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Who should win the PFA Player of the Year?

David Nugent in Editorial, English Premier League 13 Apr 2017

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Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante is favourite to win PFA Player of the Year

The nominees for the PFA Player of the Year have been announced and there are very few surprises in the six names announced.

Last year’s Player of the Year was Leicester winger Riyad Mahrez who helped the Foxes win the Premier League title.

The winner of this year’s award could also come from the team that wins the title.

Here is the list of nominees for this year’s award:

Eden Hazard (Chelsea)                                   

The brilliant Belgian has been back to close to his best this season, scoring 14 goals and providing five assists helping his side to the top of the Premier League table and likely the title.

Hazard has previous with this competition, having won the award in season 2014/15, a season when the Blues were also crowned champions. Maybe that is an omen for both the player and his team.

N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)

The little French defensive midfielder could be set to win his second consecutive Premier League title, after being such a key figure for Leicester in last season’s title triumph.

The midfielder is now regarded as one of the best players in his position in the world. He was overlooked for the award last season, despite being such an influence on the Foxes performances.

This season could be his year though, as he is currently 1/9 favourite to win the award this year. For many, he would be a well-deserved winner.

Harry Kane (Tottenham)

The Tottenham striker has again been prolific in front of goal for the team from north London. The 23-year-old has found the net 19 times in the top-flight, despite being sidelined for two separate spells with an ankle injury.

The England international seems like an outsider for the award, unless the side from north London wins the Premier League title this season. Kane is also a nominee for the Young Player of the Year award. However, teammate Dele Alli is the favourite to win the award for a consecutive season.

Romelu Lukaku (Everton)

The highly-rated Belgian striker is currently top scorer in the Premier League table with 23 goals. His prolific goalscoring record and general contribution to Everton’s campaign meant the striker was hard to ignore.

Lukaku is considered a big outsider for the award. However, like Kane has also been nominated for the Young Player of the Year award. The Premier League Golden Boot is a more likely target for the in-demand striker this season.

This could be the last season Lukaku is with the Toffees, with reports heavily linking the former Chelsea star with a return to his old club.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United)

The Swedish veteran has been Manchester United’s main man this season. Without the 35-year-old the Red Devils would have struggled for goals even worse than they have done this season.

The striker arrived in Manchester on a free transfer in the summer. He has since gone about proving his doubters wrong by netting 17 league goals in his debut campaign in the English top-flight.

Ibrahimovic may have lifted his team this season. However, it seems very doubtful that the modest Swede will win this award. It will be a shame as the striker may not get a chance to win the award next year, as his contract is up this summer and he is reportedly contemplating a switch to the MLS.

Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)

Sanchez has been the undoubted star of a poor Arsenal team this season. The Chilean international has scored 18 goals in the top-flight. Without him, the Gunners may not be occupying a place in midtable.

Although the award is an individual one, most winners come from a team that wins the Premier League title. With Arsenal struggling to even make the top four this season, Sanchez seems highly unlikely to win the award.

Only one winner for me

All of the players mentioned above have made a fine contribution to their team this season.

However, for me, there is only one winner and that is N’Golo Kante. The French midfielder looks set to win another Premier League winners medal and it is no coincidence.

Kante seems to be everywhere. He has such a big influence winning the ball in midfield and enabling the likes of Hazard to do the fancy stuff. Without Kante, I doubt that Hazard or Diego Costa further forward would have enjoyed such a good campaign.

I have had my say, so for you deserves to be crowned Player of the Year?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Nugent


David is a freelance football writer with nearly a decade of experience writing about the beautiful game. The experienced writer has written for over a dozen websites and also an international soccer magazine offline.
Arguably his best work has come as an editorial writer for Soccernews, sharing his good, bad and ugly opinions on the world’s favourite sport. During David’s writing career he has written editorials, betting previews, match previews, banter, news and opinion pieces.

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