Most underrated Premier League players of 2023/24 | OneFootball

The Premier League is the biggest and best football league in the world. When it comes to spectators, it is second to none, being watched by millions of fans every week.

With that being the case, plenty of players get their fair share of praise and hype. Every Erling Haaland goal is fawned over, Trent Alexander Arnold can't make a 40-yard switch without it being shared on social media as a GIF, and the phrase 'Starboy' trends after every Bukayo Saka assist.

Those footballers deserve every bit of praise they get too, by the way. Sometimes, however, there are those who perform extremely consistently as well, but for one reason or another just don't seem to capture the public imagination in the same way.

Well, we've decided to give those footballers their flowers at last. Indeed, GIVEMESPORT has compiled a list of the most underrated Premier League players of 2023/24 so far. An article like this will always be predominantly subjective, but we've used stats from WhoScored to at least help make our case.

Gabriel

Arsenal

Arsenal have conceded the joint-fewest goals in the Premier League so far this season (15), and so much of the credit goes to William Saliba. The 22-year-old deserves his praise, but it does tend to leave partner Gabriel in the shadows at times.

As per WhoScored, the Brazilian actually has a better average match rating in the league this term – 6.83 compared to Saliba's 6.74 – and he also manages more interceptions and blocks per 90. That's not to say Gabriel is better than his teammate, it's just that they tend to perform pretty equally as a partnership and yet it is the Frenchman who so often earns all the plaudits.

Ethan Pinnock

Brentford

When you think of Brentford, attacking stars such as Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo spring to mind. Even when thinking about more defensive players, Ethan Pinnock flies under the radar so much so that when GIVEMESPORT wrote up a most underrated player of 2022/23 list, all the praise went to Ben Mee instead.

Well, Pinnock is finally going to get the credit he deserves for his relentlessly consistent old-school defensive displays for the Bees. At least the stats show just how well he's performed with the 30-year-old rated as his team's join top-rated on WhoScored in the league so far this term.

Lewis Dunk

So much of what is good about Brighton is built upon the talent of young and exciting players. Unproven names such as Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo have emerged on the south coast and secured moves to big clubs, and current stars such as Evan Ferguson and Kaoru Mitoma seemed destined to follow a similar path.

All the while, Lewis Dunk has continued to be the man who holds it all together on the pitch despite the constant changes around him. The man who joined the Seagulls when they were still in League One, has developed his game to be one of the best on-the-ball defenders in the Premier League and Europa League, whilst still having the knack for being in the right places when more traditional defensive skills are needed. So much of the club's success has been due to his constituency and yet he continues to feel as though a bit of an afterthought with England, despite their lack of reliable options at centre-back.

Dominic Solanke

Bournemouth

It wasn't that long ago that Dominic Solanke was viewed somewhat mockingly by Premier League fans. After a £19m move from Liverpool to Bournemouth, he struggled for goals, scoring just three times in his first 42 league games.

A year in the Championship helped him find a bit of form, though, and after promotion he scored six goals as the Cherries avoided the drop last term. This season, he has already bagged nine goals in 17 games and looks to be one of the most well-rounded strikers in the country. And yet, it feels as though many fans still view him as the flop who failed to convince after leaving Anfield.

Jarrad Branthwaite

Despite all the drama behind the scenes at Everton, the club has rallied to make their ten-point deduction a complete irrelevance in terms of a potential relegation battle. At the heart of this has been defensive solidarity, having conceded just 20 goals this term (the same as Manchester City and better than every other team outside the top two).

Those who watch Everton closely will credit Jarrad Branthwaite with this improvement. He missed the first two games of the season, which were both defeats but has since started every game but one. In that time, seven wins, two draws and five losses are enough to have the Toffees on course for a comfortable mid-table finish despite their handicap.

Alex Iwobi

Fulham

After moving from Arsenal to Everton for £34m, it looked as though Alex Iwobi would never live up to such a hefty price tag but, eventually, he steadily managed to rebuild his reputation at Goodison Park, dropping deeper into midfield after struggling to produce the goods as a more attack-minded winger. The Toffees' financial issues would have played a part in his summer exit, allowing Fulham to snap him up for £22m.

In 13 appearances, Iwobi already has three league goals, which is more than he ever managed in a full season at Everton, and matches his best tally with Arsenal. It's not just goals, though, as he continues to be silky smooth in possession, progressing the ball into dangerous areas as Marco Silva's men establish themselves as a top-tier club after many years of yo-yoing between divisions. João Palhinha tends to make the most headlines, but his Nigerian teammate deserves recognition too.

Kostas Tsimikas

When Andy Robertson was left requiring surgery on a shoulder injury suffered in October, there would have been understandable concerns about how Liverpool would adapt without their star left-back. However, Kostas Tsimikas has started to build real momentum in the role, looking better and better every week.

Now he's in the starting XI regularly, it's a testament to how a run in the team can help a footballer find their rhythm as the Greek fullback is playing some of the best football of his Reds' career. His average 6.92 WhoScored rating is only bettered by major stats Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai and Robertson.

Diogo Dalot

Manchester United are such a basket case of a club, it's hard to know if their players are really that bad, or just victims of the chaotic environment around them. Harry Maguire, for instance, has been a joke figure for so long but his recent improved form has rightfully earned him plenty of love in the media.

Diogo Dalot is another player who has struggled at times at Old Trafford but he has quietly gone about his business in a very impressive manner of late. Having finally nailed down a role as the club's first-choice right-back, only Bruno Fernandes and Andre Onana have better average WhoScored ratings in the league this term. The defender has certainly been reliable this term when so many others have not.

Pape Matar Sarr

Tottenham Hotspur

Ange-Ball at Tottenham Hotspur has such a focus on the free-flowing attack and the high-line defence, that it's sometimes easy to overlook the importance of the men in the middle of the park. The story of Spurs' season has been largely about players such as Son Heung-min, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Cristian Romero – or even Yves Bissouma, when the midfield is spoken about – but the truth is, they aren't quite the same team without Pape Matar Sarr.

A bit-part player last term, the 21-year-old has been asked to play a key role for Ange Postecoglou this season. He has been so important to the team, in fact, that Tottenham have failed to win all five league games this season (across all competitions) when he's either been completely absent or started on the bench.

Edson Álvarez

When you think of West Ham right now, you think of their shiny new summer signings such as James Ward-Prowse and Mohammed Kudus or more established names like Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen. But Edson Álvarez is the glue of this team.

He arrived from Ajax in the summer and has managed to seamlessly help fill the notable void left by Declan Rice. He missed the recent game against Fulham and guess what happened? Despite the four other players previously mentioned above all being involved, the Hammers were thumped 5-0. Roshane Thomas of The Athletic wrote on X, perfectly summing it up: