Mohammed Salah, Declan Rice among six nominated for PFA Players' Player of the Year

Mohamed Salah, the Premier League's golden boot winner and five other players have been nominated for the Professional Footballers' Association Players' Player of the Year award. Alongside the Egyptian international, stars like Bruno Fernandes for Manchester United, Arsenal's Declan Rice, Chelsea's Cole Palmer, Newcastle United's Alexander Isak and fellow teammate, Alexis Mac Allister, are also in the race for the award.advertisementSalah had a memorable campaign with Liverpool, finishing the season as the league's highest goalscorer and having the most assists in their title-winning campaign for the 2024-2025 season. It would be no surprise to consider him as the front-runner for the award.It was a massive surprise to see Fernandes being nominated, considering that Manchester United finished 15th in the league. Nonetheless, he has been the lone performer for a side that has disappointed on all fronts, with 8 goals and 11 assists in the league. Chelsea's Palmer also had a season that did not match expectations from his previous season, but helped Chelsea finish in the fourth spot, having chipped in 15 goals and nine assists in the Premier League.
Alexander Isak for Newcastle United had been fairly impressive. The Swedish striker proved to be a key player in their push for Champions League football with 23 goals and six assists in the domestic competition. Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister was up there as one of the best players in Arne Slot's title-winning side. Despite being played out of position in several instances, the Argentine took on the responsibility as a true professional and ensured he delivered for his side.advertisementDeclan Rice also provided Arsenal with the much-needed balance, considering that he was brought in to improve the defensive stability. But his attacking output, as seen in the Champions League clash against Real Madrid, shows his value to the side throughout the season, where they finished second.The winners for the respective PFA awards will be announced at a ceremony in Manchester on August 19, later next month. It comes down to a vote within the players' association, where the winner will be adjudged.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

News18

26 minutes ago

• News18

'Fans Don't Enjoy It': River Plate's Gallardo Laments Mastantuono's Move To Real Madrid

Last Updated: Marcelo Gallardo expressed disappointment over Franco Mastantuono's move to Real Madrid, and slandered the modern-day pratice of early transfers. Franco Mastantuono's transfer to Real Madrid was premature, and an experience that River Plate fans haven't taken too well, stated coach Marcelo Gallardo. Gallardo acknowledged that losing Mastantuono would leave a significant void in his squad and their plans going forward, since he had built them around the 17-year-old. The midfielder progressed through the River academy and made his first-team debut in January 2024. Earlier this month, River Plate finalized a deal with the Spanish giants, reportedly worth around $45 million, for the highly rated midfielder. Mastantuono is Real Madrid's third signing this summer, following Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool and Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth. The Argentine manager expressed concern that Mastantuono needed more time to develop at River Plate, but conceded that early transfers have become a norm in today's football landscape. 'It's natural—we train players for the world. Everything is happening faster now; young players are leaving sooner, and I understand that's just the reality of the game," Gallardo told ESPN on Friday. 'Our sporting plan for the year included him. Now we'll have to adjust, because some players are simply very difficult to replace. 'We always knew Mastantuono would leave eventually, but it's never easy for the fans. The transfer market dictates the timing." Gallardo also shared that he's trying to help Mastantuono stay focused on the tournament despite the media attention surrounding his move. 'All I ask is for him to play freely and try to block out the noise, even though that's a tall order," he said. 'I don't bring up where he's going to live or anything like that. I just want him to do what he does best—play football." Following Saturday's match against the Mexican side in Pasadena, River Plate are set to face Champions League runners-up Inter Milan on Wednesday. (with inputs from Reuters)

The Hindu

38 minutes ago

• The Hindu

Nuno extends Nottingham Forest contract until 2028

Manager Nuno Espirito Santo has extended his contract with Nottingham Forest until the summer of 2028 after helping the club qualify for a European competition for the first time since 1995-96, the Premier League club said on Saturday. Portuguese Nuno, who previously managed Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur, joined Forest in December 2023 and helped the team avoid relegation before guiding it to a seventh-place finish in 2024-25, its best top-flight campaign in three decades. READ: Liverpool signs Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen Forest narrowly missed out on a Champions League spot as it finished a point below fifth-placed Newcastle United, settling for a place in the Conference League's playoff round. 'I am delighted to be able to continue our journey at this fantastic football club,' Nuno said in a statement after signing the new three-year deal. 'We have worked extremely hard to create a special bond between the players, the fans and everyone at the club, which helped us achieve great things last season. Now is the time to work harder than ever as we strive for more special memories together.'

New Indian Express

2 hours ago

• New Indian Express

Liverpool signs Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for huge fee that could climb to $156 million

Liverpool delivered a huge statement of intent after winning the Premier League title by signing Germany star Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen on Friday. The transfer fee could climb to 116 million pounds ($156 million), which would make the 22-year-old Wirtz the most expensive player in the history of British soccer. "I feel very happy and very proud," Wirtz told the official Liverpool website. "Finally it's done and I was waiting for a long time. "I'm really excited to have a new adventure in front of me. This was also a big point of my thoughts: that I want to have something completely new, to go out of the Bundesliga and to join the Premier League. "I will see how I can perform there. I hope I can do my best. I spoke also with some players who played there and they told me that it's perfect for me and every pitch is perfect, you can enjoy every game. I'm really looking forward to playing my first game." Liverpool, determined to keep moving forward despite securing a record-tying 20th English top-flight title, splashed out a club record to bring in not only one of the best players from Germany, but one of the top youngsters in the world. Wirtz has been a key first-team player for Leverkusen since he was 17. He was the outstanding attacking player in the team that won the Bundesliga and German Cup in 2023-24 without losing a game, and is a regular in Germany's national team. It's why Liverpool was ready to pay a guaranteed 100 million pounds, plus 16 million pounds in potential add-ons. Wirtz had two years left on his contract, giving Leverkusen leverage in negotiations. The Premier League record for an initial fee was set when Chelsea signed Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for 106.7 million pounds ($131.4 million at the time) in 2023, before the London club agreed to pay up to 115 million pounds ($146 million at the time) for midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton later that year.