There may be a few contenders but nobody has exceeded expectations at West Ham United this season as much as Aaron Cresswell.
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So much so that not even David Moyes could argue he saw this coming.
Once a speedy, rampaging, evergreen left-back for West Ham, Cresswell has seen his star fade in recent seasons.
His recent demise can be charted back to a serious knee injury sustained after a brainless foul on the Liverpudlian during a meaningless pre-season friendly after West Ham had left Upton Park in the summer of 2016.
The rise, fall and resurgence of the Merseyside Maldini
The truth is Cresswell has not looked the same player since. Until now.
He has been revolutionised as West Ham’s left-sided centre-back in Moyes’s successful new wing wing-back formation.
Less exposed defensively, Cresswell is required to do less running up and down the wing – where he faces some of the quickest players in the league on a regular basis – and has more space when he does venture forward to send in crosses.
That has led to three assists in recent matches.
He is many fans’s tip for Hammer of the Year based on performances so far.
And an astonishing new statistic has shed light on just what a remarkable campaign the defender is enjoying to this point.
Cresswell makes astonishing list of Prem’s most creative players
That’s after it emerged that Cresswell, nicknamed the Merseyside Maldini by West Ham fans, is in the top nine Prem players when it comes to chances created this season.
Cresswell has created 17 chances for his teammates. That puts him joint eighth on the list with Everton’s playmaker James Rodriguez.
The West Ham star is the only defender on the list. And he is just four behind the man at the top, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (21).
Cresswell’s name is up in lights alongside the likes of Harry Kane, Bruno Fernandes, Heung-Min Son, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish.
Not only does it highlight excellent management from Moyes and performance levels from Creswell, it also begs the question why has Gareth Southgate left him out of the England squad.
Somebody forgot to tell Southgate
Cresswell has been called up twice for England under Southgate. And one of the reasons Southgate gave was that he had been so impressed by the West Ham man’s performances as a left-side centre-back in a three during Moyes’s first stint in charge.
Yet when he is showing his best form for years, he is ignored. The likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles – who has not had much game time for Arsenal – and Keiran Trippier – who is in a similar situation at Atletico Madrid, have been called up.
One man who does believe Cresswell should be away with the Three Lions is Match of the Day pundit Jermaine Jenas.
The former Spurs man waxed lyrical about Cresswell on MOTD.
“We’ve had (Keiran) Trippier playing at left-back at times for England and this guy’s (Cresswell) playing out of his skin,” Jenas told Match of the Day after Gary Lineker suggested the West Ham star ‘must be knocking on the door for England’.
“We’ve got here a player who is playing left of a three, he can play left-back and he’s almost one of West Ham’s most creative players.
“What a strike (he hit on the volley), we saw one of his set pieces he whipped in there, he’s got to deal with Mitrovic at the back post (and) the positioning he gets himself into has been brilliant.
“And he’s a threat! He’s been a threat to every team that he’s come up against.
“He gets himself into these midfield positions and he just could have put the icing on the cake (with his free-kick which went close).”
It has been a remarkable resurgence for a hugely popular player at West Ham.
Long may it continue.
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