Top 90: The best players in the Premier League - 40-31 ranked

It's fairly common knowledge at this point that the Premier League is, by quite a distance, the best league in the world.

The league is home to the European champions, teams who can spend a combined £1.5bn on new players this summer, the best manager possibly of all time (Pep Guardiola), and - perhaps most importantly - the best footballers in the world.

Ahead of the 2023/24 season we at 90min thought we'd have a crack at predicting who the top 90 players will be in the Premier League next season.

Here's the rankings from 40-31:

CHECK OUT 90MIN'S PREMIER LEAGUE TOP 90

40. Kai Havertz

Club: Arsenal
Position: Forward

Yes, we agree, £65m was a lot to spend on a player who looked completely out of sorts at Chelsea last season.

However, while he form was pretty abysmal in his first year at the Blues, there is clearly a player somewhere within Kai Havertz and we're backing the tactical brilliance of Mikel Arteta to bring it out of him.*

*Provided he isn't used as a false nine, because that's a terrible idea.

39. Ederson

Club: Manchester City
Position: Goalkeeper

Ederson is arguably the greatest ever footballer to play in goal.

That is quite a bold statement, but it's not necessarily wrong as Ederson wouldn't look out of place playing outfield - something which basically every other keeper ever would look out of place doing.

The Man City number one is crucial to the way his team play.

38. Joao Palhinha

Club: Fulham
Position: Midfielder

In his first Premier League season, Joao Palhinha completed nearly 40 more tackles and interceptions than anyone else in the division.

That is staggering.

Expect similarly staggering breaking up of play in the middle of the park during the 2023/24 season too.

37. Thiago Silva

Club: Chelsea
Position: Defender

Thiago Silva is now 38 years old, and yet you'd struggled to find a football fan who didn't think he was still world class.

The Brazilian is the leader of Chelsea's backline and the likes of Levi Colwill will excel during 2023/24 thanks to playing alongside him.

36. Luke Shaw

Club: Manchester United
Position: Defender

There was a genuine case to be made for Luke Shaw as Manchester United's Player of the Year last time out. He was utterly outstanding for Erik ten Hag's side.

Be it at centre-back or left-back, Shaw has developed into one of the most dependable defenders in the Premier League under Ten Hag.

35. Nathan Ake

Club: Manchester City
Position: Defender

The Premier League's greatest ever pianist, and also one of the better defenders in the division as well.

Get a man who can do both.

34. Sven Botman

Club: Newcastle United
Position: Defender

Sven Botman has been one of the better signings made by Newcastle United since the Saudi takeover of the club.

He'll continue to be their main man at the heart of their defence in the upcoming season.

33. Son Heung-min

Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Position: Wide forward

Coming off the back of arguably the worst year of his Tottenham career, it would be easy to write Son Heung-min off as 'finished', 'washed' etc.

However, under tutelage of a manager who is all about his attackers scoring goals in Ange Postecoglou - his Celtic team scored over 100 league goals in both his campaigns in charge - one can expect Son to be back to his best very soon.

32. Reece James

Club: Chelsea
Position: Defender

Had injuries not been a factor, Reece James would probably be a top 20 player in the Premier League.

Unfortunately, however, they very much have as the full-back missed 25 games last season with a myriad of ailments. If he can stay fitter this time round, he could flourish under new manager Mauricio Pochettino.

31. Alexander Isak

Club: Newcastle United
Position: Forward

Some players are just built for the Premier League - Alexander Isak is one of those players.

Rangy, quick, and deadly in front of goal, Isak is thriving on Tyneside and only looks set to get better and better with each passing year.