ByGary Rose. BBC Sport journalist. 1 hour ago. 109 Comments. Who will win the Premier League player of the season?. That won’t be announced until towards the end of May but we already have a pretty good idea of the contenders, based on players’ performances so far this campaign.. Arsenal are leading the way in the title race and should they win, the likes of defender Gabriel and midfelder Declan Rice will surely be in contention.. But there have been other standout performers this season, including the likes of Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, and perhaps somewhat more unexpected stars like Igor Thiago and Antoine Semenyo will likely be in the mix.. BBC Sport take a closer look at who could be in line for the award before asking its reporters who they would pick.. You also get the chance to vote for your winner below.. Does the award usually go to a Premier League champion?. In short – not always.. It has been that way for the past five seasons, with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah the most recent winner and Manchester City players taking the award from 2020-21 to 2023-24.. However, prior to that the split was more even with 11 recipients from non-Premier League winners compared to 10 for players from the champions.. Who are the leading contenders?. Arsenal are in a strong position to win the Premier League this season and Rice has been a key player behind their title charge.. No Gunners player has registered more league assists than his five this season, while he is also ranked top for number of chances and big chances created.. Rice is the favourite to be crowned player of the season but pushing him hard for the award is Manchester United captain Fernandes.. This season only Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has contributed to more goals than than the Portuguese midfielder, who has eight goals and 16 assists in 28 games.. Fernandes is on course to break the record for the highest number of assists provided across a single Premier League season.. That tally is 20 – a total which has been reached by two players – Thierry Henry for Arsenal in 2002-03 and Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne in 2019-20.. [embedded content]. Other contenders include Arsenal defender Gabriel, who has been a vital player for the Gunners at the back as well as chipping in with some important goals, including a 90th-minute winner at Newcastle back in September.. Meanwhile, Semenyo starred for Bournemouth before slotting in seamlessly to the Manchester City attack following his move to Pep Guardiola’s side in January, while Igor Thiago has shone up front for Brentford.. Who are BBC reporters player of the year picks?. Image source, AFP via Getty Images. By. Phil McNulty. Chief football writer. Declan Rice.. Arsenal’s Rice wins my vote as player of the year for his consistently high quality and leadership as Mikel Arteta’s side go in search of elusive trophies.. Add his dead-ball expertise and Rice is the full package as a midfielder in the top class.. He has been central
