It was a Premier League campaign which began on a Friday night back in August with a team from the south playing their first top-flight match for more than 70 years and ended last Sunday with the final decisive pass of the whole campaign coming in the north from a Belgian wizard – the culmination of six mad, magical and monumental minutes.
And if the latter is arguably the finest footballer in the world at the moment, then some of his peers also had campaigns worthy of note.
But who makes my top four midfielders amidst the excitement of yet another breathless campaign.
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Of course, this is the only place to start.
Not only did he enjoy his best-ever goalscoring season in the Premier League (15), but he created more chances per 90 minutes than any other player (3.6 – excluding players to feature in fewer than 500 minutes).
The superlatives continue to be written for a player whom Chelsea decided to sell in 2014 after just five starts for the club.
Despite their success over the past decade, how they must rue the one that got away.
When the title race was coming down to the term coined by Sit Alex Ferguson as ‘squeaky bum time’, De Bruyne was a class apart.
In fact, in the words of one Guardian reporter, his display in the 5-1 win at Wolves with three games remaining – when he scored four of his side’s goals – was the best individual performance I have seen for some time.
Sheer quality.
Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace)
Thomas Tuchel has confirmed he wants Gallagher in Chelsea’s squad for next season and it’s easy to see why after a campaign in which he was responsible for many of the Eagles’ Premier League 2022 highlights.
Certainly, he set the tone for a number of the key moments in the epicentre of midfield at Palace – where he spent the season on loan – and under the tutelage of Patrick Vieira, improved his all-around game.
His best moment? Perhaps his screamer against Everton – curled in off the bar from outside the box after he won back possession high up the pitch – or his first touch to set up a strike against Watford, killing a cross stone dead and shimmying past an opponent in one glorious swoosh, before lashing the ball into the top corner.
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham)
It has been a season when many of the plaudits emanating from east London began with Declan Rice.
And I must admit that, while I’ve not seen much of the West Ham and England man, he impressed me when I saw him playing in a match at Old Trafford in January.
It was ironic as I did not mention him once in my match report that day but the influence of the 23-year-old – who is set to permanently take over the captain duties when Mark Noble retires – was quietly yet highly effective and it is no wonder he is attracting a lot of interest from some of England’s top clubs.
However, for me, his team-mate Bowen pips him after a season in which he netted 18 goals and provided 13 assists for the Hammers in all competitions.
After being in contention for the previous England squad in March before being ruled out with a fractured foot bone, he thoroughly deserves his call-up this week for forthcoming fixtures against Hungary, Germany and Italy.
Honourable mentions go to Christian Eriksen whose arrival at Brentford in January on a short-term deal – a little more than six months after his cardiac arrest during Euro 2020 – added a level of quality to the Bees and renewed impetus in their bid to survive; Fabinho, Liverpool’s best midfielder and the man who makes them tick; and Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse, whose dead-ball expertise was the best in the league and lifted the Saints at vital moments.
But my final place goes to – and this may surprise you…
Raphinha (Leeds)
Yes, his form may have faded during the final months of the campaign but he was Leeds’ savior for so long during the first six months of the season and again showed his worth by winning and converting a penalty at Brentford on the final day.
This SBOTOP writer – and presumably most Premier League 2022 betting odds – thought Leeds were safe by the second week of April, yet a comfortable win at soon-to-be relegated Watford was followed by an awful run of form which left them in the drop zone going into the final day.
Over the course of the season, Raphinha also weighed in with three assists and only Illan Meslier and Stuart Dallas played more minutes. The Brazilian international was not at his brilliant best as much, especially in the second half of the season, but the winger finished with a bang and without him, they would almost certainly have bowed out of the top flight.
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