As the Premier League season creeps up, seasonal previews for clubs and players are flooding in.
Here, we’ve looked at six midfielders who are set for big 2013-14 campaigns, be it due to a change of system, great form at the end of last year or just natural growth.
The stars of the league have been covered to an enormous extent, but who are you expecting to pull up some trees this year?
Shinji Kagawa
Shinji Kagawa’s 2012-13 season with Manchester United was thoroughly disappointing, but the player himself is not to blame.
Sir Alex Ferguson played him out of position for the large majority of his appearances and the Japan international struggled to get a foothold in the side.
Injuries, unfamiliar roles and long treks to East Asia for international duty took their toll, but many expect Kagawa to be a key player for David Moyes United this season—and rightly so.
If he’s played in his preferred position, the No. 10 role, he can do uncontrolled amounts of damage and provide silver service to Robin van Persie and co.
All it takes is for Moyes to gift him the freedom between the lines he needs and for Kagawa to steer clear of injury.
Raheem Sterling
Liverpool fans are excited about the prospect of a fit, rejuvenated and more experienced Raheem Sterling playing in the 2013-14 Premier League season.
He burst onto the scene last year as a raw, pacey and direct 17-year-old, netting impressive goals and keeping the club afloat while Brendan Rodgers frantically searched for another forward option to sign in January 2013.
After Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho’s arrivals game time was restricted, but Sterling got just the right amount of exposure to go back to the drawing board with and plan his improvement as a player.
Both he and Jordon Ibe have shined during Liverpool’s preseason tour this summer, and fans have high hopes for both. The addition of Iago Aspas makes it a tough ask, but if one can take their chance, they can have a season to remember.
Thanks to last year’s experience, that’s likely to be Sterling.
Jonjo Shelvey
£5 million seemed a bit of a gamble from Michael Laudrup at first, but Jonjo Shelvey has really taken to this Swansea side quickly and looked a fresh, reinvigorated talent.
Obvious concerns were predicated on his headless chicken-esque style and how it would mesh with Swansea’s calmer, more patient and incisive build up, but Shelvey looks at home already.
He’s still only 21 years of age, and while his stock has taken a bit of a hit at Anfield, he’s got plenty of time to recapture some of the aura that convinced so many he was a future star at Charlton Athletic.
Controlling a game in the Premier League is different to controlling one at the Memorial Stadium, but Shelvey has the right mix of raw talent and work ethic.
He just needs consistency, belief and games to realise it.
Aaron Ramsey
The final six weeks of the 2012-13 season showed Aaron Ramsey in his true form: rampaging, energetic, confident and incisive.
The Ryan Shawcross leg break did a real number on his self-belief, but now it appears he’s finally coming into his own once again and his progress should be a fascinating watch.
His great dynamism has ensured he flourished in a midfield box-to-box role in the months of April and May, and that should come as no surprise considering the odd right-midfield role he’d utilised beforehand.
The Gunners could still use midfield reinforcements, but very few are predicting Ramsey to have a big say this year. We are!
Jay Rodriguez
We’re sneaking Jay Rodriguez in as a midfielder, as despite his days as a No. 9 at Burnley, he’s played largely from the flanks or behind the striker for Southampton so far.
He showed flashes of brilliance last season, and on the occasion Mauricio Pochettino was able to find him a great one vs. one matchup on the pitch, he decimated using unbelievable pace and clever movement.
He’s physically superior to most, but he combines it with a decent footballing brain. Playing off Rickie Lambert he can be monstrous, and expect those “flashes” of brilliance to become streaks in 2013.
Last season’s tally of six goals and five assists could easily be doubled if Saints hit form early on.
Fabian Delph, Aston Villa
Renewed competition in the ranks at Villa Park will have Yacouba Sylla worried, but Fabian Delph can feel confident he’s set for another season-long run in the team.
He’s struggled immensely with injury and confidence levels since signing for Leeds, and Paul Lambert is the first manager to put his arm around him and try to coax the very best out of him.
It’s working, and the form Delph showed over the final 10 games of the 2012-13 season—particularly the game at the Britannia Stadium against Stoke City—was superb.
He has received the captain’s armband multiple times during preseason as Lambert introduces his usual flurries of changes, and while warmup matches give you limited information, that act of symbolism is telling.
