Just like other leagues in the world, the English Premier League has rewards for players who during the season exhibited exceptional qualities.
The Premier League Player of the Year which is similar to the Professional Football Association Player of the Year is deemed the most prestigious individual award.
The accolade dates back to the 1994/1995 season with Blackburn Alan Shearer being the first recipient of the award.
This Premier League season without a doubt witnessed a handful of brilliant individual performances by some of the biggest players in the league. Harry Kane, Bruno Fernandes, and Ruben Diaz have been considered favorites to win.
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes continued from where he stopped last season as he marked his full Premier League season with 17 goals and 11 assists after 35 games.
Ruben Diaz of crosstown rivals Manchester City also had an exceptional season with how he brought stability and coordination to the team’s defensive line. His partnership with John Stones was instrumental in the team’s 6th title triumph.
Mohammed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne also had a brilliant individual seasons with their respective clubs. Despite Liverpool’s terrible season, Salah registered 20 goals – the only player with double figures in terms of league goals in the team at the moment.
So far, the conversation has been around Bruno Fernandes, and City’s trio of Ruben Diaz, Ilkay Gundogan, and Kevin De Bruyne but Harry Kane’s excellent individual contribution to Tottenham’s season cannot be overshadowed.
Here is why Harry Kane should be crowned as Premier League player of the season;
He currently tops the Premier League with 21 goals and 13 assists. How many strikers in the world can boast of such a record this season? The English striker showed the world that not only can he score goals, but he can also provide assists.
Harry Kane arguably put forth the most remarkable dividual performance this season as he provided 4 assists for his teammate, Son Heung-Min in the 5-2 victory away at Southampton. He almost repeated the feat in the 4-1 drubbing of Crystal Palace as he scored a brace and assisted Gareth Bale twice.
He is the first to have double figures in goals and assists in Europe’s top five leagues this season ahead of Messi, Sancho, and the likes.
How did Harry Kane fare against the big teams this season? Manchester United fans wouldn’t like to remember how remarkable he was against them in that famous 6-1 annihilation at Old Trafford. He also got involved in the goals against Manchester City and Arsenal.
Tottenham is not exactly a one-man team but the World Cup Golden Boot winner has practically carried Tottenham on his back this season in the Premier League. Tottenham has scored 61 goals this season and Harry Kane has scored 34.34% of them and an overall 55.74% goals contributions.
Harry Kane has also been able to stay fit for most of the season and he has delivered when it mattered most even though his efforts didn’t result in winning a trophy for Spurs.
Despite Tottenham’s topsy-turvy season, Harry Kane has had a mouth-watering individual season. If not for his goals and assists, Tottenham might be in the other half of the table.
The Premier League Player of the year is strictly an individual award and the argument of a player who had a good season but failed to win the Premier League title has been rendered invalid because Kevin De Bruyne won it last year, Van Dijk in 2019, and Mo Salah in 2018.
