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The PFA Player of the Year nominations were recently announced which pitted six Premier League stars against one another to win the most coveted individual accolade in English football. The list included the likes of Mohamed Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, Harry Kane, David Silva, Leroy Sane and David de Gea.
But for obvious and known reasons, Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah are the rightful front-runners to claim this award. De Bruyne has been the fulcrum of the title-winning Manchester City side whereas Salah has had a memorable return to England and is in contention to win the Champions League with his goalscoring feats.
One has dominated games like never seen before - spraying passes, creating chances and elevating City to an altogether different level - whereas the other is on course to beat all goalscoring records held in the Premier League.
Both of these talented individuals have done enough in their capacity to win the PFA player of the year award but for five strong reasons, the Egyptian forward deserves it more than the Belgian midfield genius. In this segment, we will discuss the five reasons why Mohamed Salah should win the POTY accolade ahead of Kevin De Bruyne:
#5 History of the award points in Salah's direction
Be it the PFA awards or the Ballon d'Or, goalscorers have ruled the rooster for years and the situation does not seem to be changing anytime soon. Since the first division came to be known as the Premier League from 1992, only five winners have played in central midfield or defensive positions.
All the other years, the PFA POTY award has been won by a forward (striker/winger). Though the current award holder is a midfielder - Chelsea's N'Golo Kante - the history of the award seems to be going against Kevin De Bruyne.
Mohamed Salah, with 30 league goals so far, has been the talk of Europe and is expected to carry on the legacy of this award. The last time a midfielder who won the award for his goals, assists along with his overall influence on the side was in 2006 when Steven Gerrard won it for his Liverpool antics.
Twelve years have gone by and we believe the wait will have to go on for another year to find a player of the year in the ilk of Gerrard and De Bruyne.
#4 Salah is simply rewriting the history books
Three times Premier League Player of the Month. Top scoring Egyptian in the league. Top scoring debut season for a club in the league. Most left-footed goals ever scored in the league. And being just two goals away from being the all-time top goalscorer in a Premier League season!
You do not possess these records unless you have, what we can say it, a dream season. 40 goals in all competitions, Mohamed Salah has had a season of reckoning for Liverpool where he has effectively made the jump from being a talented forward to a world-class goalscorer.
With a potential 7 more games to come for Liverpool, Salah also has the chance to become the club's highest ever goalscorer for a season - a record currently held by Ian Rush with 47 goals. All these records make one possess a chance of winning the Ballon d'Or, so it is safe to say that Salah is the best choice to be the PFA Player of the Year.
#3 Head to head record
A barometer where you can judge two world-class players quite adequately is when they face off against one another. The two best players of the current season - De Bruyne and Salah went head to head four times this campaign, twice in the Premier League and twice in the Champions League.
And looking at the results and the individual performances, it is safe to say that Salah wins 3-1, hands down, in this regard. De Bruyne was the better player between the two when City won 5-0 at the Etihad but all the other times, it was Salah who was the better and more influential player for his side.
In Liverpool's 4-3 league win over City, Salah scored a 40-yard goal and also provided an assist. In the 3-0 win over City in the first leg of the Champions League, Salah again scored one and assisted one, despite playing 40 minutes less than his Belgian counterpart.
The first half of the second leg saw De Bruyne working his magic but the second half saw Salah scoring the all-important away goal and sending Liverpool into the semis at the expense of De Bruyne's City.
Hence, with a better head to head record and a better influencing presence, it is again Salah that makes the case for winning the POTY award.
#2 Most improved player in the league - Mohamed Salah
When Liverpool had signed Mohamed Salah, no one could have predicted the kind of impact that the Egyptian would have in just his first season back in the Premier League. I am sure, even Salah would not have thought of such a breakthrough campaign.
Salah's deft touches, his finishing, his ability to use the half space in the best possible manner and his sudden burst of pace have all enabled him to script a stunning comeback for himself in England. There is no doubt about the fact that after scoring 30 league goals, Salah can be adjudged as the signing of the season.
De Bruyne has been the Rolls Royce in midfield for Manchester City, dominating games from a No. 8 position. But his creativity, his end product was on display last season as well with the Belgian now taking his performance to an altogether different level in a deeper midfield role.
But when it comes to Salah, no player in recent memory has achieved a transformation as effective and as fast as what the Egyptian has achieved this season.
For all the creative genius of De Bruyne, it is the overall impact and influence on a side like Salah has had on Liverpool that puts the Liverpool No. 11 in the front seat to win the much-desired accolade.
#1 A redemption story unlike any other
Dubbed by many as a Chelsea reject and a £36.9 million risk taken by Liverpool last summer, Mohamed Salah has proved his critics wrong and how! 40 goals in all competitions is no mean feat for any forward other than Ronaldo and Messi but Salah has done that with that mighty left foot of his, making a mockery of the defenders marking him.
After being written off by almost everyone in the Premier League, Salah has effectively turned all the criticism gathered during his Chelsea stint into unwavering praise. Yes, De Bruyne has been a part of a title-winning side but it can be argued that Salah has had more influence on his side than De Bruyne.
20 out of Salah's 40 goals this season have either given Liverpool the lead or have been equalizers. That tells you the importance of Salah's goals to Jurgen Klopp's unit. De Bruyne's impact has tailed off a bit in the past month or so (barring the game against Spurs) but Salah has been consistent right from the first match of the season against Watford.
From being rejected by Chelsea to getting sent on loan to Fiorentina to now becoming one of the best players in the world, Mohamed Salah has surely come a long way. His inspiring turn of fortunes from just a pacy winger to that of a premium goalscorer deserves to be awarded the PFA Player of the Year honour.
