Sportsmail’s 2019/20 PFA Team of the Year awards revealed
Tonight we all should have been readying ourselves for the PFA awards, eagerly counting down the minutes to learn who would be crowned Player of the Year, along with the 11 coveted spots in the Team of the Season.
Yet the PFA Awards, like the Premier League, and like all sport around the globe, has come skidding to an abrupt halt amid the frightening coronavirus pandemic.
As we wait to learn whether football can eventually continue, Sportsmail have decided to make the call regarding where the honours would have gone.
PFA Player of the Year – Jordan Henderson
The biggest individual accolade in English football and the one which recognises the most distinguished player. This one goes to Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson.
It’s a very tough one to call, given the quality and admirable solo efforts across the whole of the Liverpool team. Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne has, once again, been magnificent.
But in Henderson Liverpool have boasted not only one of the most selfless players in the league, but also one of the most accomplished.
Just this week Reds legend Steven Gerrard, who handed over the famous armband to Henderson in 2015, compared his successor to the iconic Paul Scholes.
Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson has been a consistent metronome at Anfield this year
It was high praise indeed, as Gerrard went on to outline how Henderson’s game had improved exponentially in all areas, including positional awareness and passing.
Henderson has led by example for Liverpool both on and off the pitch this season. It is no coincidence that when the 29-year-old does not play Jurgen Klopp’s team lose an element of drive and balance.
His injury sustained in the Wanda Metropolitano against Atletico was the finest example of Henderson’s value. Liverpool faltered as their captain trudged off the pitch, and quivered in the weeks that followed as their number 14 spent time on the sidelines.
For all the superstars in Klopp’s glowing team, it is the consistency of the metronomic Henderson in the heart of midfield – or wherever else he is required to fill – which keeps the Red machine firing on all cylinders.
PFA Young Player of the Year – Trent Alexander-Arnold
The 21-year-old has not only forged himself into one of English football’s best full-backs this season, but the world’s.
It has been argued on multiple occasions that the Liverpool-born youngster is re-inventing the position given the outrageously high line and offensive nature of his role.
Alexander-Arnold, despite being deployed at wing-back, is now often Liverpool’s key architect in most games and the statistics back this up. The craft of being a playmaker from defence is now most certainly a thing.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is emerging as one of the best full-backs in England and in the world
As the season was curtailed by the pandemic, Alexander-Arnold already had 14 assists in the bank, with 12 in the Premier League, one in the Champions League and one in the Club World Cup.
The defensive side of the youngster’s abilities often go overlooked, yet the rapid rise of his all-round game has seen him contribute heavily to Liverpool’s vastly improved back line, which now concedes the fewest goals in the top flight.
With England boss Gareth Southgate a regular spectator at Anfield, Alexander-Arnold looks set to become a mainstay in the national team for many years to come.
PFA Team of the Year
Goalkeeper – Alisson Becker
The big Brazilian in the Liverpool goal has been instrumental this season, and has on multiple occasions showcased the difference an elite level goalkeeper can make.
Alisson is on course to retain the Golden Glove award he picked up in his first season on Merseyside, and has formed a brick wall with Virgil van Dijk at the back.
Alisson has continued the remarkable consistency from this first campaign in the Reds goal
Left back – Andy Robertson
The flying Scotsman is as vital to Liverpool’s symmetry as Alexander-Arnold, and has seven Premier League assists to his name this season.
Robertson has displayed the grit and perseverance needed in all top professionals, to rise from multiple set-backs and establish himself as one of the most accomplished defenders in English football.
Andy Robertson provides both balance and goal threat as the Liverpool full-backs bomb on
Centre back – Virgil van Dijk
Last season’s PFA Player of the Year and the cornerstone of the Liverpool team, Van Dijk continued his majestic form since signing on the dotted line for Klopp’s side without a single waver.
The Dutchman is frequently named by Premier League stars as one of the defenders they least prefer going up against.
While Van Dijk rarely gives away an inch in the physical duels, this season he has also displayed a maturity on the ball and taken his passing game to the next level. Football experts salivate when watching the former Southampton man, as the statistics prove he is getting even better as time goes on.
Last season’s Player of the Year and cornerstone of the Liverpool team, Van Dijk gets the nod
Centre back – Caglar Soyuncu
It was a sink or swim scenario this season for the 23-year-old Turkish star, who was asked to fill the boots of Harry Maguire following his world-record switch to Manchester United.
The fact that Leicester do not miss Maguire is testament to the work produced by Soyuncu.
After stepping into Harry Maguire’s boots with aplomb, Soyuncu’s stock has sky-rocketed
Slotting in alongside Jonny Evans, the shaggy-haired star has been battering opponents around the pitch, while also exhibiting a delicate finesse to his game.
While Joe Gomez has performed admirably alongside Van Dijk at Liverpool and is also a contender, the consistency of Soyuncu sees his name on the team-sheet here.
Right-back – Trent Alexander-Arnold
The Young Player of the Year in waiting naturally makes the XI. Given his age and capacity to expand his game further, Alexander-Arnold could follow the likes of Gary Neville in becoming a regular in the end of season team awards.
Midfield – Jordan Henderson
As above, the Liverpool skipper and PFA Player of the Year elect slots into the side at the heart of midfield, turning over play as he has done meticulously all season long.
Midfield – Kevin De Bruyne
Though the Belgian artist has suffered with injuries this season, his importance to City is shown every time he steps out onto the pitch.
De Bruyne is the brain at the Etihad, and is fortunate enough to have superstars around him who can operate on a similar wavelength.
The versatility and all round accomplished ability of De Bruyne will undoubtedly see him go down as a Premier League midfielder for the ages, and a PFA award surely awaits in future.
The mercurial Kevin De Bruyne has shown his worth every time he steps onto the field for City
Midfield – Jack Grealish
Making up a midfield three is the Aston Villa captain, who may be seen as a controversial choice by many.
Though Villa were left desperately battling relegation before the coronavirus crisis, Grealish had starred as a guiding light for the Midlands outfit week in, week out.
The 24-year-old has stepped up to the plate this season, playing out of his skin for Villa and weighing in with both goals and assists.
With seven Premier League strikes and six assists, Grealish was the man keeping Villa in with a fighting chance. Should the league be able to continue, he is vital for their chances.
Jack Grealish is the guiding light for his side and one of the league’s most unique talents
Striker – Sadio Mane
On the left side of a front three, Sadio Mane is a dead cert for Team of the Year and desperately unlucky not to scoop the main solo award.
Observers have noted how the Senegalese star has set himself apart from the rest this season, transitioning from an occasional top performer to a bonafide world class talent.
Liverpool can rely on Mane as a spark to illuminate matches more often that not, with his relentless stamina and strength often overlooked due to his eye-catching pace.
This season Sadio Mane has found a new level and established himself as a world class talent
Striker – Mohamed Salah
Flanking the opposing side of the front three is another of Liverpool’s dynamic trident.
Such is the high bar Salah has set for himself, it has been suggested this season that performance levels have not quite hit a peak. Yet 20 goals in all competitions and nine assists say otherwise.
Salah’s goal involvement once again has been frightening, with the Egyptian almost always playing some part in every good thing Liverpool produce on the pitch.
The statistics being churned out by Mohamed Salah this season are nothing short of incredible
Striker – Jamie Vardy
After rolling back the years, Vardy burst into life once again under Brendan Rodgers this season and takes a central berth in the Team of the Year.
Fighting off competition from the likes of Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino and Arsenal talisman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Vardy – at 33 – is burning as brightly as he ever has done in the top flight.
Leicester look nailed on to achieve Champions League qualification, and in the process Vardy has looked every inch the European striker.
Rolling back the years, 33-year-old Jamie Vardy has looked like a player reborn this season
With 19 goals and four assists, the fleet-footed forward does not look to be a man entering the twilight of his career.
Calls for Vardy to come out of retirement to feature in the now postponed EURO 2020 did not seem outlandish, with the former Fleetwood man showing a ruthlessness to his game that perhaps wasn’t even present during Leicester’s miraculous title-winning campaign of 2016.
