20 Most Important Players In The Premier League 2014/15

19. Ron Vlaar - Aston Villa

Following a tremendous World Cup campaign, the Dutchman is set to be the key man at the heart of the Aston Villa defence once again. Presumably, the central defender will be Brad Guzan's best friend for the season, given the amount of fearless blocks and key challenges Vlaar will throw in to defend his goalkeeper. Strong in the tackle and the air, though he won't have the luxury of a central defender either side of him, the Villa hardman certainly has his work cut out to marshal a flimsy defence. Jores Okore will be returning from injury, with Alan Hutton also being given a shot at redemption by Paul Lambert, but any clean sheets are likely to be down to either the heroics of Vlaar or Guzan. Villa fans will be hoping that their squad will follow by the captain's example, with Vlaar the man to fall in line with. His excellent performances while man-marking opposition strikers during the later stages of the World Cup, as well as regular well-timed tackles while covering on either flank, show that if Villa are to scramble out from the doldrums of the league table, it'll be in large part down to the determined and committed showings from their concrete centre-half.