Phil Foden and Rodri have both enjoyed stellar seasons and are among the favourites to scoop the PFA Player of the Season award – but they may well face particularly strong competition from one player they both know very well.
Foden has had the season of his life so far, scoring 22 goals and making 10 assists in 45 appearances, regularly stepping up in the number 10 role in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne.
Rodri has been sublime once again operating as the holding midfield. We have seen this term what happens when he doesn’t play.
Just at the moment, the pair are strong candidates for the PFA Player of the Season award.
Certainly, if City win an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title, then one of them will likely take the award.
But there is one player who they both know really well that might just be a huge threat to their chances…
Cole Palmer made headlines once again on Monday night, as he scored four goals in Chelsea’s 6-0 demolition of Everton.
The 21-year-old was absolutely outstanding, scoring a perfect hat-trick in the first-half. He then scored a fourth from the penalty spot. Former City defender Aymeric Laporte was left amazed by his exploits.
That fourth goal took him level with City’s Erling Haaland on 20 for the season in the Premier League, with the pair joint-top of the goalscoring chart.
Few would have seen this kind of output from Palmer coming.
The star only scored six goals in 41 appearances for City. But he now looks ruthless for Chelsea, and it’s not just his goalscoring that has been so impressive.
Palmer has also bagged nine assists in the Premier League, and a further four in the cups.
Palmer is probably very likely to scoop the PFA Young Player of the Year award for what he has done this season, but very possibly, he is now making a case for the main award as well.
If he happens to finish as the Golden Boot winner, then his chances could really increase.
Palmer – branded ‘exceptional’ earlier this season by Pep Guardiola – could be a real threat to Foden and Rodri, because he is standing out every single game in a team that is struggling as a collective. What he’s doing is made to look even more impressive, because he is head and shoulders above his teammates.
There is a danger that Foden and Rodri – as good as they have both been – will be marked down for playing in a much stronger team.
Hopefully, that will not be the case and one of them can take it. But certainly, Palmer is mounting a pretty credible challenge at this moment in time.
