Man Utd midfielder first in underrated signing awards 2014/15

It is awards season in the Premier League, but as the headlines focus on the big winners at the biggest clubs (and the odd eccentric Dutchman) spare a thought for some of the more unheralded folk.

Always prepared to cover the lesser lights here at news.ladbrokes, we’ve come up with a new shortlist for our underrated signings to have quietly excelled in the 2014/15 season. See if you agree with our run down?

Ander Herrera – Manchester United

Having cost a princely sum touching the £30m mark, expectations of the Spaniard’s ability were rightly raised at Old Trafford ahead of the season. As a result some criticism was levelled at Herrera early in the campaign when he failed to set the world on fire for United, but he’s since proved a shrewd acquisition. He’s a sharp passer who has scored some real peaches on his way to eight for the season.

Joleon Lescott – West Brom

Statistically there are only two defenders in the top-flight to have presided over more clean sheets than the 15 the Baggies man has been involved with. Having looked washed up at Manchester City, Lescott has rediscovered his defensive mojo at the Hawthorns.

Cheikhou Kouyate – West Ham

A player who has been asked to fulfil many different roles for Sam Allardyce in his maiden season in English football, Kouyate hasn’t looked out of his depth in any of them. His energy and tenacity mark him out, but having drawn tentative comparisons with Patrick Vieira, there is real quality about this versatile midfielder.

Leonardo Ulloa – Leicester

Scoring goals in the Championship is one thing but reaching double figures in your first season in the Premier League is no mean feat. Danny Ings has amassed the same total of 10 for relegated Burnley, though rumours linking the Argentine to Liverpool or other big clubs are yet to surface.

Jack Cork – Swansea

A player who has been widely overlooked in all the hubbub of Southampton’s mass exodus this season, but unlike many of his more high-profile former teammates, Cork has gone from strength to strength in south Wales since his January switch. A really efficient holding midfielder, the Englishman rarely conceded possession.

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