The Premier League season is a mere three weeks old, but there have already been players outperforming expectations at the first international break, like these five.
McAuley scored in West Brom's 2-1 loss against Everton and helped West Brom earn clean sheets in a win over Crystal Palace and a draw against Middlesbrough.
(That game against Middlesbrough was bad. That game was so bad. It was the 0-0 draw to end all 0-0 draws)
Swansea look like a relegation candidate so far, but Leroy Fer is playing like a guy who gets bought by a big club because he's clearly too good for the Championship and his club can't afford to keep him. He has two goals, and the form he's in will delight Liverpool fans once he inevitably goes the way of Danny Ings and Georginio Wijnaldum.
Goals Etienne Capoue scored last season in 36 Premier League games for Watford: zero. Goals Capoue has scored in three games so far this season: two. We're not a math website but it strikes us that two is more than zero.
Alvaro Negredo has been a delight so far this season. (Except, and we hate to harp on this, in that awful 0-0 draw with West Brom)
He has a goal and two assists in three games. It was a bit of a shock when Middlesbrough got Negredo on loan, but they're certainly glad they did.
Collins has kept the momentum from a good Euro 2016 with Wales going in the Premier League. West Ham have had a tough start to the season, playing Chelsea and Manchester City within the first three games, but they weren't totally embarrassed. Collins scored West Ham's lone goal in a 2-1 loss to Chelsea and helped the Hammers defense keep a clean sheet in a 1-0 win against Bournemouth.
