UNDERRATED PLAYERS OF THE EPL 2014-15 SEASON SO FAR - Whitney Oladeinde (04/02/2015)

So we are 23 games into the premier league season and names such as Diego Costa, Sergio Aguero and Alexis Sanchez dominate premier league conversations in pubs, MOTD and even classrooms. However, there are always a couple of players that do not receive the praise that they deserve. Here are a couple of my top underrated players in the English Premier League this season. 

UNDERRATED GOALKEEPER (LUKASZ FABIANSKI)

I've decided to go for Lukasz Fabianski. Yup, the guy who could only make one league appearance for Arsenal last season. A free transfer for Swansea, and what a bargain that was! With 70 saves and 8 clean sheets in 21 appearances, you'd wonder why he's not been mentioned with the likes of De Gea, and Hugo Lloris. In fact, what's more interesting is that in comparison, De Gea has made 50 saves and kept 7 clean sheets in 23 appearances. Moreover, in 17 appearances, his old team mate, Wojciech Sczesny, has only made 28 saves and kept 3 clean sheets! The only real trouble I had was deciding between Fabianski and Southampton's Fraser Forster with 

10 clean sheets - the highest in the League at the moment. However, his 44 saves were what put him in a close second place for my most underrated goalkeeper. 

Fabianski's fantastic save that stopped a Benteke equaliser in injury time just shows how important he has been. After the loss of Bony to Manchester City, we're looking at a team not particularly 
known for their goal scoring capabilities, so Fabianski's solid performance at the back has been vital.

UNDERRATED MIDFIELDER (MILE JEDINAK)

Now this was a hard one. We are truly blessed with some outstanding midfielders in the premier league, so I'm not saying my choice can compare to the likes of Yaya Toure or Eden Hazard. However, in my personal opinion, he is underrated…

Mile Jedinak, Crystal Palace. Now, when you look at certain statistics, he does not even compare against those who most consider to be 
the best midfielders of the Premier League. In 18 appearances, he has scored 5 goals, assisted 2 and created 9 chances. 

I would describe these statistics as decent, BUT he’s slowly becoming one of my favourite holding midfielders. Solely because he is comfortable without the ball, he does not get frustrated or expect to always be with the ball. Against top teams where Crystal Palace may not be expected to have a great amount of possession, this can be extremely important! He’s not called the tackle machine for no reason; he has the highest number of tackles and 
interceptions for a midfielder in the Premier League. I can confidently state that without his breaking up of play, Crystal Palace would not be mid-table at the moment; they would definitely have conceded a lot more goals. 

I’ll leave you with one last question: Doesn’t Mile Jedinak add more value to Crystal Palace than Toure does to City? Which team would struggle more without them? My answer is yes, and this is 
my main reason for choosing him as my underrated midfielder.
Stay tuned for my next article on my most underrated defender and striker in the English Premier League.