It has been confirmed on Saturday, May 21 that Manchester City’s Phil Foden is the 2021/22 Premier League Young Player of the Season.
Foden retains the award that he won last season and becomes the first player to win it in successive campaigns.
The 21-year-old scored nine goals and provided five assists in 27 appearances to help Manchester City close in on the Premier League title.
Foden topped an eight-man shortlist of players aged 23 or under at the start of the campaign, beating Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, Crystal Palace duo Conor Gallagher and Tyrick Mitchell, Chelsea’s Mason Mount, Arsenal duo Aaron Ramsdale and Bukayo Saka, and West Ham’s Declan Rice.
Back-to-back @Hublot Young Player of the Season awards ?
Congratulations, Phil Foden!#PLAwards | @ManCity | @PhilFoden pic.twitter.com/PkqdpRpdEs
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 21, 2022
Was Arsenal star Bukayo Saka robbed?
On the whole, there are few that would argue that Bukayo Saka is better than Phil Foden. However, in terms of just Premier League games this season, Saka was clearly the right choice.
Yes, Foden put on some great displays in the Champions League and the domestic cups to further boost his profile as one of Europe’s brightest talents, but this award should have purely been about displays in the Premier League.
And if that had been the case, there is a very strong argument that Saka, who scored 11 and assisted six in the league, should have won the award over Foden.
For those interested, Foden won the award after he received the most combined votes from the public and a Premier League panel, though who was on said panel is not known.
