With the dust settling on the 2019-20 Premier League season, it is time to look back on the players and managers who made a mark on the English top-flight in the last 12 months.
The nominees for the Premier League end-of-the-season awards have been announced and there are some stellar names in each of the categories.
Jordan Henderson, who won the Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year award, is one of the three Liverpool players in the Premier League Player of the season nominees.
It remains to be seen whether the Liverpool captain, who lifted the Premier League and the Champions League in the last two seasons, manages to complete a clean sweep by winning the Premier League accolade as well.
Premier League 2019-20 Player of the Season nominees
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) – Considered one of the best attacking full-backs in the world, the Liverpool academy product had another stellar season at Anfield. He registered 13 assists and scored four goals in Liverpool’s title-winning campaign and didn’t miss a league game all season.
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) – In an underwhelming league campaign for Manchester City, Kevin De Bruyne outshone all the players in Pep Guardiola’s side. His performance levels rarely dropped despite the club finishing 18 points behind Liverpool in the title race. He registered an astonishing 20 assists and scored 13 times in 35 Premier League games.
Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) – Jordan Henderson remains a limited midfielder but his strengths have been accentuated in Jurgen Klopp’s system. The Liverpool captain’s importance in the team was clear from the fact that the Reds struggled when he missed games due to injuries in the 2019-20 campaign.
Danny Ings (Southampton) – Danny Ings scored 21 Premier League goals last season, which was 43 per cent of Southampton’s total haul in 38 games. His goals were a major reason behind the Saints making a resurgent comeback after an awful start to their campaign. He would certainly have been in the England squad had the European Championship happened this summer.
Sadio Mane (Liverpool) – Sadio Mane has remained an underappreciated player despite his stellar contribution to Liverpool’s rise. He has got the Reds out of tricky situations a countless number of times and scored 18 goals and registered nine assists in the league last season.
Nick Pope (Burnley) – Nick Pope kept 15 clean sheets in the Premier League last season, just one short of Golden Glove winner, Ederson of Manchester City. The goalkeeper was key behind Burnley finishing in the top half of the Premier League. He would have definitely replaced Jordan Pickford as England’s number one this summer had the European Championship took place in its scheduled time.
Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) – At 33, Jamie Vardy is showing no signs of slowing down and was pivotal to Leicester finishing fifth in the league and qualifying for the Europa League last season. His 23 goals earned him the Premier League’s Golden Boot and he is now in line to become the Premier League Player of the Season for the second time in his career.
Predicted winner – Kevin De Bruyne
Premier League 2019-20 Manager of the Season nominees
Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool) – There is no surprise that the Premier League winning manager is a nominee to become the Manager of the Season. The German took Liverpool to their holy grail – a first league title in three decades.
Frank Lampard (Chelsea) – Frank Lampard did a lot of things right in his first season at Chelsea. He introduced academy products into his squad, showed a commitment to playing an exciting brand of football and managed to qualify for the Champions League. Enough to earn a nomination for the Manager of the Season? Highly debatable.
Brendan Rodgers (Leicester City) – Leicester’s massive downturn in form in the second half of the seasons should not mask their achievement of getting into Europe. Yes, they squandered qualifying for the Champions League but Brendan Rodgers deserves credit for keeping them in the hunt until the last day of the season.
Chris Wilder (Sheffield United) – Sheffield United were the odds on favourites to get relegated straight back into the Championship at the start of last season. It is a testament to Chris Wilder’s management that them not qualifying for Europe was seen as a minor disappointment at the end of the campaign. In an ideal world, Wilder should be the only name in the category.
Predicted Winner – Jurgen Klopp
Premier League 2019-20 Young Player of the Season nominees
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) – Trent Alexander-Arnold is already a nominee for the Player of the Season and since he is still just 21, he also makes his way into this category.
Jack Grealish (Aston Villa) – The Aston Villa captain was inspirational towards the end of the season in helping his side escape relegation by just a point. His performance on the final day was an exhibition of his talent and tenacity. Can Villa keep hold of this summer?
Mason Greenwood (Manchester United) – If this category was only reserved for Under-18/19 players, he would have been the hands-down winner. The teenage striker enjoyed a breakthrough season at Old Trafford and ten of his 17 goals this season came in the Premier League. He is a future superstar in the making.
Dean Henderson (Manchester United/Sheffield United) – Dean Henderson’s first season in the top flight in Sheffield United colours was an undoubted success. He kept 13 clean sheets, as many as David de Gea kept at Manchester United this season in the league. Will Henderson push De Gea for his place in the team at Old Trafford next season?
Anthony Martial (Manchester United) – Ideally, the Frenchman should not be making this list as he has been at Old Trafford for five years. But he is still just 24 and had his best season with 17 of his 23 goals coming in the Premier League. Hopefully, for Manchester United fans, he will be in the Player of the Season shortlist next year.
Mason Mount (Chelsea) – The pressure was on Mason Mount this season to prove that he can cut it in the Chelsea first season after impressing at Derby in the Championship in the 2018-19 campaign. The 21-year-old more than stepped up and missed just one of Chelsea’s Premier League games, scoring seven times and registering six assists.
Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) – The 21-year-old American took his time to settle down at Chelsea and even struggled with injuries. But towards the end of the season, he more than proved that he could go on to be the long term replacement for Eden Hazard that Chelsea thought they were buying in January last year. He ended up scoring nine goals in 25 Premier League appearances.
Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) – Marcus Rashford stepped up as a goalscorer this season at Old Trafford and 17 of his 22 goals came in the Premier League despite playing from the left flank. He would have scored more had he not missed seven league games due to a back injury.
Predicted Winner – Trent Alexander-Arnold
Premier League 2019-20 Goal of the Season nominees
August – Harvey Barns (Leicester City) vs Sheffield United
September – Moussa Djenepo (Southampton) vs Sheffield United
October – Matthew Longstaff (Newcastle United) vs Manchester United
November – Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) vs Newcastle United
December – Son Heung-min (Tottenham) vs Burnley
January – Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Brighton) vs Chelsea
February – Matej Vydra (Burnley) vs Southampton
June – Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) vs Brighton
July – Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) vs Norwich City
Predicted Winner – Kevin De Bruyne against Newcastle United
Also Read: Premier League 2020-21: All you need to know about changes to VAR and substitute rules