With Liverpool nearing another Premier League title, attention is turning to the standout performers driving their campaign — and the race for the club’s Player of the Season is as fiercely contested as the Premier League itself.
We spoke to Will Rooney of LiverpoolWorld for the latest, and there’s no shortage of candidates.
We spoke to Will Rooney of LiverpoolWorld for the latest, and there’s no shortage of candidates.
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00:00Now, with Liverpool edging towards another Premier League title,
00:07the tension is turning to the standout performers that have driven their push this campaign.
00:12And the race for the club's player of the season is as fiercely contested as the Premier League once was itself.
00:19I spoke to Will Rooney of Liverpool World for the latest and there's no shortage of candidates.
00:24Virgil van Dijk has returned to imperious form at the back this season,
00:27anchoring a defence that has stood firm under pressure.
00:31Alexis McAllister has also been quietly influential, dictating tempo and stepping up in key moments.
00:38And then there's Mohamed Salah, still among the top scorers and delivering the most when it mattered.
00:44Young players like Conor Bradley have also broken through and shown maturity beyond their years this campaign.
00:50With every point vital and silverware up for grabs,
00:53the final weeks may well determine who claims the honour in a season defined by resilience, leadership and big game moments from Arnie Schlott's side.
01:05So, Will, looking at Liverpool and in terms of the title race,
01:08and we've obviously mentioned how much of a great achievement it was for Arnie Schlott to come in and do it in his first season.
01:14You know, taking nothing away from that, have they sort of won a weaker Premier League?
01:18Like, you know, obviously we've seen the fall off of Manchester City after an incredible four titles in a row.
01:24Arsenal were there and then they weren't suddenly.
01:28You know, you still have to go and do it, obviously.
01:30But is there that sort of doubt in terms of Liverpool's mind where they've had to go and win it?
01:36And it might have been a weaker Premier League this campaign round.
01:39But the theory certainly from some quarters, definitely those outside of the Red Harbour Merseyside that, as you say,
01:48have Liverpool took advantage of maybe a weaker Premier League?
01:52Well, I don't think it has because, you know, look at, for a standpoint,
01:57look at Aston Villa's performance against Paris Saint-Germain,
02:00a team who were arguably the best in Europe, they went and beat PSG.
02:06You know, a team who were, as we speak, sixth or seventh in the Premier League.
02:10Liverpool have beaten them comfortably this season and to do with Villa Park.
02:14So there's a few barometers.
02:16You look at the race for Europe now and the teams that are in it, it's really close.
02:21Teams like Fulham are up there and Brighton are up there and Bournemouth have been impressive.
02:25And Arna Stott said it a few times, you know, since he arrived from Holland,
02:31that in Holland, there's players at the bottom of the table who won't get in teams near the top.
02:37But that's not the case in the Premier League.
02:38I mean, yes, Liverpool were there until the final, probably final month, six weeks of last season,
02:46before they tailed off.
02:47They had something to build on.
02:49But no, I definitely think it's been a strong Premier League overall this season.
02:53And, Will, let's just look at Liverpool's season as a whole in terms of a player of the season pick.
03:00Who do you think has been the standout in this title charge season?
03:03Obviously, they haven't gone all the way elsewhere domestically, you know, on Europe as well.
03:08They obviously fell short.
03:10But in terms of consistency every week and really adapting well to Arnie Schlott's plans,
03:15obviously Mo Salah's had an unbelievable season.
03:18We've mentioned Van Dijk has been the bedrock.
03:20Is it one of those two or is there other picks to mention in terms of the player of the season?
03:26I think it has to be one of those two, yeah, just because of what they've brought week in, week out.
03:32Now, if you'd have asked me this two months ago, I'd have been tempted to see Ryan Gravenberge
03:38because he's been outstanding in the number six role.
03:41He has just tailed off a little bit, probably because he has played so much football.
03:47He's only 22, but as you say, Van Dijk, absolutely back to his best.
03:53He's been the leader throughout it all.
03:57A couple of mistakes lately, but apart from that, he's been pretty much impeccable throughout the season.
04:03He's made things look easy.
04:05Mo Salah's numbers have been incredible, having 32 goals and 23 assists.
04:11He is a winger who's going to win the Golden Boots, putting his name in the half of the Ballon d'Or.
04:19You could go for that, couldn't you?
04:20I think one player who maybe deserves a special mention is Alexis McAllister.
04:25He's gone about his business quietly.
04:27He's so important for the way that he makes this Liverpool team tick.
04:32And Ibrahim Karate as well, the Virgil van Dijk centre-back partner has been excellent.
04:40I think they'll be battling for the gong come the end of the season awards.
04:43I think they'll be in the season awards.