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The Sunday Supplement panel give their verdicts on who has been the outstanding performer in the Premier League this season
Ahead of this week’s announcement of the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year, the Sunday Supplement panel give their own verdicts on who has been the outstanding performer in the Premier League this season.
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With Liverpool having run away with the title this campaign, the champions are likely to dominate the voting, with a whole host of possible contenders coming from Anfield.
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Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, captain Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have all enjoyed impressive seasons for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Meanwhile, the winner may come from recently deposed champions Manchester City, with both Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling having produced a number of eye-catching performances to help Pep Guardiola’s team seal the runners-up spot behind Liverpool.
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And do not forget Leicester City’s red-hot striker Jamie Vardy, who currently heads the race for this seasons’ Golden Boot having scored 23 goals to help push the Foxes to the brink of Champions League qualification.
However, this is who the Sunday Supplement’s three guests have voted for ahead of Friday’s announcement…
Dominic King, northwest football reporter, the Daily Mail – Jordan Henderson
I believe he has been the outstanding performer for Liverpool. He has been man of the match in all the big games, the intensity that he provides in driving the team forward, the standards that he sets every day in training.
And that is even without me mentioning the stuff he has done with the Players Together Campaign. I think he has been an absolute credit and that is where my vote [for the Football Writers’ Award] went.
Sami Mokbel, chief football reporter, the Daily Mail – Sadio Mane
I do not think you can go too far between Man City and Liverpool, there have been fantastic performances and players throughout those squads. I think if you are looking at City, Kevin De Bruyne, what a fantastic footballer. Raheem Sterling, again improving on his numbers and he is an absolute superstar, while Jordan Henderson is the driving force behind that Liverpool team. When he plays, and plays well, Liverpool essentially win that football match.
But for me, Mane is what makes them tick, when he is in the team and playing well, he is a frightening prospect. He is a fantastic footballer, assists, goals, everything you name it. And for me, I think Liverpool would be a completely different proposition without Mane in the team, hence why I voted for him.
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Rory Smith, chief soccer correspondent, the New York Times – Kevin De Bruyne
I think the problem Liverpool have this season is the problem Man City had in the previous two in that there are lots of different players who you could pinpoint as being central to Liverpool’s success.
Henderson is the driving force, he sets the standards, Mane has moved on to another level this season, they look a massively different prospect when Mo Salah is playing, the whole system struggles if [Roberto] Firmino is not there, Virgil van Dijk is quite good people might have noticed, Alisson is a pretty good goalkeeper generally, Trent Alexander-Arnold is a quite a good right-back.
And I think the issue they have is they are such a team Liverpool that it is actually pretty hard to pick out one individual and say, ‘that individual makes a difference,’ which was true of Man City last year and the year before when Liverpool players won the individual awards.
And I actually think to me the reverse should probably be true this year in that Kevin De Bruyne has maybe been the outstanding footballer this season even though he has not ended up on the team that has won the Premier League and run away with it.
But that did not stop Salah winning it the year City got 100 points, so for me it would be De Bruyne’s year, although I suspect that it will go to Henderson.
Sourse: skysports.com
