The PFA Player of the Year is the award that all the players want. Having been awarded since the 1973–74 season, it is voted for by the players themselves, with the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) choosing its finest player each season.
Over the last two seasons, despite not winning the league, it has been Liverpool who have dominated the awards, with Mohammed Salah’s goalscoring efforts in 2017/18 and Virgil van Dijk’s defensive prowess in 2018/19 both recognised by their fellow peers.
This year’s Premier League season has, of course, been unlike any other. With the three-month hiatus between March and June ceasing all EPL action after three-quarters of the season had been played, the absence of football, along with the loss of momentum has cast the deleted remainder of the 2019/20 season into an odd light.
Who are the favourites to win this year’s award, then, and who might upset the sportsbook to triumph against the odds?
The Favourites
Two Liverpool players unsurprisingly dominate the betting action with The Reds just two wins from their first top flight title in over three decades.
Sadio Mané has enjoyed a fruitful season in front of goal, netting 14 times and assisting on seven occasions. At 2/1, he has every chance of finishing the season in sparkling form and bringing home the award. Jordan Henderson, almost certainly the man who will lift the Premier League trophy, possibly as soon as three weeks from now, is a 3/1 best price to also win the famous PFA trophy.
Our verdict: Of the two men most likely, we’d have our saver bet on the former Sunderland midfielder. Take Henderson at 3/1.
The Chasing Pack
Of the players who are closest to hunting down Mané and Henderson, three of the four play for Liverpool. Mo Salah (20/1) hasn’t had the stellar season that he enjoyed two seasons ago, but he has still been hugely influential in the final weeks of what is, essentially, a title procession.
Virgil van Dijk is 9/2 to retain his title from last season and follow players such as Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo into the history books as men who have won the PFA Player of the Year award in consecutive seasons, but we’d avoid the Dutchman from a betting standpoint with the likelihood that his team-mates may favour Henderson as the title-winning captain.
Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne (4/1) may indeed be light years ahead of everybody in terms of skill in the Premier League, but he looks shorter than is reasonable when he’s been overlooked during the past two seasons where he’s helped Manchester City to totals of 100 and 98 points.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has enjoyed rave reviews all season and its perfectly possible that he’ll start half a dozen more games than his captain, having currently been in the starting line-up 28 times compared to Henderson’s 22. At odds of 14/1, the right-back turned quarterback assist-maker could well be a decent outside choice, especially if he stars in big games coming up such as the away fixtures at Goodison Park and the City of Manchester Stadium.
Our verdict: Take Trent to challenge for the trophy at a value-tastic 14/1.
The Outsiders
There are a number of reasons why each of the four following outsiders might be great picks for the trophy in normal seasons at this stage, but for us, just one stands out. Jamie Vardy (66/1) is the current leading scorer in the Premier League and the 33-year-old may well win the Golden Boot, quite an achievement for anyone playing for a side outside the top two, let alone one of advancing years in football terms.
Sergio Aguero (80/1) and Roberto Firmino (100/1) are both in fine form and its reasonable to suggest they’ll have good finishes to the season that win their sides vital points. But just like Vardy, they are more appealing for scoring goals, not an all-round game.
In the current climate, where we need to hear prominent BAME voices and listen to them, and Raheem Sterling has been at the forefront of pushing for equality and change. At 100/1, the former Liverpool player is a rank outsider, but should he play a starring role in the plucky underdog chase for Manchester City, coupled with public opinion being rightly swayed by his groundbreaking work in pushing for BAME players, coaches, staff and hierarchy to be respected in a new future, his players must surely show him some respect.
Our verdict: Vote for Sterling, this year as PFA Player of the Year and hopefully in years to come to help reshape football to be a fairer reflection of wider society in general.
In the past two seasons, the PFA Player of the Year has come from the team who finished as runners-up. It’s not far-fetched to think that Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling has a better-than-100/1 chance of making it happen again.
Current PFA Player of the Year Odds:
Sadio Mane – 2/1
Jordan Henderson – 3/1
Kevin De Bruyne – 4/1
Virgil van Dijk – 9/2
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 14/1
Mo Salah – 20/1
Jamie Vardy – 66/1
Sergio Aguero – 80/1
Roberto Firmino – 100/1
Raheem Sterling 100/1
