It's amazing how quickly things change in football. At the beginning of the season, Liverpool fans thought they'd win the league, Manchester United fans thought Radamel Falcao would bring them an easy season, and Harry Kane was a third-choice Tottenham striker.
With all that in mind, here are a few of the players that managed to defy the odds and turn their seasons around.
1. Tom Cleverley
Once the scapegoat of any and all Manchester United and England concerns, Cleverley's season flipped on its head when he accepted a loan move to Aston Villa.
He went largely unnoticed in Paul Lambert's team for the first half of the season, still seemingly only able to pass sideways, but Tim Sherwood's arrival changed things.
Cleverley became pivotal in the exciting, attacking football that Villa were playing, and ultimitaly pivotal in their Premier League survival. He ended the season having scored a third of his total Premier League goals for Aston Villa, all in the final two months, and Sherwood will no doubt be hoping to keep hold of him.
2. Ashley Young
Make no mistake, Young was one of the main reasons Manchester United were able to achieve a top-four place this season, and it shouldn't be forgotten that he did so while keeping record signing Angel Di Maria out of the team.
His relationship with Marouane Fellaini, who we'll come to later, was key during March and April when United were playing their best football.
It may be the first time in his career since leaving Aston Villa that England fans have reached the end of a season and questioned why he's not been included in an international squad, he's done so well that we almost forgot about the time a bird pooed in his mouth. Almost, but not quite.
3. Marouane Fellaini
It's interesting what a change in clubs can do for a player. During Fellaini's final season at Everton people were raving about his performances, but his likeability seemed to go right out of the window when David Moyes signed him for his new club.
Last season was one to forget for the Belgian, but his performances this campaign made Louis van Gaal label him 'undroppable at one point.
Teams weren't able to handle the positions he was taking up, whether it was close to Young on the left or purposeful runs to the back post. Who'd have thought that come the end of the season, Fellaini would be responsible for winning United more points than Falcao? He's definitely likeable now.
4. Christian Benteke
We're not sure if it's fair to include Benteke on this list, given that he's been such a prolific goalscorer over a few seasons, but his form had fallen off a cliff until Sherwood's appointment at Villa.
Much like the effect he'd had on Emmanuel Adebayor at Spurs, Sherwood's Villa looked nothing like a team in a relegation scrap once Benteke was scoring again. His runs meant the midfield finally had someone to pass forward to, and his hold-up play allowed them to make runs beyond him.
From Sherwood's appointment in February, Benteke went on to win five man of the match appearances, score 12 goals compared to his previous three, as well as providing a few assists. He's another Sherwood will be doing all he can to keep hold of.
5. Francis Coquelin
Arsene Wenger recently said: 'If we had bought Coquelin at Christmas for £40m, everyone would say ‘what a signing’. I am sorry he didn't cost any money, he is still a good player.'
We couldn't agree more, Arsene. Coquelin's coming of age came after his arrival back from a loan spell at Charlton, when he paired with Santi Cazorla in midfield for a game at the home of the champions, the Etihad.
It would become a familiar sight in midfield for Arsenal, and one that brought them considerable success towards the end of the season. Coquelin seemed exactly the player Arsenal's fans had been calling out for Wenger to sign for so long – we all wondered why he'd never performed like that before.
His challenge now is to see if he can compete in Arsenal's midfield for a whole season, with the same effect.
6. Hector Bellerin
If we were to turn back the clocks to when Bellerin made his full Arsenal debut in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund, nobody would have believed he'd be able to nail down the right-back spot in the Premier League starting XI.
Due to injuries to Mathieu Debuchy, and a loss of form for Calum Chambers, Bellerin has made the position his own. His delivery has been impeccable in matches this season and his form led to Barcelona fans voting him as their favourite to succeed Dani Alves.
He's chipped in with two goals this season, but just the solitary assist, and with better attacking options expected up front for Arsenal next season he'll expect to see that rise.
A bit like Coquelin, all we need to see from him now is consistency.
7. Yannick Bolasie
Bolasie has never been considered a bad player by football fans, quite the opposite actually. He's one of the most exciting players to watch in the league, purely for the fact you never know what he'll do next. At times it also seemed like he didn't.
The Crystal Palace winger has put a lid on the skills a bit this season though, and focused more on his end product. Sure, we still see the odd flick from him (remember what he did to Christian Eriksen), but his overall game has improved because of his new focus.
Alan Pardew will be hoping for another improvement next season as they spend more time together, and we're sure it will only make things more entertaining for us.
8. Harry Kane
Towards the end of last season and the beginning of this, there were rumblings of someone called Harry Kane at Tottenham that really should be given a chance. He'd been on loan to four different clubs, and his performances in the Europa League for Tottenham at the beginning of the season were what eventually convinced Mauricio Pochettino he couldn't leave him out of the side.
Well, he scored his first Premier League goal for Tottenham back in November and we all know what happened after that.
It's the kind of success other players on loan from the big clubs can follow. People like Patrick Bamford, on loan from Chelsea, will no doubt have seen that there's a pathway to follow and will probably be haranguing Kane while they're away on under-21 duty this summer to find out exactly what has been the secret to his success.
Source: SNAPPA
