The Best Bets for the 2020 PFA Player of the Year
To be voted by your fellow professional footballers as the PFA Player of the Year is a great honour. The list of past winners reads like a who’s who of the Premier League.
Now that we’re past halfway in the current campaign, it’s time to take a look at potential candidates for the 2019-20 PFA Player of the Year. So, who are the betting market leaders for the award?
Sadio Mane
Liverpool footballers have been voted for in each of the last two seasons. The early favourite in the betting on the PFA Player of the Year is Reds and Senegal forward Sadio Mane at odds of 6/4.
He scored 10 goals and set up six others for Anfield teammates during the first 19 games of the Premier League campaign. Mane has in truth been highly consistent since arriving in English football at Southampton in 2014.
A 2016 move to Liverpool, which you can read about at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/, has seen him flourish. With Jurgen Klopp’s team setting the pace in the title race and long odds-on to end a 30-year wait for a league championship, it’s virtually certain we’ll see at least one of the Reds shortlisted for this prize, with Mane being in pole position at the moment.
Kevin De Bruyne
Manchester City took a clean sweep of domestic trophies in English football last season when landing an unprecedented treble. It wasn’t one of Pep Guardiola’s players who made off with the PFA gong, though, with Virgil van Dijk taking that honour.
In Kevin De Bruyne, Man City have one of the most reliable creative midfielders in the Premier League. A return of seven goals and 12 assists during the first half of the season is compelling evidence that the Belgian is as good as ever.
If Liverpool let their commanding lead slip and Man City back into the title race, then De Bruyne’s guile could be key in the Etihad outfit chasing down the Reds. He is another worthy contender, and the current 7/2 second-favourite behind Mane, so it would be no surprise to see De Bruyne tipped at https://betting.betfair.com/football/ for PFA Player of the Year.
Jamie Vardy
Since Brendan Rodgers left Scottish Premiership giants Celtic to manage Leicester City, nobody has scored more Premier League goals than Jamie Vardy. The Foxes frontman has been completely rejuvenated at the King Power Stadium, and that gives him claims in the PFA Player of the Year market.
Rodgers has set the team up to get the absolute maximum out of Vardy, who is tailor-made for counter-attacking football. It’s no accident he leads the race for the Premier League Golden Boot with 17 goals in the first half of the season. If he continues to top the charts, Vardy could be a bit of value to win the award at 17/2.
He seems to get better with age. Vardy is a rags to riches story as reported at https://www.theguardian.com/football/, having started his senior career in non-league. Winning the PFA Player of the Year award would add a further layer to his fairytale and prove that you should never give up on your dreams.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
More than one Liverpool player being nominated is likely, so Reds right back Trent Alexander-Arnold could at least make the shortlist at odds of 10/1. His development at Anfield continues apace and he has really cemented himself for both club and country.
Alexander-Arnold is now exerting influence over big games. For evidence of this, look no further than his Man of the Match display as Liverpool routed Leicester 4-0 in the East Midlands. He made two goals before rifling one in himself.
At worst, Alexander-Arnold is a strong contender for the PFA Young Player of the Year award – given to the best Premier League footballer aged 23 and under in the opinion of fellow professionals. He is odds-on favourite for that other prize. Alexander-Arnold has eight assists already and is also helping the Reds keep clean sheets, so his claims are obvious.
