'The Yorkshire Pirlo', clutch Sergio Ramos and the bargain of the season

Sergio Ramos is different things to different people; he is a player who divides opinion. He has made some notable and debatable interventions throughout his career.

However, what is in little doubt is his temperament in high-pressure moments. He was at it again on Sunday, scoring the penalty as Real Madrid beat Athletic Club 1-0 to send them seven points clear at the top of Liga ahead of Barcelona's fixture with Villarreal. It is looking insurmountable for Barcelona. And Ramos has been central to Real building that lead.

Ramos has now scored five goals in seven games since football in Spain resumed and has scored the last 22 penalties he has taken. His importance to Madrid's successes cannot be overstated, much of that has to do with his mentality.

Jarrod Bowen has been - perhaps bar Michail Antonio - West Ham’s standout player since the return of football. He now has one goal and three assists in six starts for the Hammers. West Ham picked him up for £7 million in January from Hull City of the Championship. There is some serious value to be had in that league.

Two examples of players who probably should be playing at Premier League level are Brentford's Said Benrahma and Leeds United's Kalvin Phillips.

Benrahma has had a nomadic career. His seven years as a professional has seen the 24 year old play for seven clubs as diverse as Nice, Angers, Gazélec Ajaccio and LB Châteauroux but the Algerian international has found himself at Brentford, with whom he signed for a paltry £1.5 million in 2018. He could be classed a flair player, but his game is about much more. He contributed 10 goals and 14 assists in his first season of Championship football, and has scored 14 and assisted eight in 34 games this season. If Brentford don't go up, he'll surely make the step up and at a decent price.

Phillips will more than likely make the step up with Leeds, who beat Blackburn 3-1 on Saturday to edge closer to a Premier League return. The 24 year old has been dubbed the 'Yorkshire Pirlo' by the Leeds faithful since his conversion to a deep-lying playmaker under Marcelo Bielsa. On Saturday Phillips, who has been linked with an England call up, rifled in a 25-yard free-kick during the win just to give that moniker added credence.

Allan Saint-Maximin has had an excellent season at Newcastle. His performance against West Ham in a 2-2 draw on Sunday fell below the levels he has set since the return of Premier League football, but he once again made a decisive intervention, playing a key role in Newcastle's first goal.

Rafa Benitez left the club last summer due to a perceived lack of backing within the transfer market. Mike Ashley then went on to spend heavily after the appointment of Steve Bruce as boss, with Joelinton and Saint-Maximin the marquee signings. While Saint-Maximin, signed for £16 million from Nice, has been excellent, Joelinton - the big money £40 million acquisition from Hoffenheim - has struggled, scoring just four goals in 37 games in all competitions.

And the fact that Newcastle have struggled badly for goals speaks to the job Bruce has done on Tyneside. Their leading scorer in the league is Jonjo Shelvey with six goals. Yet, Newcastle see themselves just two points off matching last season's points tally, which was seen as a substantial achievement.

It must be said Steve Bruce has done quite the job at St James's Park, but a large portion of that success is owed to the excellent Saint-Maximin, who must be the bargain of the season.

On the subject of excellence, Burnley boss Sean Dyche has once again overachieved at Turf Moor. His methods may not be to the aesthetic tastes of some, but it produces results seemingly regardless of resource at his disposal.

The Clarets, after a 1-1 draw with Sheffield United on Sunday, sit ninth in the table - this success must be contextualised with the fact that Dyche feels he has been undermined by the board and that the club were believed to be on the cusp of a financial catastrophe during the coronavirus pandemic. Burnley have finished 16th, 7th and 15th since their promotion in 2016. It is an excellent return for a team whose largest outlay in that period has been the £15 million they paid for Ben Gibson in 2018.

It was David de Gea who was part of United's last title-winning team. It was De Gea who won United's last trophies, and who has kept them in countless games when the rest of the side badly let him down. Now he is the side's weakest link.

When Junior Stanislas beat De Gea at his near post on Saturday, few were surprised, but it was yet another weakness. It wasn't a fumble, it was a positioning error. Add to that his weak hands and his inability to command his box or play comfortably outside it, and there is little reason to think that Sergio Romero is now not United's best 'keeper. In a few months, it will probably be Dean Henderson.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must decide whether De Gea deserves one more season to prove himself. In many ways he has earned some loyalty, despite his occasional prevaricating over contract renewals. His reflexes still show him as one of the best in the business in at least one respect. But United could use the cash by selling him and getting rid of his £300,000-a-week wages. Coronavirus has made the margin of error increasingly small when it comes to finances and resources. But right now, De Gea has gone from being their only world class player, to the only one giving his team-mates the jitters.