The shortlists for PFA Player and Young Player of have been confirmed.
United don’t have any nominees on the senior list, but Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood are in the running for the youngsters’ prize.
Even in a talented field, which includes Trent Alexander-Arnold, it’s clear Greenwood should scoop the prize on Tuesday.
Breakthrough season
Alexander-Arnold and Rashford – whom Greenwood was named alongside in the most recent England squad – are his main competition.
These are established players, however, with World Cup and Champions League experience behind them.
The Young Player of the Year should be a player who enjoyed a breakout season.
It can’t be argued that Bukayo Saka, Mason Mount or Tammy Abraham fared better on that score than Greenwood.
Abraham started well but his form tailed off to the extent Frank Lampard had to bring Olivier Giroud in from the cold to salvage Chelsea’s season. Timo Werner has since been bought to replace him.
Mount presses well, but is inconsistent. It will be interesting to see how often he plays next season with Kai Havertz on the scene.
Saka is a versatile, impressive prospect but simply doesn’t influence matches in the same way Greenwood does.
Greenwood hit ten Premier League goals last season – 19 in all competitions – which is a staggering return for a teenager in his first senior campaign.
It’s getting to the point already where you’re not expecting him to miss when a chance opens up or he runs through on goal.
He absolutely exploded onto the scene, and was in rampant form post-lockdown.
There are real talents across the shortlist. The great news for Southgate and England fans is all six are homegrown.
In a talented field, Greenwood had the best breakout season. He should scoop the crown on Tuesday, after being called into the England squad for the Nations League.
What a week that would be in the career of a player who is going from strength to strength.
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