Premier League: The biggest surprises of the season so far

• Football is a sport where things can change rapidly.
• We’ve looked into the biggest surprises of the first few months of the Premier League season.

Football is a sport where things can change rapidly. Already this season, a number of pre-season viewpoints about the Premier League have been proven to be incredibly incorrect.

We’ve looked into the biggest surprises of the first few months of the Premier League season.

Spurs doing well without Kane

James Maddison and Son celebrate in Spurs’ victory over Fulham. Photo/ Eurosport.

Despite Harry Kane’s incredible talent, Spurs struggled to an eighth-place finish in the Premier League the previous season. After the England captain equaled his career high of 30 goals in the Premier League, the general consensus when Kane left for Bayern Munich was one of doom and despair.

Expectations were low as Spurs conducted a chaotic second search for a new head coach, failing to entice Luis Enrique, Arne Slot, or Julian Nagelsmann in favor of Ange Postecoglou.

Could Spurs continue without goals from Kane? Untested at the highest level, was Postecoglou truly the best person to guide the team into the future?

Over the first few weeks of the season, Spurs has shown to be one of the most remarkable teams in the league under the new manager, providing a clear response to both of those questions. Despite their recent wobble of back-to-back losses due to injury concerns, the north Londoners have triumphed, and they have done so in style, to lie two points behind the top.

Due to his front-footed style of play and genuine nature, Postecoglou, has gained immense popularity. The 58-year-old is charming off the field and daring when he steps onto it. Until now, no manager has ever started a campaign with more than one month’s worth of Premier League Manager of the Month recognition.

Brentford without Toney

Brentford beat Chelsea 2-0. Photo/ Eurosport.

Similar to Spurs, Brentford also lost their go-to goal threat in the summer, but it wasn’t their fault. Ivan Toney’s finest season was cut short by an eight-month suspension for violating the Football Association’s gambling policies, which kept the striker out of action until January.

Toney earned his first cap for England by scoring 20 league goals in the previous season—only Kane and Erling Haaland scored more. Unlike Spurs, Brentford was obliged to replace Toney’s goals without having to pay a large transfer price. The 27-year-old has scored 32 goals in 66 top-flight outings for the Bees.

After spending last season on loan, Kevin Schade signed a club-record contract with Brentford; nonetheless, the 21-year-old is still developing and has just once scored in 23 Premier League games. Rather, Yoanne Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo have come through for Thomas Frank’s team, scoring nine Premier League goals among them and posing a serious danger when combined in the last third.

Brentford are comfortably in mid-table, as near to the Champions League spots as they are to the relegation zone. The Bees have avoided difficulty thanks to Brentford’s ability to adapt and find other avenues to goal.

Cole Palmer signing of the season?

Cole Palmer scored a late penalty against his boyhood club Manchester City. Photo/ BNN Breaking.

Cole Palmer’s £42.5 million move to Chelsea took many by surprise, although it was believed that he would leave Manchester City in the summer due to his ambition to play in the first team.

Palmer had just made three starts in the Premier League for Manchester City, and even with Chelsea’s record-breaking expenditure, the sum seemed high given his obvious potential. The 21-year-old’s decision to go to west London has paid off in just three months, as Palmer has gone from being an unimportant option at the Etihad to a crucial member of Chelsea’s squad.

With six Premier League appearances under his belt, Palmer has been outstanding for Mauricio Pochettino’s team, tallying four goals and dishing out two assists. Palmer has scored all of his goals from the penalty spot, but he has the maturity and self-assurance to assume leadership in these circumstances.

Palmer has flourished under the limelight at Stamford Bridge, as seen by his last-minute equalizer from the spot against Manchester City last weekend. His easy transition has also earned him his first senior England call-up this week.

Palmer had progressed to a point where he was too talented to be a bench warmer, but he had not gained the full confidence of Guardiola, who added Jeremy Doku to his offensive options in the summer. Chelsea was rewarded for taking a gamble. Pochettino may want to center his team around him.