Top 5 players who can lift the PFA Player of the Year award

Modified Apr 01, 2019 06:32 GMT

Manchester City duo Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling are also in the running

#1 Virgil Van Dijk

Van Dijk has been of tremendous influence for Liverpool this season

Virgil Van Dijk is the front runner this year to clinch the PFA Player of the year award ahead of the likes of Raheem Sterling, Aguero and his own teammates Sadio Mane and Salah. Van Dijk can become the first defender to bag the award since John Terry who won it way back in the year 2005. Since then, barring N'golo Kante in 2017, every year a forward has taken the coveted prize home.

Liverpool broke the transfer market to sign Van Dijk as they paid an astronomical fee of £70 million for the Dutchman, breaking the transfer record fee paid for any defender. The sum has rightfully paid off as Van Dijk is leading the Reds from behind.

Van Dijk, along with Alisson is the only player to have started all of 32 games and has helped in keeping 17 clean sheets. Whereas he has also scored 3 goals and set up 1.

The Dutch international in every 90 minutes in the Premier League, wins 6.2 duels, makes 5.3 clearances, records 5.6 accurate long balls and makes 78.8 passes with a passing accuracy of 90.1. However, the most impressive fact is that no player has dribbled past him in any competition this season for Liverpool.

Liverpool's rock and leader who leads from the heart of the defence remains the favourite to win the PFA POTY this year.

About the author

Samyak is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda, who focuses on writing a variety of listicles. A post-graduate in Finance with over 6 years of total work experience, Samyak became interested in football after watching the 2010 FIFA World Cup and some high-octane El Clasico clashes. His favorite footballer is Cristiano Ronaldo for the forward's mentality, and his favorite managers are Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, and Pep Guardiola for the brand of football their teams showcase.

Samyak only follows top tier and verified fan club social media accounts for sourcing information for his articles. One of his core strengths is crafting crisp and concise articles to avoid any and all potential confusion for readers. These shrewd methods have helped him attain strong readership on his articles, one of them even being read half a million times!

Zinedine Zidane's Panenka penalty in the 2006 final is Samyak’s favorite World Cup moment owing to the Frenchman’s sheer nerves of steel showcased, and thinks Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are ready to usher in a new era post-Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. During his free time, Samyak follows Real Madrid, plays football and reads finance articles.

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Edited by Jidonu Mauyon