Premier League awards season: Who is in contention for prizes?
Monday 28 March 2016 07:39, UK
As the Premier League season nears its climax, which players and managers are in contention for personal accolades?
We take a look at the range of awards on offer - and who could be in the running for a prize.
Let us know who you think should pick up a gong by commenting below the story if viewing on skysports.com or by tweeting @SkyFootball.
PFA Player of the Year - (Last year's winner: Eden Hazard - Chelsea)
Potential contenders:
Riyad Mahrez - The man Leicester paid just £400,000 for from French side Le Havre in 2014 has 16 goals and 11 assists so far, no one has been involved in more Premier League goals than Mahrez.
Jamie Vardy - The Leicester striker broke the Premier League record for goals scored in consecutive games after netting in 11 in a row before Christmas. The goals have dried up slightly since then, but his performances and application have remained just as impressive.
Harry Kane - Kane started slowly in 2015/16, but his form soon picked up dramatically as he has spearheaded Tottenham's assault on the Premier League title.
Dimitri Payet - The Frenchman has been arguably the signing of the season, taking the Premier League by storm and steering West Ham to the verge of the top four. Who knows where the Hammers would be if Payet had not been injured for two months over Christmas?
Mesut Ozil - With 18 assists so far this season, Ozil is two away from equalling Thierry Henry's Premier League record set back in 2002/03 and has been the stand-out performer for Arsenal this term.
PFA Young Player of the Year - (Last year's winner: Harry Kane - Tottenham)
Potential contenders:
Dele Alli - Not 20 until April, Alli has already scored as many Premier League goals (seven in 29 games) as Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes and Steven Gerrard managed in 91 combined appearances before they left their teenage years.
Harry Kane - Last year's winner of the award is in contention for the main prize again this time, and deservedly so, having already become just the fifth Englishman to score 20+ goals in consecutive Premier League seasons.
Romelu Lukaku - Despite Everton's inconsistency, the Belgian has struck 18 goals so far this season to attract interest from a number of Europe's top sides.
Ross Barkley - The Everton midfielder has come of age this season after a difficult 2014/15, with eight goals and seven assists in 29 appearances so far.
Anthony Martial - The French youngster arrived at Old Trafford hours before the closure of the summer transfer window for an astronomical fee, but has proved a rare shining light in what has been an underwhelming season for Manchester United.
PFA Fans' Player of the Year - (Last year's winner: Alexis Sanchez - Arsenal)
PFA Team of the Year
Last year's team: David de Gea, Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry, Gary Cahill, Ryan Bertrand, Philippe Coutinho, Alexis Sanchez, Nemanja Matic, Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, Harry Kane
FWA Footballer of the Year - (Last year's winner: Eden Hazard - Chelsea)
For the last three seasons the Football Writer's Association Footballer of the Year has matched the PFA and Premier League award.
LMA Manager of the Year - (Last year's winner: Eddie Howe - Bournemouth)
Premier League Manager of the Season - (Last year's winner: Jose Mourinho - Chelsea)
Potential contenders:
Claudio Ranieri - Whether Leicester go on to win the title or not, Ranieri has done a wonderful job at the King Power Stadium, with Champions League football all but secured.
Mauricio Pochettino - If Tottenham can pip Leicester to the title, then Pochettino would be a worthy winner of the award. His young Spurs team have already surpassed all expectations this season.
Arsene Wenger - The Arsenal manager's chances of winning this award hinge entirely on whether his side can win the title or not. If they do, then Wenger will deserve huge credit for doing so under ever-increasing pressure.
Slaven Bilic - Given the task of ensuring West Ham's Premier League survival ahead of their Olympic Stadium move this summer, Bilic has instead revolutionised their style of play and taken them to the cusp of the top four.
Eddie Howe - Money has been spent at Bournemouth, but that should do nothing to dispel the superb job Howe has done in already virtually assuring survival for one of the smallest teams in Premier League history.
Premier League Player of the Season - (Last year's winner: Eden Hazard - Chelsea)
In the last three seasons, the Premier League Player of the Season has been won by the same player who won the PFA award (Gareth Bale in 2012/13, Luis Suarez in 2013/14 and Eden Hazard in 2014/15).
Before then, however, both awards were only given to the same player on five out of 17 occasions since the Premier League Player of the Season was introduced in 1993/94.
Premier League golden boot - (Last year's winner: Sergio Aguero - Manchester City, 26 goals)
Harry Kane - currently has 21 (Sky Bet odds on 25 March: 8/13)
Jamie Vardy - 19 (7/2)
Romelu Lukaku - 18 (9/2)
Sergio Aguero - 16 (9/1)
Kane leads the way in the race for the golden boot, and shows no signs of letting up in the closing stages of the season. The striker has five goals in his last three in the Premier League, and has already matched the 21 he managed last season.
At one stage the race looked to be between Vardy and Lukaku, but the Leicester striker has managed just four goals since the turn of the year while the latter has just three.
Aguero, meanwhile, is a little off the pace but his goalscoring prowess suggests he can never be written off.
Premier League golden glove - (Last year's winner: Joe Hart - Manchester City, 14 clean sheets)
Joe Hart - 13
Petr Cech and Kasper Schmeichel - 12
David de Gea and Hugo Lloris - 11
Jack Butland and Heurelho Gomes - 10
Joe Hart currently leads the way in the race for the golden glove, but injury in the Manchester Derby could give the likes of Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester), David de Gea (Manchester United) and Hugo Lloris the chance to catch up. Petr Cech (Arsenal) is also a leading contender when he returns from injury for Arsenal.
