Wayne Rooney described Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes as the best player in the Premier League this season. Sky Sports asked reporters and journalists to rank a 40-player longlist and averaged their answers to produce this top 25. The list includes players from nine clubs, with leaders Arsenal the best-represented (seven players). Below are the rankings and short notes on each player.
25th: Casemiro — Has enjoyed a resurgence at Manchester United; seven league goals is the highest total of his career.
24th: Enzo Fernandez — Chelsea midfielder praised by Jamie Carragher as one of the Premier League’s best.
23rd: Marc Guehi — Outstanding performances for Crystal Palace earned him a January move to Manchester City, where he became important for Guardiola.
22nd: Bryan Mbeumo — The summer signing from Brentford has settled at Manchester United and is their joint-top Premier League scorer with nine goals.
21st: Bernardo Silva — One of Pep Guardiola’s most admired players, consistently key for Manchester City.
20th: Elliot Anderson — Nottingham Forest midfielder who has excelled in difficult circumstances and shown all-round quality.
19th: Martin Zubimendi — Became a key figure for Arsenal in midfield after arriving last summer.
18th: Reece James — Injuries have been an issue, but he has shown outstanding quality for Chelsea at right-back and in midfield.
17th: Moises Caicedo — One of Chelsea’s top midfielders this season despite disciplinary issues.
16th: Hugo Ekitike — Liverpool’s standout newcomer who stepped up impressively in Alexander Isak’s absence.
15th: Bruno Guimaraes — Newcastle’s midfield heartbeat, providing quality and leadership in a testing season.
14th: Bukayo Saka — Still crucial to Arsenal’s attack even if goals and assists have dipped from previous seasons.
13th: Igor Thiago — Brentford striker who has enjoyed a brilliant campaign with 19 Premier League goals.
12th: Gianluigi Donnarumma — Ranked among the top goalkeepers and inside the top 12 overall.
11th: Jurrien Timber — Key to Arsenal’s title challenge, adding attacking threat from right-back and registering the most goal involvements by any Premier League defender (eight).
10th: Morgan Rogers — The highest-ranking player from outside the traditional “big six”; an Aston Villa game-changer under Unai Emery.
9th: Joao Pedro — Chelsea forward who has hit new heights since his move, with 14 goals and five assists in 30 appearances.
8th: David Raya — Arsenal goalkeeper on course for his third Golden Glove, voted ahead of his peers in our vote.
7th: William Saliba — Arsenal’s defensive linchpin when available, another excellent campaign at centre-back.
6th: Antoine Semenyo — Mid-season move from Bournemouth to Manchester City did not slow him; a prolific scorer across both clubs this season.
5th: Dominik Szoboszlai — Liverpool’s outstanding player in a difficult campaign; famed for stunning free-kicks and huge all-round contribution.
4th: Erling Haaland — Still in a league of his own among strikers; 22 goals and seven assists this season despite a slower second half.
3rd: Gabriel Magalhaes — The highest-rated defender in the rankings, dominant defensively for Arsenal and contributing goals and assists.
2nd: Declan Rice — Ranks second after another stellar season for Arsenal, making a huge contribution at both ends of the pitch.
1st: Bruno Fernandes — Voted the No.1 player in the Premier League by Sky Sports reporters and journalists; enjoying arguably his best Manchester United season with seven goals and 16 assists in 27 games.
Who are the big fallers and risers?
Mohamed Salah’s absence from this list reflects a steep drop-off after last season’s title-winning form; he is one of six Liverpool players to have fallen out of the top 25. Alexander Isak and Virgil van Dijk have tumbled from high positions earlier in the season. Other notable fallers from the August rankings include Alisson, Florian Wirtz, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, Cole Palmer, Rodri, Martin Odegaard, Eberechi Eze, Matheus Cunha and last season’s player of the year Phil Foden.
Standout risers include Bruno Fernandes (from ninth in August to first) and Declan Rice (up seven places to second). The highest new entrant is Dominik Szoboszlai at fifth; Antoine Semenyo is sixth. David Raya and Joao Pedro are new to the top 10, and Igor Thiago is an eye-catching inclusion at 13th.