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The Premier League has revealed the list of nominees for this season's Premier League Player of the Season Award. Some of the usual suspects have made it to the list and it's quite hard to predict which way this one's going to go.
Some top Premier League performers are missing from the list
The players who have been nominated for the award this season are: Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jarrod Bowen, Joao Cancelo, Kevin De Bruyne, Bukayo Saka, Son Heung-min and James Ward-Prowse.
Although a case could be made for each of the players on this list, it is quite surprising that some quality performers have been left out.
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Without further ado, let's take a look at five players who deserved to be nominated for the Premier League Player of the Season Award.
#5 Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Liverpool struggled in the 2020-21 season due to a raft of injuries to some of their starters. Chief among those players was Virgil van Dijk, the colossal Dutch centre-back who has played a major role in Liverpool's recent successes.
Van Dijk recovered from his ACL injury last summer and has been at his dominant best all season. In 34 Premier League appearances so far this term, the 30-year-old has helped Liverpool keep a whopping 21 clean sheets.
He has a tackle success rate of 63% and has committed no errors leading to a goal all season. Van Dijk has also won 117 of his 151 aerial duels and has won nearly 75% of his duels. He has been a force to be reckoned with at the back for Liverpool this term and has been one of the best players in the league.
#4 Mason Mount (Chelsea)
Mason Mount has gone from strength to strength this season. He has been one of Chelsea's most consistent performers over the course of the 2021-22 campaign. As such, his omission from the list of nominees for the Premier League Player of the Season Award is a bit surprising.
In 31 Premier League appearances this season, the 23-year-old has scored 11 goals and provided 10 assists. Mount is the youngest Chelsea player ever to hit double figures for goals and assists in the Premier League.
He is one of the best performing attacking midfielders in the English top-flight and should have been nominated for the award.
#3 Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva has been a standout performer for Manchester City this season. The Portugal international's tenacity and technical ability make him one of City's most prized assets.
He is also one of the most versatile players in the Premier League and is comfortable playing in a number of positions across midfield and attack. The 27-year-old has scored eight goals and provided four assists in 33 Premier League appearances this season.
He has created eight big chances for City in the Premier League this term. Silva has not only been good in an attacking sense but he has also never failed to put in a defensive shift.
He has a tackle success rate of 51% which is pretty commendable for a diminutive central midfielder. Silva has also made 20 interceptions and 145 recoveries.
#2 Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Just as Sadio Mane was starting to get written off as a player who is past his prime, he has made a remarkable comeback. The Senegal international has been in top form in the second half of the season and has now successfully transformed into a centre-forward for Liverpool.
Mane has come up clutch in several Premier League games in recent months and has once again been an extremely reliable presence uptop for Jurgen Klopp's side. The 30-year-old has scored 15 goals and provided four assists in 33 Premier League appearances so far this term.
It was quite surprising not to see Mane's name among the list of nominees for the Premier League Player of the Season Award.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the third highest goalscorer in the Premier League this season. It's worth noting that the Portuguese talisman has scored 18 goals and provided three assists in the Premier League, playing for the worst Manchester United team of the modern era.
Ronaldo has scored two hat-tricks in the Premier League this season and has been a rare bright spot in a forgettable campaign for the Red Devils. The 37-year-old is still going strong despite being the oldest member of the team and has tried to lead by example this term.
Ronaldo has also won the Premier League Player of the Month Award twice this season. Unfortunately, he has not been nominated for the Premier League Player of the Season Award.
