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As we draw the curtains on another stellar Premier League campaign, it's time we look back at some of the outstanding performers of the season who've laid a compelling claim at the Player of the Year prize.
The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) have revealed it's top six nominees for the honor for the 2018/19 season: Sergio Aguero, Eden Hazard, Raheem Sterling, Sadio Mane, Bernardo Silva, and Virgil Van Dijk, all of whom have had a prolific campaign for their respective teams.
With last year's winner Mohamed Salah failing to make the cut this time, we're going to have a new winner, although Hazard is the only player from the list to have won it previously for his performance in 2014/15 season.
Will he double his tally this time? Or we going to have a 41st winner in the list? Let's assess the nominees based on their performances and rank on the basis of who's more likely to clinch the prize:
#6 Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
The Portuguese ace may have failed to replicate his club heroics for the Seleccao at the World Cup, but has taken to the new season with the Cityzens in a similarly spectacular fashion with which announced his arrival to the Premier League in 2017.
Incredibly skillful on the ball and possessing an exceptional eye for a pass, Silva has left the creative hubs such as David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne in the dust to become the vital cog in Pep Guardiola's swashbuckling juggernaut. He has scored six times and assisted another eight goals in 32 appearances so far and is firmly on course to better his statistics from his debut season.
Besides being a technically gifted footballer, Silva also demonstrated his class off the field recently when he relinquished his man-of-the-match award and opted to pass it on to talented youngster Phil Foden, who scored the winner versus Tottenham Hotspur.
#5 Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
If it was Mohamed Salah last season, then it's Sadio Mane this term. The Senegalese has taken over the talismanic mantle of his side and currently enjoying arguably the best run of his career.
He's been particularly unplayable since the turn of the year, firing at all cylinders to put Liverpool on the verge of a Premier League and Champions League double. With 18 goals in the league, Mane has already posted his best figures to date. And as the Reds make a final push for the elusive league trophy in the home stretch of the campaign, he's sure to add a couple more.
Even without prolific goal-scoring returns, Mane's importance to Klopp's machinations was huge. But now having ticked that box too, he's become the foremost name on the latter's teamsheet. And in the coming days, would also realistically stand a chance to claim the African Player of the Year prize, something which he has lost twice in a row to his Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah.
#4 Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Manchester City's peerless no.9 knows no stopping. He's been the wellspring of goals for eight years now for the club but has only gotten better with age. Aguero currently leads the scoring charts in the Premier League too with 19 goals and contends with Liverpool's Salah for only his second Golden Boot.
Having reclaimed his place in the starting line-up from Gabriel Jesus, the Argentine hasn't looked back. He has stepped up to plate on big occasions as always, while his blistering run of form has seen Aguero score back-to-back hat-tricks against Arsenal and Chelsea.
Pep Guardiola's much-vaunted dream of quadruple ended with yet another agonising exit from the Champions League, but City remains well on course for a domestic treble with League Cup already in the bag and the FA Cup and the league in contention too. And Aguero has had an instrumental role in all those competitions so far, scoring goals left, right, and centre.
#3 Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool)
Liverpool's £75 million outlay in pursuit of the Dutch maestro has been a bang for the buck. Not only has Van Dijk brought great robustness to the backline, but also induced an element of aerial threat during set-pieces by chipping in with crucial goals from corners and free-kicks.
His recent strikes against Bayern Munich and Porto in the Champions League add more substance to that. However, nothing could hold a candle to his defensive nous this season: Van Dijk has been an impenetrable wall in Liverpool's backline that has leaked only 20 goals in the league - the least in any of Europe's top five leagues this term.
The Dutch sensation has given even the mightiest attackers a hefty run for their money with his crucial tackles and interceptions, whilst also averaging 5.4 clearances per game. Van Dijk's 2,663 passes completed is the best behind only Chelsea's Jorginho, and also averages an impressive 89.5% accuracy.
#2 Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Even as the Blues have gone through the motions under Maurizio Sarri and flattered to deceive in the title race once again, this Belgian behemoth has been one of the few shining lights all the while: Eden Hazard has scored 16 times in the Premier League so far and assisted another 12, taking his overall goal-contribution for Chelsea in the competition to a frankly ridiculous 49%!
Suffice to say, he's been the heartbeat of this otherwise erratic team. Time and time again he's had to peel his side off the ground single-handedly. And without him and his timely interventions, Chelsea would've been way worse off and Sarri may not have even been patrolling the dugout right now.
On this rate, he's firmly on course to post his best ever figures for the Blues. He's been an indispensable member of this side for years now and a lot of the club's recent success is squarely down to him. But from what the rumor mill has been churning out of late, he's on his way out of the club to Real Madrid in the summer, leaving an astronomic void in the team.
Clinching the Player of the Year prize would be the best farewell he could get if Hazard's indeed moving on.
#1 Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Pep Guardiola demonstrated his tactical acumen last season by fostering the transgression of several players in his Manchester City squad into world beaters. Raheem Sterling was one among those, playing an instrumental role in the side's historic campaign last term. But looks like he isn't done yet.
The 24-year old has continued from where he left last time to enjoy another stellar campaign for the Cityzens and looks poised to even better his tally - he needs just two more goals to surpass the 18-goal haul he registered last season for his career-best figures. And with four more games to go before the season winds down, you can bet your bottom dollar that he's going to do exactly that.
Sterling 2.0 is a versatile player who can be adept as a winger, a striker or even an attacking midfielder. He offers great attacking flexibility and possesses natural pace that make even the most robust defender take a step back. Now all that's left in his CV is a PFA Player of the Year prize, which he just may pick up this year!
