Lukasz Fabianski Swansea

The decision to sell the popular Michel Vorm to Tottenham Hotspur and replace him with a free-transfer signing from Arsenal may not have enraptured the Swansea faithful initially but it appears to be another astute piece of business by the south Wales club. Flourishing with regular first-team football, the 29-year-old has kept five clean sheets in the Premier League this season and impressed his fellow defenders, the manager Garry Monk and supporters alike with his authority in the penalty area.

Aaron Cresswell West Ham

West Ham United’s Aaron Cresswell, left, in action during his side’s match against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA

After three years in League One with Tranmere Rovers and another three in the Championship with Ipswich Town, the Liverpool-born left-back has stepped up impressively in his debut season in the Premier League. Manchester United and Stoke City posed the summer signing a few difficult tests but his delivery, creativity (only Stewart Downing has made more chances for Sam Allardyce’s side) and attacking prowess have played a key part in West Ham United’s rise to fourth.

Ryan Bertrand Southampton

Another English left-back who has influenced his new club’s unexpected climb into the Champions League positions. Southampton’s polished attacking football under Ronald Koeman has demanded acclaim but Bertrand, signed on a season-long loan from Chelsea, is improving by the week in the league’s meanest defence. His confident displays, defensively and in the opposition half, have lessened the impact of Luke Shaw’s departure to Old Trafford.

Craig Dawson West Bromwich Albion

Newcastle United’s Ayoze Pérez, left, crosses under pressure from West Bromwich Albion’s Craig Dawson. Photograph: Matt Bunn/BPI/Rex

The central defender from Rochdale could have left The Hawthorns this summer with Burnley making several offers to sign him and the player himself frustrated with a lack of first-team opportunities. Albion rejected Sean Dyche’s persistent advances and their stance has been rewarded with the 24-year-old seizing the chance presented by Jonas Olsson’s demotion and forming a decent partnership alongside Joleon Lescott.

Ayoze Pérez Newcastle United

The £1.5m signing from Tenerife has not exactly gone under the radar as Alan Pardew’s team have soared up the table in recent weeks but still ranks as a surprise package considering his role at the start of the campaign. Three goals in his past three games, the latest an exquisite back-heel against West Brom that demonstrated rare technical ability, have helped transform Newcastle and suggested they have landed another bargain.

Mame Biram Diouf Stoke City

Mame Biram Diouf of Stoke City in action against Tottenham Hotspur during his side’s successful visit to White Hart Lane. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Bojan Krkic may have been the attention-grabbing signing at the Britannia Stadium this summer courtesy of a CV that includes Barcelona, Roma, Milan and Ajax but Mark Hughes’s other forward recruit, Diouf, has arguably provided the bigger surprise. The Senegal international never got a chance at Manchester United and did not fare much better on loan at Blackburn Rovers but confidence restored by a productive stint at Hannover, he has made an impact on English football at the third time of asking.

José Fonte Southampton

One Southampton defender on this list is not enough given their outstanding form, so here is the second. The Premier League’s second-placed team have conceded only five times this season – Chelsea and Swansea, their closest rivals on that score, have conceded 11 apiece – and Fonte deserves rich credit for marshalling a defence that lost two key pieces, Shaw and Dejan Lovren, in the summer. The 30-year-old was appointed captain by Koeman, signed a three-year contract while others were leaving, and his form was recognised with a first call into the Portugal squad last month.

Richard Dunne QPR

The Irish veteran deserves to be singled-out for more than the occasional own goal, as was the case when scoring the 10th of his Premier League career against Liverpool recently. As his display against Manchester City at the weekend illustrated, Dunne continues to read the game superbly and his experience and availability will be invaluable for Harry Redknapp’s attempts to preserve QPR’s top-flight status.

Mark Noble West Ham United

The midfielder may be 27 but he has not given up hope of international recognition with England. This season’s form – “probably the best football I’ve played in years”, as Noble put it – cannot have harmed his chances. The former Under-21 captain has been ever-dependable for Sam Allardyce and epitomised the spirit in the side this season when playing on with a calf injury against Liverpool that subsequently kept him out for a fortnight.

Branislav Ivanovic Chelsea

Branislav Ivanovic of Chelsea vies for the ball with Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren during his side’s victory at Anfield. Photograph: Matt West/BPI/Rex

Stamford Bridge is not an obvious place to look for unheralded players this season but wider recognition for the formidable Serb is overdue.

Ivanovic is clearly appreciated inside Chelsea, where it matters, but rarely gets a mention in a team elevated by the summer signings of Diego Costa and Cesc Fàbregas, driven by the outstanding Nemanja Matic and with John Terry defying the ageing process in central defence.

Ivanovic may not tick all the boxes for a modern full-back but demonstrated once again at Anfield on Saturday that there are few better defenders in the Premier League.