The 5 Potential PFA Young Player Of The Year Contenders - The Manchester United, City And West Ham Stars Battling For Youth Gong

The 5 Potential PFA Young Player Of The Year Contenders - The Manchester United, City And West Ham Stars Battling For Youth Gong
10:56, 31 Mar 2019

There have been plenty of stand-out contenders for the PFA Young Player of the Year award this season but it is Raheem Sterling who appears to be making the most overwhelming case for winning the Premier League youth gong.

Can anyone stop Sterling from being named best young player? We take a look at the five leading contenders...

Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
The Manchester City attacker has been nothing short of sensational this season, scoring goals and assists for fun on the pitch, while leading the battle against racism off it. The 24-year-old has been a credit to his profession.

It is open to debate whether a 24-year-old can count as a 'young player' but the PFA rules state that players aged 23 or under at the start of the season (Sterling turned 24 in December) are eligible to win the award and it is Sterling who is the bookmakers' favourite for the trophy. He has weighed in with 15 goals and 11 assists in 28 league outings, and it is easy to see him becoming the ninth British winner of the award in the last eleven years.

Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Marcus Rashford's return of nine goals and seven assists in 26 league outings is relatively mediocre when compared to Sterling and yet the 21-year-old is breathing fresh optimism into Manchester United. The England forward has scored six goals in twelve games since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho as manager and a strong charge towards the end of the season could yet see him come into content for the PFA award.

Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
There hasn't been a Portuguese winner of the young player trophy since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2006/07 but the performances of Bernardo Silva should see him make the shortlist this season at the very least. The Portuguese star has scored six goals and affected eight assists in 30 league appearances, and he was again grabbing headlines on Saturday thanks to his sumptuous display in Manchester City's 2-0 win at Fulham. Silva turned 24 during the opening weekend of the season so he is eligible for the award, just.

Leroy Sane (Manchester City)
Yet another contender from Manchester City. Leroy Sane won this award last year as he had scored nine goals and laid on 12 assists at the time of the awards ceremony (which takes place before the end of the season). The 23-year-old has scored eight goals and grabbed ten assists in 25 games this season, which bears comparison to last season's heroics.

Declan Rice (West Ham United)
Declan Rice may not appear for one of the 'Big Six' but his efforts for West Ham have been a cut above. Rice was again the stand-out player for a woeful West Ham side as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat at home to Everton on Saturday and the defensive midfielder has been a model of consistency.

PFAYoungPlayerStatsjpg

The 20-year-old won't get the rave reviews and headlines for scoring goals like his peers on this list - he has notched two goals in 28 this term - but then that's not what his game is about. He is one of the best young players in his position in Europe and, after switching his allegiances from Republic of Ireland, he made his full international debut for England last week, coming off the bench against the Czech Republic before playing the full 90 minutes against Montenegro. 

The last player from outside of the traditional 'Big Six' in the Premier League to win the young player award was James Milner when he played for Aston Villa in 2010, with the past eight winners coming from Tottenham (five), Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City.

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