As another exceptional season draws to an end so do the accolades that follow at such a time, the Premier League champions, those treasured top four spots and of course the famous FA Cup winners.
With records to be broken and new ones to be set, the end of this season will be an extremely exciting watch, it would be very bold to predict, with confidence, the final outcomes of the 2018/19 season. As a result, the PFA Player of the Year for the 2018/19 season will not be without fierce competition.
Let’s take a look at some of the contenders for the coveted award.
Sergio Aguero
Currently pipping Mo Salah to top scorer, Aguero has 19 goals and eight assists this season. Often struck with injury at least once a season, Aguero often has less game time than his fellow contenders but he makes up for it when he’s on the pitch.
Barring these injuries, he could consistently be the league’s top scorer. Man City could well complete the treble of the Premier League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup this season and Sergio Aguero is a major driving force behind this.
He once said he’d only leave City once they’d won the Champions League, suggesting the Argentine could be set for another season at the Etihad following their defeat to Spurs. With the treble in contention along with the PFA Player of the Year, this could be the year of Aguero.
Raheem Sterling
Aguero’s Man City teammate is also a very strong contender for the PFA Player of the Year award this season. Having one of the best seasons of his career, Sterling is proving his haters wrong and is providing us with some world class entertaining football.
He has firmly cemented his place in one of Europe’s top teams and his ever building confidence means he is improving season upon season. Could he be the first Englishman to win the award since Wayne Rooney just under a decade ago?
Fierce rival for the accolade Virgil Van Dijk seems to think so, recently stating that he voted for Sterling as his player of the year.
Virgil Van Dijk
Talking of Van Dijk, here is another player that is very deserving of this outstanding individual award. When Liverpool signed the Southampton central defender for a world record £75million, fans alike were sceptical at such a high price tag for the Dutchman.
However, he seems to be worth every penny. Liverpool have been criticised in the past for having a shaky defence, but they currently have the most clean sheets this season (18) and Van Dijk is a big reason for this. Liverpool may win their first ever Premier League title this season, what a way to prove the price tag was justified.
Players of the year are often attackers as the more defensive players are overlooked, for example, the last defender to win the PFA player of the year award was John Terry way back in the 04/05 season. Could Virgil win one for the defenders this time around? He certainly has against many attackers over the season.
Other contenders
The three players above have had outstanding seasons but they’re not the only ones. There are some outside contenders that also can’t be written off. Sadio Mane and Eden Hazard are all still in contention for the Golden Boot and have had incredible seasons too. Bernardo Silva has also made the shortlist after an impressive season for the Citizens.
With those mentioned being in contention for the PFA player of the year award, it’s set to be one of tightest outcomes yet. There could still be a dark horse that comes to claim this coveted prize, a few players have missed out on this list that may still prove they’ve been this season’s best player.
