Jan Kirchhoff wins PFA Fans' Player of the Month award for April
Friday 6 May 2016 11:26, UK
Sunderland's Jan Kirchhoff has been named the PFA Fans' Player of the Month for April in the Premier League.
Kirchhoff's performances have helped Sunderland, who are one point from safety, stay in the fight for survival.
The 25-year-old, who joined from Bayern Munich in January, featured in all of Sunderland's matches in April in the holding midfield role and helped them earn six points and keep three clean sheets.
The German won 49.2 per cent of the vote to beat off competition from Newcastle winger Andros Townsend (44.9 per cent) and Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge (5.9 per cent).
That selection was reduced from an initial 12-man list featuring Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal), Andy Carroll (West Ham), Christian Eriksen (Tottenham), David de Gea (Manchester United), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Leonardo Ulloa (Leicester City), N'Golo Kante (Leicester), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) and Shane Long (Southampton).
Every month, throughout the English football season, fans will have the opportunity to vote on skysports.com for who they think has been the best player in the Premier League, Sky Bet Championship, Sky Bet League One and Sky Bet League Two, after Sky Sports teamed up with the PFA to be the digital platform for the awards.
Before the vote opens each month, an expert panel will produce a shortlist of contenders. Fans will then be able to vote for the player they think deserves the award.
The panel includes Sky Sports football pundits Paul Merson, Ian Holloway and Peter Beagrie.
That trio will be joined by Mike Riley, general manager of Professional Game Match Officials, and Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters Federation, as well as the winning fan from each month
