With a title race for the ages, many shocking results and impressive individual performances, the 2023/24 Premier League season could go down as one of the greatest ever.
Manchester City ended up winning a historic fourth title in a row, while Aston Villa managed to secure UEFA Champions League football, and Arsenal continued to build a team that will win the title in the future.
So which players made it all happen?
We’ve taken a look at the player of the season picks from all 20 teams…
Is Declan Rice the best £100m+ signing of all time.
If you consider his tag competition (Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona, Antoine Griezmann to Barcelona, Ousmane Dembele to, yes, Barcelona) and his performance in his first campaign at Arsenal , he is there with Kylian Mbappe and a few others.
The midfielder has been the driving force behind Arsenal’s strong title challenge, scoring big and impressing in 2023/24.
Ollie Watkins had the best season of his career in 2023/24.
The striker has been one of the most successful players in the Premier League’s final third, scoring 19 goals and a career-high 13 assists for Aston Villa in the Champions League qualifiers.
Dominic Solanke has long been the top scorer in the Championship, but he has never combined it in the Premier League.
That is, until Andoni Iraola made his move at the Vitality Stadium.
Since the Spaniard took over, Solanke has been a firebrand in the Premier League – scoring 19 goals in the top flight. It was beautiful.
With Ivan Toney missing games due to a betting ban then returning and, to be honest, really bad, Brentford needed Bryan Mbeumo to step up in 2023/24.
And he did just that. His 15 goals were the main reason why the Bees were not dragged into the relegation battle.
Brighton have been disappointing during the 2023/24 campaign.
Evan Ferguson is doing well, as is Ansu Fati, and basically every other player on the books at the Amex Stadium.
One player who continued to hold his own however was Pascal Gross. His ten assists in the league alone are nothing to be sniffed at.
Yes, it was a bit of a pick at Burnley.
They had bad blood in 2023/24.
Finally, we chose Lyle Foster as their player of the season because he was the leading scorer.
Right, for the most deserving player of the season: Cole Palmer.
The attacking midfielder, who signed with little fanfare last summer thanks to experience at the top level, has become a real star in his first year at Chelsea.
His incredible figures of 22 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League were enough to earn him the young player of the season award, and a place on the plane to Euro 2024 as well.
It’s no coincidence that Crystal Palace look 10 times better when Michael Olise plays.
Although he has only played 19 games for the Eagles due to injury, his 16 goals and the late-season form he fueled by being fit and available is proof that he is the best player currently on the books at Selhurst Park.
One of the stars to emerge from the 2023/24 Premier League season, Jarrad Branthwaite has become an invaluable member of Sean Dyche’s Everton squad.
And it is very easy to see why, even look at his size – he is small.
Branthwaite’s physicality, along with his good positioning and reading of the game, helped Everton secure their place in the league for another season.
Simply put, Fulham are hardly a decent Premier League team without Joao Palhinha in the middle of the park.
For the second season in a row, the Portuguese has managed to win the most tackles in the division by long distance (24 more than any other player, if that).
It is still baffling that Liverpool were able to sign Alexis Mac Allister for £35m in the same summer that Brighton forced Chelsea to shell out £115m for Moises Caicedo.
The World Cup winner from Argentina, as expected, has been beaten at Anfield. providing a consistent source of both attacking and defensive quality in midfield.
The renaissance of Ross Barkley.
Who saw that?
The 30-year-old returned to the Premier League this summer following a spell in France with OGC Nice, and is back to his best with Luton Town.
It looks like he will stay in the Premier League for the 2024/25 season despite Luton being relegated.
FWA Footballer of the Year, Phil Foden has arguably been the best player in the Premier League in the 2023/24 campaign.
With Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne both suffering from illness at times, it was Foden who stepped up in their absence – scoring 19 goals and providing eight assists to guide City to a fourth straight title.
Let’s be honest, there weren’t too many options for Manchester United – who had endured their worst Premier League finish.
A few youngsters like Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho have shown that there may be light at the end of the tunnel at Old Trafford though. Garnacho, in particular, has impressed United fans with his quality in the final third and overall work rate off the ball.
While Erling Haaland is the best striker in the Premier League right now, Alexander Isak is not far behind.
When fit, Isak was outstanding in front of the Newcastle goal, scoring 21 goals in just 27 starts.
When compared to Thierry Henry, you must be doing something right.
Signed to replace Brennan Johnson in the summer, Anthony Elanga has been a fan favorite at the City Ground in his first campaign at Nottingham Forest.
His work rate and willingness to line up and get crosses into the box made him a constant threat in Forest’s final third – as his 14 goals prove.
Yes, he scored 104 goals in 38 games.
Yes, we know, yes that’s bad.
But it wasn’t his fault.
Wes Foderingham actually tried his hardest to keep Sheffield United on top, making an impressive 133 saves. One of those bags even won him the Castrol Save of the Month award.
Son Heung-min has been given the unenviable task of replacing Tottenham’s all-time leading goalscorer Harry Kane at the end of the new attacking team.
And, given that he contributed 27 goals and assists, it’s fair to say that he performed the role admirably.
After years of waiting on the sidelines, Alphonse Areola has finally been made West Ham United’s first choice goalkeeper for 2023/24, and bah gawd has he made the most of his opportunity.
With a string of man-of-the-match performances, 138 saves and a Castrol Save of the Month award to his name, there is a case to be made for Areola as the best goalkeeper in the division right now.
If you saw Mario Lemina playing for Juventus and Southampton, chances are you didn’t expect much from him at Wolves.
However, credit where it’s due, Lemina has developed into an excellent box-to-box midfielder in recent times. The 30-year-old scored some memorable goals in 2023/24 against the likes of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
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