Gravenberch, Murphy, Caicedo: Top 10 most improved Premier League players this season

It’s time to hand out the award no footballer wants: Most Improved Player.

If you received that award as a kid, it was because you turned up every week and were, let’s face it, a bit s**t at football.

These guys are most certainly not s**t and, in the grand scheme of things, none of them ever have been. In the context of Premier League football, maybe one or two have previously looked rubbish, but they have come Back Stronger with a brilliant 2024/25 campaign.

Featuring two Liverpool stars, here are the top 10 most improved players in the Premier League this season.

10) Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool)
The first Liverpool star is £60million midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, who deserves an apology for some of the nasty things I’ve said about him. Well, it was nothing too cynical or unacceptable — I just thought he was doing a lot worse than people realised given the price tag. This season, though, he’s proven me wrong with some terrific performances in Arne Slot’s midfield.

With his lovely blend of technical ability and energy, Szoboszlai was signed by Jurgen Klopp as an ideal fit for heavy metal football. Despite looking perfect on paper, his first-season displays were fairly lacklustre.

The personal doubts were going strong until a few months into this campaign, when it became clear that Szoboszlai is, in fact, pretty good at football. And look, a man admitting he was wrong should be applauded, not mocked. There’s not enough of us around. I was absolutely right – until I wasn’t. The underwhelming start doesn’t look any better with hindsight, but Szoboszlai’s growth has been undeniable. Credit where it’s due: he’s bossed it.

9) Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest)
Thirteen clean sheets and the Premier League Golden Glove can’t be ignored. Matz Sels has been outstanding for Nottingham Forest this season – even if Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic in front of him have arguably been even better.

The Belgian pulled off some massive saves to keep Forest’s Champions League quest alive, but perhaps the most impressive thing is how convincingly he’s claimed the No.1 shirt at the City Ground. That position has been a revolving door since Dean Henderson’s loan ended, yet Sels has made it his own.

When he rocked up on deadline day in the 2024 winter window, the reaction was largely a shrug. ‘Oh, that average ex-Newcastle keeper.’ He promptly kept one clean sheet in the second half of the season and looked like a short-term plug. Nobody saw this season coming.

There was strong temptation to include Forest teammate Elliot Anderson, but in the end we decided ‘most improved’ wasn’t quite right. It’s more of a breakout.

Always highly rated at Newcastle, Anderson was hampered by injuries and restricted to 15-minute cameos. Now that he’s fit and starting regularly, he looks a player. It felt necessary to mention him, because Anderson would be a glaring omission in the eyes of many.

MORE: Who is the best goalkeeper in the Premier League in 24/25?

8) Justin Kluivert (Bournemouth)
The run of form we saw from Justin Kluivert in January looked like a player firmly establishing himself as an elite goalscoring attacking midfielder — now it looks a lot like a purple patch. Still, there’s no doubt we’ve seen an improved version of Kluivert this campaign.

With two hat-tricks, including one away to Newcastle, 36 completed take-ons, 23 shots on target, six out of six penalties scored and 12 league goals from 10.4 xG, Kluivert was key in Bournemouth’s European push. The Cherries ultimately fell short, suffering a dismal run from late February — which, coincidentally, is when the Dutchman’s struggles started.

7) Dan Burn (Newcastle United)
What A Season For Big Daniel Johnson Burn. Arguably Newcastle’s most consistent and reliable performer in 2024/25, the boy from Blyth abused his height to win the most aerial duels in the Premier League with 145 – 26 ahead of Virgil van Dijk in second.

Not just physically imposing, Burn is deceivingly tidy on the ball and earned an England debut shortly after scoring in his side’s Carabao Cup final victory over title-winning Liverpool. He kept his place in Thomas Tuchel’s squad for next month’s matches against Andorra and Senegal.

It’s been an unforgettable year for the big man, who has been more reliable than Fabian Schar and the injury-prone Sven Botman at the back. Plenty of Newcastle fans were happy to move on from Burn this time last year, but there’s no chance that happens now.

6) Moises Caicedo (Chelsea)
A £105million midfielder is above this sort of thing, you’d think… but not Moises Caicedo, who gradually improved throughout his debut campaign at Chelsea before taking a step up this season.

His growth has helped the Blues qualify for the Champions League, finishing fourth ahead of Newcastle, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.

He has been a defensive demon and filled in superbly at right-back when needed, though he often tucked into midfield even when starting there. Caicedo was everywhere for the Blues and without him, they’d be a completely different side.

5) Yoane Wissa (Brentford)
Another player who hasn’t necessarily been bad in the Premier League, Brentford striker Yoane Wissa has been bloody outstanding this term. He was always just an average top-flight striker, capable of getting around eight goals, but in 2024/25, the DR Congo international scored 19 in 35 games.

There’s nothing to suggest clubs are interested in signing Wissa this summer, and the only explanation is that he’s 28 years old. It’s a poor explanation, but maybe he’s just not as fashionable as Bryan Mbeumo or someone like Liam Delap at Ipswich Town. Stats don’t lie, and there’s no doubt Manchester United – or even Aston Villa and Spurs – could do worse.

Brentford’s attack in general has been a joke this season. Their front three of Wissa, Mbeumo and Kevin Schade – another honourable mention – have 65 goal contributions between them, including 50 goals. That’s more than six Premier League teams, including Manchester United, managed as a team this season.

Last season, those three combined for 34 goal involvements, with Wissa jumping from 16 to 24 himself.

4) Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa)
Tielemans’ improvement has been spectacular, but we’ve always known he was a top player. At Leicester, he was their midfield talisman and was linked with Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Bayern Munich before joining Villa on a free. He also improved significantly in the second half of last season, so this isn’t completely out of nowhere.

Still, the Belgian has taken his game to another level this campaign, not only making 52 appearances across all competitions, but starting 52 games as well. Mind = Blown.

READ MORE: Cole Palmer forces his way into Premier League XI of the season

3) Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford)
One of two Brentford players (and it could’ve been more) in this top 10, Mikkel Damsgaard has scored two and assisted 11 in the Premier League this season after getting no goal involvements in 2022/23 and only three assists in 2023/24. Those stats tell the story.

After two disappointing years, Damsgaard has become a constant attacking threat and shown ridiculous playmaking vision with eye-of-the-needle passes, helping Wissa and Mbeumo score 39 goals between them.

His form dipped in the last couple of months, but there’s no doubting the level of improvement. He finally looks at home in the Premier League.

2) Jacob Murphy (Newcastle United)
The catchphrase for this feature really ought to be ‘No one saw this coming’ — and it applies most to Jacob Murphy. The Toon Army were crying out for a new right winger, but after missing out on Michael Olise and Anthony Elanga, Eddie Howe started the season with Murphy and Miguel Almiron.

Fans were furious, but Murphy sensationally became an elite wide forward, making the Olise dream feel like a thing of the past. Sure, they probably still wish he’d joined, but Murphy’s form has helped them move on.

With a ridiculous 12 goals and eight assists in 35 matches, the 30-year-old obliterated his previous best season haul of 11, which itself came after years of six, three and five.

Despite waxing lyrical about Murphy, Newcastle should not be blinded by his performances. A new right-sided forward could still take them to another level.

1) Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool)
Jurgen Klopp brought Ryan Gravenberch to Liverpool in summer 2023 after losing Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, but he very rarely played in his debut season. The German’s decision not to use him more has aged like milk, while Arne Slot has come in, made Gravenberch his No.6, and won the league at a canter.

The Dutchman has been Liverpool’s most consistent performer – along with Virgil van Dijk – and his red card on the final day doesn’t change that.

He made 60 interceptions this term, bettered only by Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Antonee Robinson. Among midfielders, the closest was Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo with 49. Gravenberch also ranked 16th for progressive passes, ninth for carries into the final third, 94th for times dispossessed, 16th for touches (with only three midfielders ahead of him), and 12th for passes received.

Whether or not you think he should’ve won Young Player of the Season, there’s no denying this was a monumental leap forward.

Honourable mentions: Elliot Anderson, Kevin Schade, Anthony Elanga, Neco Williams, Matheus Cunha, Antoine Semenyo, Lewis Hall, Enzo Fernandez, Marc Cucurella