Harry Kane nominated for PFA Player and Young Player of the Year

Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane is up for more year-end awards this season. The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) released their shortlists for the PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year this morning via social media, and Tottenham’s star striker was again nominated for both awards.

The Player of the Year shortlist includes, in addition to Kane, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, Leroy Sane, and David Silva, Manchester United keeper David De Gea, and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.

The Young Player of the Year, which is awarded to the most outstanding player in English football who is 23 or under at the beginning of the season, is equally interesting. Kane and Sane both get the double nomination, along with Fulham’s 17-year old phenom Ryan Sessegnon, Manchester City’s Ederson & Raheem Sterling, and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford.

This is the last year that Kane is eligible for the YPOY award, having turned 24 at the end of July, 2017. (It also seems like he barely made the cut, considering match week 1 was August 11, so it depends on what your definition of “beginning of the season” is, I guess.)

No matter what, this ends the string of Young Player of the Year awards won by Dele Alli, who didn’t even make the shortlist this season, despite being fourth in the Premier League in assists with 10 and scoring two more goals this season than Rashford. Oh well.

Tottenham players have historically been well represented in the Young Player of the Year award, having won five out out of the last six seasons: Dele in 2016-17 and 2015-16, Harry Kane in 2014-15, and Gareth Bale in 2012-13 and 2011-12.

The PFA awards will be revealed in a ceremony later in April.