The nominees for the Premier League Player of the Season award for 2023/24 were announced on Thursday, May 9.
Although the season does not conclude until May 19, fans were invited to start voting for their favourites to be crowned as the best player in England’s top division over the past 10 months.
Erling Haaland, who won the prize last year, was again named on the shortlist along with seven other stars of this season’s competition. Manchester City and Arsenal had two players nominated each, while there were also candidates from Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle United, and Aston Villa.
The nominees are detailed below, along with a short description of why they are up for the award, the winner of which will not be officially announced until the 2023/24 Premier League season has concluded.
The Sporting News has also looked back at the past winners of the prize, stretching back to the mid-1990s, when the Premier League was still in its infancy.
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Eight players were named on the shortlist for the Player of the Season award for 2023/24.
The FWA Footballer of the Year, Foden has enjoyed arguably his best season for Man City in their bid to win a record fourth consecutive Premier League title.
Although not quite at the levels of last season,
when he smashed the record for goals in a single Premier League season
, Haaland still leads the Golden Boot standings and sets the standard for strikers in Europe.
Newcastle have been far less consistent than they were in 2022/23, but Isak has been outstanding. He became the first Magpies player in 21 years to score 20 goals in a single Premier League season.
Arsenal’s captain has been key to their sustained title challenge this season. Odegaard may have recorded fewer goals and assists than last season (when he had 22 combined), but his all-round play has helped the Gunners keep up their impressive form.
Eyebrows were raised when Chelsea signed Palmer from Man City for an initial £40 million ($52.4m) last summer, but the England star looks like being the best bit of business of the past year. He’s just the third player aged 21 or younger to record 30+ goal involvements in a single Premier League season, after Robbie Fowler and Chris Sutton.
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Arsenal paid an astonishing £105 million ($138m) to sign Rice from West Ham, but his imperious performances in midfield have made a real difference to the Gunners’ title hopes.
Liverpool’s title hopes may have faded
, but Van Dijk has had something of a renaissance this season, looking at least somewhat close to his indomitable best in Jurgen Klopp’s final season in charge.
The spearhead of Aston Villa’s amazing challenge for a UEFA Champions League spot, Watkins is still in the running to finish the season as the top goalscorer and assist-provider in the league.
The winner of the prize will be announced on Tuesday, May 21, two days after the final matchday of the Premier League season.
Fans can vote for their preferred winner of the award via the Premier League website.
The award has run since the 1994/95 season and has seen 25 different winners in that time.
Only four players have won the award more than once: Kevin De Bruyne, Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Nemanja Vidic have all been named player of the season twice.
