What a season it has been so far for Southampton and Danny Ings.
The Saints have marched into the Premier League’s top four, helped by the five goals of in-form striker Ings, who has been rated by you as the player of the season so far.
Taking the averages of scores from BBC Sport’s Player Rater, four members of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side feature in the overall top 10, with Southampton players appearing in each positional category too.
Players from league leaders Leicester have also impressed, including 19-year-old defender Wesley Fofana, who has an overall average of 7.21.
Players need to have made at least four top-flight appearances this season to be included on the lists.
A word of caution for Manchester United supporters, you may want to turn away, as we took a look back through the player ratings from Premier League matches.
Top 10 players overall
| Danny Ings | Southampton | 7.76 |
| Jamie Vardy | Leicester | 7.45 |
| Michail Antonio | West Ham | 7.42 |
| Jannik Vestergaard | Southampton | 7.34 |
| Christian Fuchs | Leicester | 7.33 |
| Edouard Mendy | Chelsea | 7.25 |
| Jack Grealish | Aston Villa | 7.25 |
| James Ward-Prowse | Southampton | 7.24 |
| Wesley Fofana | Leicester | 7.21 |
| Stuart Armstrong | Southampton | 7.19 |
Ings tops the overall list and may well have been included in the England squad for the forthcoming international fixtures, were it not for a knee injury.
However, there is no space in the top 10 for the in-form Harry Kane and Tottenham team-mate Son Heung-min, who is joint top scorer in the division with eight goals, alongside Liverpool’s prolific front man Mohamed Salah and Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Leicester full-back Christian Fuchs is probably the most surprising name on that top 10 list. The 34-year-old considered leaving the Foxes when his contract expired last summer, but keeping the Austrian on for another year looks to be an inspired move by boss Brendan Rodgers.
Top 10 goalkeepers
| Edouard Mendy | Chelsea | 7.25 |
| Emiliano Martinez | Aston Villa | 6.95 |
| Alisson | Liverpool | 6.75 |
| Alex McCarthy | Southampton | 6.63 |
| Kasper Schmeichel | Leicester | 6.61 |
| Illan Meslier | Leeds | 6.5 |
| Lukasz Fabianski | West Ham | 6.49 |
| Rui Patricio | Wolves | 6.42 |
| Karl Darlow | Newcastle | 6.36 |
| Vicente Guaita | Crystal Palace | 6.02 |
Chelsea’s new signing Edouard Mendy is the Premier League goalkeeper who has impressed you most this season, with a 7.25 average, steadying the side after replacing the calamitous Kepa Arrizabalaga (average of 3.11 from his three games).
Leeds’ Illan Meslier and Newcastle Karl Darlow have also done well enough to warrant a place in the top 10.
Of goalkeepers to make four or more appearances, Everton’s Jordan Pickford has the lowest average rating of 4.6.
Manchester United number one David de Gea does not fare much better with an average rating of 4.78.
Top 10 full-backs
| Christian Fuchs | Leicester | 7.33 |
| Kyle Walker-Peters | Southampton | 7.04 |
| Tariq Lamptey | Brighton | 7.02 |
| Timothy Castagne | Leicester | 6.99 |
| Vladimir Coufal | West Ham | 6.94 |
| Ben Chilwell | Chelsea | 6.93 |
| Arthur Masuaku | West Ham | 6.78 |
| Matty Cash | Aston Villa | 6.61 |
| Ryan Bertrand | Southampton | 6.58 |
| Stuart Dallas | Leeds | 6.56 |
As mentioned, Fuchs has had an excellent start to the season and there is no surprise that Leicester team-mate Timothy Castagne and the man he replaced, Ben Chilwell of Chelsea, are also in.
Despite Brighton’s lowly position of 16th, Tariq Lamptey has been a bright spark for the Seagulls.
Consistency is key, perfectly highlighted by the fact that Liverpool’s dynamic duo Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson, who were both named in the PFA Team of the Year last season, do not make the top 10 so far this campaign after a poor showing in the 7-2 thrashing by Aston Villa.
Alexander-Arnold was given a rating of 2.33 in that game and Robertson 3.13, dragging their average ratings down.
Top 10 centre-backs
| Jannick Vestergaard | Southampton | 7.34 |
| Wesley Fofana | Leicester | 7.21 |
| Fabian Balbuena | West Ham | 6.89 |
| Tyrone Mings | Aston Villa | 6.69 |
| Max Kilman | Wolves | 6.69 |
| Jan Bednarek | Southampton | 6.64 |
| Thiago Silva | Chelsea | 6.62 |
| Ezri Konsa | Aston Villa | 6.6 |
| Angelo Ogbonna | West Ham | 6.5 |
| Conor Coady | Wolves | 6.46 |
Southampton pairing Jannick Vestergaard and Jan Bednarek both make the top 10 for centre-backs after making strong starts to the new campaign.
Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa is another defensive pairing that appear, as does the experienced Brazilian Thiago Silva, who signed on a free for Chelsea.
Of centre-backs to play four or more games this season, Chelsea’s Andreas Christensen has the lowest average rating of 4.03, closely followed by Fulham’s Michael Hector (4.11) and Manchester United captain Harry Maguire (4.15).
Top 10 defensive/central midfielders
| James Ward-Prowse | Southampton | 7.24 |
| Stuart Armstrong | Southampton | 7.19 |
| Oriol Romeu | Southampton | 6.94 |
| Dennis Praet | Leicester | 6.81 |
| Youri Tielemans | Leicester | 6.77 |
| Declan Rice | West Ham | 6.75 |
| Mateusz Klich | Leeds | 6.6 |
| John McGinn | Aston Villa | 6.44 |
| Jordan Henderson | Liverpool | 6.34 |
| James McCarthy | Crystal Palace | 6.32 |
Southampton midfielders take the top three slots with free-kick king James Ward-Prowse topping the position with the highest average rating, followed by Scotland international Stuart Armstrong and Spaniard Oriol Romeu.
It has been a strong start for title-winning captain Jordan Henderson too, his performances for Liverpool so far enough to claim ninth place.
Some Manchester United players have had a shocker so far and the trend continues in midfield.
The Premier League’s most expensive player Paul Pogba has featured in all seven league games for the club this season but is the central midfielder with the lowest average rating… by far.
The France World Cup winner averages 3.64, with a highest rating of 5.37 achieved in the 4-1 win over Newcastle.
Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks is next, but with a slightly healthier average rating of 4.37.
Top 10 attacking midfielders/wingers
| Jack Grealish | Aston Villa | 7.25 |
| Son Heung-min | Tottenham | 7.04 |
| James Rodriguez | Everton | 6.95 |
| James Maddison | Leicester | 6.93 |
| Mahmoud Trezeguet | Aston Villa | 6.89 |
| Marc Albrighton | Leicester | 6.88 |
| Nathan Redmond | Southampton | 6.86 |
| Jarrod Bowen | West Ham | 6.78 |
| Harvey Barnes | Leicester | 6.78 |
| Hakim Ziyech | Chelsea | 6.75 |
With four goals and five assists so far, Villa skipper Jack Grealish tops the ratings for attacking midfielders, with Everton’s Colombia international James Rodriguez also impressing.
Wingers have been included in this category too which is why Spurs’ Son, Villa’s Mahmoud Trezeguet and Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech appear.
Top 10 forwards
| Danny Ings | Southampton | 7.75 |
| Jamie Vardy | Leicester | 7.45 |
| Michail Antonio | West Ham | 7.42 |
| Sadio Mane | Liverpool | 7.19 |
| Che Adams | Southampton | 7.16 |
| Ollie Watkins | Aston Villa | 6.86 |
| Richarlison | Everton | 6.85 |
| Patrick Bamford | Leeds | 6.82 |
| Rodrigo | Leeds | 6.8 |
| Dominic Calvert-Lewin | Everton | 6.76 |
Sadio Mane, Patrick Bamford and Calvert-Lewin make the top 10, but there are some surprises too.
Leeds’ club record signing Rodrigo is the ninth highest-rating forward, despite scoring just one goal so far this season.
Two key top-flight players are edged out with Liverpool’s Salah in 11th (6.75) and Tottenham’s England skipper Kane 12th (6.73).
Villa striker Ollie Watkins has achieved the single highest rating of any player this season with 9.3 for his hat-trick in the 7-2 demolition of champions Liverpool.
Leicester are the current Premier League leaders and from the club’s title-winning team of 2015-16, Kasper Schmeichel, Fuchs, Marc Albrighton and Jamie Vardy have all made appearances in the top-10 categories.
Can they go all the way again?
