Eight Premier League players whose values have soared this season

Charlie Austin has been a revelation so far this season

Alex Johnson looks at eight players whose performances and values have soared in the opening four months of the Premier League season.

As we approach the half-way stage of the Premier League season, the success stories are beginning to take shape.

Chelsea threatened to run away with the title early in the season but have been reeled in lately by champions Man City. Meanwhile, Manchester United are coming back strongly and Southampton and West Ham have been the surprise packages to date.

Which individuals have stood out from the crowd and increased their value in doing so? We take a look at some standout performers so far.

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Kasper Schmeichel - Leicester City

It has been a tough start back to life in the big time for Leicester. After a quick start that included victory over Man Utd, Nigel Pearson's Foxes have gone eleven games without a win and tumbled to the foot of the table.

Schmeichel has impressed despite that run. His performance against Aston Villa recently had experts making lofty comparisons with his famous father.

Injury is set to keep him out over Christmas and new year and perhaps for Leicester the only solace to be found is that it will keep him out of the shop window.

Nathaniel Clyne - Southampton

Clyne marginally edges out team-mate Ryan Bertrand. Both Saints full-backs have been earning the plaudits this season but Clyne perhaps just shades it from his England international colleague on account of his two goals.

Clyne has played every minute as the Saints earned the tag of meanest defence in the division (they now share the honour with leaders Chelsea after their recent wobble).

Clyne is an effective defender with the energy and stamina to work up and down the flank all day and has also demonstrated his eye for goal.

Southampton received 20m for Luke Shaw last summer and could face another barrage of bids in 2015.

Andre Wisdom - West Brom

The on-loan Liverpool defender has excelled for Alan Irvine's side in the opening months. The Baggies suffered a slow start but have got their act together and received a big boost in defeating Midlands rivals Aston Villa last weekend.

At 21, Wisdom is full of promise and, like Clyne, not shy in getting forward. He showed his composure with a perfect cutback for Stephane Sessegnon's stunning opener against Man Utd in October.

Wisdom is a good news story for Liverpool in what has been a tough season so far.

Alexis Sanchez - Arsenal

What a shrewd piece of business this now looks to have been from Arsene Wenger.

Sanchez was essentially a bit-part player at Barcelona in the shadow of Messi and company but the Chilean has roared into life at the Emirates and the 30m fee paid to the Catalans now looks like excellent value.

The 25-year-old looks like he has been an Arsenal player forever and has already hit the net on 14 occasions since his summer move.

Not just a goalscorer, almost every Gunners attack seems to run through Sanchez and he regularly turns provider. He already looks indispensable for Wenger's team.

Morgan Schneiderlin - Southampton

The Frenchman did his best to engineer a move away from St Marys in the summer but Southampton were able to hold out.

Having picked him up for a song in 2008, Saints will at least console themselves in the knowledge they should be handsomely rewarded if he moves on.

Schneiderlin's desire appears to be to reunite with Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs and his former boss could use him on the evidence this season to date.

He has already scored three times in 11 Premier League appearances and could have his choice of suitors during next month's transfer window if he decided once more to seek pastures new.

Diafra Sakho - West Ham

The Senegal international has been a revelation at Upton Park since arriving from Metz in the summer.

The fee paid to the French club was undisclosed but whatever it was, rest assured Big Sam could command much more right now.

The striker got off to a superb start, scoring in five successive games following the win over Liverpool in September.

Injury has curbed his progress since but he was back on the scoresheet in his return against Swansea at Upton Park recently.

Sahko's goals are a big contributing factor in West Ham's current lofty league position.

Charlie Austin - QPR

Austin has scored goals pretty much everywhere he has played. The big question mark hanging over the QPR man going into this campaign was 'can he do it in the Premier League?'

Eight goals in 14 games has been exactly the sort of answer to the critics Austin and manger Harry Redknapp would have dreamed of.

Austin has already done it against the best, scoring against champions Manchester City and leaders Chelsea.

His goals have helped QPR climb off the bottom of the table following a tough start.

He will return from suspension for the weekend visit of West Brom and is central to any plans Rangers have of staying up.

Whatever happens to QPR this season, the 25-year-olds future appears to lie in the Premier League.

Wilfried Bony - Swansea

No player has scored more Premier League goals during the calendar year of 2014 than Swansea's Wilfried Bony.

Garry Monk will be dreading the January window when the vultures are sure to circle and test the commitment the 26-year-old Ivory Coast international shows to his Welsh employers.

Remarkably, while Swansea burst from the traps, Bony did not hit the net in any of his first six league appearances.

Since then, it has been business as usual however. Bony has found the target eight times in ten games and looks a constant menace as the spearhead of Swansea's neat attacking interplay.

With Liverpool suffering something of a striker crisis and Manchester City having Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic on the injured list, Monk will need to be on his game in January to keep the free-scoring striker at the Liberty Stadium.