Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden has been named the Premier League’s Young Player of the Season for the second year running.
Foden, who won the award in 2020/21, has already matched his return of the previous campaign, registering nine goals and five assists while growing in importance for the team under manager Pep Guardiola.
Still only 21, Foden missed the opening month of the campaign with a foot injury but he returned to underline his huge potential to beat off competition from Chelsea’s Mason Mount and West Ham’s Declan Rice.
“I am very proud to have won this award for a second season in a row. There are so many talented young players in the Premier League and it is a real honour to win it again,” said Foden.
Guardiola spoke earlier this month about how there was no reason why his playmaker couldn’t continue improving in the coming years.
“For Phil, responsibility is not a problem. Since day one going to bigger stages, bigger scenarios, and important games, it’s not a problem (for him). He loves to play.
“He can play in all five positions up front: winger on both sides, striker through the middle and in the pockets like an attacking midfielder.
“I think in time he will be more capable to play in positions in the middle, he still has all the actions, the high speed, so maybe now the wide positions suit him better
“In the Academy when I started to see him at 16/17-years-old when I arrived here, he played in a position like Kevin De Bruyne and wow, he played really good but all the actions are so, so quick.
“You remember David Silva, sometimes he slowed the rhythm to increase the rhythm, (but Phil’s) rhythm is always high.
“It’s good as he is so aggressive and we need it but sometimes he needs a little bit, but that is a question of time. He can do it no problem, it’s just a question of time.”
Who will win Premier League Player of the Season
Mohamed Salah, Heung-Min Son and Kevin De Bruyne are among an eight-man shortlist for the Premier League Player of the Season award.
The winner of the main award will be revealed later on Saturday. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Bukayo Saka were nominated for both prizes with Conor Gallagher, Tyrick Mitchell, and Aaron Ramsdale making up the rest of the Young Premier League Player of the Season nominees.
Full-backs Joao Cancelo and Alexander-Arnold also represent the title-tussling titans, with Jarrod Bowen, Bukayo Saka, and James Ward-Prowse completing the star-studded list of nominees for the main prize.
Saka bounced back from penalty heartbreak with England in the Euro 2020 final against Italy to have his most prolific season for Arsenal in the Premier League, with 11 goals and six assists.
Bowen has been firmly knocking on the door for an England call-up with his performances for West Ham this season, becoming only one of three players to register at least 10 goals and 10 assists in the Premier League.
Southampton captain Ward-Prowse has shrugged off the disappointment of being omitted from the Euro 2020 squad and continued to deliver consistent performances for the Saints this season.
PL Manager of the Season nominees
Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are on a five-man shortlist for Barclays Manager of the Season.
They are joined by Patrick Vieira, Eddie Howe, and Thomas Frank in contention for the prize, which is decided by an online vote and a panel of football experts.
Guardiola and Klopp are battling it out for the Premier League again this season, as City and Liverpool look set to take the title race to the final day of the season for a second time in just four years.
If City are successful, they will become the first team to win three consecutive league titles since Manchester United in 2006/07, 2007/08, and 2008/09.
Frank has enjoyed a successful debut Premier League season with Brentford, defeating the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea to comfortably avoid relegation.
Vieira has overseen a summer of change at Crystal Palace following the departure of Roy Hodgson last summer, introducing an exciting new core of players to his squad, while ensuring the south London club maintain their Premier League status.
Howe has had a transformative effect on Newcastle since replacing Steve Bruce in November, becoming the first side to avoid relegation in the Premier League era after failing to win any of their first 14 matches.
Source: SkySports
