The Premier League have revealed the final shortlists for the Player and Manager of the Season awards for the 2024/25 campaign.
Predictably, there are plenty of nominees from Liverpool after the Reds roared to the league title in comfortable fashion. A further four clubs boast candidates for the Player of the Season award and there will be a new team taking home the prize after five years dominated by Manchester City, who do not have a single nominee after a disappointing campaign.
Meanwhile, there are five managers vying to pick up their own award, with Pep Guardiola set to be dethroned after two consecutive wins.
Nottingham Forest have been surprise European contenders this season and midfield linchpin Morgan Gibbs-White has played an integral role in that. Rumours of transfer interest from Manchester City sum up a sensational campaign from the 25-year-old, who has forced his way into the England fold as a result of his excellent showings.
At the start of the season, there were doubts over whether Ryan Gravenberch would even still be at Liverpool. Now, it’s hard to picture the Reds without him. Reinvented as Arne Slot’s deepest midfielder, Gravenberch started every league game for Liverpool before they were crowned champions and even chipped in with his fourth assist in the deciding victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
Alexander Isak has bagged 23 goals for Newcastle United at the time the shortlists were revealed. He sits second in the division’s scoring charts and still looks capable of improving next season, which is why the Magpies are demanding a whopping £150m to let him go.
Another player who has been linked with a blockbuster summer transfer, Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo has relished the extra responsibility bestowed upon him following Ivan Toney’s departure last summer. Playing as either a striker or a winger, the Frenchman has racked up 18 goals and seven assists to date.
Arsenal’s sole nominee for the Player of the Season award is midfielder Declan Rice. In what has been a mixed campaign for the Gunners, Rice has been an ever-present for Mikel Arteta’s side, adding a creative side to his game to go alongside his dominant defensive work and emerging as a real on-field leader in the process.
Mohamed Salah is likely the leading candidate for the award. A truly sublime individual campaign has seen the Egyptian contribute 28 goals and 18 assists, leaving countless records in his wake. This has been one of the all-time great Premier League seasons, and Salah did it all while blocking out the noise of the uncertainty surrounding his Liverpool future.
At the other end of Liverpool’s team sheet, the talismanic Virgil van Dijk won this award in 2018/19 and has firmly returned to his pre-injury levels under Slot. Like Salah, the Dutch defender brushed off all the off-field drama to inspire a memorable campaign.
Chris Wood’s 20 Premier League goals have seen Forest fly up the standings, with those strikes coming at an alarmingly efficient rate. He turns 34 later this year but is playing arguably the best football of his career.
Brentford are set to record their best-ever finish this season, despite many fearing for their Premier League future just 12 months ago. Thomas Frank has constructed a free-scoring side who have proven capable of hanging with anybody on their day.
Not since 1997 have Newcastle tasted the dizzy heights of second place in the Premier League. Eddie Howe is no longer just dreaming of Champions League qualification but, by masterminding victory over a number of England’s elite, is now looking to seal a runners-up spot.
After the presence of two of his players on the first shortlist, it should come as no surprise to see Nuno Espirito Santo in line for the managerial prize. The Forest boss obliterated pre-season expectations and had his side seen as outside title contenders midway through the campaign. Nuno’s outfit are now battling for a well-deserved European spot.
Vitor Pereira only joined Wolverhampton Wanderers in December, when the team were 19th and staring relegation in the face. Fears of the drop were washed away long ago after a run of ten wins from 20 games in charge saw Pereira quickly emerge as a fan-favourite at Molineux.
Arne Slot has embraced the unenviable task of replacing Jurgen Klopp in the Liverpool dugout. Rather than oversee a season of transition, the Dutchman has ended up with his hands on the Premier League title without ever really breaking a sweat, scoring more goals than any other side and losing just twice before their title triumph was confirmed.
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