Manchester United: Power Ranking the Top 5 Players Through the EPL Season so Far

Manchester United: Power Ranking the Top 5 Players Through the EPL Season so Far

5. Michael Carrick

Kicking off our list is England international Michael Carrick, who's performances in central midfield so far this season for the Red Devils have been very strong.

United haven't been as strong in the middle of the pitch in recent years as they would have liked—perhaps because they are looking for the next Paul Scholes—and whilst Carrick isn't the solution to all their problems, the experienced midfielder has been solid throughout the year so far and has distributed the ball well right across the pitch.

Carrick has had excellent vision and distribution through the first three games and whilst the Red Devils are still lacking a physical presence in the middle of the pitch, he has filled the role well in tandem with Tom Cleverley. He hasn't turned the ball over so far this year—leading the team in both average passes per game as well as pass completion percentage.

Plenty of work still to grow for Carrick, but if we're just talking about the first three games of the season, it's been a very solid start from the 31-year-old.

4. Tom Cleverley

ard to have Michael Carrick in here and not mention his counterpart in central midfield Tom Cleverley, who has filled the more typical box-to-box midfielder role well so far this year.

Cleverley's mobility and quick, precise passing game has been a helpful tool in attack for the Red Devils—as have his defensive skills, currently sitting second in the team for tackles per match.

Like Carrick, he too has an excellent pass completion percentage (92 percent) and sits second in the team for average passes per match.

His relationship with the veteran Carrick will be crucial for United's Premier League chances this season; so far it's been a solid start in my eyes and one that will continue to yield great rewards throughout the year.

3. Rafael Da Silva

Prior to the start of the Premier League season this year, I strongly advocated that Rafael da Silva should not be started at right-back for United this year—feeling that Phil Jones offered greater defensive stability and was simply a better player than Rafael. 

But following on from his strong performances with Brazil at the 2012 London Olympics, the young defender has been superb for the Red Devils so far this year and for mine, has been their best defender through the opening three matches.

Yes, he attacks sometimes when he probably should and yes, he did make that shocker of a mistake against Southampton, but once you consider all that he brings to the team and their attack, the positives far outweigh the negatives for Rafael this year.

The 22-year-old currently sits top two in the team for tackles and interceptions per game, but also in chances created, pass completion percentage and goals. He is becoming an invaluable asset in both attack and defense, and has solidified his position at right-back for the time being because of it.

2. Robin Van Persie

Robin van Persie's transfer from Arsenal to Manchester United this summer was one of the most talked about, discussed and analyzed moves in the history of the Premier League. How he would fit with Wayne Rooney, Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson were all scrutinized and Van Persie entered Old Trafford with a great deal of expectation surrounding him because of it.

Through two games, Van Persie has silenced his critics—emphatically booting a hat-trick against Southampton that really, should have been four goals if he hadn't botched his penalty attempt. Those three goals added to his previous goal against Fulham—giving him four for the season and establishing himself as one to the premier strikers in the league once more.

He is also averaging 1.3 chances created per game for his United teammates—proving that his addition to the Red Devils squad is one that will produce great reward this season. And with four goals in two matches, you'd have to say that those rewards are already starting to be seen.

1. Shinji Kagawa

But as good and exciting Robin van Persie has been through the opening few games of the English Premier League, nobody has been greater at Manchester United this year than Shinji Kagawa—United's "other" transfer over the summer transfer window.

Kagawa has quickly become the heart and soul of United's attack—the driving force behind their creativity and go-foward, and is thriving with quality players around him.

The Japanese international already has a goal this year, as well as an average of 1.7 chances created per match. He is completing his passes at over 90 percent completion rate and sits in the top few players at United for average match rating this year.

But those numbers aside, Kagawa has been United's best player because he has become their most important player this year. He has become their drive through the middle could be the attacking spark that they were desperately missing last season in their attack. 

Time will tell whether Ferguson's summer signing can win the Premier League title for United in his first year at the club, but at just 23 years of age, Kagawa no doubt has a bright future at Old Trafford. And if he continues to play as well as he has done to start this season, his name may echo around the Manchester club for several more seasons to come.

Shinji Kagawa Is More Important To United Than RVP

    This summer, in what was probably one of the biggest moves in the history of the Premier League, Manchester United managed to sign Dutch striker, Robin van Persie, from bitter rivals Arsenal for a total fee of £24m.

In all the excitement of his arrival, the pundits seemed to almost completely forget about United’s other key summer signing, Shinji Kagawa, who has already impressed in both of his appearances for the Red Devils in the league so far this season.

Believe it or not, despite not being the headline grabber that van Persie has been, Kagawa has the potential to have more of an impact on the United fray this season than RVP does.

Van Persie is a world class player who has been brought to the club to finish chances and bring United’s goal tally to a championship winning level.

However, should van Persie somehow fail to live up to the hype – or simply just pick up an injury or need a rest from play – then United will always have Wayne Rooney, a player of a similar calibre to RVP, to step into his place and take up the reigns of lead goal scorer.

In essence, the signing of van Persie has guaranteed that, barring a hugely unlikely spree of injuries, United will now always have a quality man upfront to bang in the goals on a regular basis.

However, what Kagawa provides is so much more than this.

Kagawa is the man behind those goals, the very reason that they will come to be in the first place.

It’s Shinji’s creative play that sets up goals, and with the likes of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes now coming so close to retirement, the Japanese International will have to step up to the plate almost immediately.

On Sunday night Barcelona took on Osasuna in a match that should of, in theory, been a relative walk over for the Spanish giants.

However, with star player Xavi absent from proceedings Barcelona were forced into changing their style of play in favour of risky long balls and mad runs at the Osasuna defence.

Without their playmaker and key man in terms of keeping possession, they crumbled, and were saved only when Lionel Messi managed to step it up a gear and grab a brace of goals for a more than lucky victory.

An example much closer to home would be United’s very own Paul Scholes.

Last season United were severely lacking any sort of creative midfield player when Tom Cleverly picked up an injury in a 5-0 victory over Bolton early on in the season.

With no apparent replacement for the role, Sir Alex managed to convince the legend Scholes to come out of retirement.

The Ginger Ninja shone once again for United, and managed to bring them within inches of winning the Premier League title once more.

The point I'm making is that these sides, however heaped full of talent they are, cannot function to the maximum without that key centrally minded midfielder.

               This season Scholes will more than likely take a back seat to the new crop of United players.

In his first two matches for the club, Kagawa managed to hold up the ball brilliantly in the middle of the park, retaining possession for United and providing both the centre forwards and the wingers with plenty of opportunities to carve out attacks.

His partnership with Tom Cleverly (a player that despite showing immense talent, will not have the same effect as Kagawa on the side) has the potential to be one of the most important in the Premier League this season for any team.

Sure, van Persie will be an out of this world signing for the Red Devils, he will net countless goals and continue his reign as one of the most deadly strikers in Premier League history.

But Kagawa is the glue that will hold the Manchester United side together this year.

His role wont be as noticeable, or perhaps even as memorable, as the contributions that the striker will make. But it will be utterly crucial.

Without van Persie, United will always have Rooney. Without Kagawa, United are somewhat up a creek without a paddle.