We are now heading towards the business end of the Premier League season and indeed the European football season.
The Champions League and other major European competitions are back underway and in a little over a week’s time, we will have the Carabao Cup Final, while the FA Cup is rumbling on with the Fifth Round of games looming on the horizon.
It is also the time of the year when the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), start to think about who they are going to crown as their player of the year ahead of the glittering ceremony later in the year.
With two major Footballer of the Year awards on offer, the other being the Football Writers Player Of The Year, the PFA award is perhaps more coveted within the game as it is voted for by your fellow professionals.
Some of the best players in the history of the game have collected the award since it was first awarded back in the 1973-74 season.
Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City has won the award the past two years, joining a list of just five other players to have won it twice (Alan Shearer, Mark Hughes, Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale being the others).
Other players to have won the award include Pat Jennings, Peter Shilton, Liam Brady, Terry McDermott, Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush, Gary Lineker, John Barnes, Paul McGrath, Eric Cantona, Dennis Bergkamp, David Ginola, Roy Keane, John Terry, Steven Gerrard, Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, Luis Suarez, Eden Hazard, N’Golo Kante, Mo Salah, and Virgil van Dijk.
Bet365 Sport has already got a market going for the winner of the trophy, so let’s take a look at some of the contenders for the award this year.
All odds shown were correct at the time of writing with bet365 Sport, but may have changed in the meantime.
BONUS CODE: BET247
Get up to €100 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365
Bet365 Review
PFA Player Of The Year Favourites
- Mo Salah (Liverpool) – 1/2 favourite
Salah is the hot favourite to win the trophy for a second time after doing so following his superb debut season for Liverpool in 2017-18, when he netted 43 goals in 51 games for the Reds, including 32 in the Premier League. He has 16 goals from 22 games already this season to sit well clear at the top of the Goalscorers chart, and has added a further 8 in seven games in the Champions League. He also has nine assists in the Premier League and at present, is ranked by many as the best player in the world.
- Kevin de Bruyne (Man City) – 11/2
Kevin de Bruyne is having another very strong year for Manchester City with seven goals in 18 games for City in the Premier League, but surprisingly just two assists. His influence on the team is so great though that he is always likely to feature in this list, especially with City at the top of the Premier League once again. For me though, this has not been one of his better seasons and I’d be surprised if he is the first player to win three of these awards in a row.
- Bernardo Silva (Man City) – 7/1
For me, Bernardo Silva has been Manchester City’s best player this season and with 7 goals in 24 games in the Premier League, plus two in six in the Champions League, it has been those contributions plus the sterling work he does in midfield and out wide on the flanks for his team, both in terms of attacking and defence that have made him such a key player for City this season.
- Phil Foden (Man City) – 16/1
The 21-year-old Foden may have a better chance of winning the Young Player Of The Year this season after a superb year for City which has seen him score six Premier League goals, with three assists in 17 games, as well as contributing two goals in the Champions League in six matches. A creative and gifted player who has a knack of scoring crucial goals for his team.
- Declan Rice (West Ham United) – 33/1
Outside of the top two teams, Declan Rice has been the most eye-catching player this season. The West Ham midfielder has started to add goals to his game to add to his defensive and creative qualities and his non-stop style at the heart of the Hammers midfield is absolutely fundamental to their success in recent times. Rice is going to be a man in demand at the end of this season and if he moves, he will command a very large transfer fee.
- Diogo Jota (Liverpool) – 33/1
Since moving to Liverpool, Jota has confounded many who expected him to play a back up role to the Reds trusted front three of Mane, Salah and Firmino. With 12 goals this season in the Premier League, he is second only to Salah in the goalscoring charts in the division and he has weighed in with many vital goals for the Reds over the course of the season.
- Joao Cancelo (Manchester City) – 33/1
Full backs are generally rare winners of the top awards, but Joao Cancelo is yet another Manchester City player enjoying a fantastic season. Not only has he been part of the tightest defence in English football, he has five assists and one goal in the Premier League and a further two goals in six Champions League games. It is his ability to create from deep and provide City with quality down the flanks which have really caught the eye this season.
- Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool) – 33/1
A previous winner of this award, Van Dijk has returned from a lengthy spell out with injury to be the same commanding presence at the heart of the Liverpool defence this season. A rock solid defender who is undoubtedly the best in the world at that position, Van Dijk’s passing ability and threat in the air from corners simply adds to his threat to opposing teams.
Others that could be considered but are outside bets include Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd) 40/1, Thiago, Trent Alexander Arnold (both Liverpool), Ruben Dias and Rodri (Man City) and Jarrod Bowen (West Ham) who are all rated as 50/1 shots.
Salah for me looks the lock for the PFA main award, but the winner in the Young Player of the Year could be more open with Foden, Rice and Alexander-Arnold all in with a realistic chance.
