Six of the Best: Buendia leads top rated players relegated from the Premier League
Watford and Bournemouth joined Norwich as the three relegated sides to the Championship on Sunday, as the Premier League came to a thrilling finale.
With Norwich already long relegated, concluding the season with a 10-game losing streak, Watford, Bournemouth and Aston Villa were left to battle for one place above the bottom three.
Villa went into the final day of the season with their head above water and did just about enough, drawing 1-1 at West Ham, to keep it that way.
Watford, meanwhile, fell short in their spirited fight-back away to Arsenal, while a 3-1 win away to Everton proved meaningless for Bournemouth.
An immediate return to England's top-flight is unlikely for all three relegated teams, particularly with Premier League sides set to poach some of their better players before next season has even started.
Here we reveal the best WhoScored rated relegated XI, made up of players from the bottom three clubs, and run through, in reverse order, the six top rated players dropping down to the Championship.
6. Gerard Deulofeu (Watford) - 6.90 rating
Gerard Deulofeu's season finished prematurely after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in Watford's shock 3-0 win over Liverpool at the end of February. The Hornets moved outside of the bottom three with victory over Jurgen Klopp's side and sorely missed Deulofeu's pace and unpredictability in attack thereafter. In fact, six of Watford's eight league wins across 2019/20 came with Deulofeu in the starting XI.
Deulofeu managed five goals and four assists for Watford and claimed the most WhoScored Man of the Match awards at the club (3). Moreover, of players with at least 10 Premier League appearances for Watford this season, Deulofeu required the fewest minutes per successful dribble (one every 34 minutes). Not due back from injury until next season starts, Deulofeu may have to wait until January at the earliest to secure a move away.
5. Philip Billing (Bournemouth) - 6.90 rating
After a promising debut Premier League campaign for Huddersfield last season, a move to Bournemouth over the summer seemed a natural next-step for Philip Billing. The 24-year-old didn't quite reach the heights expected for the Cherries but did at least show what he is capable of in fits and starts.
The 24-year-old weighed in with 3.9 aerial duels won per 90 and 2.6 tackles per 90 across his 34 league appearances for Eddie Howe's side. Billing's only goal of the campaign came in a WhoScored Man of the Match display in Bournemouth's 2-1 victory over Aston Villa in February, while his only assist came in a 3-1 win away to south coast rivals Southampton in September.
4. Etienne Capoue (Watford) - 6.91 rating
Etienne Capoue has long been seen by fans of the Premier League as something of a disappointment after his failed stint at Tottenham. Watford have certainly got the best out of Capoue for periods since signing the Frenchman five years ago but he struggled for consistency this season.
Capoue hit top form for Watford this season from Boxing Day until the end of February. In fact, each of Capoue's five best-rated performances in 2019/20 fell during that period, as he played integral roles in wins over Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Liverpool, as well as a key part in Watford's 0-0 draw with former club Tottenham. Moreover, no player relegated averaged more tackles per game than Capoue (2.5) this season, while the 32-year-old also finished with an aerial duel success rate of 72.1%.
3. Troy Deeney (Watford) - 7.05 rating
Troy Deeney has admitted himself he wasn't good enough this season and even hinted on Sunday at a move away from Watford this summer. Nevertheless, the 32-year-old still managed to reach double figures for goals in a Premier League campaign for the first time since the 2016/17 campaign.
Deeney took his tally for the season to 10 with a penalty against Arsenal on the final day, with a good conversion rate of 22.2%. Moreover, the Watford captain finished the season averaging more aerial duels won per game (7.3) than any other player in the Premier League.
2. Diego Rico (Bournemouth) - 7.06 rating
After a somewhat dreadful first season at Bournemouth, Diego Rico was something of a surprise package for the Cherries in 2019/20 and finished the campaign as their top rated player. The Spanish left-back completed more tackles and interceptions combined (145) than any other player from a bottom-three club despite missing 11 matches of the season.
Moreover, only one player created more goalscoring chances from deadball positions than Rico (22) from players from Bournemouth, Norwich and Watford. Rico impressively also only managed to commit just 0.7 fouls per game despite playing in the third-worst defence in the league in terms of goals conceded (65).
1. Emiliano Buendia (Norwich) - 7.08 rating
Emiliano Buendia's campaign ended with a red card against Burnley and he didn't always see the right side of Norwich manager Daniel Farke but there will certainly be interest in the 23-year-old this summer. Buendia finished his maiden Premier League campaign with seven assists and one goal, while a return of 2.3 key passes per game ranked fourth in the division.
No player from the three relegated sides registered more clear-cut goalscoring chances in the Premier League than Buendia (9), while the Argentine also ranked top for chances created from set-pieces (28). Moreover, only three players in the division claimed the WhoScored Man of the Match award more times than Buendia (6).
