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Boxing Seven former Premier League stars give their end-of-season award winners
With the Premier League season drawing to a close, award season has arrived after another turbulent and action packed Premier League season. We had the pleasure of gauging the opinions of Mikael Silvestre, Nwankwo Kanu, Emmanuel Adebayor, Johan Djourou, Markus Babbel, John Barnes and Paul Parker to see who they believe are the deserved winners of this season’s awards.
In this article:
| Player Of The Season | Young Player Of The Season | Manager Of The Season | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mikael Silvestre | Kevin De Bruyne | Bukayo Saka | Pep Guardiola |
| Nwankwo Kanu | Erling Håland | Alexander Isak | Mikel Arteta |
| John Barnes | Erling Håland | Bukayo Saka | Mikel Arteta |
| Markus Babbel | Erling Håland | Martin Ødegaard | Roberto De Zerbi |
| Emmanuel Adebayor | Erling Håland | Alexander Isak | Eddie Howe |
| Johan Djourou | Bernardo Silva | Erling Håland | Eddie Howe |
| Paul Parker | Kevin De Bruyne | Evan Ferguson | Mikel Arteta |
Mikael Silvestre’s picks
Former Manchester United and Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre has awarded his player of the season accolade to Kevin De Bruyne, who has had an impressive second half of the season.
Silvestre has chosen Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka as his young player of the season, acknowledging the player’s 13 goals in 37 league appearances.
Additionally, Pep Guardiola, a five-time league winner, has been recognised as the Frenchman’s manager of the season.
Nwankwo Kanu’s picks
Former Arsenal and Nigerian striker Nwankwo Kanu, who scored 4 goals in 273 Premier League appearances and was part of the iconic Arsenal invincibles side in the 2000s, has selected Manchester City’s Erling Haaland as his player of the season. Haaland’s remarkable achievement of scoring 36 league goals this season has left a lasting impression on Kanu.
Interestingly, despite enduring a significant portion of the season plagued by injuries, Kanu has chosen Newcastle’s Alexander Isak as his young player of the season. Isak will be hoping he can stay fit for the majority of next season as Newcastle find themselves in the Champions League.
In addition, Kanu’s choices include Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhães as the best defender, his Arsenal teammate Aaron Ramsdale as the best goalkeeper, and their manager Mikel Arteta as the manager of the season.
John Barnes’ picks
Despite failing to lead Arsenal to their first league title since the 2003/04 season, it has been a remarkable season of progress for the Gunners. So much that Barnes believes Mikel Arteta is the deserved manager of the season. He also decided that Hale End graduate Bukayo Saka should be the young player of the season.
Haaland’s 36 league goals so far this season led to Barnes picking him out as the player of the season. Lastly, Newcastle captain Kieran Trippier, who joined the club from Atletico Madrid in January 2022 and is Barnes’ defender of the season.
Markus Babbel’s picks
Former Liverpool defender Markus Babbel agrees with the consensus that Erling Haaland is the player of the season. However, he differs from his peers in selecting Martin Ødegaard as the young player of the season and Alisson Becker as the goalkeeper of the season.
Babbel also considers Haaland as his pleasant surprise of the year, impressed by how the young player has adapted and made a significant impact in the league. On the other hand, Babbel named the entire Chelsea team as his disappointment of the season.
Lastly, the former German international recognizes Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi as his manager of the season. De Zerbi has had a remarkable season with the Seagulls, leading them to their highest-ever league finish and securing European football for the upcoming 2023/24 season.
Emmanuel Adebayor’s picks
Former Arsenal and Tottenham was in agreement with Kanu on three of the awards as he decided that Haaland was also his player of the season. He also had Newcastle’s Isak’s and Arsenal’s Ramsdale as his young player of the season and goalkeeper of the season respectively.
However, when it came down to his defender of the season, Adebayor elected to give his vote to Manchester City’s Ruben Dias who has won his third Premier League title. After leading Newcastle to a Champions League place next season, Adebayor believes Eddie Howe is the manager of the season.
Johan Djourou’s picks
Former Arsenal defender Johan Djourou has chosen Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva as his player of the season, deviating from the choices of Kanu and Adebayor. Consequently, Djourou has selected Erling Haaland as his young player of the season. Joining Kanu and Adebayor, Djourou also named Aaron Ramsdale as his goalkeeper of the season.
Djourou believes Alexander Isak is deserving of the surprise of the season award, as the striker’s ten goals in 20 league appearances have been crucial to Newcastle’s strong performance in the latter part of the season. However, Djourou expresses disappointment in the performances of Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, labelling him as the disappointment of the season.
Eddie Howe is Djourou’s choice for the manager of the season, acknowledging the former Bournemouth manager’s accomplishments.
Paul Parker’s picks
Manchester United’s former full-back, Paul Parker, made some interesting choices with his award winners. While De Bruyne’s selection as his player of the season comes as no surprise, Parker singled out Brighton and Ireland international, Evan Ferguson, as his young player of the season. The striker has scored six goals in 18 appearances this season and has reportedly attracted the attention of Erik ten Hag, who will be looking to bolster his striking options at United this summer.
Newcastle’s Nick Pope is Parker’s choice for keeper of the season, while Mikel Arteta is crowned as the manager of the season.
Manchester United’s defensive midfielder, Casemiro, is his pleasant surprise of the season. However, Chelsea’s £88.5m winger, Mykhaylo Mudryk, has been Parker’s disappointment of the 2022/23 season.
