Bruno Fernandes
The adulation offers a fine indication of how good the Manchester United captain has been this season. At the start, he was dragging Ruben Amorim’s interpretation of a team through matches and spent the past five months leading Michael Carrick’s unified side. Awards and records keep coming his way; winning the Football Writers’ Association player of the season award was swiftly followed by picking up a record Premier League assist tally of 21 at Brighton on the final day of the season. Considering United were very open to selling Fernandes less than a year ago, one wonders what would have happened at Old Trafford without him. “At one point I was going to leave – I won’t say where – but I would have won many trophies that season. I decided to stay not only for family reasons but because I genuinely like the club,” Fernandes told Canal 11. “But from the club’s side, I felt a bit of: ‘If you go, it’s not really that bad for us.’ That hurts me a little. More than hurting, it makes me sad, because I’m a player they have nothing to criticise me for. I’m always available for every match, I always play, whether well or badly. I give my maximum.” Fernandes brings incredible intelligence and work rate on the pitch, supported by stunning technique that has put him above his United teammates, who all feed off him. It is hard to argue that any other Premier League captain is more influential than Fernandes and United have reaped the awards.
David Raya
Often when a team win the title, all the focus is on the forwards who do the damage. It is hard to select one individual from a league-winning side but Raya deserves plenty of praise. Few were complaining about Aaron Ramsdale’s performances but the Spaniard has been a huge upgrade. He has had at least a share of the Golden Glove award for the most Premier League clean sheets in all three of his seasons at Arsenal. He started every game, apart from the final match of the season at Selhurst Park – a sign of how important he is to Mikel Arteta’s plans. The abilities of those in front of Raya mean he regularly has very quiet games but when he is called into action, he is always focused and prepared, making crucial saves at critical moments to ensure Arsenal edged out Manchester City.
Erling Haaland
The Norwegian still has his detractors who think he has something of an easy ride as the striker leading the Manchester City line. Some believe anyone would score the same amount if they had the creative riches he gets to enjoy. This season he has 27 goals, scoring one every 110 minutes. For context, the Premier League golden boot runner-up, Igor Thiago, needs an extra 39 minutes per goal. The usual complaints abound that he does not do enough in the game as a whole but this is obviously complete nonsense because anyone who has played at the top level will explain that scoring goals is the hardest part of being an elite footballer. Pep Guardiola seems to think Haaland is integral to success, and the Catalan knows a thing or two about the game. “Erling is the best striker in the world,” Guardiola said in February, and trying to argue with him seems a touch pointless.
Igor Thiago
After Brentford sold Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo, not to mention Thomas Frank leaving to take charge at Tottenham, many were tipping them for relegation. Keith Andrews and Thiago had other ideas, leading the west London side to ninth. There were understandable reasons for doubt: Thiago had two serious injuries in his first season in England, causing him to play only eight times in the league, scoring no goals. He spent the summer getting up to speed and making sure he was finally ready for the challenge of the Premier League, scoring 12 in his first 14 games of the season in all competitions. There has rarely been a lull in his potency, and no less a judge than Carlo Ancelotti was impressed enough to name him in Brazil’s World Cup squad. “He’s already shown he can be a top performer in the Premier League,” Andrews said. “He gives the opposition a headache, the way he plays the game. I’m not sure many players will relish playing against him.”
Morgan Gibbs-White
Thirteen games for club and country came and went without a goal. Not many could blame Gibbs-White, who was in the eye of the Forest storm with new managers coming and going as the tornadoes whirred. Sean Dyche’s arrival brought an upturn in form, four goals in six games, but Gibbs-White really came into his own under Vítor Pereira. Embracing the responsibility of the armband is part of Gibbs-White’s mantra and is a key factor in Forest maintaining their place in the Premier League and making it all the way to the Europa League semi-finals. His Premier League record is impressive, with 15 in 37 games, making him one of the most feared No 10s in the country. Forest did well to keep hold of him last summer but it feels as if plenty more clubs will come calling this time around and it may be difficult for Forest to match his ambitions. “When things are not happening in the way that you want, when the team is struggling in the game, a lot of players could prefer to hide themselves, they do not want the ball,” Pereira said. “But Morgan wants the ball, he wants the responsibility, he wants to score goals, he wants to assist.”