Charlie Nicholas rates Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany as the Premier League's MVP
Sunday 27 September 2015 12:37, UK
Charlie Nicholas labelled Vincent Kompany as the most valuable player in the Premier League after Manchester City endured another defeat in his absence.
The Soccer Saturday pundit predicted Tottenham would hold the early front runners to a draw in his Sky Bet tips, but Mauricio Pochettino's men far exceeded expectations with a 4-1 triumph at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
Having marshalled his side to five successive wins without conceding, Kompany watched them collapse to a second successive defeat, having also seen them lose 2-1 to West Ham last weekend after picking up a calf injury.
"Vincent in the most important player in the Premier League, as they say in America, he's the MVP," Nicholas told Sky Sports. "When that man is fit, City are a different animal.
"In terms of value, Kompany has to be up there in terms of the best signings since the Premier League begun, perhaps the best.
"Why did they collapse last season? Kompany was out. It's looking like the same this season."
Despite their impressive start, City have failed to really impress Nicholas, with Chelsea their only opponents from last season's top six prior to their north London loss.
He added: "City have not been blistering in the way they've played and it's been the results we expected until West Ham.
"When they click, they're great to watch but I think if you get at them without Kompany, then they're beatable, as we're seeing.
"There's no outstanding team so far this season and a lot of the big teams have really struggled."
