Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been named the Premier League Player of the Season after a standout campaign in which he helped the club to a third-place finish and qualification for next season’s Champions League.
The Portugal midfielder, who was also voted the Football Writers’ Association Men’s Player of the Year earlier this month, finished the season with eight goals and 20 assists in 37 league appearances.
Fernandes equalled the Premier League record for assists in a single season when he set up his 20th goal contribution against Nottingham Forest last weekend.
The United captain created 132 chances during the campaign, more than any other player in the division and 43 more than the next highest contributor, Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool.
He became the first Manchester United player to win the award since Nemanja Vidic claimed the honour in 2011. The award is determined through a combination of public voting and the opinions of a panel of football experts.
Other nominees included Arsenal trio David Raya, Gabriel Magalhães and Declan Rice, Manchester City forwards Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo, Brentford’s Igor Thiago and Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White.
Meanwhile, Nico O’Reilly was named Premier League Young Player of the Season after a breakthrough campaign with Manchester City.
The 21-year-old full-back scored five goals and provided three assists in 34 league appearances, establishing himself as a key member of City’s squad.O’Reilly, who joined City’s academy at the age of eight, earned his first senior England cap in November and has since been included in Thomas Tuchel’s 26-man World Cup squad. He beat competition from City team-mate Rayan Cherki, Bournemouth pair Junior Kroupi and Alex Scott, Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo, Newcastle defender Lewis Hall, Brentford’s Michael Kayode and West Ham midfielder Matheus Fernandes.