Adam Smith (Bournemouth): I was at Bournemouth against Man City and was mightily impressed by the Cherries. I could have put the whole Bournemouth team in but that would have been unfair. As captain at right-back Smith showed his experience and guile, he was excellent. He made Matheus Nunes look bang average, he didn’t get past him once.
Radu Dragusin (Tottenham): I think he was superb coming into a new partnership with Cristian Romero because Micky van de Ven was injured – and then Romero went off too. Dragusin equipped himself well against a very good Aston Villa team and didn’t put a foot wrong.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Southampton): He’s had a tough time this season getting to grips with the Premier League but he was really good against Everton. He was brave on the ball, playing well and defending when he needed to. Southampton’s players have to realise that you have to dig in at times – and he epitomised that.
Ola Aina (Nottingham Forest): I could have put Ipswich’s Leif Davis in and wanted to but Forest are steadily going about their business. Aina was great in the win over West Ham – he has been for a few weeks and has been unfortunate to miss out. I like to give credit to people who have showed they can do it over a period of time.
