Overlooked Aaron Wan-Bissaka worthy of Young Player of the Year shortlist
When it comes to the PFA Young Player of the Year candidates there are two names some way out in front with the bookmakers.
Despite turning 24 in December, Raheem Sterling still qualifies and regardless of your thoughts on what age constitutes being ‘young’ in the game these days, the England international would unquestionably be a worthy winner.
It would be somewhat unbefitting of a superb career to date for the winger to knock pick up the award at this his last opportunity to do so, but Marcus Rashford is catching his compatriot in the odds at quite a pace.
There’s no doubt that the Manchester United striker deserves great credit for his progress of late, but that he is such a short price is a very short term view and perhaps a little unjustified. That’s not to say the 21-year-old was poor prior to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s appointment, but heading into Christmas Rashford probably wouldn’t have been among the best ten players to qualify for the award.
Meanwhile, one youngster has been extremely consistent and impressive throughout the course of the campaign but isn’t even priced up as a potential dark horse.
That man is Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who has started all but one Premier League match this season - missing that match due to suspension - and been among the Eagles very best performers on close to a weekly basis.
It would be an injustice for the 21-year-old not to be included in the six-name shortlist for the award in the coming months, with the right-back currently being overlooked in favour of some questionable candidates, many of whom aren’t regular fixtures in their respective sides.
Wan-Bissaka, meanwhile, has made more tackles than any other player in the Premier League this season (91), despite being dribbled past on just seven occasions. For context, fellow full-back and closest challenger to his tackle total this season Ricardo Pereira (89) has been dribbled past 44 times by comparison.
Indeed, the Palace graduate’s sensational tackle success rate - now 93 per cent - saw him recently revealed as not only the Premier League’s best ball winner this season, but the best in Europe’s top five leagues in our statistical study last month.
While he also ranks fourth in England’s top-flight for interceptions this season (57), it’s not just the defensive side of Wan-Bissaka’s game that has stood out either. His total of 40 successful dribbles is enough to place 11th but is, once more, the best figure of any full-back in the division, coming at a very solid 66.7 per cent success rate.
It is, however, the youngster’s aforementioned consistency that has been most impressive from a player of such inexperience. The Eagles starlet has made a tackle in all but one appearance all season and an interception in all but two. He’s also earned a WhoScored.com rating in excess of seven in over 70 per cent of his appearances this season (17/24), leading to an overall score of 7.24.
Not only is that enough to rank among the top 20 players in the Premier League (16th) but it places him third of players eligible for the PFA Young Player of the Year award, behind the aforementioned Sterling (7.71) and holder Leroy Sane (7.44). Rashford ranks tenth of said age group by comparison despite his dramatic upturn in form, and while there’s little question the United hotshot will make the cut now, Wan-Bissaka looks set to be the most unfortunate omission following a sensational first full season in senior football.
