Martinelli, Robertson, Sterling: Every Premier League manager’s most-improved player | OneFootball

Premier League players Gabriel Martinelli, Tyrone Mings and Joelinton.

Here is a list of every Premier League manager and which current player they have improved the most during their time at the club. Pretty simple, really.

Mikel Arteta – Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) Gabriel Martinelli has established himself as one of the best wingers in the Premier League under Mikel Arteta. The Brazilian international was actually brought to the club by Unai Emery but the current Arsenal manager’s extraordinary work has helped Martinelli elevate his game to a very impressive level.

When Arteta joined the club, fans knew he was a genius with wide players, helping Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane at Manchester City, and the story has continued at Arsenal. Martinelli, along with Bukayo Saka, has been absolutely outstanding under the guidance of the Spaniard.

Unai Emery – Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa) Tyrone Mings’ Aston Villa career looked to be coming to a disappointing end with Steven Gerrard at the helm. Dropped, stripped of the captaincy, and out of the England squad, Mings – along with the vast majority of the club’s fanbase – would have been delighted to see the Liverpool legend binned.

Unai Emery replaced Gerrard and made Mings an important player in his back four. Typically, the 30-year-old suffered a serious knee injury in August and is not expected to play again this season.

Andoni Iraola – N/A (Bournemouth) Bournemouth have been bloody crap under Andoni Iraola. He is somehow not the favourite to be the next Premier League manager to leave.

Thomas Frank – Ivan Toney (Brentford) Brentford’s business in the Premier League has been shrewd, relying on Thomas Frank’s ability to develop players into competent Premier League stars. Ivan Toney was a reliable goalscorer for Peterborough United but it would be fair to say that nobody predicted his incredible rise to stardom.

Now one of the best strikers in the Premier League, Toney has thrived in a Bees system set up to suit his style of play as a complete No. 9. Should he get a big-money move to Arsenal or Chelsea, the England international will have Frank to thank.

Roberto De Zerbi – Solly March (Brighton) Rarely does a new manager come in to a club doing exceptionally well, but that is what happened when Roberto De Zerbi joined Brighton following Graham Potter’s switch to Chelsea. Nobody expected the Italian to eclipse the great work done by the former Premier League full-back at the Amex, yet here we are.

De Zerbi’s biggest success story when it comes to an individual player is definitely Solly March, who can count himself unlucky to still be uncapped by England. The right winger has added goals and assists to his game and is a key cog in an impressive Brighton system.

Vincent Kompany – Lyle Foster (Burnley) Signed for around £10million in January, Burnley fans were not too sure when the club took a punt on South African striker Lyle Foster. The owners weren’t fully convinced either, but such is their faith in Vincent Kompany, they gifted their manager the player he desperately wanted.

Foster hardly won over the supporters during the second half of last season, scoring once in 11 Championship appearances. However, after a full pre-season and a great deal of faith shown in him by Kompany, the 23-year-old has started 2023/24 very brightly and if Burnley avoid relegation, his form will be a massive reason why.

Mauricio Pochettino – Raheem Sterling (Chelsea) It’s early days for Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea and to say the player who has improved the most under his guidance is a 28-year-old with 118 Premier League goals feels a bit ludicrous, doesn’t it?

But taking into account his debut season at Stamford Bridge, not his incredible career at Manchester City, Sterling looks like a player full of confidence once again. Settling into a club in disarray and working hard obviously plays a part, though it has to be said that Pochettino has had a positive impact on the England star.

Roy Hodgson – Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace) Eberechi Eze was hardly poor for Crystal Palace before Roy Hodgson’s return by any stretch of the imagination. Having said that, it would be fair to say his game has been elevated to another level since March.

Now a full England international, Eze has bounced back from a nasty Achilles injury to become Palace’s most important player.

Sean Dyche – Abdoulaye Doucoure (Everton) Although he steered them to safety last term, Everton have not improved that much under Sean Dyche. But one player who has improved is former Watford midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure, pushed further forward by the former Burnley boss.

Doucoure scored the goal to keep the Toffees in the Premier League on the final day of 22/23 and three goals in eight games this term is a very decent return for a player who has always been a bit underrated by rival fans.

Marco Silva – Willian (Fulham) There can’t be many people who predicted Willian’s redemption in the Premier League when he returned to Corinthians in August 2021 after agreeing to terminate his Arsenal contract. There is no point pulling any punches is there? He was bloody crap for the Gunners. Everyone thought he was done. Enter Fulham.

Marco Silva surprisingly brought Willian back to London last September and neither party has looked back since. Five goals and six assists in 27 Premier League appearances last term was a very handy return for a player we laughed at when he returned to Our League.

Jurgen Klopp – Andy Robertson (Liverpool) Nearly every Liverpool player to be managed by Jurgen Klopp has become a better player than anyone imagined. Mohamed Salah joined with high expectations and he might leave as the best winger in Premier League history. Nobody saw that one coming. Sadio Mane, Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are three more examples.

Klopp’s incredible work at Anfield made this one of the toughest selections out of all 20 clubs, so forgive us if you disagree. Signed for peanuts from Hull City, Andy Robertson blossomed into the best left-back in world football in a team perfect for his energetic style of play.

Rob Edwards – Alfie Doughty (Luton) In our Premier League Team of the Season so far, Alfie Doughty is a player most Premier League followers could not pick out of a line-up.

The 23-year-old barely played during the first half of 22/23 but Rob Edwards’ arrival saw him become a crucial player in Luton Town’s remarkable promotion from the Championship. Edwards decided to sign Ryan Giles for a club-record fee but he has swiftly become second-choice left-back behind Doughty.

Pep Guardiola – John Stones (Manchester City) Pep Guardiola has made nearly every player he has managed better but his biggest success story at Manchester City is arguably John Stones.

Now a world-class player, Stones was regarded as a waste of £50m with some pundits doubting his long-term future in the England team after being caught out playing from the back a couple of times.

He is now England’s best defender and has also proved himself to be a handy defensive midfielder under Guardiola, the bloody genius.

Erik ten Hag – Aaron Wan Bissaka (Manchester United) Speaking of throwing £50m down the drain…

When Erik ten Hag arrived in Manchester, Diogo Dalot was United’s first-choice right-back but a hamstring injury gave Aaron Wan-Bissaka his chance to impress, and impress he did.

“He’s like a fish riding a bike,” is one of the many hurtful – and pretty funny – things said about Wan-Bissaka’s ability on the ball. He wasn’t effective in the final third and couldn’t dribble to save himself, but since Ten Hag’s arrival, the England hopeful has become very competent offensively. Coincidence? Maybe.

Eddie Howe – Joelinton (Newcastle United) The job Eddie Howe has done at St James’ Park is nothing short of fantastic. Obviously, he has been given a lot of money to spend but Newcastle’s Champions League thumping of Paris Saint-Germain emphasised how great a coach the ex-Bournemouth boss is, with Miguel Almiron, Dan Burn, Sean Longstaff and Fabian Schar all getting on the scoresheet.

Burn is the only player out of those four not at the club when Howe arrived, though he was signed for a measly £12m with very low expectations. Almiron, Longstaff and Schar all had a great chance of being our pick here, but we have opted for a player who was absent from the 4-1 win over the French champions.

Joelinton was a struggling forward upon Howe’s arrival and the Magpies boss actually stumbled upon a superb box-to-box midfielder when he moved the Brazilian back into midfield after Ciaran Clark received an early red card in a Premier League six-pointer at home to Norwich City.

The player was written off after costing Newcastle a club-record £40m but with some incredible coaching from Howe and hard work from Joelinton, he has blossomed into a terrific piece of business. Who’d have thought it?

Steve Cooper – Ryan Yates (Nottingham Forest) It is quite the achievement for Ryan Yates that he has played so much for Nottingham Forest in the Premier League considering the number of signings they have made since returning to the top flight.

He wasn’t always an important player for Forest and that really came to fruition when Steve Cooper arrived in September 2021. Yates played a big part in the club’s promotion and he has remained influential in the big league.

Paul Heckingbottom – James McAtee (Sheffield United) The only loanee on this list, Sheffield United managed to land James McAtee for the season after an impressive stint at Bramall Lane in 22/23.

This could be a case of a player simply developing and the loan system doing what it’s supposed to do, but Paul Heckingbottom clearly knows how to get a tune out of the 20-year-old. McAtee didn’t quite make the Morgan Gibbs-White impact but nine goals and three assists in 37 Championship games last term was a nice return.

Ange Postecoglou – Yves Bissouma (Tottenham) Big Ange has not been in north London very long but he has made a massive impact. A lot of players who struggled under Antonio Conte clearly have a new lease of life under the Aussie and Yves Bissouma is probably the best example.

Obviously, he had his injury problems last season so the comparisons are a bit harsh but when he was available, he looked lost in Conte’s dysfunctional system. Under Postecoglou, the former Brighton midfielder has shone greater than anyone could have predicted. Stats don’t lie.

David Moyes – Jarrod Bowen (West Ham) After an uninspiring spell in charge of West Ham between November 2017 and May 2018, David Moyes returned to the London Stadium in December 2019. It was viewed as an underwhelming appointment but what a second bite at the cherry it has been.

The experienced Scot has coached a lot of average players into top Premier League talents and the greatest example of this is Jarrod Bowen, who joined the Hammers from Hull City for around £22m.

The 26-year-old – who recently penned a new seven-year contract – has 45 goals for West Ham, none of which were any more important than his late winner in last season’s Europa Conference League final.

Michail Antonio is perhaps a little unfortunate to miss out here; there was a spell under Moyes where he was absolutely unplayable.

Gary O’Neil – Hwang Hee-chan (Wolves) Former Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil has not been at Molineux very long, replacing Julen Lopetegui a couple of days before the new Premier League campaign kicked off. Pedro Neto has been outstanding and his best player, but he has always been pretty decent, it’s just been injuries holding him back in recent years.

Scoring goals was identified as Wolves’ biggest problem before the season but Hwang Hee-chan has done his best to solve said problem, netting five times in eight top-flight appearances this term.

Out of all the new managers, this was probably the hardest to pick. Mario Lemina has also been pretty damn good under O’Neil, for what it’s worth.