The winner of the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Player of the Year award for 2024 will be announced on Friday, a highly prestigious accolade in English football and the oldest individual award in the sport, dating back to 1948. Last year’s winner was Phil Foden of Manchester City, while Mohamed Salah of Liverpool won it in 2022 and 2018.
This season has seen the rise of several stars in the Premier League, even as Liverpool headed towards the title under new coach Arne Slot. Therefore, before the announcement, Alofoke Deportes writers make their own selections.
Gab Marcotti: Mohamed Salah, Liverpool
This is a simple case. Unless a cataclysm occurs, he will lead the Premier League in goals (surpassing Newcastle’s Alexander Isak by five) and assists (surpassing Jacob Murphy by seven). It will be only the third time this has happened in the 34-year history of the Premier League.
The last to achieve it was Salah himself, in the 2021-22 season.
And, of course, his club, Liverpool, will win the Premier League by a wide margin. There is no need to complicate things: when you score more than anyone (by far), when you give more assists than anyone (by far) and when your team wins the league (by far), you probably deserve to be the Player of the Year.
Do they want to bring up intangibles? Fine, how about the fact that until last month, his contract was about to expire at the end of the season? Do they think that’s not a mega-distraction? Having to negotiate with a club (and by extension, with a fanbase) where you’ve spent eight seasons and that you’ve come to love and consider your home throughout the season? And not letting it affect performance on the field or relationships with teammates and club officials? (Yes, now everyone is smiles, but as with any negotiation, I imagine not everything went smoothly, otherwise it wouldn’t have dragged on until April).
Salah has not only been the best player on the best team, but a consummate professional at all times. And for that reason, he is my Player of the Year.
Mark Ogden: Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United
The easy answer would be Salah or Virgil van Dijk, who have been crucial to Liverpool’s Premier League victory, but the Player of the Year shouldn’t necessarily be the best player on the best team, and that’s why I’m going with Bruno Fernandes.
Yes, I can hear the jeers, especially from my colleagues, but let’s consider how good Bruno has been during Manchester United’s worst league season in 50 years, playing in their worst team since the club was relegated in 1974.
Before Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg against Athletic Club, Bruno had scored 19 goals and registered 18 assists in 52 games this season. Without his contribution, United would have been eliminated from the Europa League weeks ago, and possibly would even be in a relegation battle at the bottom of the Premier League.
The true measure of a player is how they perform in adversity, and Bruno has stepped up, in a big way, when many of his teammates have shrunk from the challenge, and have let their captain save them from embarrassment more than once.
Bruno has been the subject of criticism (often from former players) in the past for his leadership skills and his petulant behavior on the field at times, but this season he has become a true leader and has almost single-handedly led United to the brink of European success and a return to the Champions League. That’s why he got my vote for Footballer of the Year. — Mark Ogden
James Olley: Mohamed Salah, Liverpool
One thing is to be innovative, and another is to be contrary just for the sake of it. Sometimes the obvious answer is the right one.
It’s probably too easy to normalize Liverpool’s preeminence, given how long they’ve been at the top of the table, but let’s not forget how few people expected this after Jurgen Klopp left. I certainly didn’t. New coach Arne Slot needed the big personalities in the dressing room to step up and give him credibility as Klopp’s successor. Salah, along with Van Dijk, a worthy rival for this award, has done so. His 46 goal involvements are one short of equaling the Premier League record, including nine match-winning goals.
At the time of writing, Arsenal have conceded four fewer goals in the league, but Liverpool have scored 17 more. Arsenal have drawn 13 matches because they didn’t have a proper match-winner, with Bukayo Saka absent for much of the season and yet to prove year after year that he is a match-defining great. Saka is on his way, but Salah has occupied that status for years and, perhaps this season more than ever, has made the difference.
Julien Laurens: Chris Wood, Nottingham Forest
You can keep your Salahs and Van Dijks from the best team in the country by a mile. You can keep Fernandes (is this a joke, Mark?), with Man United in 15th place in the table (!). You can keep all the other contenders, like Matheus Cunha, Isak, William Saliba, Bryan Mbeumo and others, because the player of the year in England can only be Chris Wood.
What the New Zealander has achieved at the age of 33 is exceptional. Twenty-two goal involvements (19 goals, three assists) in 31 starts for a team like Nottingham Forest is incredible. He has been decisive every 118 minutes and is the reason why the City Ground could see Champions League football next season. Forest is also a counter-attacking team, which makes it even more impressive that Wood has been harvesting these kinds of figures for a team that doesn’t play to his strengths. (Spoiler: speed is not his main attribute).
As a football purist and Parisian, I love classy and elegant players who are a pleasure to watch. It’s not what Wood is, but the guy is enjoying the best season of his career and deserves a lot of love and recognition.
Tom Hamilton: Ryan Gravenberch, Liverpool
At the start of the season, before Liverpool’s opening away game against Ipswich Town, Slot’s team had just been rejected by Martin Zubimendi of Real Sociedad. This left a number 6-sized hole in his team. The consensus at the time was that Liverpool would need to return to the transfer market to find a ready-made solution, but Slot had other plans.
In Klopp’s last season as Liverpool manager, Gravenberch found himself on the bench for the majority of the time, starting only 12 league games in the 2023-24 season. Klopp favored Wataru Endo in that holding role, and there were suggestions that Gravenberch would have to look for a new club to move forward in his career. But Slot turned to Gravenberch as his number 6 specialist, and the impact was notable.
If you’re assessing the core of the Liverpool team that won the league this season, then you’re looking at the spine of Van Dijk, Gravenberch, and Salah.
Salah was exceptional, but Gab and James have already mowed that lawn and Rob has gone for Van Dijk, so it’s time for Gravenberch to be recognized.
The Dutch international went from being an outsider to the answer to Liverpool’s midfield enigma. He became indispensable, and is one of the main reasons why Liverpool dominated the league this season.
Beth Lindop: Mohamed Salah, Liverpool
Let’s see, there’s only one correct answer, right? Liverpool has been, by far, the best team in the Premier League, so it’s fair that this individual award goes to the player who has most influenced their quest for a twentieth league title.
After a disappointing end to the season, Salah took to social media and sent a passionate message to Liverpool supporters, promising to “fight like hell” to bring more success to Anfield. Almost 12 months later, it’s fair to say that the Egyptian international has delivered on that promise, having so far scored an impressive 28 goals and 18 assists in the top flight.
His sheer will to win, at times, has dragged his team to the finish line in difficult matches, and has caused a series of records to falter, ascending to third place on Liverpool’s all-time top scorers list and becoming the foreign player with the most goals in Premier League history.
Although honorable mentions go to Van Dijk and Gravenberch for their commendable efforts, Salah is the standout choice.
Rob Dawson: Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool
Individual awards should not always be based on the number of goals and assists. It is important to recognize the contribution of some of the other players who are key to the success of the teams.
At Liverpool, the best in the Premier League this season, two of them are Van Dijk and Gravenberch. Salah steals the headlines week after week because he is Liverpool’s best offensive player, but what Slot and his players have achieved would not have been possible without the Dutch pair.
Van Dijk first. He is the best defender in the league and his leadership has been crucial during the transition from Klopp to Slot. It will also not have been easy to continuously set the standard on the field and in the dressing room while his own future has been up in the air.
Gravenberch has been impressive in a different way. Many Liverpool fans would have told you last summer that signing a central midfielder was crucial for their campaign. It didn’t happen, but instead of Gravenberch simply filling a gap in the team, he has excelled in one of the most important roles on the field to the point that Liverpool has been able to win the title. That is a phenomenal achievement for a player who was almost being written off a year ago.
Van Dijk surpasses him in the Player of the Year voting due to his overall influence on and off the field, but Gravenberch follows closely, with an honorable mention for Salah.
Sam Marsden: Mohamed Salah, Liverpool
Guys, let’s not normalize what Salah has achieved this season, because he is the person we should blame for the lack of a title race in the Premier League. In the first 28 games, he scored 27 goals and created 17 more. To put it in Fantasy Premier League terms: with 10 games still to play, he had already broken the record for points in a single season (surpassing his own record set in the 2017-18 campaign).
Salah has always scored goals since joining Liverpool eight years ago, but this season has seen him create more than ever for his teammates. He told TNT Sports in February that he rates this as his best season ever “because I make the players around me better.” There are also many examples of this: the double nutmeg before assisting Cody Gakpo against West Ham in December, the perfectly measured pass for Luis Díaz against the same rivals last month and 16 more assists this season. Two more and he will equal Kevin De Bruyne’s record for assists for a single Premier League season.
He has been consistently brilliant and has been at the forefront of the field.
