down the table their moment in the sun…
Getty ImagesGK: Jose Sa (Wolves)
Wolves' star performer this season was summer signing Sa, whose brilliance allowed Bruno Lage's side to squeeze through matches even when second best.
Sa ranks fourth in the Premier League for total saves (120) and tops the charts for save percentage (79.3%). Most impressively, he is also number one for post-shot expected goals (how likely a goalkeeper is to save a shot) minus total number of goals allowed – a calculation that accurately measures how much a goalkeeper has overperformed the average.
A good way to think of this metric is an xG equivalent for goalkeepers, and Sa's score of +9.32 is significantly higher than the second best, David de Gea, with +6.7. In other words, Sa saved Wolves more than nine goals.
If that wasn't enough, he is also an incredible sweeper, ranking third (behind Alisson Becker and Ederson) for total number of defensive actions outside the penalty area, with 40.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesRB: Matty Cash (Aston Villa)
Aston Villa's Player of the Year didn't grab a lot of headlines outside of Birmingham, but quietly Cash has excelled under Steven Gerrard – a manager who demands a lot of his full-backs going forward.
Now a regular for Poland, Cash could see his status grow considerably next year if he impresses at the World Cup in Qatar.
Although known for his energy in overlapping and his good crossing ability (he made the fifth most in the division, with 94), Cash is very strong defensively. He ranks fifth in the Premier League for tackles made (90), second for number of pressures applied to opponents in the defensive third (268), and third for total blocks (91).
He only managed two goal contributions, both assists, in his debut Premier League season in 2020-21. His four goals and three assists in 2021-22 is a clear sign that Cash is yet to hit his ceiling.
Getty ImagesCB: Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace)
Crystal Palace enjoyed an excellent season under Patrick Vieira, who introduced a ball-playing style of football in which centre-back pairing Joachim Anderson and Guehi were put under a lot of pressure to start attacks.
To illustrate that point, only three of the top 20 players for total touches taken played for bottom-half clubs; Guehi and Anderson were 10th and 14th respectively.
Guehi epitomises the incredibly quick revolution that Vieira has overseen at Selhurst Park. Most onlookers assumed Palace would struggle to switch tactical strategy so quickly after the Roy Hodgson years, but thanks to astute signings like Guehi, they made it look easy.
The ex-Chelsea defender's leadership qualities and defensive composure have been excellent, and there is little doubt that the 21-year-old, long tipped to be one of the best of his generation, is well on the way to fulfilling his potential.
Getty ImagesCB: Craig Dawson (West Ham)
A cult hero at the London Stadium, Dawson is a rock of a centre-back whose heroic tackles and blocks are vital to the bullish defensive shape deployed by David Moyes.
And he has been more important than ever this season, while injuries and off-field issues have seen fellow centre-backs Kurt Zouma, Issa Diop, and Angelo Ogbonna rotate in and out of the team.
What makes Dawson so loved at West Ham is the unlikeliness of the story. After a year in the Championship with West Brom was followed by relegation from the Premier League at Watford, nobody expected him to be any more than a squad player when he arrived in east London in 2020.
But his surprising quality on the ball, coupled with old-school battling defending in his own third, has made Dawson one of Moyes' most important players.