Football Features

The best players of the 2023/24 Premier League season

By James Amey

Published: 15:57, 20 May 2024 | Updated: 12:17, 24 May 2024

The 2023/24 Premier League campaign has come to an end. 

Man City became the first side in the competition’s history to win the league in four consecutive seasons, promoted sides Luton, Burnley and Sheffield United all went straight back down, while Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa will all play in the Champions League next season.

Erling Haaland won a second consecutive Golden Boot, Ollie Watkins became the first Aston Villa player to finish a Premier League camapaign with the outright most assists, picking up the Playmaker Award, while David Raya won the Golden Glove, becoming the first Arsenal player to win the award since Petr Čech in 2015/16.

Phil Foden was named the Premier League Player of the Season for the first time in his career and Cole Palmer was named the Premier League Young Player of the Season after a fantastic campaign. But who were the best players  during the 2023/24 season based off stats?

Below is a list based on their Squawka Score across the season. Only players who have played 1,000+ minutes of Premier League football are included and ties are decided by most minutes played.

Here are the top 10 players in the Premier League in 2023/24.

10. Bukayo Saka

  • Team: Arsenal
  • Minutes Played: 2,937
  • Squawka Score: 74%

Despite Arsenal just falling short once more in the race for the Premier League title, Bukayo Saka proved once again just how good he is. The 22-year-old was directly involved in more league goals than any of his teammates (16 goals, 9 assists) and was just one of four English players to be directly involved in 25+ goals in the competition in 2023/24. His strike against Bournemouth meant he was the first Englishman to score 20+ goals across all competitions in a single season for Arsenal since Theo Walcott in 2012/13, while also becoming the first Englishman to score 15+ goals in a Premier League season for Arsenal since Ian Wright in 1996/97 and the first Englishman to score home and away for Arsenal against Tottenham since Wrighty in 1993/94.

He reached 30+ goal involvements in a single season across all competitions for the first time ever in his career.

9. Alexander Isak 

  • Team: Newcastle
  • Minutes Played: 2,267
  • Squawka Score: 75%

The Swedish striker finished third in the race for the Premier League Golden boot behind Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer, scoring 21 goals in 30 appearances. He became just the third player after Alan Shearer and Andy Cole to score in seven consecutive Premier League home games for Newcastle, averaging 0.83 goals per 90; the second best rate after Erling Haaland (minimum 500 minutes played).

8. Eberechi Eze 

  • Team: Crystal Palace
  • Minutes Played: 2,065
  • Squawka Score: 76%

Just like his teammates Michael Olise and Jean-Philippe Mateta, Eberechi Eze excelled towards the end of the season under new manager Oliver Glasner. The 25-year-old was directly invovled in nine goals in 11 league matches under the Austrian (6 goals, 3 assists) and finished the campaign with 15 goals involvements for the first time ever in the top flight, one more than he managed in the previous season. Only three players bettered his total of 69 completed take-ons, also winning possession in the final third32 times.

7. Erling Haaland

  • Team: Man City
  • Minutes Played: 2,556
  • Squawka Score: 76%

Another season and another Premier League Golden Boot for Erling Haaland. The Norwegian became the first ever player to win the Premier League title and the Golden Boot in back-to-back seasons and the first player to win the award in each of his first two campaigns. He has now won as many Premier League Golden Boots as Didier Drogba, Robin van Persie, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Michael Owen (2), while no player was directly involved in more goals vs the ‘Big Six’ than the Man City frontman (11) in 2023/24.

6. Bruno Guimaraes 

  • Team: Newcastle
  • Minutes Played: 3,268
  • Squawka Score: 76%

Bruno Guimarães had another fantastic season in the middle of Newcastle’s midfield. The Brazilian won more duels (285), won possession more times (236) and won more fouls (108) than any other player in the Premier League in 2023/24 as well as contributing to 15 goals for his side (7 goals, 8 assists). He did all this whilst being on nine yellow cards from the 13th January onwards, not picking up a single one after that date and in doing so avoiding being suspended for the business end of the campaign.

5. Rodri 

  • Team: Man City
  • Minutes Played: 2,937
  • Squawka Score: 78%

Somehow Manchester City’s metronome wasn’t nominated for the Premier League Player of the Season award after another incredible season that saw the Spaniard lift his fourth league title in England. Rodri was the only player in the 2023/24 Premier League with 20+ shots on target, 20+ chances created, 20+ aerial duels won, 20+ fouls won, 20+ take-ons completed, 20+ tackles made, 20+ interceptions and 20+ clearances and he scored eight goals and provided nine assists.

He also became just the second player in Premier League history to go 50 consecutive games unbeaten after Sol Campbell (56), showing just how crucial he is to Manchester City and Pep Guardiola. Man Utd have lost 25 matches across all competitions since Rodri last lost a game in a Man City shirt.

4. Phil Foden

  • Team: Man City
  • Minutes Played: 2,869
  • Squawka Score: 81%

At the age of 23, Phil Foden has already won 17 trophies during his senior Manchester City career, including six Premier League titles, becoming the youngest player to achieve this feat. He was named as the 2023/24 Premier League Player of the Season after some incredible performances during Man City’s record-breaking campaign that saw them pick up their fourth consecutive PL title.

He scored six goals from outside the box, three more than any other player in the division and the most by a Man City player in a single Premier League campaign, scored 19 goals and provided eight assists in just 35 appearances as he made Kevin De Bruyne’s departure for a long period of the season look a lot less daunting.

3. Kevin De Bruyne

  • Team: Man City
  • Minutes Played: 1,228
  • Squawka Score: 82%

Despite missing a huge chunk of the season and starting just 15 Premier League matches in 2023/24, only two players provided more assists than the Belgian (10). He also created 21 big chances, which was only bettered by Mo Salah (22) and provided more assists per 90 (0.73) than any other player to play 500 minutes or more.

KDB also equalled Cesc Fabregas’ record as the only player to provide 10+ assists in six different Premier League campaigns, whilst also moving above the Spaniard and into second for the most assists provided in Premier League history (112).

2. Michael Olise 

  • Team: Crystal Palace
  • Minutes Played: 1,277
  • Squawka Score: 82%

In a season that was hampered by injury problems, Michael Olise still managed to set a new personal best for goal involvements in a Premier League campaign. The Palace forward scored 10 goals and provided a further six assists in 1,277 minutes of action, averaging a goal or an assist every 80 minutes.

Under new manager Oliver Glasner, Olise shone, scoring three goals and providing two assists in the final three games of the season to help Palace to a top half finish, where they won three consecutive top-flight matches whilst scoring 3+ goals for the first time in their history. He also became the first ever Crystal Palace player to be involved in 3+ goals in multiple Premier League games.

1. Cole Palmer 

  • Team: Chelsea
  • Minutes Played: 2,618
  • Squawka Score: 86%

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City don’t usually get a lot wrong, but allowing Cole Palmer to leave the club is probably the biggest one. The just turned 22-year-old had an incredible debut season at Stamford Bridge, being named the PL Young Player of the Season, breaking countless records and finishing the season with more goal involvements than any other player in the competition (22 goals, 11 assists).

He broke Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink’s record for the most goals and assists in their debut Premier League season for Chelsea, he equalled Frank Lampard’s career best goal tally for a single Premier League season and for a single campaign across all competitions and was directly involved in more Premier League goals in 2023/24 than Eden Hazard ever did in a single league campaign for the Blues.

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