David Silva is the best player in the Premier League - Joey Barton
TalkSPORT pundit Joey Barton has hailed David Silva as the best player in the Premier League following his influence in Manchester City's 6-0 triumph over Watford on Saturday.
The Mancunian giants spent over £220m on new recruits during the recent transfer window, but Barton insists that Silva is still the most important player in the Citizens squad.
Speaking as co-host on Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, he said: "City look phenomenal. They’ve got the best player in the league – and that’s David Silva. He’s head and shoulders above anyone else and has been for a while. Every pass is the right pass. He would have to be in the same conversation as a Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. If he was playing for Barcelona and not in the Premier League he would be even better. For me, he is the best in the Premier League by an absolute mile."
Silva has had the odd injury concern which has stuttered his performance, but he has remained relatively unscathed since the start of the campaign. The Spain international has already notched four assists in five league games this term, and he looks to be giving a tough fight to Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who is leading the assist charts with five.
As a result of the Watford win, Manchester City moved to the top of the table on alphabetical order after they held an identical record with cross-city rivals Manchester United. Pep Guardiola went trophyless for the first time in his managerial career last term, and he appears to be doing the right things in order to avoid a repeat this season.
The Citizens will make the visit to the Hawthorns to face West Bromwich Albion in the third round of the FA Cup on Wednesday night, and Guardiola will probably test his bench strength with Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling likely to feature.