2015-16 season preview: Five players who could take the Premier League by storm

One player to really benefit from Tim Sherwood’s appointment as Aston Villa boss was young Jack Grealish. Each of his seven league starts came with Sherwood at the Villa Park helm, with the 46-year-old quickly identifying the Solihull-born attacker as the player to haul the Villans to safety. Villa have moved accordingly to strengthen the attack this summer, but Grealish is one whose first team place is not expected to come under threat, despite the arrivals of Jordan Ayew and Rudy Gestede.

The 19-year-old’s offensive ability on the ball provided a further attacking outlet for Villa at the tail-end of last term, though his retention of possession was, perhaps surprisingly, one of his standout qualities. Of players to make at least five Premier League starts last season, only Mikel Arteta (93.8%) had a better pass success rate than Grealish (92.7%), a figure level with the metronomic Xavi. Opposition sides identified the teenager as Villa’s primary threat towards the end of last term, with Grealish fouled more regularly (once every 20.9 minutes) than any other player of those to make at least five league appearances.

After an impressive campaign for Middlesbrough last season, netting 17 goals as Aitor Karanka’s side came close to securing a place in England’s top tier, Patrick Bamford now has the chance to try his luck in the Premier League. The 21-year-old secured a loan switch to Crystal Palace last month after penning a new three-year deal with Chelsea having shown his potential with Boro in the Championship.

The big money acquisition of Connor Wickham further swells Palace’s attacking ranks, but Bamford recently showcased his goalscoring prowess to manager Alan Pardew by scoring a 20-minute hat-trick in a pre-season friendly with Bromley. With Yohan Cabaye, Yannick Bolasie, Wilfried Zaha and Jason Puncheon providing the ammunition, Bamford will receive ample support in attacking areas to display his talent at Selhurst Park this season. An average of 2.6 shots per league game last season was better than every Palace player and it’s crucial the young striker adapts quickly to his new surroundings if he is to prove he is a Premier League standard frontman.

Morgan Schneiderlin’s transfer to Manchester United was a blow for Southampton, but the south coast side moved quickly to secure his successor in the form of Jordy Clasie. Manager Ronald Koeman handed Clasie his first team debut back in 2011 when the pair worked together at Feyenoord and the young Dutch midfielder did not look back, quickly establishing himself as a first team regular. The 24-year-old enjoyed a notable final campaign for De club aan de Maas, gaining a WhoScored.com rating of 7.21.

The forward-thinking midfielder played more accurate passes in the opposition half (932) than any other player in the regular Eredivisie season last term and it’s this quality in his distribution that will help Saints fans quickly forget about Schneiderlin. The Frenchman’s boots, though, are big ones to fill and Clasie needs to hit the ground running at St. Mary’s to help Saints replicate or better last season’s performances.

Mike Ashley has eased the purse strings for Steve McClaren this season, with Aleksandar Mitrovic one of three big name signings by Newcastle United this summer. The Magpies attack required investment, with top scorer Papiss Demba Cisse netting a modest 11 league goals last season. In Mitrovic, Newcastle have themselves a powerhouse of a frontman, and one who is certainly capable of finding the back of the net.

In the regular Jupiler Pro League season last term, Mitrovic netted more goals (14) than any other player. His Champions League experience with Anderlecht will stand him in good stead in his debut campaign in England, though the pressure is on the young Serb to quickly transfer his form across to the Premier League - though his physical standing suggests this should be no problem for the 20-year-old.

On Tuesday, Premier League newboys Bournemouth confirmed the return of Max Gradel. The Ivorian spent the 2007/08 season on loan with the Cherries and his performances, particularly this calendar year, convinced the Championship winners to take him back to Dean Court this summer. Gradel has scored more goals (13) than any other player in Ligue 1 in 2015, while his WhoScored rating this year (7.86) is the third best in France’s top tier.

His experience in England will help him quickly adjust to Premier League football ahead of his move to the south coast having cost a reported £7m. His return has understandably heightened expectations ahead of the upcoming campaign and swells the wide ranks in Eddie Howe’s team. If he can force his way into the starting XI fans will hope he can maintain his good form from 2015 to give the Cherries the best chance possible of retaining their Premier League status at the first time of asking.