Who will win the Premier League Player of the Year award?

It is not only those awards that interest football fans though with the Premier League Player of the Year award also a big one for supporters and players alike. Here we look at the contenders who could be crowned the Premier League MVP. 

The long-shot:

Declan Rice is establishing himself as one of the best central midfield players in the world right now. His performances and leadership have been instrumental in West Ham fighting for a top-four spot for most of this season and also helping to guide the Hammers to the Europa League quarter-final. The top four is gone for West Ham now barring an absolute miracle, which goes against Rice in his quest to be named Player of the Year but, failing a Europa triumph, he'll probably be moving on to bigger things in the summer; he's good enough to get into any side in the league.  

For West Ham in the Premier League this season he has yet to be subbed off and you can see why. Goals are lacking but already he's laid on more assists than ever before in his career whilst his passing range has developed a lot too. Not only has Rice completed 90% of his passes but nearly a quarter of his distance passed has been progressive too. Defensively, his reading of the game is exceptional too; some would say, he's mature beyond his 23 years. He makes 2.3 tackles, 1.8 blocks, and 3.1 interceptions every 90 minutes.  

Throw on top of that he's put up his best ever pressure success rate this season to date and his career trajectory is going only won way. Even with all that said, Rice can only be considered an outside bet for the Player of the Year award; odds of around 50/1 prove that. 

The Second Favourite:

If Declan Rice is a player on his way to the top then he'll be meeting Kevin De Bruyne at the summit because Man City's Belgian genius is absolutely amongst the best talents to have ever played the game. He has been a star player on City's loaded roster for a long time now but he shows no signs of slowing down. As things stand, Man City is locked in a title race that looks set to go down to the wire. If City gets the job done then it's highly likely that De Bruyne will be a vital instrument in getting them over the line.  

There are many ways you can look at players. Rice does the simple things very well. De Bruyne does the complex things and makes them look very simple; it's that style and his ability to play

killer balls, which sees so many people sing his praises week in, week out. His levels of the performance run much further than just being easy on the eye though.  

Statistically speaking, he is up there with the best of them. A look at De Bruyne's performance over the last year puts him at the very top of the rankings against other midfielders.  

That's especially true of 'on the ball' stats; he ranks north of the 90th percentile in non-penalty goals, assists, expected assists, shots, touches, passes, and progressive passes.   

When you consider the importance De Bruyne has on his team and the fact that they've spent the vast majority of the campaign on top of the league standings, it's completely feasible that he runs  close to winning the Player of the Year award. 

The outright favorite:

Ending our look at the players that could win the Premier League Player of the Year award is Mo Salah. The Egyptian King, who missed out on AFCON glory to his teammate Sadio Mane earlier this year, has been the hottest property in the global game for large parts of this season.  

It would perhaps be a step too far to suggest Salah has single-handedly put Liverpool in the title race but they certainly wouldn't be there without him. So, it’s no surprise that when you find out the

for the Premier League individual award you see Salah on top.  

Some people bemoan Salah for his eagerness to go it alone but without that selfish streak he wouldn't be producing the magic moments that he has this year;

, which may well go down as the goal of the season, springs to mind as an example. Like De Bruyne, Salah stacks up well on paper as well as on the grass.  

In goal contribution terms, Salah leads the Premier League having scored 20 and set up a further 10; that gives him a goal involvement of 1.2 per 90! He’s also outperforming his expected goals return too, which is a further showcase of his ability to deliver the extraordinary. He’s essential from a possession perspective too with 50 touches per 90 with 35 of them coming in the final third.  

There is talk that Salah and Liverpool might struggle to agree on a new deal with the Egyptian’s current contract set to expire next summer. Considering the impact Salah has, you’d feel that he’ll find another top club quicker than Liverpool find a replacement to fill his boots. He would be an enormous loss to the Premier League as well. 

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