It’s a long long time since we have seen so many contenders for the most prized of the player awards within the club.
Indeed somebody suggested this year we should break with tradition entirely and give it to the manager or make it a team award.
So here are my contenders and eventual verdict – perhaps the most difficult I’ve made in several years.
Vladimir Coufal: Week in week out the bloke has produced extraordinary performances against some of the best wingers in the game – Zaha and Rashford among them – and how can we forget the job he did on Jack Grealish. At £5.5 million the snip of this or any other season.
Craig Dawson: Superb season and a real shock to most people. The Watford loanee could easily become what I believe would be the first loan signing to get the award.
Declan Rice: Dec’s development over the last few years has been one of football’s extraordinary stories. He is now the complete player in my book and all that remains is to keep him at the club. He’s an eight or nine out ten player every week it seems.
Jarrod Bowen: Hugely successful with us since moving from Hull for around £23 million. Boundless energy and a terrific out player who is also showing himself a handy centre forward when required. Top signing.
Michail Antonio: Obvious candidate but injury absences are set to play their part.
The Verdict:
I’d like to declare this a tie but it’s always wrong to sit on the fence so in the tightest of photo finishes I just give it to Coufal at this moment from Tomas Soucek because unless things change over the next few games he has never given anything other than top line performances every game.