5 players who deserved to be in the PFA Player of the Year shortlist ahead of Coutinho
When the shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year award came out, five of the six candidates (Diego Costa, David De Gea, Eden Hazard, Harry Kane and Alexis Sanchez) were exactly the same as what we had predicted in our top 5 candidates for the award, but the sixth candidate for the award caught us by surprise. Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho was the sixth candidate for the award and many of us have failed to see the reason behind it.The current season may not even be Coutinho’s best season at Liverpool. The Brazilian has scored 4 goals and provided 4 assists this season from 29 appearances, but last season he had scored 5 goals and provided 7 assists in 33 games. Also in his first season at Liverpool, he had scored 3 and assisted 5 in just 13 games. Another aspect to look at is the chances created and the 22-year-old has created 1.68 chances per game this season which is significantly lower than 2.48 chances created per game in the last season and also lower than 1.94 chances created per game in his first season.Coutinho may not even be the best player in the Liverpool squad this season. The Brazilian got off to a slow start and only picked up his form in the latter half of the season, while players like Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling and Martin Skrtel have been far more consistent than him. In fact, Henderson who plays deeper in midfield compared to Coutinho has scored 6 goals and assisted 8.Here are five players whom we think should have been shortlisted for the award ahead of Philippe Coutinho.
#1 Cesc Fabregas - Chelsea
Cesc Fabregas was one of the key architects behind Chelsea’s blistering start to the season. The Spaniard reinvented himself in a deeper role in midfield after moving to Stamford Bridge and picked up from where he left off the last time he played in the Premier League.
Fabregas leads the assists chart in the Premier League with 16 to his name despite switching off a little towards the latter half of the season. In fact, the former Barcelona man is only second to Kevin De Bruyne in the top assists providers across Europe’s top 5 leagues. In addition to his sixteen assists, he has scored three goals and all of them in away games.
The 27-year-old also leads the league in terms of chances created with 80 in total, which averages to almost 3 chances created every game and all of this while still maintaining a pass completion percentage of 86.
