Three Premier League players who've gotten off to hot starts

Just like that, the opening five weeks of the Premier League season are in the books, as the soccer world alike enters its first international break. While it allows players who didn't receive call-ups to recover from what have been a few grueling weeks, it also allows the spectator to take stock of what they've seen over the course of the last few weeks.

That reflection can beg the question: who has stood out thus far?

Alexander Isak

While it'd be easy to include the likes of Erling Haaland, Bruno Fernandes and other players of such caliber, it's expected that they would be producing such numbers. This could easily be argued for Isak, but after his first season with Liverpool saw him produce lackluster numbers, nothing was guaranteed.

But the Swedish forward has more than delivered for the Reds, bagging four goals, and just proving to be quite the handful for defenders in his wake. Isak has been everywhere in the box, recording 47 total shots according to Opta, which has seen him have an xG of 3.54, meaning he's outperformed his expected numbers slightly.

With Liverpool's first game back coming against Manchester City at Anfield, Isak's expertise will be much needed in a few weeks' time.

Pascal Groß

The last week has seen Brighton punch well above their weight, as they took down Manchester United in the Carabao Cup, which served as the preamble to their 3-0 dismantling of defending champions and previously unbeaten Arsenal.

Some of their early-season success can be attributed to many different members of their team, including Luka Vuskovic, who has been touted as one of the better defenders thus far, but Pascal Groß has been on another level for the Seagulls. The German has found the back of the net on three occasions, while finding three assists to his teammates.

Those three assists are only the finished results of what has been a midfield masterclass thus far, as Groß has recorded 15 created chances, constantly giving his teammates the opportunity to change the game. Occupying a bit further on the right has proven to be quite the sweet spot for the German.

Kevin Shade

Moving from one German international to another, Kevin Schade has been a revelation for Brentford, netting himself three goals, as the team's target forward, Igor Thiago, hasn't gotten off to the hottest start of the season.

His xG of 1.52 doesn't tell the full story, as he's also been an out-of-possession monster for the Bees, having a few games with multiple won tackles recorded, which has allowed Brentford on multiple occasions to do what they do best: make something out of nothing. He's also been quite the workhorse, covering 32.1 miles according to FotMob, so he's been doing plenty of tracking.

Some of this has caught the eye of the aforementioned Arsenal, as they are reportedly keeping tabs on him moving forward.

MORE TRANSFER NEWS

• Aston Villa among six Premier League teams eyeing Barcelona winger
• Arsenal, Manchester United among teams eyeing Brazilian wonderkid
• Arsenal, Liverpool among teams interested in Moroccan wonderkid
• Liverpool, Manchester United tied to relegated West Ham star
• Former Champions League winning striker's move to MLS on the cards
• Liverpool, Bayern Munich lose race to sign German wonderkid
• Bayern Munich's €65m transfer target has stellar World Cup debut