Top 5 contenders for the PFA Young Player of the Year

The end of the 2018/2019 Premier League season is upon us and that signifies that we are set to witness the crowning of winners in the various end of season award categories.

The winning of awards are highly important to anybody in any field and football is no different, as it signals recognition for the effort put into your craft.

Numerous accolades would be handed out in the coming weeks including the PFA Player of the Year as well as PWA and Fans Player of the year among others.

While all players in the League are open to winning the above-listed awards, another category is open to only a select group of players aged 23 and under (although the selected players are also eligible to win other awards).

The PFA Young Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player aged 23 or under at the start of the season who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football and the award is usually held in high esteem by the winners themselves, as it is decided by their fellow professionals.

While words like prodigy, whizkid, potential, and the likes might be abused in the media these days, there are some young players who distinguish themselves from an early age and go on to achieve greatness.

Some of the most legendary players in history to have graced the English game have been recipients of this award, including the likes of Eden Hazard, Wayne Rooney, Ian Rush, Cesc Fabregas, Harry Kane, Ryan Giggs, Michael Owen, Cristiano Ronaldo, Steven Gerrard but to name a few and all these players went on to achieve immortality with legendary performances in the league.

In a few weeks, the nominees for the award would be released and in recognition for their displays this season, we shall be taking a look at five players who are most likely to be crowned the PFA Young Player of the Year.

Honorable mentions - James Madisson (Leicester City), Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham), Matteo Guendouzi (Arsenal)

#5 Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Crystal Palace) - 21 years

Wan-Bissaka in action for Crystal Palace

Wan-Bissaka joined Crystal Palace's academy as an 11-year-old, but started out as a winger before being converted to a right-back.

As it is customary with all converted full-backs, the 21-year-old has shown that he did not lose any of his attacking impetus, providing width and proving an essential part of The Eagles' attack with his bursting runs forward.

Having seen playing time hard to come by in the early part of his career, an injury crisis at Palace in February 2018 offered Bissaka an opportunity to make his first-team debut and it was one he grabbed with both hands, performing so creditably well that he has been established as a first-team fixture since then, while also being named the club's player of the month of March 2018 (in just his first month of professional football).

So far this season, the England U21 international has continued with his impressive trajectory, making 25 PL appearances and registering one assist.

Indeed, his displays have been so spectacular that he is rumored to be attracting interest from the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal.

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#4 Richarlison (Everton) - 21 years

Richarlison in action for Everton — Richarlison

Richarlison arrived the Premier League in the summer of 2018, signing for Watford in a deal worth £11.3m.

He had earlier distinguished himself in his native Brazil with Fluminense and Atletico Mineiro, while his performance at Vicarage Road was seen to be decent enough to convince Everton to sign him for a club record fee of £50m, in a move which reunited him with former Watford manager Mauro Silva.

So far this season, Richarlison has flourished at Goodison Park, scoring 10 goals and registering one assist from 26 EPL matches to help Everton to sit ninth on the Premier League table.

Even though his standards might have dropped in recent weeks compared to the first half of the season when he was in red hot form, Richarlison's performances have still been good enough for him to win his maiden Brazilian cap and he is undoubtedly among the forerunners to be crowned the 2018/2019 PFA Young Player of the Year.

#3 Leroy Sane (Manchester City) - 23 years

Leroy Sane was one of the cornerstones of Manchester City's romp to the Premier League title last season, weighing in with 10 goals and 15 assists, which saw him unsurprisingly named as the 2017/2018 PFA Young Player of the Year.

Despite his performances, he was controversially left off Germany's World Cup squad and the folly of Joachim Low's decision was exposed as the defending champions crashed out at the group stage.

Sane did not have the start to this season that he wanted, as he was left out of the first team by the ever demanding Pep Guardiola, but rather than sulk, the 23-year-old used that as motivation to work his way back into the starting eleven and the former Schalke man has recovered from that initial setback to once more become an essential part of the City army.

So far this season, Leroy Sane has scored eight goals and registered nine assists from 24 matches to help City in their quest to reclaim top spot from Liverpool and firmly install him as one of the favorites for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

If Sane is to successfully defend his award, he would only be the fourth player to win it in successive seasons and first since Dele Alli did so in 2016 and 2017.

#2 Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) - 21 years

Leicester City v Manchester United - Premier League

Ever since making a spectacular introduction to Manchester United in February 2016 when he scored a brace on both his debut in the Europa League against Midtjylland and again three days later against Arsenal in the Premier League, Marcus Rashford has grown from strength to strength.

The 21-year-old, however, suffered some setbacks over the last two years under the management of Jose Mourinho, as he alongside a lot of his teammates regressed due to the negative tactics deployed by the now departed Portuguese gaffer.

However, all that has changed ever since the appointment of Ole Gunner Solksjaer, as United have abandoned the pragmatic approach for a more expressive pattern which has been a hallmark of the Red Devils all through the years.

Marcus Rashford in particular has been one of the major beneficiaries of the change in style, as his Norwegian manager has shown a lot of faith in him, charging him to lead the attacking line from a central role and the England international has flourished in the limelight.

So far this season, the 21-year-old has scored nine goals and registered six assists from 24 matches (of which six goals and three assists have come in just 10 matches under Solksjaer) to help the Red Devils mount an assault on the top four.

#1 Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) - 20 years

Trent Alexander-Arnold has been a part of the Liverpool setup for the entirety of his footballing career, having joined The Reds youth academy in 2004 as a 6-year-old, progressing through the ranks until his first-team debut in 2016 aged 18.

He nevertheless found playing time hard to come by, owing to the presence of the vastly experienced Nathaniel Clyne.

An unfortunate injury to Clyne at the start of the 2017/2018 season, however, offered the youngster his spot in the limelight and he grabbed it with relish, performing so well that Clyne was unable to regain his starting spot upon his return from injury.

Arnold has grown from strength to strength and has established himself as an England international, while also being an ever-present in the course of Liverpool's charge for a first-ever EPL title.

So far this season, the 20-year-old has scored one goal and registered six assists from 19 Premier League matches and these figures would have been higher but for varying degrees of injuries suffered throughout the season.

In the 5-0 rout of Watford, he became the youngest player in Premier League history to register three assists in a single match, while his excellent deliveries and surging runs forward have made him an essential weapon in Klopp's attacking arsenal and sees him installed as the favorite to be crowned the PFA Young Player of the Year.

Edited by Nnanna Mba