2. Demba Ba

The former West Ham man scored a career high of 28 goals in all competitions and hit the winner against Tottenham in the Europa League group stages last season. The 29-year-old was the teams top scorer in league and in European competition. Ba is of course no stranger to English opposition having also played for Newcastle United and Liverpool FC. Ba became a favourite of Bilic and the 46-year-old coach and the Senegalese international underlined that the reason he was able to settle in as quickly as he did was thanks to his boss. “He seems like he is rough and rude on the sidelines but he is actually very soft and calm with the players,” Ba said speaking to Claret and Hugh at the Human Appeal Celebrity Gala Football dinner at the Marriott Hotel. “He would be like a confident. He is very open and someone you can talk to.”