Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Liveprool’s Mohamed Salah are the frontrunners this season.
(L-R) Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane and Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah (Photos: AFP)
The PFA Player of the Year shortlist for the 2017-18 season was revealed on Saturday, with Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah headlining the six-man shortlist.
Manchester City, Premier League champions elect, have three of their players in the running for the award while Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have one nominee each.
The winner, voted for by PFA members, will be announced at a ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House on April 22.
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The six candidates are:
Operating primarily on City’s left flank, the 22-year-old Sane has really come into his own this season.
With 12 assists and nine goals in the league alone, the German winger is on course to register double figures in both by the time the season comes to a close.
Considering he’s not been a confirmed starter all season long, makes the aforementioned stats even more remarkable than they are.
The second of City’ trio to feature, David Silva has enjoyed something of a renaissance this season as, despite having his campaign interrupted due to some personal issues, he has eight goals and 11 assists to his name.
A Premier League great undoubtedly, the 32-year-old is still going strong in his eighth season with the Sky Blues.
Some of his goals have certainly been clutch and ultimately will prove crucial in City’s impending title triumph.
To say the Belgian has been a revelation would be misleading for everyone knew of the 26-year-old’s qualities for he joined the Sky Blues in 2016 on the back of a burgeoning reputation.
This season, however, he’s been untouchable for large swathes and the fact that he leads the league in the assist charts with 15 tells just one part of the story.
De Bruyne isn’t a mug in front of goal either, for he has eight strikes to his name but the reason he’s the leading candidate to lift the PFA Player of the Year award is by virtue of the fact that he’s been among the chief reasons behind City’s dominance this season.
While Kevin De Bruyne and Co. may well lift the league title, but Mohamed Salah can safely say he’s been carrying an entire team on his shoulders.
The Egyptian, written off as a Premier League flop after a failed stint with Chelsea, arrived at Anfield in the summer with plenty to prove and after 29 goals and nine assists, it would be safe to assume that he’s hammered it home.
His assists tally suggests he’s not been overly selfish in front of goal and is the firm favourite to win the Golden Boot as he leads a certain Lilywhites striker by four strikes currently.
Kane may have gotten plenty of stick from opposition fans for claiming one for the dubious goals this week, but the Spurs frontman has still had a supremely productive season.
The North Lonodners are almost assured of a top-four spot and Kane’s 25 goals have played a key role in that.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men are ending the season on a high and while Salah is someway ahead, don’t rule Kane out from clinching his third Golden Boot on the trot just yet.
The only goalkeeper to feature in this season’s shortlist, de Gea has been enjoying his best season in a United jersey.
And considering his jaw-dropping displays over the years, that’s saying a lot.
The impregnable Spaniard leads the league for clean-sheets (16) and since he’s saved over 100 shots over the course of the season, it just goes to tell you that the 27-year-old is really worth his weight in gold.
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