The Premier League is renowned as one of the most competitive leagues on the planet, yet it is still so often defined by the ‘big six’ clubs. Rest assured, however, that as good as these teams are, there is still an abundance of quality beyond these European Super League giants.

When we talk of the ‘big six’ in the conventional sense, we’re, of course, referring to Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea. Yes, the Blues may be struggling at present, while Tottenham haven’t won a trophy in decades, but the ‘big six’ terminology is still synonymous with these teams – at least for the time being.

However, with the likes of Newcastle qualifying for the Champions League, Brighton playing like prime Barcelona and West Ham winning a European trophy, there is plenty of talent beyond the ‘big six’, also known as the ‘other 14.’

With that in mind, we’ve decided to draw up an ultimate XI of players from the Premier League’s ‘other 14’ that we reckon would give any of the sides in the ‘big six’ a run for their money – even Man City.

There are a plethora of options to choose from in some positions, so it’s important to stress that this is ultimately a subjective exercise and our opinion may well change as the season develops. But at the time of writing, based on current form, this is the side we reckon could challenge the big boys.

GK: Emiliano Martinez

Honourable mentions must go to Nick Pope, who was outstanding for Newcastle last year, as well as Jordan Pickford – one of the few bright sparks in a struggling Everton team.

Yet, there’s simply no looking past Martinez. Granted, the 31-year-old has a mistake in him from time to time, but he’s still a World Cup winner. Need we remind you of his save in last year’s final – few goalkeepers in the world could have pulled off that stop.

Martinez won last year’s Best FIFA Goalkeeper Award and has also been nominated for the 2023 Ballon d’Or. I think that’s enough justification in itself.

RB: Kieran Trippier

Admittedly, we’re in the camp of thinking Trippier might have been passed it by the time he joined the Magpies, but how wrong we were. The Englishman has been a revelation since arriving at St. James’ and now captains the side.

The 32-year-old is an absolute assist machine and remains a reliable defender as well. Last year, he was named Newcastle’s Player of the Year and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

CB: Sven Botman

A shout out to Lewis Dunk, who has long been one of the Premier League’s most confident defenders and has deservedly been honoured with an England call-up. Yet, we simply had to go with Trippier’s defensive partner in Botman.

The Dutchman helped transform the Magpies from one of the most unreliable back fours in the country to having the Premier League’s best defensive record – conceding just 33 league goals last term. At just 23 years old, Newcastle have a defender who could be a mainstay of their team for the next decade.

CB: Kurt Zouma

Zouma is pretty injury prone but when he does play he’s as solid as a rock. The Frenchman was a regular at Chelsea under Frank Lampard but fell out of favour under Thomas Tuchel.

David Moyes snapped him up for the Hammers in 2021 and West Ham have been better defensively ever since. Zouma helped the Irons win the Conference League last year and has been mightily impressive so far this year. He’s also been made club captain, now that Declan Rice has left and has so far inspired his side to an unbeaten start.

LB: Pervis Estupinan

It wasn’t going to be long until we introduced a Brighton player. Roberto De Zerbi has turned the Seagulls into one of the best possession-based sides in Europe and the signing of Estupinan last season was an inspired bit of business.

Brought in to replace Marc Cucurella, the Ecuadorian soon became a fan favourite and now has a number of even bigger clubs eyeing him up. Still only 25, Estupinan still has plenty of time to improve and could yet develop into one of the world’s best left-backs.

CM: Bruno Guimaraes

Disclaimer - we haven’t gone with an out-and-out holding midfielder, owing to the amount of talented attacking-minded players we wanted to include, but we’re sure the duo we’ve chosen could still a job.

Guimaraes is arguably the player that kickstarted Newcastle’s transformation and the Brazilian is no doubt one of the most well-rounded midfielders in the league. His new team-mate Sandro Tonali could also have taken this spot on the list but he’s only played four matches at the time of writing this, so we’ve decided he needs to prove himself for a bit longer.

CM: Lucas Paqueta

From one Brazilian to another. Paqueta became West Ham’s record signing last year and has more than lived up to the price tag. While Moyes initially used Paqueta as more of a number 10, his best form has no doubt come when playing as a number eight.

The fact Man City were desperate to sign Paqueta as a De Bruyne replacement speaks volumes about his ability and the Hammers will be absolutely delighted to have kept hold of him for at least one more window.

LW: Kaoru Mitoma

Brighton have a habit of discovering gems and Mitoma certainly falls into this category. The 26-year-old was playing football in Japan until he was almost 24, before Brighton snapped him up and sent him on loan to Union SG.

Fast forward and Mitoma finally got his chance in the Premier League last year. Since then, he hasn’t looked back and few could deny that he’s one of the most technically gifted players in the league. Indeed, the winger makes dribbling look effortless at times and has started to become far more of a goal threat as well. Big clubs will no doubt come calling soon and Brighton could well command another fee in excess of £100m.

CAM: Eberechi Eze

One of the biggest mysteries of the summer window was how Eze wasn’t picked up by a bigger club. The 25-year-old bagged 10 Premier League goals last year and is no doubt Palace’s most creative player.

The Englishman also made his international debut earlier this year and looks to be in Gareth Southgate’s plans for next year’s Euros. Whether he’ll still be at Palace by the time the tournament rolls around is a different question.

RW: Jarrod Bowen

Bowen has been on fire so far this season, notching three goals in four Premier League games. But the West Ham winger has been consistently excellent for a few seasons now. Indeed, he scored 18 times in all competitions across the 2021/22 campaign and scored the winner in last season’s Europa Conference League final.

While Bowen is not blessed with blistering speed, he loves to cut in with his left foot and is a natural goalscorer. Jurgen Klopp has previously admitted to being a big fan and with Mohamed Salah potentially on his way out, perhaps Bowen could be headed to Merseyside.

ST: Evan Ferguson

Ivan Toney deserves a mention here, but the Brentford man is currently banned, so we’ve gone with someone else. That someone is Ferguson, who is unquestionably a world-class talent. Very few teenagers have ever scored a Premier League hat-trick, but Ferguson is no ordinary teenager. In fact, he could well be the best teenage striker we’ve seen in the Premier League since a certain Wayne Rooney.

Bad news for England fans as Ferguson confirmed recently that he wants to carry on playing for Ireland. But on the other hand, Man United should take note, as the teenager has previously admitted to being a massive Red Devils fan. United are in desperate need of more options up front and Ferguson has already proven he can cut it in the Premier League.