Premier League Player of the Season Contenders

Premier League Player of the Season Contenders

This Premier League season has been a season like no other. Fans have been missed at grounds, but the players have still been showing their quality throughout the season. Now as we near the latter stages of the season, the talk turns to the ‘Player of the Season’ award. This is an award that has been won by some of the greats to have graced the Premier League, Thierry Henry, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, to name a few. 

This season’s battle to be crowned the best player in the league looks set to be a close battle, with several potential candidates.

Let’s take a look at some potential winners of the Player of the Season award this season.

Ilkay Gündogan – Manchester City

The German has been sensational for City this season. Without the constant presence of Sergio Aguero leading the line, many thought City would struggle for goals. Gündogan has stepped forward this season, scoring 12 goals so far in Premier League. This is a big jump for a player that had 15 goals in total in the league before this campaign. His 12 goals this season puts Gündogan at a goal per match ratio of 0.52.

Looking further into his stats for this season, it is not just his attacking qualities that have helped City this season. Gündogan has made zero errors leading to goals for the opposition, an astonishing statistic for a midfielder in a team that has lots of the ball each game. 

The German has also been a role model on the pitch with his discipline. In 23 Premier League matches this season, Gündogan hasn’t received a single yellow card or red card. Some might suggest this means he shies away from getting stuck in during games but this is far from the truth. This season Gündogan has a 74% tackle success rate from 19 tackles in 23 games. 

Gündogan looks like he will be one of the leading contenders for ‘Player of the Season’ award come the end of the season.

Harry Kane – Tottenham Hotspur 

Tottenham haven’t lit the league alight this season, but Kane has been hitting the high expectations set on him. As always Kane has been scoring plenty of goals this season, currently leading in the league with 19 in total. Kane also hasn’t been afraid to shoot. He has had 109 shots with 42 on target, this only puts his shooting accuracy at 39%.

It has been his assisting this season that has caught the eye of many. Kane has an impressive 13 assists, creating 14 big chances this season. This sudden rise in the amounts of assists has propelled Kane to another level. A level that is again catching the eyes of many other teams.

Kane is the leader for Tottenham, not always the captain, but he is a leader. Many will be hoping he continues his fine form into the Euro’s this summer for England. Just as with England, if Tottenham is to have any success this season, Kane will be crucial to this success. 

Rúben Dias – Manchester City

In only his first season in English football, Dias has arguably been the best signing of the summer. Dias joined from Benfica and has transformed the City defence, so much so that Dias now sees himself in contention for the Player of the Season award.

In the Premier League, Dias has formed an impressive duo with John Stones. This combination for City has conceded 21 goals, had 16 clean sheets in 30 Premier League games. No wonder they are dominating in the league this season.

Individually, Dias has been in fine form. In 27 games, Dias has 13 clean sheets and only been involved in 2 defeats. Crucially for City, Dias has made zero mistakes that have led to goals. 

Playing style-wise, Dias fits perfectly into Pep Guardiola’s style of passing play. Dias is comfortable with the ball at his feet, as any player under Pep needs to be. He also possesses a bit of pace to help with recovery against the quicker attackers. Not only does he possess the modern-day needs of a centre half, but Dias also has the old school attributes. The Portuguese international isn’t afraid to get into a tackle and is always happy with big tackles and goal-saving blocks. 

? [CIES] | The best players of the first quarter of 2021 – The highest value in absolute terms was recorded for Lionel Messi: 92.5 out of 100!

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4. ?? Ruben Dias
5. ?? Cristiano Ronaldo pic.twitter.com/Di7CBeYxeF

— Barca Times Stats (@Stats_BT) March 29, 2021

Jack Grealish – Aston Villa

Grealish has certainly been a stand out player this season in the Premier League. He hasn’t scored many this season, with 6. He has however accumulated 10 assists in 22 league appearances. Grealish’s impact on Villa makes him a contender for Player of the Season in my eyes. The Villa captain has been crucial to Dean Smith’s team’s amazing results this season. 

As many know, Grealish is tricky with a ball at his feet. So much so that he is the most fouled player in the Premier League. There is no surprise players are fouling him to prevent him from creating chances, he is one of the most creative players in the Premier League. Grealish has completed 83% of passes this season in Premier League and averages 40.86 passes a match. The only way to stop the man at the moment is by fouling him.

Jack Grealish will be an outsider for the Player of the Season this season due to the immense competition in the Premier League. It would cap the season off well for a man that has taken the league by storm this year.

? The top rated players in Europe's top 5 leagues ahead of the return of domestic action this weekend pic.twitter.com/PVfhI2WrJj

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) April 1, 2021

Bruno Fernandes – Manchester United 

The final candidate to look at is the spearhead of United’s revival this season, Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese star has been a creative spark for United. Bruno has made 30 appearances scoring 16 goals and assisting 11 times. The theory is Bruno only scores penalties, however only half of his goals have come from the spot.

His will to win has been infectious on the United team this season. Fernandes is hungry to win something with United as soon as possible. The Premier League is more or less out of reach for United this season, but Bruno will continue his fine form into next seasons push for the title.

Several other players will be close to the Player of the Season award this year. Mo Salah has been in fine goalscoring form yet again for Liverpool. Dominic Calvert-Lewin has had a remarkable season for Everton scoring 14 goals at the other side of Stanley Park but is unlikely he’ll make it to the award.

The race for the Premier League Player of the Season award is well and truly on.

We hope you enjoyed the article ‘Premier League Player of the Season Contenders.’ Who do you think will win the player of the season award in 2021? Let us know!