Fernandes, Rice Lead Nominees For Men’s PFA Player Of The Year
The six nominees for PFA Player of the Year have been announced with Bruno Fernandes and Declan Rice set to compete for another top prize.
Arsenal trio Declan Rice, Gabriel Magalhaes and David Raya have all been shortlisted for the men’s PFA Player’s of the Year award alongside Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes, who is arguably their strongest opposition.
Manchester City pair Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki have also been nominated.
Despite the Gunners’ Premier League title success, Fernandes is looking to scoop a third major honour having already been crowned the Premier League’s player of the season and the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year.
The 31-year-old Portuguese’s individual campaign was truly sensational as he broke Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne’s assist record by setting up 21 goals, on the way to helping Manchester United finish third and secure Champions League qualification.
As for Rice, he was superb throughout the campaign with his 11 goal contributions coming towards the start of the season in a more advanced role.
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He later dropped into a deeper midfield position and was excellent in helping Mikel Arteta’s side see out several crucial wins.
Gabriel and Raya also enjoyed extremely successful campaigns with the duo integral to Arsenal winning their first league title in over 20 years. The only blemish on their seasons were defeats in the Champions League and Carabao Cup finals.
Man City won the latter trophy by beating Arsenal and they also claimed the FA Cup with Haaland scoring 38 goals in all competitions.
Meanwhile, Cherki took the Premier League by storm in his debut season after being signed for just £30million from Lyon. He contributed to 25 goals from 52 appearances but it was his freedom on the pitch and style of play that put him above the rest.
The two City stars are arguably outside contenders given Arsenal’s title-winning season and Fernandes setting a new record.
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For the women’s category, Manchester City duo Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw and Yui Hasegawa have been shortlisted.
Arsenal’s Alessio Russo, who finished second to Shaw in the Golden Boot competition for leading scorer, is joined on the shortlist by fellow England internationals Lauren James (Chelsea) and Jess Park (Manchester United).
Aston Villa forward Kirsty Hanson is the sixth and final nominee, having scored 12 goals in 22 matches for the Villains.
The winners will be announced on 25 August at the PFA Awards ceremony in Manchester.