Who will be the PFA player of the year 20/21

Fantasy Premier League

Here’s Tali with his article on who will be the PFA player of the year 20/21

Who will be the PFA player of the year 20/21

The Professional Footballers’ Association player of the year is an annual award given to the player who has been voted as been voted as being the outstanding player in the year in England.   The current incumbent is Kevin De Bruyne

Here are some of the leading candidates




Bruno Fernandes

The Manchester United attacking midfielder has been credited with transforming Manchester United since his signing in January 2020.

In 49 games for Manchester United in all competitions he’s scored 27 goals and created 17 assists.  That’s an incredible goal or assist every 89 minutes.  When he joined Manchester United they were languishing in obscurity in the Premier League.  They are now top.

This is what former Manchester United legend Gary Neville said about Fernandes in December

“There’s Paul Pogba, there’s David de Gea, there’s Maguire, they’ve all been captain of the team, Cavani with his experience.

“He is the leader in that team, leader by example. Leader by what he does when he gives the ball away, he sprints straight after it.

“Every time the team are on the ball, he wants the ball. Every time he gets the ball, he wants to play a pass that matters.

“He’s transformed, I’d say, the whole club from a point of view of if he doesn’t play, it’s a massive problem, and that’s a big issue when you’re almost reliant on him.

“Of all the midfield players they’ve got, Van de Beek, Pogba, Fred, Matic, McTominay – he is just the one absolutely out there of those three midfield players that pick themselves.

“Fernandes has been an absolute sensation at United – he’s the leader of that team and if it’s not him wearing the armband, he could be.”

It’s always difficult to predict these things with so much football to play but  on the betway mobile betting app Bruno is the 9/4 favourite.

Harry Kane

Harry Kane is 2nd with 12 goals in the Premier League to date but he incredibly leads the assists charts with 11 which is more than the creative midfielders you’d expect to be fighting it out in Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes and Jack Grealish.

He has transformed his game to fit in with Mourinho’s counter attacking style to become a number 10 type figure who drops deep and creates for others.  In particular his partnership with Son has seen them combine on numerous occasions this season.

Spurs currently sit 5th in the Premier League handily placed to secure a Champions League spot for next season.   Kane’s contribution to this has been massive.

They are also in the EFL Cup final against Man City with a chance to win a trophy for the first time in a years.  The last time they won a trophy being the League Cup in the 2007-8 season.  They are also in the knockout round of 32 of the Europa League with a very winnable tie against Austrian club RZ Pellets WAC




Kevin De Bruyne

After misfiring all season Man City have suddenly come alive with excellent performances against Chelsea in the Premier League and neighbours and rivals Manchester United in the EFL cup.  De Bruyne was pivotal in both performances.  This was especially so against Chelsea as he produced an outstanding performance as a false 9 scoring and assisting Phil Fodens goal.

However he still has some work to do to regain his title as the assist king as he lags behind Harry Kanes 11 assists with, for him, a less than best total of 10.  He has suffered from the lack of fitness of forwards Aguero and Jesus.  The problem has been exacerbated by Jesus’s poor form.



De Bruyne also has been the deadly shot that he was last season.  This season in the Premier league he has 3 goals and 10 assists in 16 appearances at a goal or assist every 104 minutes.  This is still respectable but pales against last season where he got 13 goals and 20  assists in 35 appearances at a goal or assist every 84 minutes.

Of the 3 players though he is the only player still in the Champions League with a favourable 4/7 first leg tie according to Betway  in the round of 16 against German side Borussia Mönchengladbach

So who is the favourite?

There’s obviously still alot of football to play but at the moment it’s hard to see past the transformative effect that Bruno Fernandes has had on Manchester United.  A shortlist of players nominated is generally put out for voting in April by the members of the players association

 

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