Which Portuguese player has had the best season so far?

With another international break upon us, here we take a look at the seven candidates for best Portuguese player of the season so far - two of which missed out on the latest Portugal squad - in alphabetical order.

Joao Felix - 10 games, 7 goals, 3 assists

Golden Boy Felix is silencing his doubters with class in abundance, letting his footballing ability do all the talking as he goes from strength to strength in an Atletico Madrid shirt. Still just 20 years of age, Felix has fully settled in to life in Madrid, playing in a role that provides the freedom that few expected him to be afforded in a Diego Simeone side.

But with that right to express himself on the pitch has come a truly inspired Felix, who has taken the opportunity to play an integral, leading role in the team’s attacking efforts with both hands - and has got Atletico playing some fluid attacking football.

His 7 goals in 10 games is a reflection of his impact at the club so far this season, that clinical cutting-edge in front of goal that he proved to possess at Benfica now emerging in La Liga, but his willingness to drift across the pitch and act as a creative spark and an effective provider in addition to a lethal finisher has ensured that his all-round game has gone up a level this campaign compared to last, and he is earning many new admirers and converting several doubters in the process too.

It is early days in the season, but Felix is on track to be one of the standout players of the La Liga campaign - currently the joint top scorer in Spain’s top flight - and even has some Atletico Madrid fans dreaming of a title, sitting just 3 points off top of the league with 2 games in hand, above both Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Bruno Fernandes - 11 games, 6 goals, 5 assists

Though Manchester United’s fortunes are far off the pace compared to when Bruno Fernandes first arrived at the club, there is no doubt that he is still more often than not the inspiring figure within the United team that can trigger attacking moves and earn his side crucial points, be it through his passing, shooting, or ability to convert from the penalty spot.

Much has been said about his penalty abilities and how his conversion rate from the spot has heavily inflated his statistics, but an interesting fact that has been circulating on social media has pointed out that, since Fernandes joined United, he has scored more goals from open play than any other midfielder in the English Premier League, which tells you all you need to know about his impact on the team.

And, based on this season alone, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that he is going to have yet another strong campaign. Though he has actually missed two penalties already this season - something that seemed like a near impossibility over the course of the last couple of years - he has still contributed 6 goals and 5 assists in just 11 games across all competitions, including a double against high-flying Everton in their last outing, with both of his goals coming from open play.

Manchester United may be languishing in mid-table obscurity right now, but that is not down to the efforts of Bruno Fernandes, who continues to show great qualities in helping his side. It is true that he may launch a few too many loose passes, resulting in his side being dispossessed a little too frequently, but what he offers which more than makes up for that is a willingness to make progressive forward-thinking passes that can unlock disciplined defences.

Pedro Goncalves - 6 games, 7 goals, 1 assist

What an extraordinary campaign Pedro Goncalves is experiencing so far. 7 goals in 6 matches is a quite stunning return, and reflects the extremely positive start that Sporting CP have made to the season.

Having missed the start of the campaign due to Covid-19 restrictions, 22-year old Goncalves did not feature in Sporting’s disastrous 4-1 defeat to LASK, and was instead introduced against Portimonense in the second game of the league season. And though he failed to get on the scoresheet, there were bursts of quality on show immediately that made it an encouraging debut overall and a reasonable way to introduce himself to the Sporting faithful.

But he only continued to improve from that point forth. Against champions Porto in the following game, he showed great energy as he made some strong runs to beat the offside trap and spring off the last man, while he played a significant role in Sporting’s late equaliser to ensure that his side earned a point against a club that they lost against both home and away in the league last campaign. It therefore felt like only a matter of time before he opened his goalscoring account.

And he has done, in truly emphatic fashion. In his last 4 matches, Goncalves has contributed an extraordinary 7 goals - and 1 assist - as he has helped Sporting to secure narrow wins over Santa Clara and Gil Vicente, and thumping victories against Tondela and Vitoria Guimaraes.

With good speed, movement and creativity constantly on show, Goncalves has always looked like a top quality midfielder, but playing a more advanced role for Sporting has brought out the best in him, as he has not only proved an incredibly accomplished midfielder, but a clinical forward too, having already matched his highly respectable goals tally from last season seven games into the new campaign, which is a remarkable achievement.

His goals have come in good variety too, be it efforts from tight angles, headers, tap-ins, long-range shots, runs off the last man… he provides range, and always looks a threat.

His passing and vision has not been depleted by his newfound goalscoring prowess though, with his all-round game and his ability to occupy spaces and drift in and out of deep positions making him a genuine talent that must surely be closing in on a call-up to the senior national team. Of all the Portuguese plyers plying their trade at the highest level, he may well be the one experiencing the very best start to the season.

Diogo Jota - 11 games, 7 goals, 0 assists

An immense start to life in Liverpool for Diogo Jota, who made such an impact as a ‘super sub’ early in his time at the club that he is now well on his way to establishing himself as a guaranteed starter for the English champions. He had a very successful career with Wolverhampton Wanderers, a platform that launched him to a spot in the senior Portugal national team, and now he is only continuing to impress for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Seven goals in 11 games is in itself an impressive return - but his goal-to-minutes ratio is even more startling, with Jota averaging a goal every 84.3 minutes across all competitions for his club this season.

His hattrick in the Champions League against Midtjylland was particularly impressive, showing his accustomed work rate and finishing prowess in the final third to get Liverpool a big win on the biggest club stage in European football.

There are exciting times ahead for the 23-year old former Porto forward - and Atletico Madrid fans must be scratching their heads as to how he was let go so easily.

Rui Patricio - 8 games, 4 clean sheets.

It took many by surprise when the supremely reliable Rui Patricio made an error in Wolves’ Premier League clash with Newcastle United, failing to line up his wall correctly which allowed Jacob Murphy to find the back of the net with a low curling free-kick. It was a massive blow to Wolves, and that Patricio was at fault was particularly surprising.

Like every goalkeeper, though, there are inevitably going to be some mistakes along the way, playing in a position where any small miscalculation can have dire consequences on the outcome of a match, far more so than any other position.

The fact is, though, that Patricio has made far fewer mistakes than the average keeper - and bar that one misjudgment, has been virtually faultless in the Wolverhampton Wanderers goal, carrying out his job with composure and confidence. He has been one of the best shot-stoppers in the league this season, and his penalty save against Jamie Vardy was just rewards for his efforts, and marked the third penalty that he had saved in the Premier League in 6 attempts.

Cristiano Ronaldo - 5 games, 6 goals, 1 assist

It has been a season limited by the coronavirus for Cristiano Ronaldo, who was forced to miss 4 of Juventus’ fixtures so far this campaign after testing positive for Covid-19. Yet he has still had a significant impact on his team.

The two league matches Ronaldo was forced to miss out on both resulted in 1-1 draws, first against Crotone and then against Hellas Verona, two games that Juventus would have expected to win. In the Champions League, meanwhile, Juventus suffered a 0-2 home defeat to Barcelona in Ronaldo’s absence, again illustrating the state of the team without their 35-year old talisman.

With him, however, goals have not been an issue. Juventus have found the back of the net on 10 occasions in the 4 league matches in which Ronaldo has featured - with Ronaldo scoring 6 of them, including two as a 56th minute substitute that were crucial in helping Juventus secure all three points against a stubborn Spezia outfit.

He may be 35 and beyond what would be considered his natural peak age, but Ronaldo continues to prove why he is still widely considered one of the two best players in all of world football.

Andre Silva - 8 games, 6 goals, 2 assists

Andre Silva, perhaps surprisingly, was omitted from Portugal’s latest squad, Fernando Santos instead opting to call up Braga’s Paulinho. Though the Braga forward deserves a chance to represent his country, Silva has ultimately had a very promising start to the season, much more so than Paulinho, having already scored 6 goals across 8 matches this season.

Indeed, Silva’s goals have been important to his side. Of the 10 points Eintracht Frankfurt have earned this campaign, the 25-year old’s goals have been critical in Frankfurt earning 4 of them, while he assisted the goal that won his German outfit victory against Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga, and both scored and assisted in their 2-1 cup victory over 1860 Munich, ensuring that he has stepped up precisely when his side have needed him the most.

His job is to ultimately contribute goals. And that is exactly what he’s been doing, averaging a goal or assist every 86.5 minutes across all competitions this campaign.