Even in their first season playing for Man City and Arsenal, midfielder Josko Gvardiol and midfielder Declan Rice shined brightly in their new team. Thanks to making a strong impression, both of them deserve to be in the Top 10 best rookies in the Premier League this season.

1. MICKY VAN DE VEN (TOTTENHAM)

In August 2023, midfielder Van de Ven left Wolfsburg to sign a 6-year contract with Tottenham. The transfer fee of 50 million pounds helped him equal the record of Cristian Romero, the most expensive midfielder ever recruited by Tottenham. It didn’t take long for Van de Ven to prove that he was worth every penny the Spurs board spent to bring him to London. According to statistics, this season Tottenham lost 5/11 matches in which Van de Ven did not start. Besides, Van de Ven is also identified as the fastest player in the Premier League 2023/24.   

2. DECLAN RICE (ARSENAL)

Midfielder Declan Rice is a key factor in helping Arsenal compete for the 2023/24 Premier League championship until the last minute. The appearance of this rookie with a transfer fee of up to 105 million pounds has clearly brought balance to the Gunners. According to coach Mikel Arteta, he tried to maximize Rice’s value by using the former West Ham midfielder in many different positions. In any role, Rice successfully completes assigned tasks. 

3. ALEXIS MAC ALLISTER (LIVERPOOL)

Coming to Liverpool as the 2022 World Cup champion, midfielder Alexis Mac Allister quickly became an indispensable link in coach Jurgen Klopp’s tactical system. This Argentine player is highly appreciated for his wisdom and always knows how to make reasonable decisions. In addition to his superb creating ability, Mac Allister is also especially dangerous when given the opportunity to shoot from long range. Notably, his first goal for Liverpool (The Kop’s 4/3 win over Fulham) was voted the best goal in the Premier League in December.

4. COLE PALMER (CHELSEA)

Although Chelsea is currently only ranked 7th in the Premier League, their midfielder Cole Palmer still has a very successful 2023/24 season. In Chelsea’s recent 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest, the 22-year-old English player made history when he delivered the decisive pass to help Mykhaylo Mudryk open the score. According to Squawka, he is the first player to reach the 10th mark in both scoring and assisting criteria in the Premier League, right in his debut season with the Blues. With 21 goals, Palmer is currently ranked only behind Man City striker Erling Haaland (25 goals) in the race for the 2023/24 Premier League top scorer title, even though he is a midfielder.

5. IF GUARDIOL (MAN CITY)

Versatile defender Gvardiol is facing the opportunity to win the Premier League in his first season with Man City. Not only is Gvardiol solid in defense, he is also very sharp when participating in the attack. With his recent double against Fulham helping Man City crush the opponent 4-0 on the away field, this Croatian player has scored 5 goals in the last 7 matches. Gvardiol is so excellent that some funny netizens even called on coach Pep Guardiola to push him to play as a striker.  

6. KAI HAVERTZ (ARSENAL)

Like Palmer, midfielder Havertz also flew high when moving to his new home Arsenal. In the sprint, the German player’s role became even more prominent when he scored 3 goals and provided 2 assists in the last 4 rounds. Thanks to Havertz’s great contributions, Arsenal won all four of the above matches to continue to put strong pressure on Man City in the race to win the Premier League title. 

7. JAMES MADDISON (TOTTENHAM)

Despite having to miss three months of football this season due to injury, midfielder James Maddison is still one of the most prominent Tottenham players. He took on the vice-captaincy armband when he just moved to Tottenham and proved why he is so trusted. With the pass that helped Van de Ven seal a 2-1 victory for Tottenham against Burnley last weekend, Maddison has had 8 assists and 4 goals in the Premier League since the beginning of the tournament.

8. PEDRO PORRO (TOTTENHAM)

Right-back Pedro Porro has just been given the highest score by Whoscored.com in Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat of Burnley. This was the match in which he helped Tottenham equalize 1-1, before Van de Ven delivered the finishing blow to the away team. Since the beginning of the season, Porro has scored 2 goals and contributed 7 assists for Tottenham in the Premier League. So impressed with Porro, Man City’s board of directors is planning to bring this Spanish player back to Etihad when the 2023/24 season ends.

9. DAVID RAYA (ARSENAL)

Loaned from Brentford, goalkeeper Raya with his extremely remarkable saving ability has become a reliable support for Arsenal. Earlier this month, Raya surpassed main rival Jordan Pickford to take home the Golden Glove award for the goalkeeper with the most clean sheets in the Premier League 2023/24. Raya is the first Arsenal goalkeeper to win the above title since Petr Cech in the 2015/16 season. Notably, in the last 7 matches in all competitions, there were 6 matches where he did not let the opponent concede a goal.

10. MOHAMMED KUDUS (WEST HAM)

Bought by West Ham from Ajax for 38 million pounds, midfielder Mohammed Kudus became the second most expensive Ghanaian player traded after compatriot Thomas Partey. Since the beginning of the season, this midfielder born in 2000 has scored 13 goals for West Ham on all fronts. Among these, his masterpiece against Freiburg in the Europa League has been compared to the solo goal of legendary Diego Maradona in the match between Argentina and England in the 1986 World Cup.