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In top-level sports, players need to up their game from one season to the next in order to remain an asset to their respective teams - something that holds true for football's top leagues in Europe too.
In the same way every campaign, certain players improve on their already lofty statures, while others lift their game drastically from the low ebbs of previous seasons that are now in the distant past.
The 2017/18 Premier League season has thrown up a cluster of players who have been performing much better than they were last term. Here is a look at five who have improved tremendously from their levels, emerging as important players for their respective sides.
5 - Alberto Moreno (Liverpool):
Liverpool's Spanish left-back Alberto Moreno had turned into a bit of a comic figure last season due to his tendency to make costly mistakes, which saw him ultimately lose his place in the team after a string of poor defensive displays.
There was widespread belief that Jurgen Klopp would sell him this past summer, something that did not come to fruition - instead the 25-year-old has worked hard and earned his place back in the side. He has started 11 of Liverpool's 15 league games to date and his recent ankle injury will come as an unfortunate blow for the Reds too.
One of the significant developments in Moreno's game is that he has curbed his attacking instincts considerably to become a more solid defender. In an interview last month, Moreno admitted as much.
He was quoted as saying, "Maybe in my first few years at Liverpool, I was always thinking: 'Attack, attack, attack.' Confidence is vital for a football but I'm [also] more settled, more focused. Now I'm like: 'First, let's defend, keep a clean sheet and then, let's go forward.'"
Although Liverpool's defending as a collective unit has been poor to say the least at times this season, Moreno has impressed and effectively silenced his critics to date.
4 - Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City):
Manchester City have been the Premier League's best team this season and by a distance too. They have blown sides away with their scintillating attacking play and are well on course to break the top-flight goalscoring record before this campaign is over.
Like usually the case with most quality attacking systems, there is a throbbing heart within the system and that happens to be Belgian creative superstar Kevin de Bruyne. He has been one of the club's best purchases and in 2016/17, he was excellent but did not have the sort of influence that he has enjoyed this year.
Last season, he was more of an individual star, who conjured up moments of brilliance on a regular basis. This season, he has been the player who sets the tempo and controls their attacking play in the final third. Pep Guardiola has rotated his attackers throughout this season in order to keep them fresh, but the 26-year-old is one player who has started each and every league game thus far.
His game is beyond just assists (eight) and goals (four), with the improvement in his performances clear for everyone to enjoy.
3 - Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal):
Following his excellent performances for Wales during last summer's European Championships, it's fair to say that a lot of expectation was placed on Aaron Ramsey last year to replicate those displays at club level.
However, injuries - as they usually have - prevented him from having the sort of season that many expected him to flourish in. When he did play, he often found it hard to get back playing his best football and appeared to try too hard to showcase his individual skill at times too.
This season, Ramsey has been back to his best and is gradually becoming the lethal box-to-box midfielder that he has threatened to evolve into over the past few seasons.
Excellent fitness levels, coupled with the capability to run tirelessly for 90 minutes while only playing once a week are a handful of the reasons behind the Welshman's success.
Particularly good with the runs he often makes inside the area, his intelligent movement is key in helping to create goalscoring opportunities. With that being said, his finishing has been fairly sloppy, otherwise he would definitely have more than three goals to show for his attack-minded efforts. However, he has also created eight assists with the Gunners this term - the joint highest among all midfielders this season.
His energy and drive in the middle of midfield alongside Granit Xhaka has lifted Arsenal's attacking play considerably, which is in stark contrast to his individual performances in 2016/17.
2 - James Tarkowski (Burnley):
Sean Dyche's Burnley side have turned plenty of pre-season predictions on their heads by consistently punching above their weight - the bedrock of which, has been a mighty backline.
Alongside defending champions Chelsea, Burnley have the league's third best defence and have only conceded 12 goals this term. While all defenders have performed well, 25-year-old James Tarkowski's displays over the course of this season, have been simply brilliant.
Considering he was a peripheral figure last term, the transformation to first-team regular has been quite extraordinary. A rock in central defence for the Clarets, he has been one of the league's best defenders thus far and statistics show this too.
He has won the most aerial duels (96), made the highest number of clearances (125) as well as blocking the most shots to date with 26 in total. Michael Keane's summer switch to Everton granted him an opportunity to stake his claim, one which he has taken with both hands and is reaping the rewards as a result.
1 - Raheem Sterling (Manchester City):
City have flourished thus far this season in the Premier League, with winger Raheem Sterling asserted himself as one of their best performers.
The talented Englishman, who turned 23 earlier this week, signed for £49m in the summer of 2015. Amid much fanfare and controversy following his acrimonious departure from Liverpool, his first two seasons in Manchester were underwhelming despite showing flashes of his individual brilliance.
This term, he has been one of the standout players in the division.
Sterling netted seven goals throughout the campaign last season during Pep Guardiola's first in charge. He has already notched up nine and is currently joint third-highest in the league alongside Chelsea's Álvaro Morata and team-mate Sergio Aguero.
His movement, intelligence and ability to attack spaces in the final third has made him one of the league's most deadly players. The noticeable improvements with regards to his decision-making and consistency have been impressive to see, as he continues to develop.
