Diego Costa v Leonardo Ulloa: Player of the season

Leonardo Ulloa has been a revelation for Leicester so far this season

Two players are standing out so far according to Alex Johnson to be the player of the season in the Premier League. Alex Johnsoon looks at how they are doing.

Two strikers with ultimately different targets for the season have taken a lot of the headlines in the opening weeks of the campaign.

They may have had vastly different price tags this summer and had contrasting journeys throughout their career to date, but Diego Costa and Leonardo Ulloa are doing sterling jobs for their teams so far.

There is no doubting the fantastic impact that Costa has made on the Premier League already. Some may have doubted whether the Spanish striker could bring his form from La Liga into the Premier League, but he has certainly hit the ground running. He scored 27 goals in La Liga last season - which was eight more than Chelsea's mis-firing Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto'o and Demba Ba combined - and with nine goals in his first seven Premier League games he looks more than capable of matching that figure in England. The only game he hasn't scored in was the draw with Manchester City, where he did come very close and hit the post.

Mourinho knew for a long while that he wanted Costa and was quick during the summer to wrap up a 32 million deal for the big striker. Even despite some injury concerns about his dodgy hamstrings, Costa has won over the Chelsea fans with not only his goals, but also his combative nature on the pitch. His size and power is going to trouble even the toughest Premier League defences, and centre backs beware as Costa is not going to shirk away from a battle. He offers Chelsea a focal point that they were cripplingly short of last season and a finishing prowess that means he can score with left foot, right foot or head.

Ulloa may not grab the same number of headlines as Costa but he is doing an equally important job for Leicester. One of the most important factors for any promoted side is who is going to get them goals in the Premier League. Leicester identified the former Brighton striker as the man who could do that, and the 8 million transfer fee looks to be money well spent. After 23 goals in 50 Championship appearances for the Seagulls, it might have been seen as a bit of a gamble to spend such a sum on him, but Ulloa has proved his pedigree in a short space of time.

His five goals already have been key to Leicester's impressive start to the season. After strikes against Everton, Arsenal and the match-winner against Stoke, Ulloa then got two in Leicester's miraculous 5-3 comeback win over Manchester United at the King Power Stadium. The Argentinean provides Leicester with valuable pace and power up the park, while his height and aerial ability also offer them an extra degree of protection at set-pieces.

His work-rate has enamoured Ulloa to the Leicester faithful, Ulloa is an honest and hard-working striker a million miles away from some of the prima donnas of the Premier League. A lot of this can be attributed to his apprenticeship in the lower divisions of Argentinean football and second tiers in both Spain and England. Ulloa has earned his dues and a crack at the big time, and he is grabbing that opportunity with both hands.

These two strikers are going to have a huge part to play for their teams over the course of the season, albeit at different ends of the Premier League table. They could be the difference-maker between success and failure, or between survival and relegation in Leicester's case. However, even the staunchest Leicester fan probably won't expect Ulloa to win any awards come the end of the season. But if his hard-work and goals keep Leicester up then he will be a hero around the East Midlands.