David Silva - An Early Contender for Player of the Season?

By grvadmin

Embed from Getty Images

When the topic of the best player in the Premier League arises down the pub, it is normally the goal-scorers who catch the imagination – stars in the mould of Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa for example. Normally left out of the conversations are the heartbeats of teams, whose performances go unnoticed. Certainly at such an early stage in the season, it is foolish to think that anything is set in stone. Who will win the league, relegation candidates, or even player of the season; all of these categories are firmly up in the air. However, there is one player who has already set the Premier League alight this season and must be short-listed as an early contender for Player of the Season – David Silva.

Watching the Manchester City vs Everton game in August peaked my attention to the Spaniard’s contribution to matches. Silva played the number 10 role, acting as the play-maker for the attacking options within City’s side such as Raheem Sterling and the aforementioned Aguero. There were inch perfect passes splitting the defence, exceptional ball control, and fantastic movement off the ball all on display throughout the match. One can truly run put of superlatives when attempting to describe Silva’s performance. In his last five competitive games for both club and country, he has an average of one each time he steps out onto the field. When Everton finally managed to man-mark Silva out of the game and stymied his service, this left Man City’s other exceptional players with a lot of room to exploit, ultimately leading to their 2-0 victory.

Embed from Getty Images

In the following game, Silva caused no end of problems to Watford. He assisted Fernandinho for his goal, and linked with Sterling like they had been playing for far longer than they had. He has subsequently carried that form into the international games.

In the first five games of the season, Silva has truly excelled in the number 10 spot. He is without doubt an underrated player, who has been nothing short of instrumental to City’s record breaking start. A phenomenal play-maker that keeps City ticking, with an ability to thread a pass that can change the outcome of a game. However, Silva is not solely a play-maker. What makes him so dangerous is that he can finish chances too. In the present Spain squad, it is notable to mention that the attacking midfielder is currently the leading goalscorer. David Silva is the attacking midfielder that top teams cry out for – they are desperate for a star who can both create chances out of nothing and put away half chances. In my view, players such as Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho are top drawer in their own right, but don’t rank in the same sort of league as David Silva. It is not an overstatement to state that David Silva has played a significant role in City’s opening fixture victories.

This claim is exemplified by Manchester City’s performance against Crystal Palace this weekend. The Citizens laboured to a 1-0 victory, relying on a last minute winner from 18 year old Iheanacho. Silva’s cutting edge and moments of magic were quite clearly missed and this was evident with the style of their performance, despite the victory. Pelligrini and the City fans will be praying for his quick recovery from injury in time for Juventus in the mid-week as without him, they are simply not the same.

So what does the rest of the season hold for Silva? Could he honestly go on to win Premier League Player of the Season? As forewarned at the start of the article, with so much left of the season, anything could yet happen. Silva’s form could drop away as the campaign progresses, or he could suffer an injury for example. However, if Silva’s form continues as present, he must truly be a contender for Player of the Season. Some might point to the signing of De Bruyne as a potential replacement for Silva but I believe that truly not to be the case. Despite his £50million price tag, the only advantageous factor that the Belgian has over Silva is age. Pellegrini has come out to the media to suggest that De Bruyne could play on the wing and that looks the most likely option. If De Bruyne was groomed to operate alongside Silva, that could prove an extremely lethal attack. This is without even considering both Sterling and Aguero!

Embed from Getty Images

Whether Silva finishes the season as Player of the Season or not, he is without debate one of the most talented footballers in the Premier League. I would even go as far as to say that Silva could probably walk into any team in the world, even the Spanish giants in Madrid and Barcelona. At Man City, Silva is just one of many outstanding players. City and Pelligrini are extremely lucky to have such an enormously talented squad of players. With five wins out of five, it seems they already running away with the title.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Jame Kuslov

[interaction id=”55ed876e7ae1c0600529faed”]

Please vote for us as best ‘established’ blog in the Football Blogging Awards by clicking on the image above.