Just three of the last five stars named PFA Young Player of the Year have stayed at the club they won the award with, including Phil Foden and Liverpool ace Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Foden is the most recent recipient of the gong, having swept the honour with the Premier League Young Player of the Season award last term. The Manchester City maestro was the second star to clinch both, following the latter’s introduction from the 2019/20 campaign.
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Alexander-Arnold was the first to lift the Premier League’s award for the best-performing gem aged 23 or younger. He took the title with the Professional Footballers’ Association’s gong, given to the best player aged 21 or under as of July 1 the summer before the season.
Both Foden and Alexander-Arnold will again be eligible for the Premier League’s gong this season. The Manchester City star turns 22 on May 28, while Liverpool’s right-back turned 23 on October 7. So, Foden can also become the first to win both twice with a PFA repeat.
Phil Foden with Manchester City (2020/21)
The PFA named Foden as the most outstanding young player in English football last season after helping Manchester City win the Premier League. He struck nine goals and five assists over 28 appearances, while also scoring and creating twice on route to lifting the EFL Cup.
Foden only started 17 of his outings during the top-flight term, but found the net against Wolves, West Ham, Chelsea, Brighton, Liverpool, Everton, Aston Villa, Brighton again and Everton again. He also assisted at Anfield during a Man of the Match display to win 4-1.
Likewise, the 15-cap England playmaker scored and assisted to beat both of Bournemouth and Arsenal in the EFL Cup. He then started against Manchester United and Tottenham in the semi-final and final, while reaching the FA Cup semi-final and Champions League final.
Trent Alexander-Arnold with Liverpool (2019/20)
Alexander-Arnold was the first defender since Kyle Walker in 2011/12 that the PFA named as their Young Player of the Year winner following Liverpool’s Premier League title triumph in 2019/20. He ended the campaign with a still career-high 13 assists over 38 appearances.
The Reds star opened 35 games on route to ending their 30-year wait for a top-flight title. He also played a key role in their trophy success, creating against Norwich, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brighton, Everton, Leicester, Manchester United, Wolves, West Ham and Chelsea.
Only Manchester City superstar Kevin de Bruyne (20) offered more assists that term than the England right-back. Alexander-Arnold has so far provided 12 assists this season across 29 outings with five games to go. He also offered 12 during the 2018/19 top-flight season.
Alexander-Arnold did not feature at all in Liverpool’s FA Cup or EFL Cup fixtures during the 2019/20 campaign. But he did play seven Champions League ties, while creating one goal against RB Salzburg in the group stage before the Reds would later bow out in the last 16.
Raheem Sterling with Manchester City (2018/19)
Raheem Sterling won the PFA Young Player of the Year award with his performances with Manchester City during 2018/19. He, Foden and Alexander-Arnold are now the only three from the last five winners of the gong to still play for the club that they won the award at.
The PFA gave Sterling his title after helping the Citizens to defend the Premier League title for the first time. They edged Liverpool to the crown by a single point on the final day, with Sterling also ending the campaign as the joint-sixth top-scorer with Harry Kane on 17 goals.
Additionally, he offered 11 assists in the top-flight, while scoring three and creating two on route to winning the FA Cup. Sterling hit twice in the final with Watford, and created one on way to lifting the EFL Cup. He also hit five and created three in the Champions League.
Leroy Sane with Manchester City (2017/18)
Manchester City paid Schalke £37m before add-ons to sign Leroy Sane in August 2016. He would remain at the Etihad Stadium until joining Bayern Munich for £45m, rising to £55m, four years later after a trophy-laded period personally and as a team under Pep Guardiola.
Sane lifted two Premier League titles, two EFL Cups and a FA Cup, and has gone on to add two Bundesliga crowns in Bavaria. The PFA also named the German winger as their Young Player of the Year for 2017/18 following his first English top-flight and EFL Cup honours.
He clinched two pieces of team silverware with 10 Premier League goals and 15 assists. He also gave three goals and an assist in the EFL Cup, along with two assists in the Champions League. Guardiola started Sane in 27 of Manchester City’s league and four EFL Cup games.
Dele Alli with Tottenham Hotspur (2016/17)
Dele Alli became only the fourth gem to win the PFA Young Player of the Year award twice in 2016/17. He followed Ryan Giggs (1991-93), Robbie Fowler (‘94-96) and Wayne Rooney (2004-06) in lifting the gong in successive terms, following his maiden triumph in 2015/16.
Both of Alli’s successes came during his five-and-a-half years with Tottenham, upon joining Spurs after a season back on loan at MK Dons. He shone from the off in north London, with 10 goals and nine assists over 33 appearances during the 2015/16 Premier League season.
The 37-cap England playmaker then retained his PFA Player of the Year award after scoring 18 top-flight goals in 2016/17. Alli has not managed to hit double figures in a single season since, while achieving his career-high return of 11 assists during the 2017/18 league term.
His form regressed woefully after hitting eight goals during the 2019/20 campaign, though. Alli has only found the net once and assisted once in his last 33 games, which include eight for Everton after a free transfer in January 2022 with £10m owed only after his 20th game.
The Toffees could end up owing Spurs as much as £40m through performance-related add-ons. But Alli has failed to make an impact at Goodison Park to date, and is still yet to start a single match. TEAMtalk even report Everton may look to move Alli on in the summer sales.
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