It’s small sample size season, but that gives us an excuse to tell you which players with very fun early returns you should be keeping an eye on. It’s no fun for us to tell you which players are already indisputably good, is it?

Here are some guys who are impressing in a way that warrants further attention:

Yassine started last season at Ligue 2 side Dunkerque before moving to Strasbourg in January. He had some nice moments, but was not terribly productive in his first half-season with his new club. But now that he’s settled in — and coming off scoring at the World Cup for Morocco — Yassine looks like a superstar in the making.

He is, however, not the biggest or most athletic winger you’re ever going to see, and I do wonder if this is going to limit his potential future opportunities to play for Chelsea or another top Premier League club.

Yassine is about as entertaining as players get, regularly trying flicks, tricks and spins. Selfishly, as someone who loves watching those types of players, I hope he finds a way to progress despite his athletic limitations.

Last season, Bakola was a bit-part player for Marseille, making appearances in 8 games. He wasn’t thrilled with his lack of playing time and turned down a new contract. The French side, facing some financial problems, decided it was the right time to sell for €10m to Sassuolo. This may have been a terrible mistake.

Bakola appears to have all of the tools that top sides are looking for in a modern No. 8. He’s excellent at breaking lines with his carrying, he’s very strong with decent size, and he has a great first step burst. His passing and defensive work are just OK at the moment, but “just OK” for a 19-year-old in his first season as a starter, given all his other abilities, is extremely promising. I don’t think he’s going to be on Sassuolo for very long, and I hope Marseille have a large sell-on.

Following a sensational season for Viborg in Denmark, Jørgensen made a €7.5m move to Toulouse, a huge expenditure for the French side. And while they’re struggling, with their only win so far this season coming against bottom side Le Havre, their big investment is already paying off. Jørgensen has 2 goals and already looks like his side’s best attacking player.

While Jørgensen hasn’t produced much in the way of passing value yet, I suspect this is not going to be a problem for long. I can’t claim to have watched full Viborg matches last season, but this does not look like a guy who sucks at passing.

Roma brought in Nahuel Molina — who you may know from starting fights at the World Cup with Argentina — to play RWB this summer. And now he’s in a new kind of fight, one to stop a teenager from taking his job. Lulli has emerged from the Roma academy as a perfect fit at wingback in Gian Piero Gasperini’s system, and already looks like he’s going to be a huge contributor to a title contender.

Lulli is a pretty big dude for a flying wingback, but gets up and down the flanks and delivers fantastic crosses. I’m not sure if he’s ever going to be great outside of a back 3 system, but he’s perfect for what Roma need out of that RWB position.

The numbers were never going to truly pop given how bad Fulham’s start has been, but there’s a very clear upward trend going on for King regardless.

King’s off-ball runs appear to have improved significantly, and he’s starting to look the part of a top-notch box-crashing No. 10. His ability to hold off defenders and turn upfield out of pressure has rapidly improved as well. I’m concerned about his general lack of passing ability, but I think he’s trending towards a move to one of the Premier League’s richest teams next summer.

We’re saving the details on him for a longer piece that Mohammed is writing about his hot start for next week, but we’ll give you a little teaser here. Paris Brunner is really good:

Diao feels a bit outside the scope of this piece despite being an Under-21 player from one of the top leagues who looks like he’s having a breakout season. He had already established himself as a budding superstar previously before suffering injuries that kept him out for extended periods in each of the last two seasons. But he appears to be all the way back to the best version of himself, and could be in line for a huge money move if he can prove he’s not injury prone this season.

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