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And Son Heung-Min, perhaps the most widely beloved player in league history, joined LAFC after 10 seasons at Tottenham, where he was the only player in the world who might've been a better finisher than Lionel Messi.

Put more simply, KDB, TAA and Son kicked a soccer ball better than just about anyone who has ever lived.

And so, as we gather to rank the best players again in the return of ESPN's Premier League Top 50, three top-25 stalwarts have disappeared from the list.



A list of the best players in the Premier League compared to the average player at their position would not be very interesting or insightful.

Savinho, winger, Manchester City

We're taking Ouattara and Savinho together because they fit the same mold: young guys who played limited minutes but created a ton of danger while they were on the field.

Despite not even playing 2,000 minutes, Savinho finished second among all Premier League players in expected possession value created from open play:

Ouattara, meanwhile, barely reached the 2,000-minute mark, but he played all across Bournemouth's front line, finished the season in the top 15 for non-penalty expected goals+assists, functioned as a fantastic outlet and put in a ton of defensive work.

Only Crystal Palace's Daniel Muñoz made more sprints or high-speed runs (between 20 and 25 kilometers per hour) than Mbeumo did last year.

Among players with at least 5,000 minutes played over the past two seasons, here's who put up a better expected goals+assists rate per 90 minutes than Jackson:

• Mohamed Salah
• Erling Haaland
• Alexander Isak

So, the guy who is tied with Thierry Henry for winning Footballer of the Year the most times, the guy who holds the record for the most goals scored in a Premier League season and the guy who might change teams for €120 million this summer.

Chelsea are clearly trying to get rid of Jackson, and his replacement, João Pedro, looked quite good at the Club World Cup.

And last season, no one in the Premier League completed more passes that switched the field or went over the top of the opposing defense.

He also led Manchester United in expected goals, expected assists, actual goals, actual assists, shots, chances created and ball recoveries.

Declan Rice, midfielder, Arsenal

Can I interest you in a midfielder who is going to give you somewhere between 10 and 15 goals+assists every season, carry and pass the ball upfield at an elite rate, take set pieces for the best set-piece team in the Premier League, score two free kicks in a Champions League matchup against Real Madrid, play anywhere in a midfield three, rarely be out of position defensively, run faster than 90 percent of the other players at his position, win lots of headers and be right in the middle of the best years of his career?

No?
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