Martin Odegaard, Rodri and every Premier League club’s true MVP

Poor Oliver Glasner has had the rug pulled out from under him at Crystal Palace. The Eagles sanctioned the summer sales of three of his most important players over the summer, with Michael Olise, Joachim Andersen and the undervalued Jordan Ayew all leaving Selhurst Park.

Choosing between Jean-Philippe Mateta, Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi is splitting hairs, but it’s the centre-back who gets the nod for his leadership qualities and Palace’s insufficient defensive depth.

Without Jordan Pickford, there’s an extremely high chance that Everton would have been relegated at some point over the last few seasons. England’s No.1 has come to the Toffees’ rescue again and again and again.

If he misses more than four or five games this term, then Sean Dyche’s men may as well kiss their hopes of survival goodbye. They wouldn’t stand a chance with anyone else between the sticks.

Given the makeup of Fulham’s squad, the odds were pretty low on their most important player having some sort of Arsenal affiliation. Indeed, if it weren’t for Alex Iwobi, then Bernd Leno might’ve taken this spot.

The Nigerian midfielder, whether playing on the wing or in a more central role, has become so crucial to how Marco Silva sets out his stall.

Everyone loves Liam Delap. What isn’t there to love about Liam Delap? His scoring? His battering-ram power? His father, the great human-slingshot, Rory?

Alas, he is not necessarily Ipswich’s most important player. That honour is reserved for left-back and chance-creator extraordinaire Leif Davis.

Best of luck to Ruud van Nistelrooy trying to get a tune out of Leicester for the remainder of the season. Steve Cooper couldn’t even last half the campaign trying to deep-block his way to safety.

If not for the heroics of goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, Van Nistelrooy probably would have found the Foxes in the relegation zone. There should also be more scrutiny of the club’s recruitment team for allowing Jamie Vardy, who turns 38 in January for crying out loud, to still be considered for this accolade.

Arne Slot has quickly dispelled the belief that manager Jurgen Klopp was actually the glue holding Liverpool together. The Merseysiders have shed their rock-n-roll skin for a more controlled style of play, and results have backed up the Dutchman’s transition.

The new head coach has also got the best out of countryman and captain Virgil van Dijk. You can (and knowing Liverpool, they will) try to replace what Mohamed Salah brings in the theoretical football aggregate, but losing their man-mountain defender would be a disaster. You only need to look back at 2020-21 to see what happens when Van Dijk’s not around to save the day. Get that man tied down to a new contract, stat.

Well, it’s obviously Rodri, isn’t it? What more evidence do we need to examine? Manchester City have survived for years without the brilliance of Kevin De Bruyne, and they got through a significant portion of last season with Erling Haaland sidelined.

But Rodri? No Rodri? Injured Rodri? Absent Rodri? Now that’s a crisis unfolding before our very eyes. City fans will be asking Santa for an instant cure to a ruptured ACL to be discovered for Christmas this year.

Oh, Manchester United Football Club, why must you be the way you have been for the last two seasons? None of your players have shone for particularly extended lengths in that time.

It’s almost by default that Bruno Fernandes‘ takes the title of their most important player. Even beyond his position as captain, he is the most likely candidate to conjure a chance or a goal, often through sheer will and persistence. It isn’t pretty, but it’s still effective enough. Get that man some better team-mates.

If Newcastle were to have a fire-sale tomorrow, then the most in-demand player would be Alexander Isak. Sure, his injury record might make you wince, but you can’t overlook the goals he brings to the table even in spite of that.

A shout out to Bruno Guimaraes, so often top of distance-covered and running stats in the entire league, but the Magpies are overflowing with midfielders whose main job is to get up and down the pitch as the collective engine. With Callum Wilson on the decline, no one can replace Isak’s scoring.

It’s a bit of a cop out to select a striker again, but come on, what Chris Wood‘s doing at the tip of this Nottingham Forest team is verging on greatness – at the time of writing he’s only 22 goals away from joining the Premier League 100 Club. The 100 Club! That’s phenomenal, come on.

Forest wouldn’t be as formidable without the legend of Wood up top, even if backup Taiwo Awoniyi is an accomplished forward in his own right.

Give it a few more months and Tyler Dibling will be the player Southampton fans will clamour onto most. For the time being, Aaron Ramsdale is the most important player in Russell Martin’s ranks.

That’s before you even realise Alex McCarthy has been his replacement so far this season has been. The Saints needed a clear upgrade in goal following promotion back to the top flight and will be counting down the days until Ramsdale is fit again.

For the first time in over a decade, Tottenham’s most important player is no longer their chief goal-scorer. That’s in part due to Son Heung-min’s reinvention as more of a creator and facilitator, as well as Ange Postecoglou’s men sharing the love when it comes to putting the ball in the net.

This year, Dejan Kulusevski has emerged as their standout star, the midfield engine who makes everything tick and can drag Spurs 50 yards up the pitch within a few seconds.

It’s bordering on negligent what West Ham are doing to Michail Antonio. There are several between-the-lines stars over in east London between Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta, but their Jamaican frontman is the only player capable of going to war with the Premier League’s best centre-backs.

Maybe that’d be different if Niclas Fullkrug had been fit to play more so far this season. It’d definitely be different if they’d have just stumped up the £40m needed to sign Duran from Villa. Alas, they are still wheeling out Antonio to do the job up top.

Have you ever sat down and read Wolves’ squad man to man? It’s an unassailable list of future Turkish Super Lig players, it really is.

Anyway, the quality of the team has nosedived since the days of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho. The pickings are rather slim, so the gong goes to Matheus Cunha, largely on the basis that he is a level above everyone else when fit and available. No offence to the rest of Gary O’Neil’s charges.