The nominees for PFA Players’ Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year have been released. While most of the expected names have made the lists, there will always be a few who are hard done by.
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These players are defended by supporters and pundits on how their performances warrant an inclusion on the lists. This is especially the case for the Players’ Player of the Year with quite a few players having impressive seasons yet not being nominated.
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A definite case can be made for these players and here are five players who can count themselves unlucky to miss out.
#5 Jan Vertonghen – Tottenham
One of the most underrated defenders in the league, Vertonghen, along with Toby Alderweireld, is a rock in the team that possesses the best defensive record in the Premier League, ahead of Antonio Conte’s Chelsea. Tottenham have conceded just 22 goals in 31 games, and have kept 14 clean sheets with 10 of them coming at White Hart Lane. This shows how difficult it is to beat Spurs in their own yard and Vertonghen is a key reason for that.
The Belgian joined Spurs from Dutch club Ajax in 2012 and is now a constant fixture in the side. He fits perfectly into Mauricio Pochettino’s vision at Spurs and he is not only one of the league’s best and most consistent defenders with a Whoscored.com rating of 7.31 so far, but also an adept passer of the ball and pretty comfortable in possession.
As such, Vertonghen can consider himself unlucky to miss out on the nomination.
#4 David Silva – Manchester City
The Merlin of Manchester City and arguably their greatest player of all time, David Silva is now becoming a regular on this list. For a player who has created more chances (598) and assisted more goals (63) than any other player in the league since his arrival from Valencia in 2010, Silva’s only personal accolade is making it to the PFA Team of the Year in 2012.
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Despite playing a starring role in Manchester City’s two league wins and also in their other domestic triumphs, a lack of dominating statistics could very well be the reason behind his snub. Similar to a defender, his importance in pulling the strings for the Citizens cannot be quantified perfectly and as a result, he continues to miss out on the award.
His manager, Pep Guardiola, reacted to Silva’s snub by saying, “He has something more special than awards. Awards are to put in wardrobes and clean sometimes. He has the respect of all of his teammates and his trainers. That is the most important thing. The opinion we will have in the future of what he has done in his career is not about how many individual prizes he has won but about the opinion of his teammates and his managers.”
#3 Diego Costa – Chelsea
If there was one player who played a significant part in Chelsea winning matches in the first half of the season, then it was Diego Costa. The Spaniard spearheaded Chelsea’s title challenge in 2016 with 14 goals and five assists in 18 league games and looked set to be named the Player of the Year. Costa scored five winners and three equalisers in that period, becoming the most important player for Chelsea.
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However, a training ground bust-up and a mega bid from China seem to have turned his head and injuries have also played a part in his dip in form. He has not scored in the last four league games, which is a first in his Chelsea career and a combination of the above factors could have led to a miss in the awards nomination.
Nevertheless, his terrific performances in the first half of the season, that helped Chelsea build a platform on which the team is marching ahead in 2017, definitely deserved a mention.
#2 Sadio Mane – Liverpool
Sadio Mane can consider himself pretty unlucky to miss out on a PFA Players’ Player of the Year nomination after a terrific debut season at Liverpool. He was signed from Southampton in the summer to provide pace, directness and goals for Jurgen Klopp’s side and he did exactly that.
He has scored 13 goals and assisted five more in his best season so far in the league and is a part of Liverpool’s exciting attacking trio alongside Brazilians Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho.
Mane’s importance was underlined in January when his absence from the Reds side due to his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations led to a complete derailment of their title challenge. After coming back, he continued his superb form to help Liverpool stay on course for a top four finish before an injury in the Merseyside Derby brought his season to a premature end.
His omission is definitely glaring, especially after Arsenal legend Thierry Henry told Sky Sports recently, “I'll have to give Ibrahimovic a lot of credit, but Sadio Mane has been the player of the season for me. Mane is a hell of a player. He brings something different to Liverpool -- but not only to Liverpool, to the Premier League. He's been a star this year."
#1 Dele Alli – Tottenham
No player will feel as hard done by with the omission from the PFA Players’ Player of the Year nomination as Tottenham’s Dele Alli. The 21-year-old has been in sensational form this season with 16 goals so far, more than any other under-21 player in Europe’s top 5 leagues. Alli also has five assists to his name making him one of the best young players in world football.
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So it comes as a surprise when he is overlooked and only his team-mate Harry Kane makes the final list. Alli has, however, been nominated for the Young Player of the Year award and is the odds-on favourite to win it for the second year in a row.
However, he is no longer an up and coming player and definitely deserved to make the list which would have made it two nominations each for Tottenham and Chelsea, the top two teams in the league table.
