Every Premier League club’s statistically most valuable player has been determined.
Of course, metrics such as goals, assists, chances created, tackles and interceptions often help to determine the value of a player.
What is more difficult, however, is deciding upon a player’s importance to the collective success of a team. Even if a player were to score buckets of goals it would not mean they would make the team play any better as a whole.
Advert
One method of assessing an individual's value is through their points per game tally. This is how many points the team wins when the person plays, and how it compares with other members of the squad.
Below, courtesy of Telegraph Sport is each Premier League team’s most valuable player based on that points-per-game metric since the start of last season.
The publication imposed a minimum appearance total of 35 games while for the promoted clubs the metric has naturally only been measured for this campaign.
Sheffield United – Gustavo Hamer (0.54 points per game)
Advert
Hamer has been the best of a bad bunch at Sheffield United. With 1.71 chances created per match, the Brazilian has been more than twice as creative as any of his teammates this season.
Burnley – Josh Brownhill (0.63 points per game)
Burnley have played seven league matches without Brownhill in their starting line-up this term and have lost six of them, while they have lost 70 per cent of their games without Brownhill starting, compared with 65 per cent with him.
Luton Town – Alfie Doughty (0.79 points per game)
Advert
Doughty has started all but four league matches this campaign with Luton losing each of the four games in which he did not start, conceding 11 goals and scoring just twice.
Nottingham Forest – Ryan Yates (0.98 points per game)
While there are four players with a better points-per-game return over the past two seasons (Serge Aurier, Joe Worrall, Orel Mangala and Brennan Johnson) they have all left the club. Nevertheless, the 26-year-old has been a model of consistency and commitment.
Crystal Palace – Cheick Doucoure (1.24 points per game)
Advert
Doucoure, who has been out since suffering an achilles injury in November, has been an exceptional foil to Palace’s defence since joining the club just over 18 months ago. Last season he made more tackles and interceptions than any other Palace player
Everton – Abdoulaye Doucoure (1.26 points per game)
Doucoure, who has scored six goals this season, is Everton’s top scorer in all competitions, while last term he netted the crucial strike that ensured the Toffees Premier League survival.
Chelsea – Conor Gallagher (1.34 points per game)
Advert
Only Axel Disasi has played more Premier League minutes for Chelsea than Gallagher this term while the England man has been their most statistically valuable player.
Bournemouth – Antoine Semenyo (1.43 points per game)
With seven goals this season, Semenyo has shown his value. He is statistically one of the league’s best finishers having netted those strikes from an expected goals of just 3.5.
West Ham – Lucas Paqueta (1.44 points per game)
Paqueta has created 1.18 chances per 90 minutes for West Ham, with only set-piece taker James Ward-Prowse having made more. Moreover, from mid-January to mid-February, when the Brazilian was injured, West Ham won none of their six games.
Brentford – Josh Dasilva (1.51 points per game)
Since the start of last season, Dasilva has scored four goals from just six shots on target in the Premier League. Sadly the midfielder has had an awful run of luck with injury, most recently suffering a ligament injury in his knee in February.
Fulham – Willian (1.53 points per game)
Willian has been a revelation at Fulham. He has scored nine goals in 52 league appearances for the club.
Wolves – Toti (1.55 points per game)
Toti, who recently signed a new five-and-a-half-year contract at Molineux, has three assists in the Premier League this season from defence.
Brighton – Pervis Estupiñán (1.65 points per game)
Estupiñán played a key role as Brighton qualified for European competition for the first time in their history. While this campaign has been more challenging it speaks volumes that he remains their best player in terms of points-per-game.
Aston Villa – Alex Moreno (1.83 points per game)
Moreno has been Aston Villa’s most valuable player this term, while among the Premier League defenders, only Brighton’s Estupiñán averages more touches per game in the opposition’s box.
Tottenham – Cristian Romero (1.84 points per game)
Spurs have lost four of the seven matches (57 per cent) Romero has not started this term and lost just 21 per cent of the games he has started.
Newcastle United – Nick Pope (1.88 points per game)
Before his injury in December, Pope had played every minute of Newcastle’s Premier League and Champions League matches this season. His absence has been a major contributor to the Magpies’ dip in form.
Manchester United – Casemiro (2 points per game)
While he may not be the same player as last season Casemiro's contribution to his side last term has propelled him to the top of the charts for United.
The publication also notes that though Harry Maguire has not quite hit the 35-game mark (he has played 32 times) the England defender’s 2.19 points per game is the highest of any player at United.
Liverpool – Diogo Jota (2.15 points per game)
Liverpool have lost only five of the 41 league matches Jota has featured in since the start of last term. Indeed, no player in Jurgen Klopp’s squad has a higher win percentage than Jota’s 63 per cent.
Arsenal – William Saliba (2.36 points per game)
Last season Saliba’s injury coincided with a dip in form that saw the Gunners miss out on the Premier League.
In 55 Premier League appearances, the 23-year-old has only experienced defeat seven times.
Manchester City – Jack Grealish (2.55 points per game)
Grealish surprisingly has the best points-per-game record of any player in Pep Guardiola’s squad with a loss percentage of just 7.1 per cent. Meanwhile, the winger boasts a win percentage of 81 per cent.
Chris Byfield