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PFA Young Player of the Year

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This article is about the men's award. For the women's award, see PFA Women's Young Player of the Year.

PFA Young Player of the Year
2024 winner Cole Palmer
SportAssociation football
CompetitionAll levels of English football
CountryEngland and Wales
Presented byPFA
History
First award1973–74
Editions50
First winnerEngland Kevin Beattie
Most recentEngland Cole Palmer (2024)
WebsiteOfficial website

The Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year (often called the PFA Young Player of the Year, or simply the Young Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the young player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football. As of 2021, players must have been aged 21 or under as of 1 July immediately preceding the start of the season;[1] in the past the age limit has been 23, which led to criticism in the media over whether a player who was 24 years old at the end of the season could really be considered "young" in footballing terms.[2][3] The award has been presented since the 1973–74 season and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the players' trade union, the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA). The first winner of the award was Ipswich Town defender Kevin Beattie. The current holder is Chelsea player Cole Palmer, who won the award on 20 August 2024.[4]

Although the award is open to players at all levels,[2] all winners to date have played in the highest division of the English football league system. In 2018 Ryan Sessegnon of Fulham became the first player from outside the top division of English football to be nominated for the award.[5] As of 2024, only Ryan Giggs, Robbie Fowler, Wayne Rooney, Dele Alli and Phil Foden have won the award on more than one occasion. Only seven players from outside the United Kingdom have won the trophy,[6] compared with fifteen winners of the main PFA Players' Player of the Year award. Although they have their own dedicated award, players aged 21 or under at the start of the season remain eligible to win the Players' Player of the Year award, and on three occasions the same player has won both awards for a season.

A shortlist of nominees is published in April and the winner of the award, along with the winners of the PFA's other annual awards, is announced at a gala event in London.[7] The players themselves consider the award to be highly prestigious, because the winner is chosen by his fellow professionals.[8]

Winners

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The award has been presented on 51 occasions as of 2024, to 46 players.[9][10][11] The table also indicates where the winning player also won one or more of the other major "player of the year" awards in English football, namely the PFA Players' Player of the Year award (PPY),[10][11][12] the Football Writers' Association's Footballer of the Year award (FWA),[13] the Premier League Player of the Season award (PPS),[14] the Premier League Young Player of the Season award (PYPS), and the PFA Fans' Player of the Year award (FPY).[15]

Ryan Giggs was the first player to win the award twice.
Robbie Fowler was the second two-time winner.
Steven Gerrard was the first player to win the Fans' Player of the Year award in the same season
Wayne Rooney was the third player to win the award in two consecutive seasons.
Winners of the PFA Young Player of the Year
Year Nat. Player Club Also won Notes
1973–74 England Kevin Beattie Ipswich Town
1974–75 England Mervyn Day West Ham United [16]
1975–76 England Peter Barnes Manchester City
1976–77 Scotland Andy Gray Aston Villa PPY [17]
1977–78 England Tony Woodcock Nottingham Forest
1978–79 England Cyrille Regis West Bromwich Albion [18]
1979–80 England Glenn Hoddle Tottenham Hotspur
1980–81 England Gary Shaw Aston Villa
1981–82 England Steve Moran Southampton
1982–83 Wales Ian Rush Liverpool
1983–84 England Paul Walsh Luton Town
1984–85 Wales Mark Hughes Manchester United
1985–86 England Tony Cottee West Ham United
1986–87 England Tony Adams Arsenal
1987–88 England Paul Gascoigne Newcastle United
1988–89 England Paul Merson Arsenal
1989–90 England Matthew Le Tissier Southampton
1990–91 England Lee Sharpe Manchester United
1991–92 Wales Ryan Giggs Manchester United
1992–93 Wales Ryan Giggs (2) Manchester United [19]
1993–94 England Andy Cole Newcastle United
1994–95 England Robbie Fowler Liverpool
1995–96 England Robbie Fowler (2) Liverpool
1996–97 England David Beckham Manchester United
1997–98 England Michael Owen Liverpool PPS
1998–99 France Nicolas Anelka Arsenal [20]
1999–2000 Australia Harry Kewell Leeds United [21]
2000–01 England Steven Gerrard Liverpool FPY [22]
2001–02 Wales Craig Bellamy Newcastle United [23]
2002–03 England Jermaine Jenas Newcastle United [24]
2003–04 England Scott Parker Charlton Athletic
Chelsea		 [25]
2004–05 England Wayne Rooney Manchester United [8]
2005–06 England Wayne Rooney (2) Manchester United FPY [10]
2006–07 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United PPY, FWA, FPY, PPS [26][27]
2007–08 Spain Cesc Fàbregas Arsenal [28]
2008–09 England Ashley Young Aston Villa [29]
2009–10 England James Milner Aston Villa [30]
2010–11 England Jack Wilshere Arsenal [31]
2011–12 England Kyle Walker Tottenham Hotspur [32]
2012–13 Wales Gareth Bale Tottenham Hotspur PPY, FWA, PPS
2013–14 Belgium Eden Hazard Chelsea [33]
2014–15 England Harry Kane Tottenham Hotspur [34]
2015–16 England Dele Alli Tottenham Hotspur [35]
2016–17 England Dele Alli (2) Tottenham Hotspur [36]
2017–18 Germany Leroy Sané Manchester City [37]
2018–19 England Raheem Sterling Manchester City FWA [38]
2019–20 England Trent Alexander-Arnold Liverpool PYPS [39]
2020–21 England Phil Foden Manchester City PYPS [40]
2021–22 England Phil Foden (2) Manchester City PYPS [41]
2022–23 England Bukayo Saka Arsenal [42]
2023–24 England Cole Palmer Chelsea PYPS [4]

Breakdown of winners

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By country

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Winners of the PFA Young Player of the Year by country
Country Number of wins Winning years
England England
38
 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
Wales Wales
6
 1982–83, 1984–85, 1991–92, 1992–93, 2001–02, 2012–13
Scotland Scotland
1
 1976–77
France France
1
 1998–99
Australia Australia
1
 1999–2000
Portugal Portugal
1
 2006–07
Spain Spain
1
 2007–08
Belgium Belgium
1
 2013–14
Germany Germany
1
 2017–18

By club

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Winners of the PFA Young Player of the Year by club
Club Number of wins Winning years
Manchester United
8
 1984–85, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1996–97, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07
Tottenham Hotspur
6
 1979–80, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
Liverpool
6
 1982–83, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2019–20
Arsenal
6
 1986–87, 1988–89, 1998–99, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2022–23
Manchester City
5
 1975–76, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22
Aston Villa
4
 1976–77, 1980–81, 2008–09, 2009–10
Newcastle United
4
 1987–88, 1993–94, 2001–02, 2002–03
Chelsea
3
 2003–04, 2013–14, 2023–24
West Ham United
2
 1974–75, 1985–86
Southampton
2
 1981–82, 1989–90
Ipswich Town
1
 1973–74
Nottingham Forest
1
 1977–78
West Bromwich Albion
1
 1978–79
Luton Town
1
 1983–84
Leeds United
1
 1999–2000
Charlton Athletic
1
 2003–04

References

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  1. ^ "PFA Awards Men's Nominees". Professional Footballers' Association. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b "England Player Honours – Professional Footballers' Association Young Players of the Year". England Football Online. 19 June 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2008.
  3. ^ Dimond, Alex (17 April 2015). "Power Ranking the PFA Young Player of the Year Shortlist". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Cole Palmer Wins PFA Young Player of The Year". Professional Footballers' Association. 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  5. ^ "De Bruyne, Salah, Kane, De Gea, Sane and Silva nominated for PFA Premier League Player of the Year". Eurosport. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  6. ^ The total of seven includes Cyrille Regis, who was born in French Guiana but represented England at international level.
  7. ^ "United trio lead nominations for PFA award". The Times. 16 April 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2008.[dead link]
  8. ^ a b "Rooney secures young player prize". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 24 April 2005. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
  9. ^ Keogh, Frank (20 April 2001). "Too much too young?". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
  10. ^ a b c "Gerrard named player of the year". BBC Sport. 23 April 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  11. ^ a b "Ronaldo secures PFA awards double". BBC Sport. 22 April 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  12. ^ "Only here for the peers". BBC Sport. 20 April 2001. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  13. ^ "England – Players Awards". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 4 October 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
  14. ^ "Player of the Season". Premier League. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  15. ^ "PFA's Official Fan's Player of the Year: Previous Winners". The Professional Footballers' Association. Archived from the original on 20 February 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  16. ^ Day is the only goalkeeper to have won the award.
  17. ^ First non-English winner, also first player to win two awards in a single season.
  18. ^ First winner of the award born outside the United Kingdom, although he went on to become an England international.
  19. ^ First player to win the award twice, and first to win the award in two consecutive seasons.
  20. ^ First winner of the award from mainland Europe.
  21. ^ "Keane claims award double". BBC Sport. 30 April 2000. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  22. ^ "Sheringham wins second award". BBC Sport. 29 April 2001. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  23. ^ "Players honour Bellamy". BBC Sport. 15 April 2002. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  24. ^ "Henry honoured by peers". BBC Sport. 27 April 2003. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  25. ^ "Henry retains PFA crown". BBC Sport. 25 April 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  26. ^ First player to win four awards in a single season.
  27. ^ "Ronaldo secures PFA awards double". BBC Sport. 22 April 2007. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  28. ^ "Ronaldo named player of the year". BBC Sport. 27 April 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  29. ^ "Giggs earns prestigious PFA award". BBC Sport. 26 April 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  30. ^ "Rooney is PFA player of the year". BBC Sport. 25 April 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  31. ^ "Spurs' Gareth Bale wins PFA player of the year award". BBC Sport. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  32. ^ "Arsenal striker Robin van Persie named PFA Player of the Year". BBC Sport. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  33. ^ "Luis Suarez: Liverpool striker wins PFA Player of the Year award". BBC Sport. 27 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  34. ^ "Tottenham striker Harry Kane named PFA Young Player of the Year". Goal.com. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  35. ^ "Riyad Mahrez: Leicester City forward named PFA Player of the Year". BBC Sport. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  36. ^ "Dele Alli named player of the year for second season running". Evening Standard. 23 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  37. ^ "PFA Player of the Year 2017-18: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah wins top award". BBC Sport. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  38. ^ "Virgil van Dijk and Vivianne Miedema win PFA Player of the Year awards". BBC Sport. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  39. ^ "PFA Player of the Year: Kevin de Bruyne and Beth England named 2020 winners". BBC Sport. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  40. ^ "Foden voted PFA Young Player of the Year". Manchester City F.C. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  41. ^ Sansom, Dan (9 June 2022). "PFA Players' Player of the Year: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Chelsea's Sam Kerr win 2022 awards". Sky Sports. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  42. ^ "Bukayo Saka PFA Young Player of the Year 2023". Professional Footballers' Association. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
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