The Football Faithful
·16 August 2024
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Yahoo sportsThe Football Faithful
·16 August 2024
The 2024/25 Premier League season begins this week as England’s top-flight returns for its latest instalment.
Arguably the premier domestic league in world football right now, the Premier League is home to some of the biggest names on the planet.
Who will be the star of the upcoming season? We’ve looked at the five pre-season favourites to win the Premier League’s Player of the Year award.
Arsenal are expected to mount another challenge for the Premier League title this season after consecutive campaigns as runners-up. Mikel Arteta’s team will hope the experience of past title challenges can aid their pursuit of a first Premier League title since 2003/04.
Bukayo Saka will be a crucial part of Arsenal’s title bid and has evolved into one of the most effective wingers in world football at the Emirates.
The 22-year-old scored 16 league goals and laid on nine assists last season, while he reached 20 goals in all competitions for the first time in his career. Winner of the PFA Young Player of the Season in 2022/23, he aims to become the seventh player to have won the Young Player and Senior Player awards in the Premier League era.
Erling Haaland’s crusade towards every Premier League goal record in sight continued last season as the Norwegian plundered 27 goals in the league to win a second successive Golden Boot. Haaland’s haul came despite missing two months of action injured and with suggestions he was not at the same level as his record-breaking debut campaign at the Etihad.
Still, he finished five goals clear of his nearest challenger in the Golden Boot race and is capable of changing games in an instant with bursts of goals. Expect another goal-laden season from the 24-year-old in 2024/25.
Phil Foden was named the Premier League Player of the Season and FWA Footballer of the Year for 2023/24, while the PFA Player of the Year award could still follow.
It was a season in which Manchester City’s hometown hero assumed main-man status. As Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland spent time sidelined, Foden took his game to new heights with 19 league goals and eight assists. Backed for the top from an early age, he’s become the big game match-winner City believed he would be.
Rodri might just be the most influential footballer in the Premier League. Manchester City’s three league defeats last season all came in his absence, with the Citizens losing 75% of the Premier League fixtures Rodri missed in 2023/24.
He’s been named Player of the Tournament in the UEFA Nations League, Champions League, Club World Cup and European Championship across the last two seasons, starring during Spain’s success at Euro 2024 this summer. Defensive midfielders don’t often get the plaudits of their attacking contemporaries, but Rodri should. The best in the business at what he does.
Kevin De Bruyne missed much of last season with injuries but when fit remained the creative catalyst of the Manchester City side. In 15 league starts, De Bruyne scored four goals and provided 10 assists with no player in the Premier League averaging more assists per 90.
Even at 33, his vision and execution of passes remain unrivalled. No player has won the PFA Player of the Year on three occasions, with De Bruyne’s two accolades currently tied with Mark Hughes, Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Mohamed Salah.