Ranking the 5 favorites for PFA POTY
For two consecutive years, Kevin de Bruyne, thanks to his Premier League exploits, has won the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Player of the Year (POTY) award. It's easy to see why. His consistent brilliance captured the hearts of Manchester City fans, as well as opposition fans. Even opposition players felt the same way.
While City's dominance of the Premier League has been engineered by Pep Guardiola, De Bruyne has run the gears for the Cityzens.
In earlier years, Liverpool stars Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah won the PFA POTY award, and rightly so. Van Dijk was the rock in the Reds' defense in 2018-19 season of the Premier League, while Salah was the best attacking player in the league in 2017-18.
Players like Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo have managed two consecutive wins each, just like De Bruyne. However, with the season the Belgian international has had, he could be the first player to win the PFA POTY award three consecutive times.
It won't be an easy win for De Bruyne, however, even if Manchester City do win the Premier League. Competition remains very strong, with other players showing top form and unbridled brilliance this season.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five potential winners for the PFA POTY 2022 award.
#5 Harry Kane | Tottenham Hostpur
This hasn't been Harry Kane's best season by any standard. The star crossed 17 EPL goals per season for seven straight seasons, hitting the 20-goal mark five times, and hitting the 30-goal mark once.
This season, however, he has managed just 12 goals for Tottenham in the league. There's still a chance that, with eight games still remaining in the season, Kane will reach his 17-goal mark.
Harry Kane loves scoring 😎
https://t.co/UeM1AkJnn4
Kane started the season off in horrible form, unable to find the net in the Premier League until mid-October. His second Premier League goal came in December against Liverpool, meaning that the star went half the season with just two EPL goals.
However, he has found blistering form since the turn of the year, scoring goals in consecutive games. In his last 10 EPL games, Kane has scored seven goals, making him one of the most in-form strikers in the league right now. But winning the PFA POTY award is not going to be easy.
#4 Trent Alexander-Arnold | Liverpool
At just 23 years of age, Trent Alexander-Arnold already has a cemented spot in Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool side. The brilliant full-back is highly notable for his passing and set-piece skills, and he could arguably beat most midfielders with his passing accuracy and range. Alexander-Arnold was key in ending Liverpool's 30-year Premier League title drought in 2020, and he has continued in great form this season.
70% of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s #PL goals for Liverpool have come from outside the box (7/10) 💫
Of all players to score at least 10 for the Reds in the competition, only Xabi Alonso netted a higher share from distance (79%)
#LIVNEW https://t.co/W4L5RHRVyX
This Premier League campaign, he has scored two goals in 26 games. But his playmaking contributions in the final third really mark Alexander-Arnold's brilliance. So far, the England international has picked up 11 assists, while averaging three key passes per game. He won the PFA POTY award back in 2020, and now, at the age of 23, he has a good chance of winning the PFA POTY.