The race for PFA honors in the Premier League

Recognition and awards are important aspects of an

March 16, 2021 A Football Report

The race for PFA honors in the Premier League

Recognition and awards are important aspects of any athlete’s or celebrity’s (musicians and actors) career. Players want to be recognized for all the efforts and hard work they have put into their craft all year long, and in the Premier League, there is no bigger individual award for players than the PFA awards. The Professional Footballers Awards (PFA) is voted by current players, with the only criteria being teammates can’t vote for each other which furthers improve the credibility of these awards.

Football is one of the most popular sports around the world. Soccer is also one of the most popular sports to bet on and there are a lot of reasons for that:

First reason soccer is so popular to bet on is that it’s widely available
Another reason so many football fans enjoying betting on soccer is a huge amount of tournaments are also available.
The third reason is that players and teams are famous and people all over the world know them well. Many fans are following certain teams and players, discovering their strengths and weaknesses which in turn allows them to make better decisions when it comes to betting on the winners of football games and tournaments.

From Kevin De Bruyne to Virgil Van Dijk down to Thierry Henry and John Terry in the previous decades, the PFA has honored some of the greatest players to ever step in the Premier League. The PFA Player of the Year award recognizes the best player in the current Premier League season, while young players aren’t left out as well, with the PFA Young Player award recognizing the most outstanding Under-23 player in the league as well. There’s also the PFA Team of the Season honors, which is a team of the best players in the season per their position. Although, winning might be everything to a lot of footballers out there, just getting nominated also recognizes how outstanding the player has been that season. Here is our list of favorites for the 2020-21 PFA awards.

PFA PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)

No player has so much positive effect on a football club in a short space of time since probably when Manchester United signed Eric Cantona. United finished the 2019-20 season in the third position after looking lost all season, thanks to Bruno Fernandes. The “Portuguese Magnifico” has taken it a step higher this season and is currently top two in both assists and goals in the Premier League this season. His goal contribution of 25 (15 goals/10 assists) is currently the best in the league, thus the main reason why United are in second place.

Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)

If someone had predicted at the start of the season that Kane would be top of the assists standings, I’m sure a host of Premier League fans would have disagreed -including fans of Tottenham. Kane has 11 assists to his name so far, one ahead of Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, and Bruno Fernandes, and the England captain can also boast to have found the back of the net on 13 occasions -placing him second in the total number of goal contributions. Tottenham might be struggling of late, haven’t lost five of their last six league games -but Harry Kane has been playing some of his best football this season and deserved to be in the shout for PFA honors.

Ruben Dias (Manchester City)

With Manchester City ten points clear at the top of the Premier League, one expects either Raheem Sterling or Kevin De Bruyne to be in the shout for the PFA Player of the Year award, but Ruben Dias has looked the Citizens’ most outstanding player so far. The Portuguese defender joined City last summer from Benfica for a whopping £62 million and has justified every penny of that price tag. City has the best defensive record in the league thanks to Dias, and the 23-year-old can boast of 14 clean sheets to his name in the league this season. Dias’ impact goes beyond just stats and numbers, with previously neglected City defender John Stones looking like a class act every time both play together in the heart of the team’s defense.

Mohammed Salah (Liverpool)

The race for the worst title defense ever might already have been won by Liverpool -with Jurgen Klopp’s men currently languishing in sixth place having lost their last four league games at home- but that hasn’t stop Mo Salah from being a standout player this season. The Egyptian is currently top of the league’s goal scorers chart with 17 goals, and in the hunt for his third Premier League top scorer crown. Salah’s chances of winning the PFA award hinges on well Liverpool bounce back from now till the end of the season, and with the quality of players they’ve at their disposal -one can argue they won’t struggle for long.

Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)

A host of big clubs will continue to rue the final day of last season, as Aston Villa survived relegation to the EFL Championship and guaranteed they at least kept Jack Grealish at the club for the current 2020-21 season. The English midfielder has been outstanding this season and is currently top three in total assists. Aston Villa are also reaping the benefits of their investment after they offered Grealish a new deal last summer, and the club are currently 8th in the league with two games in hand. A European place finish isn’t out of the question for Villa, but keeping Grealish at the club beyond this season might prove difficult should his performances continue to improve.

PFA YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Harvey Barnes (Leicester City)

With 9 goals and five assists to his name, Harvey Barnes is a likely contender for the Young Player of the year award. His goals have helped propelled Leicester to third place on the league standings.

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

Arsenal might be in mid-table but Saka is a front runner for the young player of the year. 5 goals and four assists at the young age of 19 is no joke.

Mason Mount (Chelsea)

22-year-old but already a mainstay in the Chelsea team. Even new Chelsea boss, Thomas Tuchel seems to see what old one, Frank Lampard sees in Mount, and he has rewarded both with some really impressive performances.

Pedro Neto (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

By far and away Wolves best player this season in the Premier League. Pedro Neto’s improvement has been glaring for all to see, the 20-year-old has five goals and six assists to his name and his recent inclusion in the Portuguese national team is also a testament to his improvement.