Our Premier League end-of-season awards for 2023/24 | OneFootball

The 2023/24 Premier League season reached its conclusion at the weekend and it’s time to dish out the end-of-season awards.

From the best player to the best game, goal and more, we’ve celebrated the stars of the season.

Here are our 2023/24 end-of-season Premier League awards.

Player of the Season

The Football Writers’ Association and Premier League fans have already been in consensus and we agree too, Phil Foden has been the division’s leading light this season. It has felt like a campaign in which the baton has been passed to Manchester City’s homegrown jewel, who is no longer a starlet in the supporting cast but a genuine game-changer.

In the absence of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne for extended periods he has been the decisive figure for the Citizens, the difference-maker in a title race settled by the narrowest of margins.

He has scored 27 goals in all competitions and created 11 more while producing moments that will live long in the memory. His six goals from outside the box are a record for a Manchester City player in a single Premier League season and include a stunning strike in the Manchester Derby, and another to set their title party in motion on the final weekend.

The 23-year-old might just be England’s most natural talent in a generation.

Young Player of the Season

Cole Palmer’s desire for regular first-team football saw him shun the patient path Foden took to the Manchester City team last summer. A move to Chelsea has been vindicated with Palmer the breakout star of the Premier League campaign, producing a level of quality that proves he belongs at the top level.

The 22-year-old has scored 22 goals and laid on 11 assists, with no player in the Premier League directly involved in more goals this season. His technique, choice of pass, finishing and vision have all excelled, while it’s a credit to his personality to have done so as others around him have struggled.

Palmer was perhaps not the signing that got Chelsea fans excited last summer, but he’s certainly the main man now. An impressive run of results across the run-in, with Palmer at the heart of it, should raise optimism for next season.

Manager of the Season

Just seven non-Big Six teams have ever secured Champions League qualification with Aston Villa adding their name to that list this season.

Unai Emery has had a transformative impact since inheriting a struggling team from Steven Gerrard last season, leading Villa to Europa Conference League qualification last term, before improving once again in 2023/24.

Since climbing into the top four in November, Villa have spent almost the entire campaign in the Champions League places and will return to UEFA’s top club competition for the first time since 1983 next season.

A contract extension has been agreed for Emery, whose ambitions do not stop here. He has set his sights on challenging for the Premier League title before his time is done at Villa Park.

Goal of the Season

An easy answer for this one.

There have been some great goals in the Premier League this season but few have matched the utter jaw-dropping quality of Alejandro Garnacho at Everton.

The Manchester United winger executed an extraordinary acrobatic effort to stun the home crowd and set his side on route to a 3-0 victory at Goodison Park.

A special, special goal.

Five of the best overhead kicks of all time

Newcomer of the Season

Tottenham spent an initial £34.5m to sign Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg last summer, a significant investment on a player with just one full season of top-level football behind him. It has proven to be a brilliant acquisition and rarely has a centre-back appeared more suited to the demands of the Premier League.

Van de Ven is a monstrous athlete with a 6ft 4in frame that can travel at breakneck speed. The Dutch defender is rapid when covering the ground and has formed an excellent partnership with Cristian Romero in North London, a mix of athleticism and presence.

The 23-year-old set a new Premier League record when he hit a top speed of 37.38 kilometres per hour during Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-2 win over Brentford in January, and has all the attributes to develop into an elite defender.

Signing of the Season

A second award for Cole Palmer, who represented a roll of the dice for Chelsea last summer. Question marks were asked when Chelsea spent £42.5m to sign the forward who had limited first-team experience but he has proven to be the bright light in an up-and-down campaign for West London.

Just two players have ever scored more goals in a Premier League season for Chelsea, while his 33 goals and assists are better than any of Eden Hazard’s seven seasons at Stamford Bridge.

None are doubting the investment now.

Best Game

Chelsea 4-4 Manchester City (November 12th 2023)

It’s rare to see the champions on the ropes like this but Manchester City’s trip to Chelsea was a real ding-dong battle at Stamford Bridge.

The best games are often littered with a mix of errors and quality and so it proved in West London, as the two Blues went head-to-head in an all-time classic.

Erling Haaland’s opener handed the visitors the lead but Chelsea responded impressively. Thiago Silva’s header brought Mauricio Pochettino’s team level before Raheem Sterling scored against his former club to turn the game around.

A see-sawing game swung back in favour of the Citizens, however, as Manuel Akanji equalised in first-half stoppage time before Haaland’s second restored Pep Guardiola’s side’s advantage shortly after the interval.

Nicolas Jackson levelled for Chelsea once more, though an 86th-minute strike from Rodri looked to have done enough for Manchester City to claim all three points. Then came the final twist in the tale, however, as Armando Broja was felled in the area to set the stage for a script writer’s dream.

Cole Palmer, freshly signed from Manchester City, held his nerve and slammed home a 95th-minute penalty to earn his new employers a point.

Read – Our Premier League Team of the Season for 2023/24

See more – Premier League: Our non-Big Six end-of-season awards

Subscribe to our social channels:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTok