Manchester City's attacking triumvirate of Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva have been stealing headlines with their free-scoring exploits for the Premier League leaders and they're battling it out for the PFA Young Player of the Year award, although a Manchester United starlet is coming up on the rails and could be a serious contender for the accolade.
Marcus Rashford has enjoyed a fine season for United despite his battle to convince Jose Mourinho of his worth during the early stages of the campaign. The 21-year-old made 14 league appearances for Mourinho, scoring three goals and effecting five assists.
Since Mourinho was sacked and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was installed as interim manager, Rashford has been a much more potent force, scoring six goals and laying on two assists in eight appearances for the Red Devils.
To give a bit more context to the improvements that Rashford has made since Solskjaer was appointed boss, it is worth noting that Rashford was as big as 100/1 to win the PFA Young Player of the Year award on 18th December - the day Mourinho was sacked. He is now 5/2 second-favourite.
The improvements in Rashford's game have been remarkable and he is making a genuine case for winning the youngsters' award, which is for players who were aged 23 and under when the season started on 10 August 2018.
Bernardo Silva just sneaks into the running for the award as he turned 24 on 10 August and he has been superb this term, scoring five goals and laying on six assists in his 23 Premier League outings.
It is Sterling who is the bookmakers' favourite to walk away with the award after scoring 12 goals and laying on 11 assists in the top-flight this season. The 24-year-old has laid on a goal or an assist every 85 minutes on average. Sterling's teammate and last season's PFA Young Player of the Year winner, Leroy Sane, who has weighed in with eight goals and ten assists in 23 league appearances, has been directly involved in a goal every 80 minutes.
In comparison, Rashford has been involved in a goal every 95 minutes this season but that number is reduced to 84 when only taking into account his league appearances for Solskjaer.
With 12 games of the season remaining, Rashford has put himself in a great position to challenge for the individual honour and remind everyone how good he could be. It bodes well that eight of the last ten winners of the PFA Young Player of the Year award have been British, with Sterling perhaps eyeing a tilt at winning the main PFA Player of the Year award instead.
