1. AYEW REPAYING THE FAITH

Tim Sherwood described Jordan Ayew as "perfectly suited to the Premier League" when he brought him to Aston Villa from French side Lorient.

It has taken five years but the Ghana forward, who scored his second consecutive winner for Crystal Palace on Saturday, is finally beginning to flourish in the top flight. It was his career-best eighth league goal in a season, the total he managed in the past two seasons combined. That led Eagles manager Roy Hodgson to claim he saw "signs of that player" even when the 28-year-old struggled last term.

2. HENDERSON IN DEMAND

Dean Henderson showed off razor-sharp reactions to make a victory-preserving double save in the win over Norwich and is a credible challenger to Jordan Pickford as England's No. 1.

The Manchester United loanee has kept 10 clean sheets in the Premier League and is a key reason why Chris Wilder's side are seventh. There is talk he will be recalled this summer and while teammate Billy Sharp admitted Henderson wants to overtake David de Gea as "United's first choice", he is hopeful another year at Bramall Lane can further aid his development.

3. SAINT-MAXIMIN ON THE RISE

As much as Allan Saint-Maximin remains a rough diamond, it appears the sky is the limit for the former France Under-21 winger.

His progress at Newcastle has been a slow-burner, but his searing pace is proving increasingly difficult for defences to combat, as was the case on Saturday when he tore through Southampton en route to slotting home.

He also offers an X-factor sorely lacking at St James' Park in recent years and is one of the primary reasons they are eight points clear of the bottom three despite scoring the joint-fewest goals in the league (25).

THE GUARDIAN